What causes this problem?
Ceramic tiles are produced from natural raw materials. Every batch of tiles will have variations in shade, size and surface finish to the ones that were last made. The final kiln temperature, clay composition, slight changes in glaze mix, and many other variables can affect the final appearance and size.
Luigi Suggests:
It is highly unlikely that the sample you view in store will be from the same batch as the stock that your order is picked from. This is the main reason we encourage all customers to dry lay 3-4m2 of tiles on site once they are delivered, to ensure they are happy with the shade, size, finish and any variation BEFORE installation.
If the batch that is delivered to site is different from the original selection, and you are not happy with the current batch, contact the Tile Depot outlet with which you have been dealing. The first thing we can do is try to find some stock that is closer to the selected sample. If we can't find a suitable batch, the only option left is to select another tile.
Finally, if we have nothing suitable, we would need to arrange a credit for the tiles. Naturally, once the tiles have been installed, we cannot be responsible for any variation in shade to the original selection.
This does not affect your rights under the consumer guarantees act. Natural material products cannot guarantee an exact match for every batch and nor can we ensure every shop sample is current, with some batches changing every few weeks. The conusmer guarantees act Section 10B has an exception that 'the consumer will have reasonable opportunity to compare the goods with the sample'. Hence we cannot stress enough the importance of dry a few m2 laying prior to installation.