Repeatedly sent damaged goods by the Bath Store and possible compensation

PaulM87

Hi,

I ordered a new bathroom suite from the Bath Store at Homebase in Ruislip, London in December 2023. It was due to be delivered by 15th February but was then delayed until 5th March. The late delivery meant that the plumber I arranged to install it had to be delayed until April 4th.

During that time the suite was left in its packaging, and when the plumber opened it we discovered that the the sink was smashed in two.

Initially the Bath Store refused to send a replacement claiming that I needed to tell them within 1 week of delivery that it was damaged. After referring them to the Consumer Rights Act they agreed to send a replacement, which was delivered on 12th April.

This too was smashed on delivery. It was delivered without any protective padding in the box in a huge van with lots of other heavy, loose boxes.They are again being difficult about a replacement so first off I wanted to ask whether they have any grounds to refuse a replacement of a replacement or whether the same protections apply.

Secondly, this issue has caused a huge amount of stress and financial costs for me. My flat is currently uninhabitable as the plumber has been unable to install the bathroom and in this time I have had to continue paying rent at my current address when initially the work was due to be completed by mid-March. 

I've also had to take several days off work in order to take deliveries of their broken products. I've also wasted time and money coordinating tradesmen who have not been able to complete the jobs on time.

So with that in mind I was also wondering if I had any grounds for claiming compensation and what the procedure would be?

Many thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

Paul

BoGoF

Struggling to see how 1 missing sink put the whole job on hold. 

swingaloo

You cant claim for stress and you would have to quantify your losses. Basically you have waited for 2 deliveries of replacement sinks but the job should have been able to carried out  and the sink   added afterwards. You wont be able to claim anything towards your rent as having no sink in the bathroom is not going to make your flat inhabitable.

Alderbank

The Terms & Conditions you agreed to and signed up for include the following:

11. Our responsibility for loss or damage suffered by you

11.1 We do not accept any loss for late deliveries, incomplete orders or items, or damaged products.

Please do not book, confirm or instruct any third parties to complete any works relating to the products until you have received them, and you have checked that they are complete and conform to your requirements as we do not accept any liability for losses you incur as a result of late deliveries, incomplete orders or items, or damaged products.

These are fairly standard terms for products which you intend to book tradesmen to install.

You did not have to agree to those terms, you could have said something like, 'No, I am booking my plumber now and I want to insert a clause to say that if the goods are not delivered by that date or turn out to be damaged you will pay his cancellation charges.'

That would have become a binding part of the contract. However of course HomeBase would be free at that point in the negotiations to say they can't guarantee that and would have to refuse the sale.

The point is that in law, both parties must agree the terms of the contract before signing, and then must comply with what is in the T&Cs.

ThumbRemote

PaulM87 said:

This too was smashed on delivery. It was delivered without any protective padding in the box in a huge van with lots of other heavy, loose boxes.They are again being difficult about a replacement so first off I wanted to ask whether they have any grounds to refuse a replacement of a replacement or whether the same protections apply.

The same protections apply - you're entitled to a replacement. 

(In fact as they have not provided an acceptable replacement for the original sink, it's just the original case ongoing. ie you're still waiting on a replacement for sink A; it's not the case that you're waiting on a replacement for sink B.)