Beware and shop elsewhere - 10 year Bathstore tap warranty essentially worthless
I've just come across this and although it is probably too late for you, I thought sharing my experience might help to warn others in the future!
Hope you get better luck with your Bensham taps!
Up front, Bathstore seem great. Nice show rooms, good deals, friendly staff, quick and efficient delivery. We confidently bought our bath and top of the range Bensham exposed shower valve, bath top mixer, rain shower and basin taps all from Bathstore North Finchley (London) 18 months ago. It looks great and, buying from a big nation-wide chain, we naively thought "how wrong can it go?! A tap is a tap is a tap, right? Bathstore is a reliable company, right? They have impressive 10 year warrantees on all their taps - this must be quality stuff."
Unfortunately, 18 months down the line, the cartridge in our exposed Bensham shower valve cracks, and I am left naked, with water hosing out of my rain shower, home alone, with a newborn who of course wakes up crying while I am rummaging around in my under stair cupboard looking for the stop cock behind the hoover/suitcases/buggy etc. Lovely. I call out my plumber who (luckily) drops everything to come and help me. I call Bathstore and send them pictures of the broken cartridge, confident that they will replace it under warrantee and that the only inconvenience will be the call out charge for the plumber and being without a shower for a week or so.
I had an answer from Hayley, the North Finchley Bathstore Manager almost immediately. Again, very efficient. "Yes, the cartridge is cracked and needs replacing. Call our technical team to order a replacement."
So far, so good. Until I call the technical team (Crosswater - who supply the taps) who tell me I must pay £77 for a new cartridge.
The taps may well have a 10 year warranty, but the cartridge is only guaranteed for 12 months. The taps and valve are worthless without a cartridge but this doesn't seem to bother them. Crosswater bounce me back to Bathstore, Bathstore bounce me back to Crosswater.
Bottom line: the 10 year warranty is worthless. The cartridge is only guaranteed for 12 months. The cause of the cartridge breaking after only 18 months use? "Over-turning" according to Crosswater's technical team. How to prevent this happening again in another ? Apparently I can't, and must expect to change the cartridge as I would a vaccuum bag.. Hmmm.
I've found similar accounts all over the web. I just wish I had done some online research before being drawn in by the glossy Bathstore catalogues. Don't make the same mistake!
I'm glad this isn't my 'forever home' and I definitely wouldn't buy anything from Bathstore again.