Fight for your rights: Not feeling flush after B&Q trip
Moneywise columnist Hannah Nemeth helps a reader get a refund from B&Q
19th June 2020 14:30
by Hannah Nemeth from interactive investor
Moneywise columnist Hannah Nemeth helps a reader get a refund from B&Q
When you buy an item with a 12-month guarantee, you do expect it to be repaired or replaced if it is faulty.
But MS wrote to Fight for Your Rights to complain that B&Q had refused to replace a spare part for a faulty toilet that his daughter had only recently bought.
He says: “My daughter bought a bathroom suite from B&Q but two months after it was fitted the toilet would no longer flush.
“When she went back to her local B&Q store, the manager said it was ‘wear and tear’ and refused to replace the faulty part for free, even though it was only fitted around a month earlier.
“She had to spend £25 on a new flush system. Surely it should have a 12-month warranty?”
MS was right, so I got on to B&Q’s head office to ask for a refund of £25, plus the £20 cost of a plumber to replace it. The retailer were happy to offer a full refund for the replacement part, plus a £50 giftcard as a goodwill gesture.
MS also benefited from helping out his daughter. She used some of her giftcard to treat him to a new set of drill bits.
OUTCOME: £25 refund, plus £50 B&Q giftcard
This article was originally published in our sister magazine Moneywise, which ceased publication in August 2020.
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