Caesarstone disaster - worktop does not match sample supplied

[Tarentan]

We have just had a beautiful new kitchen fitted, with a large island topped with a Caesarstone worktop. We ordered the sample in May this year, being unable to get to any showrooms due to lockdown. Our builders started in June and we placed the order for the worktop in August. Immediately we knew the colour was wrong - paler and whiter than the cream colour we had expected, based on the sample.

We contacted them and asked for a rep to come out and see. It took them two weeks to respond. After a prompt, they came back with a dismissive reply that it says ‘actual May vary’ on the back of the sample and that if we wanted to change the worktops, we were welcome to visit their showrooms but that ‘ this would be considered a change of mind and that significant costs would be involved’. We had paid £8000 for the worktops.

At our insistence they eventually sent out someone to come and see the worktops, but she reports back to the guy who’d written the letter - we honestly thought he was an office junior as his Customer service attitude was so appalling - and it was all just lip service.

The rep brought out her own sample and interestingly it sits between our own sample and the worktop in terms of colour, proving there is at least two shades difference and we would say three. How many shades out does it need to be before the difference is unacceptable to them? (The pictures show our creamy sample against the worktop, plus another sample of an entirely different model that is closer in colour to the worktop).

They have behaved with disdain throughout and refused to engage meaningfully in finding a resolution. They are happy to take our money but don’t give a damn about product consistency or customer satisfaction. Their samples are in effect meaningless as what you see will not be what you get. As it currently stands, we are going to have to repaint our entire brand new kitchen to make the colours work with this worktop. Caesarstone markets itself as a premium manufacturer but that is a lie. No company of quality would behave with such contempt.

We are looking for ways to find dispute resolution with a neutral third party but it is proving difficult as they are not members of their trade body ombudsman( which in itself is perhaps telling). Any pointers for next steps would be gratefully received.

Thanks.

Ouch’ the difference is really pronounced and the worktop you did receive looks very wrong against the warm cream kitchen units. I would have expected variation related to the sample to be in the veining not in the base colour . I think you can argue the worktop constitutes faulty goods.

Are you after an outcome where you get repainting costs covered or do you want to reject the worktop. I do like the worktop you ended up with. It would look amazing against a cool toned kitchen e.g. sage green but that would be a huge deviation from what you chose...however would cost less than £9k!

I think you need to be clear what outcome you want and would use that to submit a letter before action and then a small claims submission.

Under the consumer act - goods need to be ‘as described’ what they write on the back is irrelevant.
It’s clearly not the same.
Write a short paragraph in an email telling then that and say that unless they agree to replace the worktop with one of the correct colour, you will start small claims proceedings. I’d give them a date to reply by too.

We had the same problem with a sofa (ordered brown, came orange!) they replaced it as it’s cheaper for them to do so then refunding.

@marchez

How did you pay?

Hi there, we paid by bank transfer, in full to the fabricator before work commenced on the slab.

@mysteryfairy

Ouch’ the difference is really pronounced and the worktop you did receive looks very wrong against the warm cream kitchen units. I would have expected variation related to the sample to be in the veining not in the base colour . I think you can argue the worktop constitutes faulty goods.

Are you after an outcome where you get repainting costs covered or do you want to reject the worktop. I do like the worktop you ended up with. It would look amazing against a cool toned kitchen e.g. sage green but that would be a huge deviation from what you chose...however would cost less than £9k!

I think you need to be clear what outcome you want and would use that to submit a letter before action and then a small claims submission.

Thanks so much for your comments, they're really helpful. Yes, we felt the 'disclaimer' related to the veining variations as there is nothing at all on the Caesarstone website that mentions colour variations. We now have 3 samples, all of which are different so there seems to be shifting baselines as to what you'll get colourwise.

We initially wanted the worktop to be replaced but I think if we have to take it to the small claims curt, we will probably ask for a refund instead and go elsewhere, as we no longer have any faith that the new worktop would be a match for the sample either.

Thanks for your time and help.

@underneaththeash

Under the consumer act - goods need to be ‘as described’ what they write on the back is irrelevant. It’s clearly not the same. Write a short paragraph in an email telling then that and say that unless they agree to replace the worktop with one of the correct colour, you will start small claims proceedings. I’d give them a date to reply by too.

We had the same problem with a sofa (ordered brown, came orange!) they replaced it as it’s cheaper for them to do so then refunding.

Hi there, thanks for your message.

Yes, we told Caesarstone we felt the product breached 'as described'. According to Which, 'the goods must match...any models or samples shown to you at the time of purchase.'

They maintain the worktop is close enough, we maintain it isn't but Caesarstone are of the view that they get to act as a judge and jury on what is acceptable difference. Their attitude really has been shocking. I feel for anyone less 'robust' than us, they've behaved like bullies and I'm sure they must get away with this kind of behaviour a lot, in order to feel so invincible in their approach.

Thanks for your help, we appreciate it. We shall keep going.

Is the sample on the left in pic 1 from the same company? I'm wondering your worktop is actually the left hand sample rather than the right hand one.
How white does your actual worktop look compared to something like white paper or a bright white shirt? I'm wondering if it is yellow toned, but looks very white in your yellow toned room, so looks unacceptably white to you, but is within their specification?

I dont know about stone, but used to spend a lot of time with whites. You dont need very much colour variation to make them visually different.
Can you ask them for their colour specifications and tolerances? So for example we used to say how different on a white-black, blue-yellow, and red-green scale any material could be from the sample (and spent a lot of time ensuring any sample was as close to the middle as we could get).

Sorry, that's lots of possibilities and not much concrete to go on. Good luck getting a resolution.

I would be extremely unhappy with that if I'd paid £800 never mind £8k!
Yes there are sometimes slight variations in such products but to my eye they are two completely different colours.

I just wanted to ask if you've managed to resolve the problem with the colour difference of your worktop with Caesarstone? We've just received their worktop and had exactly the same problem with the colour which does not match the samples we've received from them and the slab we viewed in their showroom. The difference is so noticeable that it looks like a completely different worktop. Has anybody else had the same problem with their worktop?