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You can’t do it if you B&Q it!

Kate Stirrup
18/ 3/2004

YOU can do it if you B&Q it - not according to Debbie Phelan who had to wait six months for a soak in the bath.

Staff at the Burnage branch of the store told her it would take just four days to install her new bathroom.

Debbie, who works for the city council's housing department, said there was a list of blunders: the wrong radiator was fitted, which resulted in no heating in the bathroom for over two months; electrical wires left hanging out of sockets; entire weekends without hot water and faulty sealer around the bath that led to water leaking into the downstairs dining room - which needed to be repainted.

Now Debbie, who lives in Fallowfield, is demanding compensation from the store, saying it cost her time, money and her health.

And she is refusing to pay for the bathroom suite, and says the Kingsway B&Q store owes her around £2,500 in repair bills and lost earnings.

Debbie said: "The past six months have been a complete and utter nightmare. They are in the wrong and should have to pay for the disruption their mistakes caused."

"And there was also the intrusion of my homes from fitters for months, using every room in the house, even the spare bedroom and kitchen. All to fit a B&Q bathroom. I had an offer of just over a thousand pounds from B&Q, which doesn't cover what this mess has cost me. They say 'you can do it if you B&Q it', but that certainly wasn't true in my case."

Paul Gee, manager of the Kingsway store, refused to comment on Debbie's claims but a spokesperson for B&Q said: "We are aware that Ms Phelan has experienced delays with the installation of her bathroom suite which we did not anticipate."

"Compensation has already been paid to acknowledge the inconvenience caused to her and we have carried out considerable work free of charge. We are still in communication with Ms Phelan to address any outstanding issues."