FLOOR DAMAGED BY JOHN LEWIS DELIVERY - compensation etc

Aylesbury_Duck

I managed to fix a scratch and dent created by a dropped bed frame.  It's not absolutely perfect, but you have to look for it to see it.  A damp teatowel placed over it and then pressed with a hot iron, the wood swells to fill in.  I had to repeat a few times.  If OP's damage is a deep gouge then it won't work of course, but my view is that a floor isn't meant to remain pristine, it's there to do a job.  It's the same with my car, I've never bothered to fix up every little scratch or dent because you become obsessed with it.

diinozzo

When I laid a wooden floor in our spare bedroom I made sure I kept the extra leftover 'bits' for just this kind of eventuality as it made sense. Similarly the girl across the road from us had a monoblock drive laid recently and the contractor left her 20+ spare blocks.

e21Keith

I am going through a very similar experience with John Lewis.
They delivered a new Fridge/Freezer back in June. I asked them to take extra care of the floor because it was nearly new. They dragged the old fridge freezer across the kitchen floor and left scratches/gouges 7 metres long across it, they then proceeded to do the same with the new one. They wrote on the delivery note that they had damaged the floor and left.
It took a while to get to talk to someone at John Lewis, there was at least one dead end where I believe someone left the company. I had the original flooring contractor in to have a look at the floor as I had purchased an additional pack of flooring to repair any damage but I only had 14 Luxury Vinyl Tiles and there were over 30 damaged, they said replacement of the entire floor was the only option. Disappointing as it covers about 50% of the downstairs of my property running through the dining room, kitchen, utility, hallway and downstairs cupboard, the entire width of the house at the back and from front to back door. The estimate for repairs is over £5000.
They sent their subcontractor Ecomaster to have a look, their representative was very friendly and went off to write his report. John Lewis referred to the report as "independent" however they refused to share the report with me and as Ecomaster proudly state that John Lewis is one of their clients on their website it sounds more like a dependent relationship and I don't understand why John Lewis wouldn't share it if truly independent.
John Lewis came back and said that Ecomaster had advised that they could "repair" the LVT flooring by sanding it down and applying a lacquer. I spoke to the original flooring contractor about the proposed repair, he just laughed and said they were confusing LVT with wood (which can be repaired), I tried a second contractor and got the same response, I went to the original manufacturer and got a similar but slightly more polite response, again they though Ecomaster were confusing LVT with wood. The original manufacturer sent me a document stating that the Ecomaster repair was not approved, could not possibly replicate the original embossed finish, texture, colour or durability and that it would invalidate the remaining 18 year warranty.
John Lewis asked for further detail on the estimate and I was able to do so within within 48 hours. They went away and said it was being referred to their insurers and that I wasn't allowed to have the floor repaired in the meantime. A week went by and they came back offering under £900 as compensation saying they would not pay for replacement of any of the undamaged floor, there was no reference to their insurance company so I expect they have declined the claim. I don't understand their logic. If one of their trucks drove into the back of my car rendering the back end unrepairable they would have to compensate me for the value of the car, not just the damaged part, it's the same case with my floor, it's a write off, no repair to a single area will bring it back to the condition it was in before John Lewis damaged it.
I have enough Legal training and experience to know that I bought the appliance from John Lewis, my contract is with them, they are therefore responsible for all costs associated with returning my home to the condition it was in before they damaged it.
I'm am now drafting a Letter Before Court Action which I will send off to John Lewis tomorrow.

powerful_Rogue

e21Keith said:

I am going through a very similar experience with John Lewis.
They delivered a new Fridge/Freezer back in June. I asked them to take extra care of the floor because it was nearly new. They dragged the old fridge freezer across the kitchen floor and left scratches/gouges 7 metres long across it, they then proceeded to do the same with the new one. They wrote on the delivery note that they had damaged the floor and left.
It took a while to get to talk to someone at John Lewis, there was at least one dead end where I believe someone left the company. I had the original flooring contractor in to have a look at the floor as I had purchased an additional pack of flooring to repair any damage but I only had 14 Luxury Vinyl Tiles and there were over 30 damaged, they said replacement of the entire floor was the only option. Disappointing as it covers about 50% of the downstairs of my property running through the dining room, kitchen, utility, hallway and downstairs cupboard, the entire width of the house at the back and from front to back door. The estimate for repairs is over £5000.
They sent their subcontractor Ecomaster to have a look, their representative was very friendly and went off to write his report. John Lewis referred to the report as "independent" however they refused to share the report with me and as Ecomaster proudly state that John Lewis is one of their clients on their website it sounds more like a dependent relationship and I don't understand why John Lewis wouldn't share it if truly independent.
John Lewis came back and said that Ecomaster had advised that they could "repair" the LVT flooring by sanding it down and applying a lacquer. I spoke to the original flooring contractor about the proposed repair, he just laughed and said they were confusing LVT with wood (which can be repaired), I tried a second contractor and got the same response, I went to the original manufacturer and got a similar but slightly more polite response, again they though Ecomaster were confusing LVT with wood. The original manufacturer sent me a document stating that the Ecomaster repair was not approved, could not possibly replicate the original embossed finish, texture, colour or durability and that it would invalidate the remaining 18 year warranty.
John Lewis asked for further detail on the estimate and I was able to do so within within 48 hours. They went away and said it was being referred to their insurers and that I wasn't allowed to have the floor repaired in the meantime. A week went by and they came back offering under £900 as compensation saying they would not pay for replacement of any of the undamaged floor, there was no reference to their insurance company so I expect they have declined the claim. I don't understand their logic. If one of their trucks drove into the back of my car rendering the back end unrepairable they would have to compensate me for the value of the car, not just the damaged part, it's the same case with my floor, it's a write off, no repair to a single area will bring it back to the condition it was in before John Lewis damaged it.
I have enough Legal training and experience to know that I bought the appliance from John Lewis, my contract is with them, they are therefore responsible for all costs associated with returning my home to the condition it was in before they damaged it.
I'm am now drafting a Letter Before Court Action which I will send off to John Lewis tomorrow.

I'm presuming there is a question somewhere?

How much is it to replace the entire floor vs the £900 offered?

PS  - Would have been better to start your own new thread regarding this.

RefluentBeans

@e21Keith - I agree with above by Powerful_Rouge - if there's a question on consumer rights query then feel free to ask it. But probably best to start a new thread as the discussion above was not relevant to the discussion on hand (other than that its JL). If you're looking to rant, then this is a board for that too, but this is not the place. 

FWIW - I don't think its unfair to only replace damaged tiles. Your car analogy is about as useful as the previous analogy. Your flooring is repairable - vinyl can be lifted, correct? They can replace sections of flooring. To ask for the flooring around your kitchen, dining room, utility room, and downstairs cupboard. They've damaged approx 30, and you kept 14 yourself (presumably in case any got damaged?). I know they can be expensive, but what is the actual cost of repairing just the damaged tiles? Surely not the £5000 (as that would be £166 per tile to be fitted!). I'm not saying to use your spare tiles - they damaged them and can buy their own tiles, but I also think asking for an entire floor refit from JL because they damaged 30 tiles is a bit unfair. Find a quote (or 2) for replacing the damaged tiles, and then get JL to pay for that. 

e21Keith

The replacement is just under £5500.
The original flooring is no longer available from the manufacturer so it's not possible to replace the 30 or so tiles that are damaged, I've also spent some time online and can't find any others available, the manufacturer says they are NLA. It's not therefore possible to replace just the damaged tiles. The floor is not repairable.
I do not have a cost for replacing just the damaged tiles as they are not available.
I don't understand the point about the car analogy, an insurance wouldn't just pay a contribution to your damaged car if they couldn't repair it.
I didn't realise I had to ask a question as there are plenty of comments in this thread that neither ask or answer a question. But the two replies confirm that in this case it is fair to expect the floor to be replaced as the tiles to fix the damaged area are not available, confirming what the manufacturer and flooring contractor have told me. This is the reason that replacing tiles was never offered as an option. 
Thank you for your help.