Is a crack around the hinge of a soft drop toilet seat wear & tear?

James74

Bit of a scatological one this...

We have a crack around the hinge of a 13 month old soft drop toilet seat which was well over 100 euro to buy.

It's causing the seat to shift slightly when sat on, which is more annoying than anything. But I do suspect that it is only a matter of time before it breaks. And just in case it's an issue, we are not an abnormally large family

Shop says it is wear & tear and we'll have to buy a new one. I would be of the opinion that a hinge on a 100+ euro toilet seat should be expected to provide the designed function of opening and closing for more than 13 months under normal use. From a consumer point of view am I excepting too much?

L1011

I would expect a toilet seat to last well more than 13 months - although it would depend on use; single toilet in a house of say 6+ people might be expected to go a bit quicker - I don't know which (or both) meanings of "not large" you're using!

Is it from a known/branded manufacturer?

James74

heh, not large in girth or numbers Me and the better half and two children under 10. Two toilets in use in the house. Well known brand of bathroom stuff and a locally well respected retailer.

vicwatson

They might argue it wasnt fitted correctly, unless of course they fitted it, and that was the cause of the cracking due to mis-alignment ?

L1011

James74 wrote: »

heh, not large in girth or numbers Me and the better half and two children under 10. Two toilets in use in the house. Well known brand of bathroom stuff and a locally well respected retailer.

If the retailer is refusing to budge, I'd contact the manufacturer to see if they'll give an opinion

If it becomes unusuable/fails entirely within a short time period of now I'd also consider small claims - its just about enough money to go after.

James74

Could be an issue there, the fella that redone the whole bathroom is a professional and everything else was done perfectly. But he's a friend and I also hired him directly, not through the shop.

However the shop haven't mentioned any potential installation issues to me as a reason. Their reason for rejecting any repairs or replacement was specifically wear & tear. So on the assumption that wear and tear is the only reason they're refusing would I be right to ask them to look at the case again based on that a person should reasonably expect this product to last longer?

I suppose what I'm asking the consumer knowledgeable folks here is, is a 110 euro product like this too "cheap" to expect it to last longer than 13 months?

...missed your reply, I'll get onto the manufacturer to see what they think. As for the SSC, I'm probably in the camp that would if push come to shove I might tell the shop that I'll be claiming, but being honest I probably wouldn't bother. I know.... I'm sheeple.

L1011

James74 wrote: »

I suppose what I'm asking the consumer knowledgeable folks here is, is a 110 euro product like this too "cheap" to expect it to last longer than 13 months?

My 25 quid loo seat (not a soft close mind) has lasted 3 years so far and I doubt it's going any time soon. 110 should last longer.

Flood

L1011 wrote: »

My 25 quid loo seat (not a soft close mind) has lasted 3 years so far and I doubt it's going any time soon. 110 should last longer.

The op may have paid €110 but may only have cost €5 in China to manufacture and have mark up after mark up on it.

James74

It's manufactured by Kos which as far as I know make their stuff in Italy. Could be completely wrong though on the factory location though.
Would that really affect the length of time something should reasonable be expected last?

L1011

Flood wrote: »

The op may have paid €110 but may only have cost €5 in China to manufacture and have mark up after mark up on it.

When making a realistic expectation of how long something is going to last, retailer/distributor/manufacturer markup isn't something you really get to know.

The 9.99 bit of floppy plastic bog seat will have had a fair few markups too, probably from a lot less than a fiver!

P. Breathnach

James74 wrote: »

It's manufactured by Kos which as far as I know make their stuff in Italy. Could be completely wrong though on the factory location though.
Would that really affect the length of time something should reasonable be expected last?

No, it wouldn't. You paid €110 for it, so you should have a product that represents fair value for that price.

Had you paid €10 for it, it might be argued that something that serves for just over a year is fair value.

dudara

Can you be sure that your OH or kids didn't hop the seat off the toilet at any stage? You need to be sure that the damage didn't happen due to misuse

L1011

dudara wrote: »

Can you be sure that your OH or kids didn't hop the seat off the toilet at any stage? You need to be sure that the damage didn't happen due to misuse

A soft closer should stop that happening (although its probably still possible)

James74

No not realistically possible. The mechanism stops the seat closing the moment you take your hand off it, you can't "slam" it shut, and the spring is strong enough to push back against any attempt to slam it.

No other visible damage so I would be very confident that a user damage claim would be a non starter.

btw, thanks for these replies. Great for getting me to think what questions the shop are likely to ask me when I go back to them.