B&Q Kitchen planning complaint

[newportstu]

Hi all,Looking for some advice surrounding a complaint I have raised with B&Q. Someone came out and measured our kitchen at a time there was a 20% off discount deal so he was obviously keen to get the sale, he came out in the evening to measure up. This guy claimed to be "the best kitchen planner in South Wales".

 

Anyway, we put our trust in him but he didn't plan the kitchen correctly. We pointed out where the stop cock was as it is not in the conventional place under the sink; he carried out his measurements and “adjusted his plans accordingly”.

 

Anyways, When our fitter came to fit the units it became apparent the pleanners measurements, didn’t account for the stop cock at all. In fact his plans placed the stop cock directly behind where the dishwasher was to go, which obviously would not fit. Not only this, the electrician needed to come back to move the sockets for the appliances, that he had already pre-installed. This cost us even more money.

 

In order to account for the error made by Alex, our fitter was forced to take the back off the unit for the sink in order to make the kitchen fit. This cost us a day’s labour as we wasted a lot of time, toing and froing and head scratching which could have so easily been avoided if the fitter had listened to us in the first place.

 

We then encountered our next problem. The planner had designed our kitchen to have a drawer unit underneath an induction hob, with a cutlery draw at the top. This meant cutting in to and weakening the unit as this was too deep. The appliance is a Cata IND60T. The manufacturer’s instructions state there needs to be airflow of at least 5cm underneath the appliance in order for it to function correctly.

 

It states “2. It is essential that the induction hob is well ventilated and that the air intake and exit are not blocked.” As the cutlery drawer was to be directly under the induction hob, there was not enough space to do this and our fitter was not willing to fit this appliance. This was on the manufacturer’s instructions and he stated this could potentially be a fire hazard which he wasn’t prepared to risk.

 

The planner informed us that he has fitted “hundreds” of induction hobs above drawer units and he has not had any problems “yet”. Unfortunately I am not prepared to put my family at riks on a promise of "yet".We went into the store and had one of the most most horrific customer experiences I have ever experienced.

 

When we got to the store there was around 5 or 6 members of the kitchen department stood waiting for us, as if ready for a fight. I spoke to the fitter who got right up in my boyfriends face. I explained the situation to him and the events stated above. I could not believe the arrogance of him.

 

My boyfriend explained the induction hob was a potential fire hazard and fitting it above a drawer unit was against the manufacturer’s instructions. He expressed concern at the “hundreds” of customer’s kitchens this has been fitted in and asked when you would stop designing kitchens in this way, when someone dies?

 

My boyfriend stated he was not prepared to put our family at this risk and Alex’s response was “I don’t care”.I have never been so gobsmacked, appalled and angry at an individual, particularly a representative of a business. How could someone not “care” about something as serious as that? We were made to feel so small and worthless. However, a different member of staff took the situation under control.

 

Although Alex couldn’t come up with any suggestions to fix the issue, I suggested swapping the drawer unit and a conventional 400 cupboard aroun. It was agreed with the “manager” that we should get the work completed as priority but once this was done, bring the invoices in and they would cover the cost of the additional work carried out.

 

Needless to say when we went back to the store, B&Q said they would be unwilling to cover the cost of the additional work carried out, despite being promised they would when we visited the store previously. This has extremely angered and upset us. We would like compensation for the embarrassment, humiliation, distress and inconvenience this whole situation has caused us.

 

We have had to take time off from work to try and sort the issues out and have had to endure broken promises of compensation and correspondence that has not been received. This has obviously been extremely stressful for us. We also no longer have our dream kitchen and we have had to sacrifice the symmetrical look of the original plans.

 

We expect to, which goes without saying, to be covered for the additional work we have had to pay for as a result of the incompetence of one of a B&Q employee. We lost 3 days labour to the fitter as a result of the issues at £115 per day and it cost £100.00 for the electrition to come and move the sockets. In total we had to live at my parents for around 3 weeks which was invonvenient and unfair on not only us but them also. Not only this but the stress this has caused us at times was unbearable.

 

I have had the following response from B&Q"I refer to your recent letter regarding the problems you have experienced with the kitchen purchased whilst visiting our Newport B&Q store.My investigations of this matter have now concluded. As a result of these investigations B&Q are willing to make an offer in full and final settlement of this complaint.In our telephone call this evening I have explained why we are unable to consider your request for £445, however we have offered you a £225 cheque towards these costs and a £50 gift card as a gesture of goodwill.

 

Acceptance by you of this offer (which is automatically rescinded after 10 days) will be acknowledgement that this is in full and final settlement of any claim you allege arise out of this transaction without any admission of liability by B&Q plc. Please be advised that should you have any outstanding credit agreement on the purchases you have made from B&Q, this payment will not affect the original amount outstanding on the transaction.

 

To accept this offer please contact me at your earliest convenience on 01236 634 688. Should you feel that you cannot accept this offer I can only advise that we can, regrettably, be of no further assistance.I would like to take this opportunity to assure you that B&Q constantly strive to provide our customers with an excellent level of service and it is clear on this occasion we have failed to meet your expectations and for this we sincerely apologise.

 

Once again, please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience you may have been caused and we hope that you will consider B&Q for your future DIY requirements."

 

I do not feel this is enough for the experience we hace had but I also don't want to lose this offer and end up with nothing.Could anyone offer advice of how to proceed please?

 

We took the order on finance so we have Section 75 cover, we have also complained to Hitachi finance but are awaiting their response.Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

Edited March 6, 2014 by newportstu

[newportstu]

Apologies for the lay out, it won't allow me to space it out.

[rebel11]

Hi newpoststu

 

I've added spaces to it can be read.

[newportstu]

Hi newpoststu

 

I've added spaces to it can be read.

 

Excellent, thanks for that.

[rebel11]

Hi newportstu

 

So basically you've had to fork out an extra £445 for the work to be corrected, they want to compensate you £275. Is that correct?

[newportstu]

Hi newportstu

 

So basically you've had to fork out an extra £445 for the work to be corrected, they want to compensate you £275. Is that correct?

 

Thanks for getting back to me. In a nutshell yes, £50.00 gift card for the inconvenience (ideally we never want to shop there again, but we'd take the gift card as a worst case scenario) plus half of the invoices, even though we were promised them all to be covered. Also, because they've put a deadline on it I now feel pressured as I don't want to end up with nothing. I feel this is almost bullying tactics.

[newportstu]

Unfortunately though we don't have any proof of what they told us in store. So I think they will be heading down the your word against ours route!

[rebel11]

Hi newportstu

 

It does sound like your being pushed to take accept their offer. In - store they said you would be fully compensated. Stores will tell you all sorts of stuff, there not great at customer service.

 

Write a Formal Letter of Complaint, mark it as such. Explain what's happened, how they have let you down and what you want as a settlement.

 

Explain that you will take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service and that will cost B & Q, £500. Then they might end up paying you what they are offering now. I would stick to the main points, stick to what's happened.

 

Send it to:-

 

Mr Ian Cheshire

Chief Executive

Kingfisher

[email protected]

 

Thanks for getting back to me. In a nutshell yes, £50.00 gift card for the inconvenience (ideally we never want to shop there again, but we'd take the gift card as a worst case scenario) plus half of the invoices, even though we were promised them all to be covered. Also, because they've put a deadline on it I now feel pressured as I don't want to end up with nothing. I feel this is almost bullying tactics.

[newportstu]

Hi newportstu

 

It does sound like your being pushed to take accept their offer. In - store they said you would be fully compensated. Stores will tell you all sorts of stuff, there not great at customer service.

 

Write a Formal Letter of Complaint, mark it as such. Explain what's happened, how they have let you down and what you want as a settlement.

 

Explain that you will take the matter to the Financial Ombudsman Service and that will cost B & Q, £500. Then they might end up paying you what they are offering now. I would stick to the main points, stick to what's happened.

 

Send it to:-

 

Mr Ian Cheshire

Chief Executive

Kingfisher

[email protected]

 

Hi, thanks again for getting back to me. This offer was in reference to formal letter of complaint I sent to the B&Q head office. However, I will also send a further copy to the address provided in the post above. Obviously this will result in the 10 day deadline expiring though which is what I am worried about really.

[king12345]

I know it's too late, but the kitchen fitter should have spotted all the problems before starting the work, by looking at the plans.

Did he look at the plans?

Try the ceo as rebel11 suggested and hope for the best.

I wouldn't be surprised if in their t&c they wash their hands off regarding the plans.

They might claim that it's a free service and if they're not fitting they're not responsible.

[newportstu]

I appreciate this and I know the fitter should accept some responsibility and he has. However, I still belive you should be able to trust their planner otherwise what's the point in them coming out at all. I have a tape measure, I could have measured up myself and we wouldn't have had the issues!

[newportstu]

This has got me worried as I don't want the CEO just to throw it out all together and us not get anything. I'm considering just accepting their offer now.

[rebel11]

Hi newportstu

 

O.K. speak to the person who's made the offer, say to him that your thinking of taking your complaint to the FOS because of it's serious nature and the FOS will charge B & Q £500 for looking into the matter. Be assertive, write down what you are going to say before you call.

 

This has got me worried as I don't want the CEO just to throw it out all together and us not get anything. I'm considering just accepting their offer now.

[newportstu]

Thanks for all of your help on this. We have begrudingly accepted the initial offer as we don't want to lose out. B&Q were unwilling to budge, even with the threat of FOS. Thanks again.

[rebel11]

Hi newportstu

 

I don't think you would of lost out on the offer, there is nothing to stop you still sending the CEO the complaint at the whole B & Q experience, explain that in future you will be going elsewhere. The deadline is poor show, they get it wrong and you have to pay for it.

 

Thanks for all of your help on this. We have begrudingly accepted the initial offer as we don't want to lose out. B&Q were unwilling to budge, even with the threat of FOS. Thanks again.

[king12345]

So the kitchen fitter admitted not checking the plans but still charged you the full whack.

Shocking!

[ChChing]

Didn't they send out a surveyor? If they'd done this, then in theory you shouldn't have had all the problems you've experienced.

 

I've just a a full new kitchen fitted (it was finished 3 days ago) with another company and we had a sales rep to measure up and then a surveyor visit (which took a good 2 hours) before the fitting. We have not had any issues and any potential problems we might have faced were dealt with by the surveyor.