Who is liable for the problems with my new kitchen?

Q I bought a kitchen at Magnet. I paid a total of approximately ?6,000 using two credit cards (?2500 and ?3000) and the balance on a bank debit card.

One of the items included in the purchase was a sink bench made of a moulded material with underhung stainless steel sinks. My wife made it clear that she wanted the sinks to be connected seamlessly to the bench top so that there was no dirt trap.

The company that makes these sinks can do this if the sinks are made of the same material as the bench top. I already had a quote from another supplier who would have been able to supply exactly what we wanted at about the same price quoted by Magnet but the Magnet salesman persuaded us that the underhung stainless steel sinks option he was offering would achieve the same end.

In fact, when it was delivered it had a 20 mm overhang. Magnet have refused to do anything about it except to reduce the overhang a bit which is hardly the point.

I want to exercise my rights under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act but am worried that since I paid with three separate cards there may be a problem. The purchase included a lot more than just the part we are complaining about and the rest of the kitchen is fine. Of course it is not possible to say that one part of the payment was intended for one part of the kitchen and not another.

Do I write to both card companies or just pick one? What is their liability in these circumstances?

GR

A Magnet would appear to be in breach of contract. You specifically stated the purpose for which you wanted the sink fitting and the one you were given appears not to be fit for that purpose. If Magnet cannot rectify the problem you can ask another supplier to do the job. You should then be able to claim the cost from any of the parties who are jointly liable under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act. These parties would be Magnet itself or either of the credit companies.