Please don't buy from Victoria Plumb or Victoriaplumb.com

[cornish_crofter]

I would like to warn our customers that there is a trader out there peddling gear that is basically unfit for purpose.

They are called Victoria Plumb. Their prices seem attractive, but I will now refuse to fit them for clients. They are the ONLY supplier who's products I will no longer fit. Bearing in mind that I am a dying breed of bathroom fitters who will be quite happy to fit B&Q merchandise.

Their customer service seems to have improved of late but their products have not.

We bought this little gem for our own bathroom.

Quadrant Shower Enclosure RH 970 x 970

I have never come accross such a piece of crap in all my life.

1) Waste fitting for shower tray was incompatable with anything, ended up chucking it and using new.

2) First tray to be delivered was moulded incorrectly so the water ran to the outside of the wet area of the tray, rather than down the drain. This was despite the tray being level. Victoria Plumb acknowledged the problem to their credit and sent a replacement tray.

3) Second tray is not perfect but works, just.

4) I have now attempted to fit the screen to the enclosed instructions. Following the instructions the two fixed glass panels are too close together and hence don't leave enough room for the door.

5) I will be on the phone tomorrow to see what they say.

I could have paid a bit more for a similar product and got

1) Better customer service
2) Better quality of product
3) Instructions that can be followed with confidence, especially where dimensions are concerned.

I wish I did!

You have been warned.

 

[DHTiling]

This of course not the opinions of tilersforums as we have no knowledge of this company and accept no responsability of others opinions..

Hugo good luck mate and let us know how you get on...

 

[doug boardley]

sounds a good posh name though Hugo:lol:

 

[bonemachine]

oh dear. who said the camera doesn't lie! rrr:

 

[lucius]

Fitted a similar piece of crap last year supplied by customer from a large Spanish retailer, advertising and instructions on the box indicated that it was some fancy Italian design turned out to be Chinese, absolute rubbish.
Lucius.

 

[2Balls]

Fitted a similar piece of crap last year supplied by customer from a large Spanish retailer, advertising and instructions on the box indicated that it was some fancy Italian design turned out to be Chinese, absolute rubbish.
Lucius.

Eating spagetti with chopsticks never works:lol:
Thanks for the heads up cornish, I´ll keep my eye`s open2Balls

 

[faithhealer]

Heard that name before somewhere, tough luck Hugo but you'll sort it. I'm fitting some expensive fittings at the moment but even these are never straight forward

 

[Colour Republic]

I nearly opened an account with these guys as they send me stuff through the post but when I saw their website it seems they have a very limited range, all of which is unbranded. I'm always very wary of people that supply either unbranded or they change the name of materials as sometimes you end up with cheap Chinese imports which is what you've ended up with by the sounds of it (wastes a funny size).

Although Victoria plumb do seem quite a big outfit, (whenever I use an internet supplier I check the address out on google maps and look at the building) so it was more the fact the bathroom range was small that I didn't open an account so thanks for the heads up.

I prefer to use 'distributors' catalogues that I give to customers to choose from (Coletti, Claygate, Frontline, Robert Lee etc. etc.). These have the RRP's in them so the customer is always pleased when I can pass on discounts of 10-30%. Also I can source the products from hundreds of outlets, not just one company

 

[cornish_crofter]

Update

Spoke to their Customer services today who researched this for me.

I have to say I feel really sorry for the people working there. They do seem to want to help, they are just stuck with crappy products.

It appears that a few of the enclosures have issues. I now have issues I can tell you.

They couldn't give me the right info, so they offered me two options.

1) Return the shower enclosure and tray for a full refund.

2) Attempt to fit the rest of the enclosure with the option of returning it for a full refund if it all goes wrong - ie if I manage to break it.

Although I really wanted to return it I felt that too much time had been invested in fitting the tray and tiling around it, and the enclosure does look good. Returning it would almost certainly mean destroying the tray in the process of removing it, and probably wrecking the Aqua Panel behind.

They will also consider extra costs. I now have to repair the tiled surface that has been drilled through in the wrong place. Fortunately it's only 2 holes per side as I had done a trial build - just as well really.

I would normally be able to erect a cubicle over 2 days, allowing time for the Silicon to dry. So far I have spent the eqivilent of a week on installing the tray and enclosure, thanks to the problems it's given me.

 

[chille]

We all know the answer to this problem, but I'll say it anyway just for the record.
Go to a reputable supplier, strike up a good relationship with the manager, and only fit proper stuff.
Everyone seems to like the saying " get a few quotes but don't always go with the cheapest"
Then people buy the cheapest materials and wonder why it turns out bad. After 10 years of fitting bathroom suites, I still go back to my local plumbcentre, the manager looks after me and the customer always gets good gear.

 

[mikethetile]

Update

Spoke to their Customer services today who researched this for me.

I have to say I feel really sorry for the people working there. They do seem to want to help, they are just stuck with crappy products.

It appears that a few of the enclosures have issues. I now have issues I can tell you.

They couldn't give me the right info, so they offered me two options.

1) Return the shower enclosure and tray for a full refund.

2) Attempt to fit the rest of the enclosure with the option of returning it for a full refund if it all goes wrong - ie if I manage to break it.

Although I really wanted to return it I felt that too much time had been invested in fitting the tray and tiling around it, and the enclosure does look good. Returning it would almost certainly mean destroying the tray in the process of removing it, and probably wrecking the Aqua Panel behind.

They will also consider extra costs. I now have to repair the tiled surface that has been drilled through in the wrong place. Fortunately it's only 2 holes per side as I had done a trial build - just as well really.

I would normally be able to erect a cubicle over 2 days, allowing time for the Silicon to dry. So far I have spent the eqivilent of a week on installing the tray and enclosure, thanks to the problems it's given me.

hardly rogue traders

that sounds very reasonable to me

they are at least trying to sort matters out in a responsible way

give credit where credits due

 

[BDS]

Cheers hugo for the info would never use victoria plumb even if customer asked me to get it from there and theres been a few.

 

[simhopper]

when it comes to sealing water you really need to spend the money on a branded good quality enclosure

Anything from bristan, manhattan,kohler mira,flair would have been a better bet

 

[cornish_crofter]

hardly rogue traders

that sounds very reasonable to me

they are at least trying to sort matters out in a responsible way

give credit where credits due

Agreed - I'll change the wording in the opening post.

The point still remains that the shower cubicle I have been trying to fit for the last few months, has caused one problem after another.

The latest problem I have just had is that I have had to trim the bar at the top of the enclosure. Why? Because trying to fit it without trimming it pushes the glass panels out beyond the tray, leaving a 2" gap between the door and the left hand panel.

 

[Fekin]

Sounds a top quality product