Toilet bought from B&Q

RustyMuppet

Hi,



We bought 3 toilets from B&Q September 2017.


This December gone we noticed bits falling off (porcelain?) whilst cleaning it. It was just under the rim on the outside. Looking closer we then saw it had spread around the outside and a hairline crack could be seen down the side of the toilet going to the floor.


The toilet is in an alcove in the en-suite so the sides are not readily visible unless you are knealt down cleaning it.


Over the last week or so we have now seen a crack appear inside the toilet. We are now not using it at all just in case!


This toilet is not heavily used, so doesn't get as much use as the other ones we bought and they have no issues (different style), same manufacturer - Cooke and Lewis.


We looked on the B&Q website and saw they offered a 10 year guarantee on anything Cooke and Lewis. So we went instore to see what could be done. The staff at our local B&Q said from our photos that it did look faulty but as it was over a year since purchase we had to contact the manufacturer.


We tried today and it wasnt easy. After quite a runaraound getting to the right people they told us they would not honour the warranty saying the damage was caused by an impact.


Nothing has been dropped on that toilet since we have had it, and as I said above it was not heavily used like the others.


Can anyone offer any advise on how we should proceed with this, if indeed we have any case at all?


Thanks in advance

DoaM

How they can tell from photos is anyone's guess ... you'll have a difficult climb though to get them to change their minds.


What you could do is commission an inspection report from a qualified person ... if this report shows (on the balance of probabilities) that the fault was not user-caused then you could revert to B&Q (not C&L - you have no contract with them) to invoke your consumer rights and require a remedy. The reasonable cost of the report would be refundable by B&Q.

I'd suggest firstly though trying B&Q again and mention you wish to claim under your Consumer Rights and not under the warranty, and see what they say.

spadoosh

From experience as a staff member id recommend airing your issue through twitter. Its not uncommon for the PR people to be overly courteous towards refunds of faulty goods, so in your case id think youd stand a good chance of them telling the store you bought it from to refund/replace.

The legal route is getting the report but you can get that done which mightbe inconclusive and as such wouldnt really help you whilst also being out of pocket. So id try B&Q again first.

Obviously if its impact damage and you know it is you shouldnt be able to claim but then im sure you take it on the chin if you knew something had damaged it.

RustyMuppet

Thanks for the quick replies.


There has been no impact damage from us, but no way I can prove that.


If there was any it would have to have been prior to it arriving at our house, or done by the installer who never told us.


We saw no visible damage after installation.

Aylesbury_Duck

As above, it's going to be difficult to prove an inherent problem I think. My money is on the fracture happening at the time of the installation or as a result of it. Perhaps the screws fixing it to the floor were over-tightened, for example, or perhaps the floorboards have shifted slightly putting the toilet under stress. I can't see how an independent inspection is going to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the fault was there before delivery.

molerat

RustyMuppet wrote: »

The staff at our local B&Q said from our photos that it did look faulty but as it was over a year since purchase we had to contact the manufacturer.

Good way of getting out of their responsibilities - just who is the manufacturer of Cooke & Lewis - let me think !

alumende27

molerat wrote: »

Good way of getting out of their responsibilities - just who is the manufacturer of Cooke & Lewis - let me think !

Precisely! Cooke & Lewis is a Kingfisher own brand. I believe it’s sold at both B&Q and screwfix. Perhaps OP should ask the local B&Q manager for Cooke and Lewis’ contact info!

The actual manufacturer could be anyone mind. Cooke and Lewis is basically the B&Q equivalent of Tesco Value, they’d outsource to whatever dodgy cheap foreign factory is able to make things to a given price.

davidmcn

Aylesbury_Duck wrote: »

I can't see how an independent inspection is going to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the fault was there before delivery.

Standard of proof in civil cases is on the balance of probabilities, not beyond reasonable doubt. The court only needs to be 51% convinced you're right. Though I'm guessing that this may be academic as the cost of an expert report probably exceeds the cost of an own-brand B&Q bog.

forgotmyname

B&Q staff seem quite quick to push you to contacting the manufacturer for warranty claims.

I purchased one of their garden spades that came with a lifetime warranty, unbreakable lasts forever type of thing.
It lasted under 3 weeks, took it back they saw the lifetime warranty label and said i need to contact the manufacturer. I said it was only purchased a couple of weeks back its not a lifetime warranty issue.

They went off to speak to a supervisor and then exchanged the item.