Leroy Merlin are *******

I purchased a product from the Leroy Merlin online store (marketplace) and have had nothing but issues since. When the product I purchased stopped working only 3 months after I bought it, I wasn’t too concerned because the product has a 1-year warrantee on it. In fact, the reason why I purchased the product from Leroy Merlin was because their product had such a good warrantee on it and thus I didn’t mind paying a little more than I would have at some of their competitors.

STUPID ME for thinking that they would actually care or keep supporting their customers post purchase. When the product broke down, I tried to phone one of their stores to find out what process I should follow to log the return of the product (since it was still under warrantee). None of the telephone numbers which Leroy Merlin lists on their website, purchase orders, warrantee documents or Google work. Literally NONE of the numbers can get you through to speak to someone. After being unsuccessful in contacting them via telephone, I decided to drive to one of their physical stores to do the return there. I got up early one morning to visit a physical branch before work and thus was at their Fourways branch at 07:00 on Friday 21 April to do the exchange.

STUDE ME for thinking that they, who sold the product to me, could actually do the exchange. I was told in the store that I couldn’t exchange it there because I bought the product online on their marketplace. The store clerk did, however, inspect the item as well as the warrantee and assured me that the exchange would be done, but that it had to be initiated via their online channel. The store clerk logged an online query on my behalf and assured me that I would be able to get my money back once the marketplace came to pick up the product. Feeling somewhat upset that I drove 90km from my house to the Fourways branch for nothing, I took some solace in the fact that the return process has, at the very least, been set in motion.

STUPID ME for thinking that the logging of an online return query would actually initiate a return process. I received one or two emails from Leroy Merlin marketplace with further enquiries, to which I did respond but have not heard back anything is 2 weeks. I have since reached out 3 separate times via the same email address to enquire as to when they will be able to come and pick up the parcel. Since 2 weeks ago, I have had ZERO responses from them. I tried phoning them again with ZERO success. In fact, their telephones don’t even ring, it just pushes you straight to voice mail.

I can lonely assume that Leroy Merlin is going to keep ignoring me for 9 more months until the 1-year warrantee has voided and then reach out to me to say that they aren’t going to do the return. These big retailers are quick to adopt online stores and market places due to the significant cost savings associated with having people buy online, but they aren’t willing to bear the responsibilities that go along with it. As always, the big corporates prosper and the consumers suffer.

I have already reached out for legal advice as to whether I’m protected by the consumer protection act and whether or not their warrantee is binding or not, but in the mean while I want to warn other people not to buy from Leroy Merlin. They will definitely ***** your money through first offering you products that are of horrible quality and then completely evading you when you try and exercise a warranty WHICH THEY SOLD YOU. They have no intention of honoring any agreements, warrantees or contractual obligations. They also do not care in the slightest about customer service or customer care and will, in fact, go out of their way to make it a difficult as possible to get in touch with them once they have your money post purchase.

Beware all who intend to do business with Leroy Merlin, do so at your own (VERY HIGH) risk.