Dear xxxx
Complaint: reference number XXX
As you are already aware, we ordered a Samsung RS68A8820S9 Fridge Freezer from John Lewis on 17 June, order no 404298754. Delivery was completed on 28th June and at the same time my old Fridge Freezer was removed by John Lewis.
Any customer would have expected the delivery agents to take care of the customers home but in any event, and before delivery commenced, we asked the delivery personnel to take additional care not to damage the kitchen floor because it was quite new and undamaged.
Despite this, the delivery personnel dragged both the old and new appliances across the kitchen floor, resulting in deep scratches and gouges approximately 7 metres long from where the fridge was installed to the back door and back again. we pointed this out to the delivery personnel who took photos and noted the damage on the delivery note.
We complained to you and after receiving unhelpful responses and 2 weeks after this damage had been caused, I was obliged to write directly to your CEOs office and eventually you instructed Ecomaster to visit our home and perform an inspection.
We understand that Ecomaster provided a report on the damage caused by John Lewis to my property. We have asked John Lewis to provide us with a copy of this report but you have declined and you prefer to conceal this report from us. Rather than share the report, you have told us that on the basis of the report you were proposing a solution which involves some remedial treatment of the damaged area rather than the full making good. Despite our entreaty, you have continued to conceal the report from us so we are unable to verify or comment on its findings.
Your appointment of eco-master was made unilaterally and without any consultation with us and so clearly it can scarcely be considered to be an independent report and of course we reject its findings. We also reject your proposed solution.
You are relying on the following quotation which apparently comes from the eco-master report:
Ecomaster confirmed their Surface Repair specialist will be able to, if it's not too deep, sand out the relevant area; remedy this with detail/tinting the area in question, and then applying lacquer. If the scratch is too deep they would use a colour match filler, sand the area, detail/tint as required and then lacquer the area in question.
Clearly what you're proposing is a patch up job and which is intended merely to minimise your losses and protect your own interests rather than address all the damage which was caused by your delivery agents to our floor which was in pristine condition at the time.
Taking matters into our own hands, have contacted the original flooring contractor who advised the following:
The Moduleo Impress LVT vinyl flooring was fitted to the kitchen, small hallway and utility. The vinyl plank has a .55mm wear layer fitted on a screeded floor. A fridge /freezer has been dragged across the floor leaving a scratch/gouge across the kitchen. Having spoken with Moduleo technical department they have advised the whole floor be replaced. They cannot supply a perfect colour match to the existing so a small repair would be of a different colour to the existing. The flooring cannot be repaired on site as it is a vinyl finish.
In an attempt to obtain a second opinion, I have also contacted IVC, the manufacturer of Moduleo flooring who advise the following:
At no time would we recommend or recognise this as an approved repair method for our Luxury Vinyl Tile Flooring. The lacquer layer is applied during production and is specific to our materials. Any adjacent planks with a different lacquer will, in all likelihood, look different to the factory finish and will certainly have a differing durability/resistance. If this repair is carried out it will render the material outside of our warranty conditions and the installation would need to be covered by the repairer’s warranty. The duration of the warranty for this material is 20 years in a residential setting and I have attached a copy for your information.
The repair method proposed to us by John Lewis is a recognised repair method for wooden flooring, it is not a recognised repair method for the textured LVT flooring which we have installed in our home. We were later able to confirm through John Lewis that Ecomaster believe we have Amtico flooring fitted, however we informed John Lewis that we have IVC Moduleo on 26th July.
Clearly Eco master do not have sufficient experience or expertise to carry out a competent inspection or report on the kind of flooring we have installed, or the damage which was caused to it by your delivery agents
The repair method proposed to us by John Lewis is not applicable to the extensive damage caused to my flooring and the floor cannot be repaired, it therefore needs to be replaced and we provide 2 quotations of which the cheaper one is the preferred option.
John Lewis’ offer of £865 which included £150 of “goodwill” compensation was made with a 21 day deadline for acceptance and therefore expired on the 28th August. This sum is insufficient to effect any satisfactory repair to our flooring and full replacement is required. John Lewis also stated in their email of 7th August that they would not pay for the replacement of undamaged flooring. Both of the reports we have submitted state that any form of localised repair will not match the adjacent flooring, the colour, texture, finish, materials used and wear properties will all be different, additionally any form of repair as suggested by Ecomaster will render the remaining 18 year warranty on the affected flooring void. A repair to the damaged area cannot be considered in isolation as it will not be possible to match and will have reduced life. The only viable repair method for the damage to our flooring is to replace all of it.
The flooring fitted to our home extends the full width of the back of the house and from the front door to the back door, providing front and rear access as well as access to the living room, downstairs bathroom and staircase.
In addition, all the furniture and appliances from the kitchen and dining room will need to be removed, occupying all the space in the living room. As the remedial work is likely to take a minimum of 4 days we will have to move out of our home for this period, as we did when the flooring was first fitted.
Ms Xxxxxx is disabled and cannot travel far (medical information to be added in the final draft) we have a large dog and 2 cats, limiting our choice of alternative accommodation. Therefore, in addition to the works required to make good the damage caused by your delivery agents to our floor, we will be obliged to relocate for the period of the works. This will incur additional expenses all of which flow naturally from the negligence of your delivery agents. The expenses incurred will be foreseeable and reasonable. We have obtained two quotations relating to the cost of suitable accommodation for the days during which we will be obliged to vacate our home. The quotations are included with this letter and of course we recognise our obligation to mitigate our losses and so we will choose the cheaper of the two.
Accordingly, I am expecting John Lewis to reimburse us to the tune of £6637 comprised of: –
Replacement flooring £5537
Alternative accommodation (current estimate £800-1000, up to date quotations will be attached to final draft)
I look forward to hearing from you
yours sincerely
I think I've filled in all the blanks, I don't have an accurate cost for alternative accommodation but I will perform a search on Air BnB.
I'm not proposing to proceed against the delivery agent and have made an amendment in red, unless I've made that less than clear elsewhere.
