A Leeds homeowner is the latest DIY enthusiast to have won compensation from Dulux after decorating much of his house with the company's brilliant white paint, only to find it turning yellow.
John Margerison says it was just a matter of weeks before all the new paint on his doors, skirting boards and stair areas changed to the unwanted hue.

Dulux, an AkzoNobel brand, offered Mr Margerison a few hundred pounds in compensation and said it would redecorate his house. Instead, though, he took his case to the small claims court, where the judge ruled in his favour, and he has now been awarded £2,010.

Mr Margerison is not the first to have discovered that Dulux brilliant white gloss can prove to be something of a misnomer. The brand has reportedly had to pay out thousands of pounds to homeowners who have ended up with yellow woodwork instead of white.

The problem emerged back in 2010 as a result of new EU regulations requiring companies to reduce the levels of solvent in oil-based paint. Manufacturers reformulated their products, but in some cases this resulted in more rapid yellowing.

Customer complaints drew the attention of BBC's Watchdog programme, but, defending its position, a Dulux representative told viewers that the company had solved the problem in 2011 and that its paint was now as reliable as it had been before the new rules came in.

In a statement on Mr Margerison's case, AkzoNobel said: "AkzoNobel takes all issues of customer satisfaction very seriously.

"In this case, we endeavoured to resolve Mr Margerison's complaint, which related to paint manufactured a number of years ago, by offering to repaint areas complained of, at our cost. We are disappointed that this case had to proceed to a court hearing."

Mr Margerison bought his paint at Leeds Homebase, which he says handled his complaint extremely well.

A Homebase spokesman said: "We would like to apologise to Mr Margerison for his experience when purchasing some Dulux paint from us. Customer satisfaction is a top priority for us, and we have been working closely with Dulux to help them resolve this issue."