Online Bathroom Supply and Fit Company

AndyD1978

Hello folks, 
I apologise if I have come into the wrong part of the forum, I have had a good look around and feel this could be the best area to seek some advice. 

In November I paid £4000 to have my old bathroom completely ripped out and a new one fitted. I done the sensible thing and got numerous estimates from different companies, checked reviews, social media, etc. 
The company I used have excellent feedback, they completed the work within three days and I was really impressed and happy with everything. 

As part of my package, I have a two year warranty, so last month when I noticed a gap appear between the new basin and the cupboard, and a piece of material that is now blistering where water has got in. I asked a friend who is DIY savvy, he advised it looked like it hadn't been fitted correctly, or sealed, but the water was making the wood distort. 

I took some photographs, sent an email to the company and they pretty much come back to me and said it looks like too much water is 'splashing over the top and finding its way behind the laminate, therefore making it expand'. They also added it shouldn't be sealed and that I am responsible for wiping the sink and unit dry each time I use it, as they state it in their T&C. 

Essentially, they are saying its my fault for getting a bathroom sink wet! 

I am looking to see what legislation I can quote to them, would it be the Consumer Rights Act of 2015, the Trading Standards Act, which I think has been replaced by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 act? I genuinely don't know. 
I don't want to go back all guns blazing, but at the same time I am really angry because £4000 is a lot of money for something to be defective after a short time. 

If anyone can give me some advice or guidance, I would really appreciate it.  

Clive_Woody

Bathrooms get wet and therefore edges should be sealed to prevent exactly what you describe happening. I would push back and tell them they are incorrect in their claim and that they need to rectify their mistake. 

Boohoo

If you post the photo's on here then other users can have a better idea of the issue and a way forward for you maybe.

AndyD1978

Thanks for the replies so far, here are a couple of pictures which might give a better idea. 

born_again

AndyD1978 said:

Hello folks, 
I apologise if I have come into the wrong part of the forum, I have had a good look around and feel this could be the best area to seek some advice. 

In November I paid £4000 to have my old bathroom completely ripped out and a new one fitted. I done the sensible thing and got numerous estimates from different companies, checked reviews, social media, etc. 
The company I used have excellent feedback, they completed the work within three days and I was really impressed and happy with everything. 

As part of my package, I have a two year warranty, so last month when I noticed a gap appear between the new basin and the cupboard, and a piece of material that is now blistering where water has got in. I asked a friend who is DIY savvy, he advised it looked like it hadn't been fitted correctly, or sealed, but the water was making the wood distort. 

I took some photographs, sent an email to the company and they pretty much come back to me and said it looks like too much water is 'splashing over the top and finding its way behind the laminate, therefore making it expand'. They also added it shouldn't be sealed and that I am responsible for wiping the sink and unit dry each time I use it, as they state it in their T&C. 

Essentially, they are saying its my fault for getting a bathroom sink wet! 

I am looking to see what legislation I can quote to them, would it be the Consumer Rights Act of 2015, the Trading Standards Act, which I think has been replaced by the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 act? I genuinely don't know. 
I don't want to go back all guns blazing, but at the same time I am really angry because £4000 is a lot of money for something to be defective after a short time. 

If anyone can give me some advice or guidance, I would really appreciate it.  

So the £4K was just a basin & cupboard?

Aylesbury_Duck

It's quite clear from the pictures that water on the edge of the sink is dribbling down and onto the top of what appears to be a vanity panel.  Presumably that panel is either supposed to have its own sealing edge strip, or has a bare top edge of (probably) chipboard that has absorbed the water and swollen.

Without knowing what the installation instructions were it's impossible to be certain where fault lies.  I suspect it is either a faulty panel (that isn't sealed) or a faulty installation (where the panel should have been sealed to the underside of the sink).  The good news is that by paying one company to supply and fit, it's their responsibility to sort it, rather than leaving you in the middle of a dispute between supplier and fitter.

Whatever the cause, it should be a simple fix.  Swap the damaged panel for a properly sealed one, or for the same type and seal it.