Bathroom renovation. Who pays for....?

[KCSIE]

We ordered all new bathroom fixtures and fittings online. All arrived, fitters took delivery and have installed.

We have checked everything over, mirror cabinet was damaged on the inside (it's sharp broken glass along the bottom edge).

We got on to the online company we ordered from, they've offered a second mirror cabinet at a discount but not free replacement because it's been installed and should have been checked before installing for a free replacement.

Our bathroom renovation hasn't even been signed off as completed yet. I'm not accepting a broken mirror.

Should we insist the online company replace it? Or should the fitters foot the bill for a replacement, since they installed it without checking it first.

Or is it our responsibility, even though we didn't take delivery (fitters) or fit the darn thing ourselves?

It's a £300 mirror cabinet.

Thanks for your insights!

I think it’s your responsibility. You ordered it and paid for it. The contract is between you and the supplier. So it was up to you to read the contract. Usually refunds or exchanges are for damaged goods on arrival. Not after fitting. Unless it’s a tap that doesn’t work!

Almost certainly letting a builder have it has altered the contract. You can try fighting your corner but I’m not sure you will get anywhere. We open up deliveries and inspect goods before they are given to the builders. The goods are yours to inspect and then arrange an exchange.

I thought that might be the response.

We've had a whole house reno job, builders took in all the deliveries and so we didn't get a chance to open and inspect anything because they did.

As part of the process we've been through 3 kitchen taps, replacement quartz backsplash, replacement kitchen cupboard door, missing kitchen shelves, and 2 cupboard cavities replaced. Tiles scratched and replaced and now the bathroom mirror. The builders admitted they checked it but only to check it's presence as part of delivery and that the front of the mirror wasn't damaged, but actually it is the other side of the mirror that is damaged, the bit they didn't check (and we couldn't, not had the chance to).

It's on your builders/fitters if they took delivery and didn't check - they have no way to prove they didn't damage it, and that's their lack of due diligence.

Whether you can get anywhere with them is a different story - they sound v unprofessional to have damaged all the other things too!