Ray H.

This is a bright orange and white steel step ladder purchased from B & Q in Havant. Whilst I was climbing the steps a weld gave way causing the ladder to collapse. Fortunately someone caught me preventing any injury. These steps are mainly for my wife who is only four foot seven inches and needs steps to reach kitchen cupboards. She has recently had a hip operation so if the steps had given way with her on them it could have been extremely serious. I took the steps back to the shop, I had no receipt and the guarantee period had expired. The staff member sent for the manager who advised me that she could not do anything without proof of purchase. Fair enough she is only doing her job, but there is a safety issue here which they failed to act upon. I would have thought they would have examined the faulty weld as it may warrant a product recall. They did not even recognise this bright orange and white product as one of theirs. I purchased another set of steps from the store. I escalated my complaint to their on-line customer service site www.diy.com and sent them photos of the product and the broken weld. I received a reply asking me for the product code. There is no product code on these steps so I checked their web site for earlier year catalogues but could not find any. I was not even asking for my money back. This store missed an opportunity to look into the faulty goods being not fit for purpose.
The new steps lasted a week and had to go back as the steps moved and tilted whilst standing on them and I did not feel safe. I weigh 11 st 11 oz. There was no quibble about refunding my money the after sales service this time was good. I also had the receipt in paper and electronic form. I spent a lot more money to get a good quality set of steps... a lesson leant.
A recent television documentary "Fake Britain" has hi-lighted that there are poor quality steps on sale in the U. K. and that trading standards tested some and found them defective and not meeting the requirements of their safety certificates. I have learned a lesson here and trust that other potential buyers be aware. I will still shop at B & Q. If you still got your receipts their after sales service is good.

Our Clarkes Gazebo collapsed on us and our friends whilst sheltering from a rain shower at a barbeque. Machine Mart's customer service advised that it could only withstand a light shower. That's not good enough its canopy has a sloping roof to drain off water but not enough support on the sides of the canopy. I thought they would have taken my complaint seriously. To defend this product in what was a potentially dangerous incident is negligent from a safety aspect. Fortunately no one was injured. Buyer beware! Please look elsewhere. Having a bad product is one thing but to have bad customer service as well is unforgivable.