A couple has shed a few tears of joy after they took Swedish furniture giant IKEA to court over an improperly fitted kitchen and won.
Stewart and Bridget Wilsdon - from Elmstone Hardwicke, near Cheltenham - have spent the last two and half years battling the retailer following damages from a kitchen installation from 2018.
The flat pack giant will now have to pay the couple a total of £5,452 following a court hearing that ruled in favour of the couple on Tuesday, February 1.
The couple decided to take legal action after they purchased a new kitchen from the Bristol store which began to collapse following improper fixtures and fittings.
After battling the complaint for the past couple of years the couple hugged each other and shed a few tears of joy at the outcome, reports Gloucestershire Live.
Mr Wilsdon said: “It’s such a relief after all this time. We knew we were right.”
His wife added: “I can’t tell you what a relief it is. I’m over the moon.”
The couple had initially asked for £6,611 to cover the costs and damages but they were pleased with their outcome and 'thrilled to have won the case'.
The delighted couple initially purchased the kitchen from the Swedish company back in 2018 but the issues began a year later in 2019 when the units started collapsing after not being properly supported.
The court heard that Ikea initially agreed to pay for the problem to be fixed but later changed its mind and claimed that the problem was due to the installation of a heavy worktop by Cheltenham-based Hatherley Worktops.
Ikea’s representative, Korina Holmes, gave evidence to the court via speaker phone as she was not able to appear in person.
She said: “Legally, we’re not liable for further issues that arise between Hatherley Worktops and Mr and Mrs Wilsdon.”
She added that the company that installed the kitchen for Ikea, the now-defunct Bristol-based BJC Contractors Ltd, should have informed the couple that the base units were not sufficient to support the worktop.
Ms Holmes said: “The fault is with the installers and not Ikea.”
But Mr Wilson, who represented himself, told the court that Hatherley Worktops had come back to the house to check on the situation and had confirmed that the problem was with the base units and not the worktop.
This view was backed up, he said, by an experienced independent fitter, Cheltenham-based Jamie Godwin, who he asked to examine the kitchen.
Deputy district judge Chappell ruled in favour of Mr and Mrs Wilsdon, saying that Ikea’s kitchen base units did not have enough legs to support the worktop.
She pointed out that the fitting of the kitchen came with a five-year workmanship guarantee and she said: “I’m satisfied that this applies to the fitting of the units.”
She ordered Ikea to pay a total of £5,452, including £4,355 in damages.
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