Leaking dog house!!

*Lees*

Hello, I hope someone here can help me with this situation!
I bought a wooden dog house from Zooplus.co.uk back in June! It came around the 20th June and I assembled it and fitted the insulation and door flap which I had also purchased from them!! My dog loved it so I was pleased with it.
We had no proper rain for the following 2 months, all was well and the kennel was still perfect! In September we had 2 nights of rain, I was woken at 6am by my dog howling and when I went to check on him he refused to go into the kennel! I opened the lid and the insulation was soaked!! I was unsure where it was leaking from as it seemed to be wet on all sides but the underneath of the roof was dry!
I called Zooplus and explained the problem, the guy I spoke with offered a full replacement! He told me they would send a new house and as soon as it came I would need to call them and they would come and collect the old one! I was happy with this solution! A few minutes later I recieved the following email...

"Dear Miss ****, Thank you very much for your phone call. Kindly be advised that we can offer you 10 GBP in order you could fix the leaking roof of the house. Alternatively we can arrange replacement as soon as possible. Please let us know your preferences. We look forward to hearing from you soon. With kindest regards, Your Service-Team "

There was a message saying "do not reply to this email.." but there was a link to click to reply however the link wasn't working!!
I had to ring them again, I spoke to someone else this time and I explained the situation and told him I would like to accept the replacement as I wouldn't know how to go about fixing the kennel. He then told me a replacement wasn't possible that they could only send a replacement roof!! I was a bit annoyed as the first person had said i would get a full replacement and now I'm being told otherwise!! I didn't seem to be getting anywhere with this person so asked to speak with a manager, I was transfered to another person who said she was a supervisor! I again explained the situation and told her that a replacement roof was not an option as it didn't seem to be just the roof that was leaking!! She told me that because 2 weeks had passed that I was no longer entitled to a replacement!! I explained I couldn't possibly have known the kennel was leaking because it hadn't been raining untill now!! She said she would check with their suppliers to see if they could make an acception in my case and she would get back to me!! Before ending the conversation I said "Look, I do not want a refund of £10! I have spent that on phonecalls already... please do not send me another email offering me £10"
About 10 minutes later I recieved this email

"Dear Miss ***, Thank you very much for your message. Please accept our sincere apologies for this inconvenience caused. Please note: Without care, timber will dry out and can become brittle, warped or shabby. Please ensure your pet home is regularly cleaned and treated. We recommend treating dens and houses which will be used outside with wood care and impregnating products. Always make sure products used are suitable and harmless for pets. Placing the pet home in a sheltered spot will also help to reduce wear. So it might be that it was caused by that…natural wear & tear and no treated wood. Kindly be informed that we have arranged to refund of 10 GBP to you as soon as possible (as regrettably no return possible). On average, this should take no longer than 5 to 7 working days (with the actual time being dependant on the bank in question). With kindest regards, Your Service-Team"

I was seriously annoyed at this stage!! They had no way of knowing whether the kennel had been treated or not as I had not even been asked that question!! I phoned them again after I had calmed down and asked to speak with the supervisor again! She gave the same speech about them not being able to replace it because the 2 weeks were up, they weren't even able to send a replacement roof now despite them offering it to me earlier!! I decided at this point it was useless speaking to her as she was like a robot saying the same thing over and over, I asked her for an email address which I could forward a complaint, I also told her not to refund the £10 as I am not happy to accept it. She gave me an email address, I wrote a letter of complaint explaining everything that had happened and this is what I got back...

"Dear Miss ***, Thank you very much for your message. Please accept our sincere apologies for this inconvenience caused. We regret having to inform you that we are unable to arrange replacement of the whole item (as 14 days after delivery have been expired) also unable to send roof as a spare part as the item is made in China. We again apologise for this, and have arranged to refund of 10 GBP (as a compensation) to you as soon as possible. On average, this should take no longer than 5 to 7 working days (with the actual time being dependant on the bank in question). Kindly be advised that placing the pet home in a sheltered spot will also help to reduce wear. With kindest regards, Your Service-Team We want to continue to improve our services for you, and we would appreciate it if you would share your opinion with us with a quick click of the mouse. Please click if you were very satisfied with our answer/information:"

I was livid, had ran out of credit at this stage and was unable to call them back!! Also, I didn't think it would do any good as they keep giving me the same response!!
I gave up and put plastic sheeting on top of the kennel roof! Last week the bottom of the kennel fell down on one side and I fixed a plank of wood underneath to keep it in place! This morning I woke to my dog howling and when I went to check on him, again he refused to go into his box... It had been raining last night and when I opened the top of the kennel there was literally a puddle of water at the bottom of the insulation and the bottom of the kennel had fallen down on the other side which I hadnt secured with a plank!

I am so annoyed right now, surely there must be something I can do to get this sorted? It seems so wrong, my dog is still only 6 months old and not fully grown so it's not as if he is too heavy for the kennel!! The product description says that the dog house is weatherproof... it clearly isnt!! Can anyone give me advice on whether I have any rights before I go out an buy a new kennel??

jor el

I think you have a very good case for a full refund, or replacement. However, it's not as easy to get this when dealing with a company over the phone, and in another country. You could try doing a charge back on your credit card, and send back the house. Not sure if Small Claims Court can be used on a business that's located outside Ireland, or whether you can use the UK courts directly.

Sponge Bob

Hmm, under what consumer law does this come under their terms and conditions and does distance selling apply , the european consumer centre in Dublin may advise accurately .

Sounds 'not fit for the purpose' under Irish law ....unless the hound is a water spaniel

Alun

jor el wrote: »

Not sure if Small Claims Court can be used on a business that's located outside Ireland, or whether you can use the UK courts directly.

Despite the .co.uk (or .ie, .fr, .it, .es etc.) suffix, the company is actually German, based in Munich ... a bit like outfits like Pixmania that have several different national websites to misleadingly give the impression you're dealing with a local company. The slightly germanic English quoted in the OP's post (e.g. "in order you could fix the leaking roof") is a bit of a giveaway too. Not sure whether that makes any difference or not when trying to make a claim.

mcaul

You were sold a kennel. the purpose of the kennel is to keep the dog dry. The Kennel leaks because it has not been made to a proper standard.

Only solution for the retailer is to replace the item.

For the sake of a product with a cost price from China of probaly less than €30 and a €10 delivery charge they should have immediately said "apologies, new one being sent straight away."

That's how I deal with things and how most good etailers deal with things.

The absolute best customer service in etailing has to be Zappi shoes in USA - any time up to 365 days a product can be returned for full refund if not worn. Company was bought by Amazon in the summer for $740m!! 9years after it opened!



Don't bother ringing them - use the email contact form https://www.zooplus.ie/contact/details just tell them that as the item is not fit for purpose, you want them to collect it and provide a full refund as they have refused to remedy the situation within a reasonable timeframe. - then go to your local pet store and buy a kennel that suits the Irish weather and whom you can go directly to if there's a problem.

Dee42

Sorry to hear about your problems. If you get no result I have a free, completely dry igloo kennel suitable for a small to medium dog as my mutt has gone to the big kennel in the sky. If you want it its yours.

MOH

European small claims court is probably your best option. Probably best mailing the company once more explaining your position in writing, and if they still won't replace it file with the european SCC - only costs €15 (you could use the £10 they give you towards it )

foggy_lad

MOH wrote: »

European small claims court is probably your best option. Probably best mailing the company once more explaining your position in writing, and if they still won't replace it file with the european SCC - only costs €15 (you could use the £10 they give you towards it )

when you write to them again it might be an idea to include the link to this thread.

Cool_CM

Having worked in a customer service call centre before, the phone calls are generally recorded. The CS agent offered you a free replacement, this should have been recorded from their end. Ring up again and ask for the name of the person who took the call, all you need is the first name as the company can check themselves after. Failing that ask for a supervisor. The agent will not want to put you onto their supervisor and will try to delay you, so insist that the supervisor ring you back within a certain time and give a contact number. If the person is in any way doing their job properly they should be attaching this information to your account or order number. If this doesn't work, there is no better way to get the attention of somebody who is fobbing you off than to send an old fashioned snail mail letter to somebody higher up in the company, detailing the situation, the promises that were made and then broken along with copies of the emails sent and received (which by the way are pre written for certain situations and adapted depending on the customer) along with the names of the people who are responsible and how you would like things to procede. This should sort out your problem.
Their address is on the site:

Zooplus UK Ltd
Lyndsay Graves
Chamberlain House
38 St Aldates
Oxford OX1 1BN
UK

Best of luck!

bernard0368

Firstly dont accept the £10 from them, they can use that as a get out clause stating you accepted compensation. Under a european directive which the uk and germany has agreed to. You basically have the same rights as under the sale of goods act. As the goods were probably shipped from the UK they are hoping you will give up.
Secondly if you paid by credit card talk to them they can be of assistance by recovering the monies.

*Lees*

Dee42 wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your problems. If you get no result I have a free, completely dry igloo kennel suitable for a small to medium dog as my mutt has gone to the big kennel in the sky. If you want it its yours.

Thanks for the kind offer, really sorry to hear about your dog!! Unfortunately my dog is a labrador and would definitely be too big for it! He's gotten huge already and is only 6 months!

*Lees*

Thanks everyone for the replies!!
I sent a complaint via the link mcaul posted last week!! I basically wrote the same complaint email as before except this time I said I would be taking things further and contacting the european small claims court if I didn't get a refund!

I recieved this reply this morning...

Dear Miss XXX,

Thank you very much for your email.

Please accept our apologies for inconvenience caused.

Kindly be advised to specify the convenient day for collection of Flat Roof Dog House Woody and Plastic Door for Dog House Woody (from Monday till Friday).

We will arranged refund as soon as the item returns.


Please note that we need 3 days in advance for the collection to be arranged.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

With kindest regards,

Your Service-Team