"Inconsistent paint colour"

I contacted Ronseal about the inconsistency of its paint colour Moroccan Red. Different tins of paint, different shades. I sent photographs.

I made clear that I did NOT want a refund. I asked whether they could send me 3 tins from the same batch number so I might be assured the paint colour was the same shade. I didn't ask for this to be a gift. I made clear that I would pay for the paint.

Eryk, who dealt with my request, responded to say that I hadn't stirred the paint correctly, and therefore, Ronseal wouldn't provide a refund.

He also went on to say that in order to achieve the 'perfect shade' that I should have stirred each can of paint - 4 in total - before decanting into a large container, and stirring it all again.

You and I know this is of course utter nonsense.

I replied asking for details as to whom I could escalate the matter, and asked for a copy of Ronseal's complaints procedure.

Nearly 3 weeks later I'm still waiting.

I had never used Ronseal products prior to this. It is very safe to say, I will never do so again.

Blaming the customer for a production fault and/or lack of quality control is really very poor.

Should Ronseal see this and want to 'reach out' the reference number for my original enquiry is 09889174. All the information they need is there, should anyone bother to read it properly of course.

UPDATE: On 31 July Ronseal responded to my review to say they would look into my complaint. As of 14 August I am still waiting for Ronseal to respond. They are either still looking into it or, which I suspect is more likely, they're not bothering at all in the hope I will go away.

UPDATE: Response to Ronseal's reply of 14 August. I haven't received an email. I've checked my inbox, junk and spam folders and have done a search.

UPDATE: 14 August. Information supplied as requested by Ronseal.

UPDATE: 19 August. I'm very happy to say that Ronseal have today sent me 3 cans of paint by way of apology, so that we can finish painting summerhouse. We should receive them by the end of the week.

I'm keeping the original 1 star review because of the way my request was initially handled.

But I want to give Kelly a fully deserved 5 stars for the positive and helpful way she has dealt with my complaint. She has done much to restore my confidence in Ronseal. Thank you.

"So just a follow-up on my review of 19…"

So just a follow-up on my review of 19 July.
Ronseal customer service are as beyond inapt as their products. First, they tried to wriggle out by telling me (and as any business knows that acclaim should have been their final word if they were so confident in their product) that these white hard glue type streaks was because I used a non oil product on a oil based pre painted fence. I protested. That was not the case. Now, they have come back saying the streaks are because I didn’t give it enough drying time before reapplying even though they were told these streaks happened on (1) a new piece of fence not in a drying stage and the (2) the touch ups were applied on pre painted area after 10 hours later on a dry day. Much longer than the guidance given on their tin…
They are clearly going through a fabricated tick-list but oh my how stupid are these customer service people making Ronseal look instead of either providing another tin of stain to prove their products are legit or a good will gesture of a refund since I’m now in a position of trying to fix the mess their product caused at more expense to me.
It’s a false economy Ronseal to behave this way.
Wonder what their CEO would think….

"Not One coat fence paint."

One coat fence paint.
It is not one coat paint.
I have done 3 coats and still needs at least one more.
Give it a miss as it does not do what it says on the tin.
We bought over 6 pots of this as we have over 20 panels and a gate (both sides) and it has been a waste of money unless you can call it an undercoat!
So now we will have to find a real one coat fence paint to go over the top of this. More expensive than we first thought.
Reply from Ronseal -Would you mind giving us more details about the steps you have followed when applying the paint?
So to be honest, stirred paint as oil on top, brushed the fence panels down to remove any dirt and debris, applied paint with a brush?
What more can I say about applying the paint?
Can provide pictures if required?
What are they trying to achieve by asking this question?
Over to you Ronseal.

Another reply from Ronseal
We would like to know what are the issues you are facing with your Fence paint.
Any information you can send us about the way the paint has been applied or the finish of the paint can help us determine the cause of your issue.

In the meantime, If you need any more assistance with our products, feel free to contact us anytime, and we will be more than happy to help.

I feel I have already answered this question and looks like they are ignoring the facts that the fence paint does NOT DO WHAT IT SAYS ON THE TIN!

In a few words don't bother buying this as it doesn't work as it should.

Another reply email from Ronseal
The One Coat reference on the container is related to the protection offered by the product, if you are looking for a greater depth of colour or if you are covering a strong or contrasting colour more coats may be required.

As a reputable company we will always look to assist our customers in any reasonable way to ensure a satisfactory outcome. Please provide either the receipt or a photograph of the tubs used along with your full address details and we will refund for any additional tubs of Fencelife you have had to purchase in order to complete your project.

Please reply to this email chain as this will ensure your case gets dealt with quicker.

We look forward to hearing from you in due course.

I don't remember this on the tin but now I will send photos of the fences and the remaining tubs many unused and then see what happens
Await next review
I have just sent 7 photos of the 7 tubs of fence paint so wait and see from here
An other reply today :-
Please can you confirm how many tubs you had to but in addition to the original purchase to complete your project, as we can only refund for any additional tubs you had to purchase.

My reply was :- Thank you for your e mail. We bought all 7 tubs for the whole project of about 30 fence panels to do both sides as they were priced at £16 for 12.5 Litres.
Hope this helps
I am wondering if this is them tyring to find a way out?

"If I could give it no stars I would"

If I could give it no stars I would. Ronseal one coat tile paint...you are having a laugh. The first coat was streaky, it tells you to paint in a downward direction which I did, but you cannot load the brush too much as the paint is very thin and drips everywhere (and yes it has been stirred). "Oh well" i thought maybe the second coat will go on better. So 24 hours later up the ladder I go and start the second coat. Almost immediately it started to take the first coat off! So I ended up having to wash the affected tiles clean again with bits of white all over the other tiles. Out of interest I thought I would give the tiles with just one coat a wipe with my sponge and guess what - the paint came clean off!!! So I am not sure what tiles this paint is for but it aint ceramic. Avoid like the plague as you will end up having to wash it all off.

"Do not buy Ronseal products they are rubbish "

I agree with all the comments below, DO NOT BUY ANY RONSEAL products. Absolutely rubbish, I bought the One Coat Fence Life in Charcoal Grey and 3 coats later I’ve eventually got my fence covered but still not 100% coverage. Contacted customer services who have basically said it’s my fault! I mustn’t of applied it correctly, the weather wasn’t right, the wood wasn’t right, I didn’t leave it long enough to dry between coats! No admission that their paint is rubbish. No offer of compensation. Customer service is shocking they just don’t care. Happy to take your money then fob you off

"Did not cover in one coat"

Did not cover in one coat, onto third now, Customer service resolved this, NOT, by sending me a voucher for another tin??????? How many do I need when it says one coat on the tin and ''does what it says on the tin'' false advertising.
I wanted to score a 0 but 1 was the lowest.
I have been contacting your Customer team for weeks and they sent a voucher for another tin?? I think that was for me to do another coat??
It takes therm a week to reply??

"Worst Customer Services I have ever had…"

Worst Customer Services I have ever had to deal with.
Purchased tin of wood paint and followed the instructions on the can in regards to stirring with a suitable wooden spatula. After applying half of the can which went on perfectly, after a short interval, I continued to apply the rest of the can after stirring, however the application produced an orangey colour as opposed to Dark Oak.
Despite several email conversations explaining this, I was told that I hadn't stirred it correctly and should have used a wooden spoon, despite confirming I had used a spatula similar to a spoon, the responses I received were obvious that the representative had totally ignored my responses.

"Very rude customer service"

Very rude customer service. Phoned 2 times and no one picked the phone up.
Waited for a while and called them, again 2 times, deliberately got cut off.
What kind of unhelpful customer service.
Never again will I buy a Ronseal product.
Very disappointing & frustrating

Ronseal have replied saying that on the day they had IT related issues, I am not convinced as their overall rating is very poor. I will leave it at that for now.
Anton

"Ronseal Wood Hardener doesn't work on wet wood "

I wrote to Ronseal customer service to advise them their wood hardener, advertised as dry and wet rot wood hardener, does not work on wet wood and suggested they advise this in the instructions on the tin. Received no answer to the issue except an email thanking me for contacting them!!! If the rot in sills and ledges is caused by Wet Rot, not only must all the rotten wood have to be removed, but the sill or ledge has to be dry with a low moisture content for the hardener to work. In order for the sill or ledge to be dried, all old paint must be stripped to bare wood to allow the moisture to migrate through the fibres to the surface where it can evaporate. The drying process can be speed up using a hot air gun. Apart from the fact the wood rotten fibres won't harden if wet, if the wood is not thoroughly dry when you fill the rotten area with 2 part epoxy wood filler, and repaint the sill or ledge, as the wood slowly loses its moisture content the wood shrinks and pull away from the epoxy filled areas leaving a large very noticeable crack

"Absolute rubbish "

I bought a 9 litre tub of one coat fence life paint.
Absolute rubbish! It’s like coloured water, even after stirring for ages. NO WAY is this one coat! 3 coats so far and still not a good finish.
Complete and utter waste of money…and my time!
Never again, my advice DON’T BUY IT