FLOOR DAMAGED BY JOHN LEWIS DELIVERY - compensation etc

ggloria007

We purchased a fridge freezer from John Lewis a couple of years ago. Our kitchen is on the first floor so it was a struggle for the two young lads to take a new fridge up and a disaster when they took the old fridge down. When they landed on the ground floor they rotated the fridge and created a visible deep scratches. The floor was brand new engineered wood installed a couple of years ago. We immediately reported the damage (photos etc) to the Customer Service team, who in return confirmed that Delivery Hub accepted liability for the damage caused. On that first occasion they suggested: 

1. "We can have someone come out to look at the scratches, assess the damage and provide a repair solution. You can employ your own trades person to repair or replace the affected wood and send us an invoice for the cost of the job. We would ask you provide two quotes and  this is an itemised bill on headed paper. Alternatively we can give you an allowance of £100 for the damage if you are happy to live with it in your property or conduct a DIY repair."
We opted for John Lewis to look at the full impact of the repair. They instructed Ecomaster directly to visit our home and assess the damage and submit a quote to us for approval.

2. "Our contractor, Ecomaster has advised there is some outstanding issues with repairing your floor due to the supplier changed the sizing of the board." The original flooring has been discontinued and we became aware that it will be difficult to "repair" the damaged floor boards, with the entirely new product. 
In order to be helpful my husband went to different specialists which confirmed that french polishing will not be able to resolve the problem. Overall the verbal advice from Ecomaster and "our floor specialist" is that the floor is not possible to repair nor replace but that it needs replacing. However, the problem is that on the ground floor our flooring is laid throughout, meaning that there is no movement joints nor floor strips/trims between the rooms where the replacement could stop. Please see the pictures. This means that around 50m2 of flooring would need to be replaced.

3. The update from JL was: "unfortunately as the flooring is now manufactured in different size floor boards we are unable to replace only the damaged parts. As such we can offer to replace the full hallway flooring or alternatively we can offer a cash settlement to keep the flooring as it it."

4. We confirmed that we intend having the flooring replaced, we will be in contact when we have selected a suitable replacement.
There was two different Case managers from John Lewis looking after this case and confirming the need for the full floor replacement. 
Then we had Covid, death in the family and I had cancer treatment etc.

5. Recently we approached John Lewis to learn that previous Case managers left and the new Case manager confirmed they dont work with Ecomaster anymore and they are prepared to resolve the case by either offering £1600 or we need to produce 2 quotes from the local flooring specialist. 

6. "So to answer your question straight away, we don't have any links with any flooring companies so you're more than welcome to go to any of them to get a quote to the work that needs done, all we ask is that you get at least 2 quotes and we would review these, if the quote is reasonable and is justifiable for the damage caused then we would go ahead with this. We would send you out a cheque to the value of the quote and then you would use this to pay the flooring company. I understand from looking through the case notes that Louise had offered you a cash settlement before and I would just like to offer this again in case this is a better option for you, If so I'd like to offer £1600 as a full and final settlement, please let me know if you would like this offer or if you would prefer to continue with the quotes."

7. We had two local flooring specialists who confirmed that replacement of the flooring is not simple and that it would require taking down skirting boards, beading, trims to bathroom etc. their rough verbal estimates were around £10k and they are preparing the full quote as I type this. 

8. Today we had an surprising email from John Lewis again as a new person -Case manager:
"I must inform you that your case has been reviewed by our legal department and although your previous case manager did say we will entertain quotes to replace the flooring this option was provided in error. I do apologise as this shouldn’t have been given as an option for resolution at this time. Whilst we are sorry to hear of your experience, we cannot agree to replace the undamaged flooring.  In an effort to resolve this matter, I am authorised to offer you the sum of £1600 in full and final settlement of your claim.  This offer has no bearing on liability.  The offer will remain open for acceptance for a period of 21 days from the date of this email and will thereafter be withdrawn. If you wish to accept the offer, please confirm your acceptance in writing upon which we will arrange for a cheque to be drawn in your favour. We appreciate this may not be the outcome you were hoping for and you are of course free to seek your own legal advice if you do not feel the matter has been adequately addressed."

I suppose they just came to understand the full impact of hte replacement and now they want a way out. Yes there is a truth in them saying that they are not going to replace the floor which has NOT BEEN DAMAGED. But there is no way of replacing only damaged parts. Three different Case managers on various occasions confirmed that the entire floor will be replaced. 

It looks like the only option they are giving us is £1600 for the inconvenience. Not sure how they came to this number or what we can do for this money. I am waiting for the precise written quotes from the flooring companies but it will be good to know what you guys think about all this. John Lewis admitted the damage, were committed to a good resolution and now they are backing off. Most importantly, we might be left with a scratched floor which was not our fault, or to replace entire flooring at our expense. The stretches are just in front of the last step and I am reminded of this disaster every day (no way out for me). I am interested to learn how to navigate the case so we are given what we were promissed and what will completely rectify the problem. Thank you 

 

 

pinkshoes

Do you have a photo of the damage? 

I'd accept the £1600 and have a rug over the damage or look at an alternative method of repair.

zoob

Have you a photo off the damaged area? 
I'm surprised there excepting full liability as a fridge freezer being turned round on a wooden floor shouldn't cause unrepairable damage if all plastic feet are in place on fridge freezer 
They must have being really rough turning it 

DullGreyGuy

zoob said:

I'm surprised there excepting full liability as a fridge freezer being turned round on a wooden floor shouldn't cause unrepairable damage if all plastic feet are in place on fridge freezer 

They haven't, they're saying the offer is without an admission of liability.

Personally, I'd have gone with PinkShoes suggestion 2 years ago! £1,600 is worth way more than what the damage will detract from the value of the property (which is ultimately what they are really liable for). 

Have you spoken to any local woodworkers, rather than flooring companies? Would have imagined an inlay could be created for way less than the monies on offer with reasonable grain matching. 

You'd really need to a lot of research on how courts have decided similar matters in the past. As the quote is for around £10k then its likely that this would go into the Fast Track of the court process meaning if you lose you'd have to pay toward their legal costs. 

In the world of insurance, if you didnt have matching set cover (most dont) then they would only pay for the replacement of the hallway and introduction of transition strips to the other rooms... on complaint the offer would be increased to have a 50% contribution to changing the flooring in the other rooms. 

Remember also that in law, rather than insurance, its not "new for old" and so their liability reflects the fact the damage was to a 3 year old floor not a brand new floor that you're getting quotes for. 

Aylesbury_Duck

It seems to me that a pragmatic solution is to accept the £1600, use it to get the damaged section of the floor replaced up to doors D2 and D3 in the best matched wood you can find, and add a threshold strip under the doors, using the doors as the natural break between old and new.

I can see why they won't fund £10k to re-floor your entire ground floor.  Getting a whole floor re-floored when the damage only affects one "room" and the flooring is four years old is excessive.

If you think otherwise, send them a letter before action and sue them for the £10k.

ggloria007

yes, we have spoken to various specialists, and yes thay have noted some of the options you guys are suggesting... to introduce the trims etc... The Ecomaster are the repair specialist who were originally emplyed to do the assessment. The trims were not in place for a reason for the fluidity of the space. I do not understand why would i need to patch up my house becase of the error of the others. One of the specialist pointed out that if one has a damage on the stairs (lets say spillage), the carpet replacement does not incluse just one step, but the entire stairwell and landing up the the nearest strip... This is mainly due to the way/technology of how the carpets are laid. Home insurance has nothing to do with this one and i will not be using it... I understand the logic of JL and I am also gutting myself about the new flooring... There is an interesting case here : https://www.justanswer.co.uk/law/cys6g-delivery-man-delivering-bed-damaged-property.html  I wonder about the about small claim courts? limits on the value of the work? Would i need to pay their fees in the small court? Any way of mediation? 

ggloria007

my son is having a comment I must share with you: "If their wives are burnt by a delivery man, would any of them just put the rug over her face" ;-) 

Aylesbury_Duck

ggloria007 said:

One of the specialist pointed out that if one has a damage on the stairs (lets say spillage), the carpet replacement does not incluse just one step, but the entire stairwell and landing up the the nearest strip.

The trouble with that analogy is that carpeting a staircase and landing is usually in the order of hundreds of pounds, not ten thousand pounds.  A company like JL is unlikely to quibble over something that would amount to maybe a couple of hundred quid difference between a part-repair and a full-replacement.

ggloria007 said:

I do not understand why would i need to patch up my house becase of the error of the others. 

Because accidents happen, and if you want insurance that provides the new-for-old cover across the whole space, it was probably available.  What would you do if you scratched one part of the floor yourself?  Spend £10k to get the whole lot done again?  Most wouldn't, and that's why JL's stance isn't unreasonable.

Small claims has a limit of £10k and yes, there is normally an opportunity for mediation.  I suspect that JL will argue that their offer of £1600 more than covers the reasonable cost of replacing one section of four-year old flooring, and as such, is their final offer.  I would be surprised if you were successful with a £10k claim, and you'll have to pay out £455 to start a claim which will be lost if the court doesn't find in your favour.

Is there a risk that by taking this further, JL withdraws their offer and on the basis that their offer appears to exceed what you're entitled to, is happy for you to take them court?

Aylesbury_Duck

ggloria007 said:

my son is having a comment I must share with you: "If their wives are burnt by a delivery man, would any of them just put the rug over her face" ;-) 

Probably a good idea not to ask your son to help with a small claims submission...

born_again

Suppose Op could claim on house insurance & let them sort it out.

Aylesbury_Duck

born_again said:

Suppose Op could claim on house insurance & let them sort it out.

Agreed, but OP said this:

ggloria007 said:

Home insurance has nothing to do with this one and i will not be using it...