Thank you that makes a lot of sense. I don’t need them in future unless I wanted repairs on this machine but I wouldn’t trust them now anyway. Am I able to contact you directly about this in the week when I’m quiet in the pub?

My apologies it’s Lumb’s with an S in Brigg North Lincs. As per my invoices anyway! the upgrade free is for an entirely different machine so replacing the one we have with another machine that is deemed appropriate for our site as it holds water within the machine.

Hi Bankfodder so yes the supplier to me is also the distributor to the manufacturer. So they are the same person the supplier/ distributor is Lumb catering and the manufacturer is DC products it’s a DC S-series machine. £2034 for the machine to Lumb catering £330 for the water pump they later told me I needed to fix the problem to Lumb catering £350 Lumb catering are now charging me for the manufacturer (DC) sending an engineer out without me being aware or agreeing to any fee (the invoice is made out to Lumb catering from DC it doesn’t actually have my name on it) and £240 extra to Lumb catering for the upgrade to a machine with a tank - but only if I also pay the £350 engineer fee, if I don’t they (Lumb) won’t remove the existing machine and upgrade it to one suitable with a water tank. does that make sense?

I bought a glass washer for my pub, went off recommendations for a good local company and the supplier came out to do a site visit to see which machine would be most suitable. Spent just short of £3k on the washer. Since installation I’ve not had one clean glass, the supplier has been back a few times to adjust settings and then said we needed a water pump, so we bought a water pump through them to increase the water pressure to help the final rinse. Still no clean glasses (glasses have rinseaid residue on them so they look very streaky) Tried more settings, swapped the machine in case it was a faulty machine. Still no clean glasses. I got in touch with the manufacturer, as by this point the supplier (distributor of the manufacturer) was ignoring my calls/ messages. They sent an independent engineer out to site to see what the issue was. Independent engineer identified we don’t have enough water flow for this machine - that in actual fact we needed a different kind of machine that stores water for the final rinse rather than using it from the water pipes (bit like a toilet tank) Original supplier said ok we’ll swap the machine out but we’ll only give you 80% back for the water pump as it’s now second hand (had it about 5 weeks because they told us we needed it) and the new washer will also cost more (I can accept the new washer is more as it’s a pricier model) All agreed. Invoice sent, although I wasn’t happy about the water pump. Next day I get another invoice - the manufacturer sent the supplier/ distributor an invoice for the independent engineer, the supplier/ distributor has now sent it onto me (£350) and said if I don’t pay it he’ll no longer swap the machine. So…where do I stand? He’s the ‘expert’ that did a site survey and sold me a machine that isn’t suitable for my site I was never informed of a potential fee for the independent engineer. When the invoice landed for it I asked when he informed me of this, his response was ‘well I’m telling you now’ (after the event) claiming because there is nothing wrong with the actual machine and it’s an issue with my water supply I have to pay. If I don’t pay I’m left with a machine that isn’t suitable for use and down nearly £3k. I called the manufacturer and they said they won’t get involved, but they apparently did tell the supplier/ distributor they would charge him for the engineer if it wasn’t a fault with the machine. The invoice is from the manufacturer made out to the supplier/ distributor not to me. Where can I go with this? Distributor agrees they should have been aware of the water flow when they did the site survey, but says they’re having nothing to do with it and it’s between me and the supplier to sort. Supplier started making threats on the phone saying if I tell other pubs he’ll take legal action and that he’ll only swap it all out if I accept less for the water pump and pay the independent engineer fee and pay more for the new machine.