Buying a bath online

JennyP

Hubby and I are having our bathroom refitted - imminently.



We want a freestanding bath and there only seems to be one local showroom with lots of freestanding baths to look at. They are ridiculously pricey there too. We did choose one that wasn't too bad but now realise that it won't fit through our door.



There's much more choice online and prices are cheaper but we're still looking at £600 for the type we'd like. So it has to be something that we're really going to like. It's amazing how much variance there is between them all.



Anyone any experience of buying this sort of stuff online. What I'm most concerned about is ordering something that we haven't seen in reality and then the cost and nuisance factor of sending it back if we don't like it.


Really worried about making a big costly mistake. In previous houses, I've spent less than £600 on the whole bathroom suite!

scottishgirl87

I can’t help with freestanding baths specifically, however, I have this week taken delivery of a complete new bathroom suite (including bath) from VictoriaPlum.com and have had no issues whatsoever. On the morning of the delivery they call you before 9am to let you know when it’ll be delivered and then you get a text later on letting you know they’re on their way.

I also spoke to them on live chat several times with queries. Overall very impressed with their service!

JennyP

scottishgirl87 wrote: »

I can’t help with freestanding baths specifically, however, I have this week taken delivery of a complete new bathroom suite (including bath) from VictoriaPlum.com and have had no issues whatsoever. On the morning of the delivery they call you before 9am to let you know when it’ll be delivered and then you get a text later on letting you know they’re on their way.

I also spoke to them on live chat several times with queries. Overall very impressed with their service!

Thank you!

Just looking at Victorian Plumbing but I think that's a different company isn't it? With a ridiculously similar name!

scottishgirl87

Yeah too similar, it’s a bit confusing! I was worried about ordering so much online without physically seeing the products but we looked around a lot of local showrooms and in terms of what we were looking for and the price, I found VictoriaPlum the best overall.

JennyP

I just put the shower and bath that we'd like in their site and it was £100 cheaper than Victorian Plumbing and both are about half the price of the showroom we went to!


Tried online chat with both companies. Victorian Plumbing didn't answer for ages so I gave up. Victoria Plum answered straight away and said they would try and arrange a smaller van to deliver as we live up a farm track. Added a loo to my basket for a mere £75 as it gave me an extra discount. They were so nice on online chat.... I think they might win out!



Plus they are upfront that if you don't like what you've bought, it's £49 cost to return. All the others just say you'll get a full refund but you'll have to pay return costs but they don't specify what the return costs are.



So thank you for the recommendation.

sooty&sweep

Hi
If you are using a plumber have a chat with them & find out if they can get you a trade discount at any of the local plumbing / bathroom suppliers.

We replaced a lot last year & with the discount we were able to get because of our plumber it was comparable with Victoria plum etc.
The prices we paid were nothing close to the brochure price.

Jen

JennyP

Our local plumbers all use James Hargreaves. We went to their big showroom hoping to see their freestanding baths but they had none of their own make in store - or at least none of the ones we were interested in - just a load of more expensive ones. It was a big disappointment. So we ruled them out really on that basis and agreed we'd supply our own stuff.

girlsensible

We are in the middle of renovating our house and I’ve done one bathroom so far.

I was really impressed with drench.com and sanctuary bathrooms.
Good customer service from both and no issues with the products.
I did order one item from soak.com which was damaged on arrival. However again, good customer service and a replacement was sent.

Post again with who you go with, as I have 2 more bathrooms to do!

JennyP

Sanctuary was next on my list to try as we could have got to their Leeds showroom. But Victoria plum were so good on online chat and the phone - we're up a farm track and deliveries are awkward but they just said what size of vehicle would work and they'd sort it. Delivery coming on Tuesday so we'll see.

Taps from three places - Tap Empire were fastest to deliver. And the cheapest! Tap Warehouse weren't bad but the one from QS Supplies has scratches on. What a hassle having to sort out faulty things. Why can't they check before sending?

lg13mza

A couple of years ago we bought a load of stuff from Victoria plum for a bathroom, en suite and toilet room. It included a free-standing bath. spent over £3k. We sent the majority of it back as the quality was poor but it also had lots of damage. We did keep the bath which was decent (although the waste inlet has never been straight which bugs me every time I look at it!). We also kept 2 of the toilets, the shower screen and a couple of the taps. But the cupboard units were awful.


So, I would say for the sanitary-wear they are not bad, but I'd leave it at that.

Stantheman

Just done 2 bathrooms. I got most of my stuff from Sanctuary Bathrooms. Great service, great products and great price. I did buy one bath from Better Bathrooms. Looked lovely but I didnt unwrap it properly. Came to install it and it had a massive crack in it. Better bathrooms refused any sort of refund as Id had it over 2 weeks so I had to buy another.