B&Q kitchen compensation query

alvorada

Hi there,

Just looking to get some advice on how I should proceed with B&Q. We had a kitchen fitted by them back in May. It was fitted 2 months later than it should have been because they "lost us in their system as they were switching from an old to a new system". That in and of itself was frustrating but they gave us a £50 voucher as an apology and I was heavily pregnant at the time so was just happy to have the kitchen finished by the time my due date came about.

Que a few weeks ago, so only 4 months after the kitchen installation was completed, a cupboard door randomly falls clean off, ripping the screws out and ruining part of the inside carcass. I was really angry that this had happened - from what we could assess looking at it (in our non-expert opinion) was that the wrong screws had been used to piece together this specific cupboard. Completely unacceptable for a kitchen costing in excess of £10k but the main reason behind my anger is that I have my 3 month old baby in the kitchen in his baby chair whenever I am in there so that he can see me. Had this cupboard door fallen off when he was there, it could have landed on him - severely injuring him or worse. The doors are made from very heavy material, they are not light in the slightest.

I emailed B&Q with my complaint and quoted my 5 year guarantee as stated in the paperwork I have. This was all fine - they sent out their area manager to assess the problem. He actually believes that not only did they use the wrong screws, but part of the cupboard they installed is the wrong part for that cupboard, hence why the screws couldn't hold it in place properly. We also noticed the wrong screws were also used in a difference cupboard too. Repair work was done fairly quickly which I am happy enough with, but I mentioned in my initial email of complaint that I expect some kind of compensation considering how serious the outcome could have been had my child been injured. They have got in touch with me today and offered £75 cheque as compensation.

My question, do you believe this is justified? In my heart I just don't think that amount seems fair. I don't want to be greedy, but for a kitchen that has cost over £10k and the fact that due to B&Q's own negligence (or that of the workmen who installed the kitchen), my child could have been seriously injured (I know he wasn't, but that's not the point), I do feel they could have offered more. Am I being unreasonable?

One other slightly unrelated question: as part of our kitchen installation, the cupboard that the door fell off was built around our fuse box / electricity meter etc. It was built solely for the purpose to offer more storage, so as well as the box and meter being in here, we also use it as a larder cupboard so there is food/drink etc kept in here. The fuse box / electricity meter is not covered up in any way, it just sits in the middle of the cupboard and we have shelving above and below it. This is the way it was designed with B&Q at the planning stage. My mother-in-law today said that she spoke to the guy who came out to read her meter reading today and he advised it's actually illegal for us to have it like this. Can anyone shed some light of whether that information is accurate or not?

This is something I brought up with the area manager when he came out but he said there's nothing that can be done since this was how we designed it at the planning stage. They installed a child lock on the door for me since I had worries about my son climbing into the cupboard and getting to the wires when he's a bit older. I was happy enough with this -- but now wondering if the legality info is true?

Thanks for any advice you can give, guys.

-taff

I'm not suggesting the outcome might not have een more serious but you won't get compensation based on what might have happened. Compensation is usually based on a quantifiable loss.
Everything has been fixed and you have had a reasonable sum to make up for the actual occurrence.

photome

I had sympathy until you mentioned babys and what might have been.


You baby is safe, no one got hurt, you dont get compensation for what might have happened.


The first issue is they fixed it without any fuss, many places wouldnt have done, secondly they have given you £75, IMO that is enough as it is the point that your baby wasnt injured



Not sure about regs covering meters but my parents meters are in a kitchen cupboard and have been since about 1958

Aylesbury_Duck

my child could have been seriously injured (I know he wasn't, but that's not the point).

It is the point. No one was hurt.

Am I being unreasonable?

Yes

alvorada

Haha no worries -- I don't want to be unreasonable at all, I just genuinely wasn't sure what would be considered fair compensation in this case. If we hadn't paid as much for the kitchen I wouldn't have been as fussed either, but paying over £10k is obviously a lot of money and I just felt to have issues so early on wasn't right.

I appreciate the advice and highlighting from a different point of view. I'll respond and say I'm happy with the £75.

-taff

If it were your gas meter in there, there may have been a problem regarding access to the intake pipe which should be available at all times.


As for the electric, I'm not sure. If you do have shelves above and below it, can you get someone to make a cover you can slot over it?

I don't *think* it's illegal in any way, it's just about access to it in case there's a fault. The only danger would come if it were near somewhere where it could be affected by a water leak.