Complaint about faulty goods to Wickes

Wuachu

Hi!

On November 2020, I bought some laminate flooring from Wickes that was installed by a registered Ltd in my house.

When they were finishing all jobs (painting and flooring), I noticed a dent-scratch in my new floor and the company sent a specialist who repaired it and I was not charged for it. Just a couple of weeks after they builders finished, my floor started to get scratched very easily, specially in an area of the living room. I took some photos then and complained to Wickes on February-March 2021 (I work full time with two kids so no enough time to do everything). My complaint was about how easily the floor got scratch and I literally don't know how it happened!! Maybe the kids playing with toys or something like this. The scratches are very large and very obvious and easily visible. 
Wickes responded to my emails and finally they sent a "specialist in flooring" who came to my house, took some photos and a spare plank of floor. He did a report that said that he agreed there were lots of scratches but he could not specified how they were made but in his opinion and after running some tests, he thought the floor was not faulty, therefore Wickes was not liable for this. 

Obviously I was extremely unhappy with this resolution. One year later now, my floor looks even worse than before. A part from the original scratches, I have more dents, more lines, and even wear in a 1 year old floor!!!

I have then contacted Wickes again, stating that this is not a floor up to standards and that obviously the quality is not the advertised one. (I would like to point out that this was not the cheapest floor, but one of the more expensive ones in the laminate section). After several emails with Wickes they are saying this:

I would like to inform you that we received a reply from our supplier team saying: As previously advised it is clear the joints are suffering from moisture ingress. Fibre board is ok to use on woof based sub floors but should be used in conjunction with a DPM on a concrete sub floor. I don't think I have any spare planks anymore and I feel they will do the same as before, take a plank and they will state that the floor is not defective. Under the Consumer Rights Act, all goods delivered or sold must be of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose, one aspect of a product being of satisfactory quality is durability.If the moisture ingress is from above the cause is either excessive water used on maintenance or there is indeed a product fault. A product fault of this nature cannot be confirmed with a site visit the only way to confirm this is to carry out tests in the lab. Laminate flooring is manufactured to the BS EN 13329:2016 standard, Edge swell is part of this standard, we have a Laboratory that carries out these tests on all production. If we can have three A4 size samples we can carry out core and surface tests to confirm if there is a manufacturing fault. Unfortunately this is the only way we can progress this claim. I don't think I have any spare planks anymore and I feel they will do the same as before, take a plank and they will state that the floor is not defective. Just as a note, we are a family of 4 people, working outside home so basically nobody is at home most of the time. I used to have a B&Q laminate floor before that did not have a single scratch after 10 years of use and that I decided (and I regret now) to change just for changing decoration and skirting boards Where do I stand now?? I need opinions please and how to respond to Wickes. I would more than happily replace this floor now if I could as it looks worn down and awful just a year later after it was placed.

TELLIT01

Kids toys could very easily scratch a timber floor.  That does not mean it's faulty, simply that it's not suitable for where the OP wishes to use it.  The type of surface may be different to that on the previous B&Q laminate.

Wuachu

Hi,

Thank you for your input. I would like to specify than my kids are 8 years old, so no playing with cars or small toys, just hooked to the computer in their rooms. I literally do not know how the scratches happened, and the comment of the kids was a bit of a general one. 

Anyway, if they advertise the floor as suitable for residential and commercial, I would assume, that toys are included in a residential setting. 

Now, a part from the scratches in the living room, there are some in the bedrooms, not even in high traffic areas and the wear. I have included some photos, but the house is full of this. 

Thrugelmir

Marks and scratches simply don't just happen. It's the result of the treatment it receives. Not the quality of the product. 

lincroft1710

Thrugelmir said:

Marks and scratches simply don't just happen. It's the result of the treatment it receives. Not the quality of the product. 

Exactly. Those marks and scratches do not appear commensurate with normal usage. They definitely look as if some object has been dragged along, or dropped.

Aylesbury_Duck

What I see in those photos is normal wear and tear of a hard surface in a family home.  Marks like that don't appear spontaneously and no real, engineered or laminated wooden flooring is going to remain pristine in normal homes. 

Anyway, as far as consumer rights are concerned, Wickes have offered a solution.  They're entitled to seek evidence that the product is faulty.  It's now your choice as to how you proceed.  Either accept their request for samples, commission your own inspection, or accept that floors are for living on and won't remain pristine.

Wuachu

If this floor would be 10 years old, I would accept the wear. I have laminate floor in my business (6 years old) and at my mum’s house (placed over 20 years ago) and none of them have suffered such a huge damage. 

I think the damage is disproportionate to the time and use. 

Aylesbury_Duck

Wuachu said:

If this floor would be 10 years old, I would accept the wear. I have laminate floor in my business (6 years old) and at my mum’s house (placed over 20 years ago) and none of them have suffered such a huge damage. 

I think the damage is disproportionate to the time and use. 

If those photos are representative of the problem, I wouldn't consider it disproportionate, but you're better placed than us. It also doesn't look like huge damage.

Anyway, back to consumer rights, Wickes have offered a potential solution, which is all they're obliged to do.  You need to decide how you want to proceed.

smashinglynaive

Wuachu said:

If this floor would be 10 years old, I would accept the wear. I have laminate floor in my business (6 years old) and at my mum’s house (placed over 20 years ago) and none of them have suffered such a huge damage. 

I think the damage is disproportionate to the time and use. 

As said above you need to let them test the product to determine whether it is truly faulty.  You can't expect them to just refund you no questions asked.

Wuachu

“Exactly. Those marks and scratches do not appear commensurate with normal usage. They definitely look as if some object has been dragged along, or dropped.“

This is why I made my complaint. The marks and scratches do not correspond to normal usage of the floor that it is what we do. 

You have presume that I have done something abnormal to the floor but this is why I am complaining, because I have not. 

I don’t want any money, I just want a floor. 

Bradden

The 1st paragraph in the response from them looks odd to me.

"I would like to inform you that we received a reply from our supplier team saying: As previously advised it is clear the joints are suffering from moisture ingress.

Fibre board is ok to use on woof based sub floors but should be used in conjunction with a DPM on a concrete sub floor."

Has the floor been laid on concrete without a DPM? 

Not sure why they beleive this is relevant .. the damage you showed us does not occur due to moisture not is it on the joints.  Have they mixed up your report with another one?

Might be worth googling the specific floor.. if the wear layer is easily damaged I would expect multiple compliants.