Do you have a photo of the offending part?
Post it up and I'll tell you how to fix it safely. Send me a pm to remind me to look.

Really poor service though - I would have chucked it in a bin bag and taken it back by now!

Head straight for the manager! With a smile on your face, just to put him/her off the scent!

Putting the glue/Araldite on the bench has meant that you cannot get a full refund. Phone the GC again and tell them that there is a manufacturing fault with the bench (the retailer is responsible for refunds not the manufacturer). I would negotiate some sort of refund with them - say 30-50%

Not sure this is applicable, have you tried using 2 pliers to hold both sides of the bolt then turn and tighten or a combination of pliers and a screwdriver?

Glue and Arladite is not going to be a long term solution. A new bolt or screw and nut then drilled into place will cost a pound or two and would be longer term.

Blimey, for £149 I'd expect it to be perfect, I'd have driven back with it, asked for a replacement and compensation, specially now after they've not dealt with it satisfactorily. I'd at least expect my petrol money...

the faulty parts was the connection inside the bench where the bolt tightned up to it was spinning due to the hole being drilled too big ,i have emailed the company but as of yet no reply ,but i dont really expect one these days ,the customer dosent really matter anymore

In my experience, Tanjipete, you get precisely what you expect, so if that's bad service, that's what you'll end up with. Expect something different and behave accordingly, and with a bit of persistence, these companies can be made to perform properly.

You definitely need to complain in person to the manager of the garden centre or write him/her a strong letter, or both. They need to know that your complaint was ignored and that you expect them to do something about it.

in all fairness tonight i recieved an apology an offer to exchange the bench & the offer of a free meal in the restaurant there ,its a pity it took over a week & an email to get a result ,but as i say they have gave me the offer ,but i wont be accepting either the bench is oiled up although i repaired it im not bothering again , why is british service so deploreable .its the same everywhere you shop ,long miserable faces thinking they are doing you a service serving you ,that is if they can tear themselves away from talking on the mobile phones , ha ha i sound like victor m lol

One of the joys of getting older, Tanjipete, is the expectation on the part of the rest of the human race that we'll do nothing but complain. Actually, I've complained whenever its been necessary all my life, so no change there then, but everyone thinks its because I'm now over a certain age. I also recall being frequently labelled 'unconventional' when young - that now seems to have transmuted into 'eccentric'.So what was once fiesty and unconventional now is described as moaning and eccentric, but the only thing that's changed is my age, lol!

ha ha bamboo ,im often referred to as being grumpy ,but im not ,its just that standards & manners have gone out of the window ,i was brought up to respect the elderly & be honest & my word was my bond ,rubbish now the motto is look after no 1 disrespect everyone because everybody owes you a liveing & anybody over 50 is a burden lol

I hate to agree, but I sort of do - when we chucked out 'discipline' and corporal punishment for children, both things I was personally glad to see the back of, we neglected to substitute teaching them self discipline and responsibility, substituting telling them their rights instead. Add that to the poor education system during the last 25 years and we're now seeing the results - semi literate individuals with no sense of community, responsibility, empathy, respect and worst of all, no initiative. We didn't teach them to think....

I would certainly take them up on the offer of a replacement bench and a free meal. There was no point in complaining if you are going to refuse the compensation at the end of it. After all you don't know that they didn't have a good reason for a slow response - and these days as week to sort a complaint is a pretty good turnaround. I find if you expect the best from people you are rarely disappointed. A grumpy aggressive customer doesn't normally get as good results as a friendly understanding one I find.

I used to work in a complaints department years and years ago, when the world was young - I learned there that its the squeaky wheel that gets the oil, so to speak - it was the customers who didn't give up and wrote, rang and telexed often that got dealt with first. And you don't have to be rude or aggressive, just resilient and persistent. (Telexed, blimey, out of the ark now...)

hi bamboo ,i was not rude just firm about the lack of interest to my call ,i was offered a replacement bench ,yes fair enough or a meal in the restaurant ,not saying meal for 1 or 2 ,reading the email i think it suggests for 1 ,i will be on the phone politely tomorrow asking if i am eating alongside my wife does she have to pay ,after all it was her who bought me the bench seat as my birthday present ?

yay, good for you, Tanjipete, reckon they should cover two lunches, specially if you're not returning the bench

Sure Bamboo, you have to keep after them, but I find I get just as good results by being pleasant about it, and being cross damages you more than them because of all the nasties that it sends into your bloodstream!
Tanjipete, you certainly should get your meal for two - let us know how you go on. And I hope you get many happy years enjoying your garden from your perch on your birthday present!

Ah, the trick, of course, is to be friendly with the poor soul on the phone who is not responsible for the manager's or company's policy - there's more than one way to skin a cat, after all, steragram. As for the adrenalin toxins, if you get enraged, best to punch something several times, or run on the spot for a few minutes to neutralise them, rather than being aggressive. On the other hand, I don't much care whether the people like me, I just want the issue resolved, usually, so I'll stop short of aggression, not necessary, but boring insistence sometimes needs resorting to.

It was the poor soul on the phone I was really thinking of. I like the picture of you running about punching things while on the phone and trying to keep calm! But certainly persistence pays in the end.

Yea, that is a funny picture, but I have to say, I rarely get that angry any more, so it's not an issue. I do like a good game of "I've got you now you b...." though, so often feed back what I've been told and then trump it with some fact that negates everything they've said. Best played only when dealing with companies, not friends and relatives though, lol.

:))
S