Warranty/repair entitlement question

RealJohn

Posted this elsewhere but was advised that this might be a better place for it.

I had an issue with a leaking shower tray five and a half years ago (that is, it was leaking through the kitchen ceiling), and took that as an excuse to have my en suite refitted, at the time. I went to one of the large chain DIY/home improvement stores and they gave me a five year warranty on the purchases and work. Fast forward five and a half years, just after the warranty has expired, and the old leaking shower tray problem has arisen again. I went to the store in question and they told me that since the warranty was up, they're under no obligation to do anything.

I've since been told however that the warranty is just their promise that they will do repairs if they're needed inside that time frame but that for something like a shower unit, my statutory rights still entitle me to expect that that sort of work will last, thanks to the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act, so they might not be entitled to refuse to do the work as it is probably reasonable to expect that an en suite they installed would last more than five years without serious problems (like the exact problem that prompted the work in the first place).
Does anyone know if (a) this is the case, and (b) how to follow it up if it is, as I was given short shrift when I went in to them in person.

Thanks in advance.

C3PO

I would think that the Small Claims Court would be your best bet if the retailer won't help. But after five and half years I wouldn't think there's any guarantee of winning! Doesn't cost much so very little to lose and just initiating the claim might give the retailer a bit of impetuous to help you out.

Dav010

Do you know what is causing the leak? Is is a cracked tray, loose waste pipe, seal gone around tray, problem with tile grout etc?

You will be claiming that the tray was not of merchantable quality and/or thar standard of workmanship was inadequate. So you need to know what is causing the leak.

Did the DIY shop fit everything for you, or did you pay someone else to do it?

ohnonotgmail

So you have had two leaking shower trays in the same bathroom? Could it be something in the bathroom itself that is causing the issue? Could it be the installation that is the problem?

RossieMan

A leak in the shower tray is very rare, never mind 2 leaks. It's probably the silicon at the top which needs to be reapplied.

RealJohn

Thanks folks.
When they turned me away the first time, I got a plumber out and he thought it might be the sealing too, so he resealed it, but that didn’t solved the problem, and now he’s not getting back to me. I’m concerned that it’s a more serious problem further down, which is why I don’t want to risk spending a lot of money on a plumber if I might be entitled to get the company who installed it to pay.

Dav010

RealJohn wrote: »

Thanks folks.
When they turned me away the first time, I got a plumber out and he thought it might be the sealing too, so he resealed it, but that didn’t solved the problem, and now he’s not getting back to me. I’m concerned that it’s a more serious problem further down, which is why I don’t want to risk spending a lot of money on a plumber if I might be entitled to get the company who installed it to pay.

But how are you going to claim they did something wrong without knowing what they did wrong? If the floor is ply, like it is in a lot of two stories, the tray can move when you stand in it. Over time that can cause seals to break or waste pipes to move. That wouldn’t be the fitters fault.

We’ve had this problem ourselves with an upstairs shower, over the past 10 years I have had to have a tiler in twice to replace tiles and reseal around tray. When you stand in a tray with a ply floor and one downstairs with a concrete floor, they feel very different.

RossieMan

It's happened twice. It's not the equipment that's the problem. Something else is at fault here, without a plumber you aren't going to find the fault.

RealJohn

Thanks again folks. Not looking good for me so. Thanks for the advice anyway.

agusta

could you post pictures, showing where the tile meets the tray,the shower door corners internally,the shower unit