Brazilian Slate Honed Hearth with unslightly markings

Fire_Fox

dhep27 wrote: »

Hi,

After falling in love with a Brazilian Slate Honed Hearth in a local showroom, we decided to purchase one from a local stone manufacturer (where the showroom sourced it from). We stressed on the phone that we wanted to ensure it had no patterns in it (like the one in the show room) but they stressed that they couldn't guarantee that there wouldn't be 'some' variation. Unfortunately, to our disappointment the slate hearth has lots of unsightly marks which appear to be stains or water marks, as seen in the pictures below:-

Everyone we have spoken to agrees with us that this looks like water marks - not natural tone variation. We have asked the local stone manufacturer if they would let us exchange or get a refund but they are refusing to do this - stating that we warned about the natural tone variation. Unfortunately because this is honed, we have been told that there is nothing we can do to hide these marks.

Are there any slate experts online who can confirm if this is natural tone variation or water stains? The company stated on the phone they were using a new machine to cut this hearth - perhaps this is what caused the problem. We did not see the item before paying it (they insisted on payment before they cut and honed it), as we were happy with the recommendation from the local showroom. When we collected it the picked up an invoice stating us that they cannot accept refunds based on 'shade' variations - something we didn't know until we collected the hearth/invoice!

Where do we stand from a consumer rights angle? Are we entitled to a refund or exchange? Surely there is a threshold to 'natural' tone variation and there should be some quality control to what they produce.

dhep27 wrote: »

Thank you for your response. We just think it looks like water has been dropped on the slate (at the point of cutting/honing) and therefore stained it - this is just a theory, I am not a slate or stone expert. Everyone we have spoken to (including our stove installer) have said it looks like this.

We don't feel like we were warned enough about the potential patterns - we stated on the phone that we didn't want patterns (they did admittedly warn us there was a risk of 'some') however we believe this was the wrong product for us and should have been told this. So we believe were mis-sold or ill-advised on this basis. Do you think we have any leverage from this angle?

Welcome to MSE.

Sorry but this reads like you have failed to properly research the product, the company and your rights.

Consumer rights are greatly reduced where a product is made to order or sized to individual specifications. A natural pattern is not a quality control issue. Whether natural variation is "unsightly" or not is highly subjective. The pattern is quite regular and reminds me of animal print.

Is water an integral part of cutting and honing slate? Can honed slate be water damaged in this way? Research this online yourself instead of theorising. Slate roof tiles, floor tiles and exterior house number/ name plates can all be wetted.

I do not believe that you have grounds to claim the product was missold, not least because the company did not recommend this specific stone to you. After being warned you elected to go ahead immediately rather than do more in-depth research on the natural colour and pattern variations.

HTH.