This week I have had a bit of a problem with online shopping through Leroy Merlin market place. A tale of something simple turning into a nightmare and a WTH am I dealing with.
I have a project toinstall a powerful extractor fan to create positive pressure in the house in the winter and retrieve wasted heat from a loft space, and flip it around in summer to create low pressure in the summer so it pulls in cool air from the breather bricks that have been installed and pump out hot air through an unused chimney in summer.
It was designed to be a bit of a low cost contraption that could be installed through the eaves of the roof. So the ductwork was put in along with a new plug socket. I just needed a fan and thought lets go for something that is semi automatic and can shift a lot air, because where I live in the back end of nowhere near Foix, it gets to 40c in the summer and has been -10c in past winters and air con is hrrendously expensive
So I purchased a high speed 200mm duct fan through the Vevor Official Store on the Leroy Merlin website market place. This apparently can shift up to 1350m3 per hour on top end of the the 10 speed setting and that is a lot more air than a VMC for the price
What could go wrong? I mean Leroy Merlin state on their website “Les équipes de la Marketplace ont sélectionné pour vous des vendeurs de confiance”. Yes their team vets the sellers to ensure the their cistomers can be assured of good service. Meh.
So I paid for this low cost (<90€) programmable duct fan and waited, and it turned up. So unpacked it, read the instructions and installed it, seems good I thought, bit loud at full speed but could not hear it when everything closed off, apart from the obvious whooshing sound from the various extraction points downstairs which could be manually adjusted.
5 hours later I go up to check. Thing is dead so I checked the fuse box, not tripped. Tested the output of the fuse, voltage ok. Checked the socket, ok. The thing was dead, so I unhooked it and packed it all up to go back.
Now as I trusted Leroy Merlin that this was a reliable seller, I thought it shouldn’t be an issue, get a return prepaid label because it was defective and get a replacement, and that’s where the feculent drivel from the seller began.
Now remember this is an electrical item that has stopped working so there was an internal issue, what that issue is may be anything, so best not touch it in case it’s something nasty like a loose live wire and it’s not as though I have had it for 2 years, where you would take the thing apart before taking it to the Déchèterie.
So I contacted the seller and said this died less than 6 hours in, I need a replacement. They then reply saying we need to see a video of the installation. I said no you don’t, you need to send me a replacement for a defective unit, I am not going back into a crawl space to put something back in because it’s a pointless exercise, heres a picture of the box it arrived in and a picture of the serial number.
They write back saying our technician states a video is required and when I refused again they offered me a partial refund of 20% so I could by spare parts. What planet are these people on?
This was a big mistake. So I contacted the Vevor support directly and sent them the correspondence through the Leroy Merlin site with my order number, not invoice number, which I will get to. They came back and said they have contacted the vendor. Hold up, this is supposed to be the Vevor Official Store, what do you mean vendor, plus I didn’t mention any names nor that unit was shipped from Czechia
The fact is the invoice was from some weird company name in Germany with a French TVA number and had it shipped form a 3rd country, but they invoice had no email or telephone number, but there was a clue, the address on the invoice is the same return address printed on the Vevor cardboard box itself, except the company name on the box is different. So it’s not a vendor it’s a shell company, plus the French TVA number they give is not recognised as a VIES, oh dear.
So I have written back to Vevor, and forward the information to Leroy Merlin, who haven’t intervened yet, with the following
“Pictures and videos of what exactly? Proof it’s not working or there is a visible product?.
I sent pictures to the Official Vevor Store on Leroy Merlin showing serial number and origin label on the box and attach them here. That’s all I need to do, I refused to plug it back in for good reason. But let me spell it out for you why I am not going to do that and to demonstrate the whoever came up with this policy is a complete moron that is going to get Vevor into serious trouble and because you are wasting my time, I am going to read the riot act.
Let’s go through this from a fire and electrical safety aspect first
If an electrical product dies while in use, fire and electrical safety warnings issued on TV and public domain for almost 100 years requires it be disconnected from mains electricity immediately to avoid a risk of fire as well as the potential risk of shock and or short circuit. In case you or your managers are cerebrally unaware, people have a habit of dying from electric shocks and fires.
If the unit is to be checked electrically it must be done so by a fully qualified electrician in a workshop environment which adheres to local fire and electrical safety standards and under ISO standards for a repair facility. No manufacturer or supplier should insist that a consumer plug a defective electrical item back into a live supply as it may put them at risk of death or injury because neither side has idea what the underlying fault is or indeed if the electrical system to which the defective item is up to standard conformity with ground fault circuit interrupters installed, which still do not offer safety if the GFCI unit is faulty itself.
That said, although not advisable, it is reasonable for the consumer to test it on another socket in case the socket is faulty, but once only, and it is their choice, a reseller or indeed manufacturer should not recommend but in particular insist this be done and a video be taken, because that is a deranged thinking policy by someone who is inept and potentially psychotic as it is dangerous to a point one could be mistaken for thinking that person is running a meth factory in breaking bad sideline business who is partaking of their own product.
Let’s look at this from an insurance aspect
If a person connects a known faulty electrical item to the mains in their domestic or business premises, any subsequent fire or failures cause by that reconnection potentially makes any subsequent claim void. “The Idiots at Vevor told me to do it” won’t make any difference in an insurance refusal, although the insurance company may in fact take the written instructions of a Vevor appointed support representative as enough to go after the company for the losses incurred.
Now let’s look at this from legal point of view.
All that is required when a item is faulty and defective is that the purchaser notify the vendor and or manufacturer in order that the unit be replaced because in this case is found defective on the day it was received. Failure to adhere to consumer protection laws will lead to complaint and as a result of the idiocy displayed by Vevor representatives, potential safety warnings being issued as a result. Moreover it could open the company to civil or criminal proceedings or indeed a class action lawsuits.
Now, it is noted that Amazon is a big customer of yours and a question needs to be asked. Would Vevor insist that Amazon make a video and take pictures for every return or instruct their customers to do so? No because they would tell Vevor to bugger off and withhold payment for failed goods.”
I also pointed out that as Vevor states on their website it has its website EU shell company has offices registered at address in Ireland, therefore complaint can be made through the Irish authorities. And finished it with
“All I wanted is a replacement for a defective item and you took the biscuit with the wrong person, which this is the result. Send this to Vevor head office” I said that because I worked out they are using a customer service company in India and reading scripts to customers.
The other thing about Vevor, the company in Ireland has only been registered a year, and my bet from looking at the company names on the boxes and invoice, they are running a VAT and tax evasion scam and from companies house records of the other entity on the box, I can now see it’s a Chinese firm, which explains the meth factory mentality towards safety…
Lesson here is, if you are going to screw the tax man, best not screw your customers first or it could come on top quicker, and don’t trust the “vetting” of Leroy Merlin
I’ll give it a month and will make a claim against Leroy Merlin for a refund on my credit card, because they made the mistake of saying this firm is good and running the payment through their system
