First of all check the devis, bon de command &facture all correspond to what you believe you have ordered. Then write a registered letter to the company explaining your complaint, clearly and without needling them. If you get no reply try your insurance company as many contracts in France include legal defense cover in such circumstances. British contracts don’t.
Do not let anybody touch the fitting they have carried out or you will probably destroy the proof. And your case.
If all this fails you can go to the tribunal d’instance, fill out a form and take the company to court. Very simple. The judge may order an expertise, not you!
You also need to check that the Pellet Stove you purchased can indeed split the air between the front of the stove and the rear of the stove (i.e to ducted pipes going round the house). There are different types of pellet stoves and some can and will only heat 1 room, some have the ability to apportion a percentage of the heat via the front and rear vents (not the chimney exit) so they can heat other rooms.
Over the years we have had 3 pellet stove, the first (9kw) was sold to us by a French Company and they said it would heat the whole house (178sq mtrs) but it could not even cope with one large room and so it was moved into a smaller room and I purchased a 12kw stove directly from Italy for just 1,7K Euros and this did heat the large lounge. But neither of these stoves could ever be used to directly duct the heat to other rooms.
We now have a 12kw stove (again from Italy which cost 1,100 Euros and is used to heat my wifes pottery. When we have finished our extension we will be purchasing a Pellet Stove which can heat multiple rooms but again this will be purchased directly from Italy and will cost approx 1,700 Euros for the whole system, (me installing).
It may also sound silly but I can tell you that a 12kw pellet stove will never heat a property as fast or as efficiently as a 12kw wood stove (which we have in our lounge now).
Here is a link to the Italian Company that we purchase our stoves from, very effeciant and professional:
http://fireland.it/eng/products/?c=17&m=
Rgds, Mike L
Did you pay Godin for the flexible tubing and insulation from the stove to the rooms and the extras required to install them? Were there holes in the top of the stove to insert these tubes as there are on an insert fire (my experience)? Did you pay for these coz if so they should be detailed on the invoice or form completed for the work. If not maybe they tried to fob you off with possibility of a bit of heating rising from the stove would rise to rooms above via the grids which is possible but certainly not efficient. All these extras should be on the invoice ....but, knowing how they work in France they may have done their bit (stove cost plus labour) and now expect you to either buy and install the tubing etc yourselves or get another professional in to do that part of the installation. Believe me they are not always looking for work or the extra money. If they have sold you the product that is their work done! We were pleased with our insert (another brand) but they were quite reluctant to return a few days later to stick back the rope which had come off the door despite it being under guarantee. Not their fault, obviously, but on my insistence they did........glue being put along the wrong part too so needed cleaning up!! Always a bit of a farce out here!
Get another company to have a look and give you a quote for tubing etc and ask whether it is possible to add them to the stove etc. If not then Godin are in the wrong as they, by adding the grids, implied it was. If their quote is reasonable you may have to cut your losses with Godin and get them installed. If the distance is not great between fire and rooms it should not be too expensive. But if you use the tubing it will probably be a round exit not a square grid!
without seeing the bon de commande, it's difficult to know what was signed for...
Patti, as I said am not a Lawyer and I am sure the french would study the paperwork as indeed so should we to at least see what it does mention but often in law it is the intent and the burden of proof that is the deciding factor.
I would see this as the Godin shop say we just pleased Madam Patti by putting in useless tubes and charging her the normal fee for doing so but we made no commitment that it would heat after all we are the experts.
VS, I Patti as the customer watched the tubes being fitted by the experts and therefore it would be prudent to assume something warm would come out otherwise why fit them? and why charge for this extra work? Put before someone to decide it would surely be difficult to follow the path of the Godin shop experts who declare the system was not put in to work? Unless there really is something in the paperwork to unsettle this I fail to see how there cannot be a case. Only if it was, the shop will probably liquidate so making it a pointless and expensive exercise unless you can approach their insurers.
I would love anyone to point out where my logic maybe wrong.
Patti, Paul is right, as are Andrew and David, the shop is a franchise and appealing to Godin will have no impact short term. The only thing likely to happen is that management will change if there are other complaints, but that doesn't affect you in any way.
Thanks a lot Paul. Yes you are correct, this is exactly what I asked for and was charged 7,000 euros. Just to clarify, the shop in Beziers is Godin. It's not just a Godin stove but a Godin shop. http://www.chemineegodinbeziers.com/
We just spoke to an Expert des Travaux and he says that the Bon Commande should have explicitly included the additional tubes, motor etc and in France this is what they will look at, so he thinks I probably don't have a legal case. They really are a despicable company. Thanks for the info, I think it may well be now finding out if it is possible and how much to diffuse the heat to the two additional floors. What a waste of money - it I had just wanted the kitchen heated, I could have probably done it for around 1,500 euros instead of 7,000.
Exactly - there is a solid wall behind the vents. I took some good photos which I also sent to them. Everyone (except Godin) thinks I have a solid case. Thank you.
But as David says, you need to attack the company you dealt with and not Godin. France is very different to the UK in this respect, it hasn't really got anything to do with Godin, it just happens to be their stove that was fitted, your gripe is with SARL MAXI MEUBLE if that is the company behind Godin in Beziers. From what you say, Godin haven't actually done anything wrong. As for an expert des travaux, try asking expertise en bâtiment in your local yellow pages ;-)
Thank you very much
Patti
I think you should contact a local "association de consommateurs" and/or a conciliateur de justice. Both of them will help you avoid going to court which could be expensive and definitely will take far too long, especially if you don't have nice warm house to go back to!
The association de consommateurs will be able to put pressure on the infamous Godin as they will give the company a bad name, and the conciliateur will tell you what you have to gain from a court case. Good luck!!!
Thanks David. We addressed to S.A.Godin at their head office which is the name and address on the website for the head office. We sent three letters registered to the Director and two named Directors.
Nope, they didn't put in the extra tubes. All they did was install the fire in the kitchen and put two lots of vents in each of the upper floors i.e. they cut into the wall to put in the vents but when you take off the front of the vent (it clips on), behind it is a solid wall which appears just to be the fire wall of the chimney breast so basically solid with no air, hot or otherwise, circulating.
Godin are still crap when viewed on the worlds stage of heating. Ok a side point.
If you bought your stove from the concessionaire in Beziers your dispute is with the concessionaire SARL MAXI MEUBLE not with Godin and it is to this company that you address your complaints.
Crikey, So if I understand it they put in additional tubes to the other floor for what purpose? It would surely be seen as the intent to have heated the other floors in law. Not being a lawyer I don't know but the fitting would have shown the intent to heat so the insurer sounds like they are being lazy. I am afraid I would go back to the insurer and demand the explanation as to what the other tubes were for if it wasn't for heat?
Now france is very funny for this kind of thing and it could cost you the shirt off your back to go forward with a case, take a fair bit of your life and only fund the legal system and its parasites. Try for a mediated settlement maybe 30-50% back as €3500 for a pellet stove is probably closer to what should have been paid.
The solid stone walls are taking the heat before it gets to the room do you think? Are the tubes insulated? Any warmth at all via the tubes?
Thanks for your response John. Yes, I contacted the legal protection people, they called Godin who basically said there was a misunderstanding and because it didn't actually say - put in additional tubes etc to heat both floors, apparently I don't have a case - I have now cancelled the legal protection policy which I have paid now for three years. Even my bank manager in France says that I should have had a case. Of course when the salesman came to my house, he confirmed it all again, even went on both floors and said that there would be a 5 cm protrusion and of course no protrusion. I feel like going to the shop and standing outside and speaking to everyone who goes in, but unfortunately my French is pretty much ineffective. However, on all occasions that we met and spoke to Godin, it was with a French colleague/or friend but when he wrote out the order he could pretty much put what he wanted as I didn't know what he should have written. I am absolutely furious - what rip off merchants!
Go through you home insurer if you have the juridice (sp) on that policy. From an engineers perspective, why put vents into other rooms if it wasn't going to heat them? So you should have them on that point.
Godin are crap! Sorry you have been ripped off but so have many others, the only thing is you have realised it others haven't and some defend that stupid company.