I wonder why Reece don’t have a cold and hot water outlet available to connect any product to for immediate testing? Each outlet would have a stop-■■■■ (<word for a male rooster has been censored) so they can be turned on or off. The store would know what their water pressure is, and could see immediately if there is any fault such as leaks.
Seems so logical and so easy.
The least you should expect and confirm that will happen is that Reece’s ‘inspector’ comes with a replacement mixer in his truck and installs it on the spot assuming he cannot fix yours and agrees it is faulty.
I hope that @jon88 will not accept anything less than a brand new mixer tap that he’s paid for. No mending or patching of the faulty one, please 
That is correct, and the dodgy tradies which have been time to time highlighted in the community have passed trade tests and are registered/licensed by the relevant state government departments. They can also be checked as well. Having qualifications and licence allows them to practice the trade, unfortunately doesn’t make them a good tradie etc. Where searches can be carried out, these reveal that some tradies have been recorded by the relevant reporting agency. It shows the current system isn’t failsafe.
It does and I thought of this earlier as well, but I wonder if Reece has a registered plumber in each store to install and test? Who also pays for it’s removal from the consumer’s residence if it turns up unannounced in store? If there is nothing wrong with the tap, the consumer has just paid for another plumber to remove the tap, and then another to install it again. Becomes very expensive and far more than the value of the tap.
In some ways it is no different to an oven, cooktop, plumbed in gas heater etc which require a tradie to install. One wouldn’t expect a consumer to organise it’s removal and return it to store for testing if the consumer thinks it has a problem.
I suppose, if one has a problem with a product, contact the retailer immediately. If this was done in this case, it is likely the tap/leak would have been already fixed. While @jon88 had good intentions with removing the tap to return to store, this appears to be the wrong course of action in hindsight, and has potentially delayed a resolution.
Thanks for your replies! I haven’t heard from Reece’s agent yet so will be following up again with Reece again later this morning. Looking at the bright side, I’ve learned so much just reading all of your comments! Hahaa…
Here is something that has been in the back of my mind. Something that the first plumber said - the one that did the initial install and then removing it the next day with the old.
He told me that if I had bought the tap from him (the plumber), then he would be liable to replace the tap. That is, I presume, take the faulty tap back to Reece and bring a good one back (either new or repaired one?) to install. That is, they would swap the leaky tap with the original. Take back to Reece for another one (or repair it). Then swap out again.
I asked how much this would have costed and I remembered vaguely (don’t quote me on this) it was something like 3 times the cost of the tap! Perhaps I got a plumber that price gouge!!
But the interesting thing is that they don’t have to leave the tap - as far as I know - in place for a replacement! But because I didn’t buy the tape from the plumber, I have to own the faulty tap - which is fair enough. But, what happen to Reece’s policy of having their plumber check the install with the faulty tap still in place?!?
The question then is - would there be an ‘approved’ list of plumbers from Reece that can remove and return? They have some special deals behind the scene? Or is this just pure collusion?! To stop consumers from shopping for products and services separately? I think someone should look into this…
To me it appears that the lesson is to get the plumber buy the tap for you… but does that apply to other things that need tradies to install - eg. electrical items? Something just doesn’t seem right…
That is right. The plumber in effect becomes the retailer under the Australian Consumer Law and would be responsible for resolving any faults (minor or major) with the tap.
Edit: we have had experiences with electricians in the past which won’t buy a specific light/device we are after as they claim that they don’t have a relationship with the retail outlet selling the product. This might be right, as well as not knowing it’s availability and also not wanting to become the ‘retailer’.
This would be possibly right as you would have to pay for the plumbers time to drive from their base, to Reece (or to the retailer selling the tap you are after) and from there to your house to install.
If the leak is minor such as needs a replacement ceramic cartridge like you have indicated earlier, then the plumber would source the part from Reece and make a repair without the need to remove or replace. This is also possibly what the Reece plumber will do…if it is found to be a faulty cartridge. It could also be as simple as something not tighten properly on the manufacturing of the tap. This again is a simple fix…what ever it it is is tightened.
If it a crack in the tap causing the leak, then this would be a major fault and the tap would need replacement and you also then have rights under the ACL to request a refund, rather than a repair or replacement.
Thanks for all those replies and comments.
I got good news - finally the matter is sorted. Reece’s agent (plumber) called this morning and came around lunch time - I was at work. My wife told me he had a quick look at the tap and just decided to replace with new. No troubleshooting to see if its cartridge issue or not - as far as she can tell. The journey was painful but I’m happy with the come out.
A couple of comments - I called them yesterday as I didn’t hear from them but it was public holiday in Vic so couldn’t reach anyone. Which then brings up a good point that someone here wrote - what if the leak is bad? Am I supposed to leave the tap there over the long weekend?! Makes no sense right?
Lesson learned - Ask about warranty conditions! Don’t assume what makes sense to you is what a retailer would agree on. (Though in my situation it would have been hard as it was an on-line order.)
Reece charges $15 for metro delivery. So I don’t know how the plumber can try to charge me 3 times the cost of the tap to buy (and install) from him! I must have “$” on my forehead! 
It is a great outcome and pleased that you reached an amicable resolution with Reece.
A plumber (and most consumers) won’t wait the time for the delivery to occur. Also most plumbers pick up things they need on route to jobs (or during the job) - experience indicates that most aren’t good planners.
I possibly will continue to buy independently of a tradie as it give me flexibility to source what I want and also ensures clear boundaries of responsibility. Whilst a tradie can become a retailer as well, it there is a problem…there is likely to be finger pointing in different directions.
Next time just go to Bunnings. I’ve never had problems replacing faulty goods there, no silly conditions.
R
For tap ware as a customer there may be the cost of two plumbing visits. One to remove the faulty tap and cap the pipe work. A second to install the warranty replacement. Or does Bunnings offer to cover the cost of the plumber?
Not an argument for going elsewhere. But worth considering if that is how it is?
Bunnings has limited ranges that do not suit everyone. Special orders are available but not always a good solution time or price wise so what is gained?
The customer still legally needs a plumber but Bunnings is expected to be a wink wink supplier who just ‘makes it right’. I accept if they have the bit one wants since they cater to the DIY community as well as tradies they would take care of problems with few or more likely no questions asked.
They are pretty simple to replace yourself, they usually just have screw on fittings these days.
That they are. One has to wonder about the history/background of legally requiring a plumber to do that and similarly trivial tasks, but that discussion is for other topics.
We had a similar issue, although not with Reece.
We bought a very expensive kitchen tap from a reputable agent then had a licensed plumber install it. After a week the handle came loose, leaked a little but our concern was the handle may come off and water gush everywhere. The retailer put us on to the manufacturer/importer who sent a plumber to fix it, the repair lasted a week. We contacted them again, the innuendo was we were too rough with it. They eventually replaced the whole unit, the original was faulty, this took six months . In their favour they did say that it would be fixed immediately if there was a serious leak. It’s a stressful process which we didn’t expect since we purchased high quality. At the same time I bought a cheap mixer from Bunnings for somewhere else, installed myself and it is faultless.
