British Ceramic Tiles - They actually want our feedback - TilersForums.com

[Qwerty]

Wow! It seems the power of social media has had some effect!

I try to keep the forum Twitter account ticking over and recently the issue of how bad BCT (British Ceramic Tiles) are for us tilers.

BCT have openly put it out there wanting feedback from us.....

So please either respond to this thread with as much detail as possible and I'm happy to take this forward on your behalf, or respond to the BCT tweet directly.

 

[dynamictiling]

10mm difference between 2 tiles enough said...

 

[dynamictiling]

10mm difference between 2 tiles enough said...

 

[Viceroy]

This is a shading problem I had with them about a year ago, all from same batch numbers

 

[rutlandsi]

Interesting thread...
I recently purchased a large amount of tiles, so I contacted BCT asking for their comments regarding this thread.

They said they were concerned about some of the comments here and as a company take great pride in the products they manufacture, willing to investigate any issues.

They quoted stringent quality controls and BS standards.
(To which I did question how the above tiles could possibly have passed this)

They also told me that Laura Ashley was a reputable brand and high quality.
(I pointed out another forum which stated Laura Ashley themselves do not take any responsibility for products their name is used on)

On the specific concern I had, which was poor glaze and possible water ingress, they stated that using waterproof grout and correct fitting would reduce the chance of this happening. They recommended always being fitted by a professional.
(I pointed out that it was the professionals who were seeing the issues and that it was the glaze/biscuit backing which was a concern, not the fitting. I then asked if any future problems with glaze would be rectified if by any chance something did happen)

Whilst I was concerned by this thread and emailed BCT, I did check all 150 ish wood plant effect tiles on delivery and only a small few had chips from delivery which were refunded.
The second batch, wicker tiles, actually via Bathstore had just a handful with very minor imperfections but appeared to be very high quality with good online reviews.

Therefore, I am hoping we see no issues, but because of this thread I thought it would be good to feedback from this angle.

 

[Qwerty]

Interesting thread...
I recently purchased a large amount of tiles, so I contacted BCT asking for their comments regarding this thread.

They said they were concerned about some of the comments here and as a company take great pride in the products they manufacture, willing to investigate any issues.

They quoted stringent quality controls and BS standards.
(To which I did question how the above tiles could possibly have passed this)

They also told me that Laura Ashley was a reputable brand and high quality.
(I pointed out another forum which stated Laura Ashley themselves do not take any responsibility for products their name is used on)

On the specific concern I had, which was poor glaze and possible water ingress, they stated that using waterproof grout and correct fitting would reduce the chance of this happening. They recommended always being fitted by a professional.
(I pointed out that it was the professionals who were seeing the issues and that it was the glaze/biscuit backing which was a concern, not the fitting. I then asked if any future problems with glaze would be rectified if by any chance something did happen)

Whilst I was concerned by this thread and emailed BCT, I did check all 150 ish wood plant effect tiles on delivery and only a small few had chips from delivery which were refunded.
The second batch, wicker tiles, actually via Bathstore had just a handful with very minor imperfections but appeared to be very high quality with good online reviews.

Therefore, I am hoping we see no issues, but because of this thread I thought it would be good to feedback from this angle.

Thanks for your findings

 

[Blunt Tool]

This song always comes into my head when I fitted BCT, from the same era as their machinery it seems anyway!

 

[paddyh2]

Do some work for a showroom who in fairness somehow sell a lot of BCT 600mm x 300mm tiles. The fitters all know how bad they are and know if your spacers are 2mm, have plenty of 3mm spacers and rubi wedges at hand. Cardboard box makes useful shim as well. British Curly Tiles they are affectionately known as.

 

[rutlandsi]

Further to my recent emails from BCT, they highlight the complete opposite and ask those tradesmen here to contact them direct with these issues.

"With the opportunity to investigate, we would be able to fully understand the situation here. We would strongly recommend the person raising this issue contacts us directly in order for us to understand further. As you have pointed out, sometimes unfortunately things do not go as planned however when they do, we strive to resolve the issue, exceed our customers satisfaction and learn from our mistakes."

They also said
"As you have pointed out, there are several measures required in order to ensure water does not ingress into the tile. The steps you have advised, provided they are applied by a professional tiler, will ensure this does not occur. However, if we can prove that the issue is in fact a manufacturing glaze related issue, we will always thoroughly investigate and resolve as quickly as possible."
(In response to me raising the poor glaze issue some have highlighted)

 

[Qwerty]

That's why I am taking this forward on behalf of the forum.

 

[Dumbo]

Funny . Little article in tile and stone journal about bct at KBB this year banging on about brand awareness . Company philosophy,consumer demand , trend lines , brand strategy ,latest innovation to retail audience but nowhere in any shape or form is QUALITYY or STANDARDS mentioned