Legal-ish problem

[pvr]

Earlier this year, I had bought the garage tiles which are made from 7 mm plastic studded tiles. All well, looked great, I posted the pictures.

Within a couple of weeks, where the tyres are resting on the floor, the tiles became stained. This is for both the X5 as well as the Z. It is a perfect tyre print but it can not be removed, tried everything.

I contacted the supplier who is refusing to replace the tiles without charging me for them as they say it is not a fault of the tile, but an external influence that has stained them. After I mentioned it the first time as soon as it happened, they sent some wax to help protecting the tiles but obviously it did not clean the marked ones.

My view is that the tiles are not fit for purpose if they are sold as garage floor tiles, normal tyres should not leave prints (yellow ones) that can not be cleaned.

Any thoughts on how to proceed ?

[X5Sport]

If they were sold as garage floor tiles then it seems to me they aren't fit for the purpose they were sold for and if they won't play then perhaps Trading Standards need to be involved.

We had garage floor tiles down in the workshop and they never stained, even after 5 years of having Police cars driving over and on them.

Richard

[Riggie]

The Sale of Goods Act requires items to be fit for purpose and  as described.  If they are  not, you can sue for breah of contract. Small claims summons meyhinks.

[pvr]

The manufacturer publishes their photographs here

with the product purchased described as 7 mm heavy duty garage floor tiles: Garage Floor The floor was over £1200 so I was expecting something that would look and stay nice as per the pictures.

[Black X5]

Sounds like a manufacturing defect. The tile plastic/rubber compund should be robust enough to withstand tyre rubber. If they sent you a wax to act as a barrier, it sounds as if they are already aware of the issue...

Have they spoken to the manufacturer at all?

IIRC you have grey and black tiles- I'm guessing the stains are only on the lighter coloured tiles?

Either way I would expect them not to stain permanently.

[AW8]

Subject to the tiles being sourced in U.K. I think you have a case for small claims assuming you want the hassle.

If you haven't done so already I would have file copies of emails pictures and website claims re durability and purpose, ( no prizes for guessing you have done this or are in process of doing same).

I'd do my best to seek resolution outside of small claims but if all reasonable negotiations failed I would probably be stubborn enough to have my day in court.

IMO they are unlikely to win unless the site advises using the protectant coating.

Let me know if you take them to court...............If I have a day off I'll bring the popcorn and offer moral support 


Good Luck

[Benstan]

You would need to send a pre-action letter first - this should set out your claim:

- details of the contract (state the date you ordered the products, how much you paid, what the product was)
- assuming no other terms and conditions, state that it was an implied term that the goods would be of satisfactry quality (as per the Sale of Goods and Services Act '82)
- reference any terms which lead you to enter into the contract (promises of the website as to fitness for purpose etc)
- make clear that you were ordering in your cpacity as a consumer and they were acting in the course of business
- if you specified at the time of making the contract any particular requirements, set these out here too (e.g. I made it clear in email correspondence that i was going to use the products for XYZ). If not, explain the purpose for which you ordered the goods

Set out a brief chronology
- date of contract
- when received goods
- when laid the floor (assumethis was in strict accordance with the supplier's instructions?)
- when first noticed problems etc

State clearly that there has been a breach of contract due to the flaws in the goods (describe in more detail) and set out details of you chosen remedy (the reimbursement of the money)

- enclose brief evidence of the damage - a couple of photos should suffice at this stage.

State when you want the money by - 2-3 weeks should be ok and is a reasonable amount of time.

Make sure that it is addressed to the Company Secretary or Director of the relevant company who supplied the goods

You will need to do the above if you commence proceedings in the small claims court and so it is not a waste of time and it is the correct approach as it potentially avoids litigation and court fees. Only in extremely rare instances will the judge award costs against you so it is a fairly safe way to go.

Once the letter has been on theirndesk for a few days, it might be useful to call up and speak to someone suitably senior and ask what they are likely to do.  Having proven your intent, you might be able to get further with the process.  You have plenty of time to resolve (6yrs from date of breach).

Very happy to help more offline if you need (i know nothing about cars, but do know a bit about this) but i suspect youve got it more than adequately covered and the procedural rules are not complicated with some googling. 
Good luck
Ben

[pvr]

Thanks for the above guys.

Not sure what to ask for really, as to replace the lot means disassembling all the Dura units which would take me a day to do and also remove the wall plinths as they are covering the edge tiles.

[Caesium]

I'd speak with trading standards, maybe they can help before you end up in court.

Either that or file a small claims court claim online, and also include the cost of removal, and replacement.

The items in question are clearly not fit for purpose, their purpose is to provide a surface for a garage floor, its reasonable to expect a vehicle to be parked in the garage, therefore the vehicle should not damage the surface.

At least if you win, and you have a good chance if you've kept all correspondence, you can try claim for the cost of having the floor replaced, expenses as it were.