Stilhaus Kitchens, ‘The Old Emmanuel Church’ Bold street, Warrington WA1 1DE Run by Martin Sersen along with Kitchen designs Lancashire and many others
I ordered my kitchen from StilHaus Kitchens Warrington and had their recommended fitters. I had read nothing but good reviews and sincerely hoped I would be able to add to them. This is how they treated me. Response to having a design appointment was speedy. Design gentleman Will P sold me a Millennium Beech kitchen of top quality with silver galaxy granite splash backs and worktops to run full lengths of my units no joins. They do not do splash backs only up stands and they do not do silver they only do gold galaxy. They only do just over 2 metres so anything more you have cuts/joins in. I was told the installation would take 3 days I am now into week 6 with no functioning kitchen. The kitchen comes flat packed, they tell you that you don’t have to pay until the kitchen is delivered however there is no possible way of you checking all the parts and pieces prior to handing over your money. They only deal in cash. The carcasses will come in white with a purple tint unless you ask for beech coloured again apparently a misunderstanding with the design expert when I stated I wanted a beech kitchen.
WEEK 1
Delivery Monday 24th March 2014, fitters arrived Tuesday 25th stayed an hour found bits missing and left because they didn’t want to leave me without a kitchen. Fitters returned Friday 28th March ripped out old kitchen removed sink disconnected taps, fitted base units. When the fitters opened the door packages they found the doors were of a substandard quality with marks under the finished surface. I refused to accept these doors and they were exchanged however this led to a further delay. The advice of the fitters was not to go for beech slab door as they were most probably all the same and on their advice I opted for a gloss white.
WEEK 2
On inspecting the kitchen that had been installed so far I was not very happy with the work. Several of the cupboards had been split were they had been screwed together. They had cut my metal extractor leaving jagged edges showing. They had fitted the wall units so it left an inch of wall between the cupboard and the stainless steel back splash. Plinths in places did not fit to the floor and one was fitted leaving the edge of the tile exposed. The wall cupboards on the left had been unevenly fitted. However the fitters were not finished so I wrote a snag list and took photos for their return. No sign of fitters waiting for new doors.
WEEK 3
Granite fitted Tuesday 8th April and it was only when they arrived to fit I was informed they do not do the silver galaxy and only do gold. For some reason they tried to talk me out of the sink I had picked and offered me a square Belfast type one, perhaps because it’s easier to cut. New doors arrived Thursday 10th April, but no fitters, into week 4 still no functioning kitchen, having to get water from upstairs. Two doors still missing which fitters have said they will pick up. I questioned regarding a refund as I did not have granite up stands was told to withhold £180 however later when questioned about a refund for not fitting the up stands this has just been ignored.
WEEK 4
Thursday 17th April fitters came and reconnected my water and fitted some of the cupboard doors. They found one of the larder units to be totally blown and ran out of hinges, left saying they would return at some point. I pointed out all the faults I had found and they blamed the splitting of the cupboards on the substandard quality. The cooker hood they took down put in a piece of wood put it back and used some filler still a 2cm gap and an eyesore. The uneven gaps they say that they were only going of the plan. Nowhere on the plan did it show to leave uneven spacing of the cupboards just lack of thought and planning by them. Didn’t think things could get any worse, last straw with the fitters they did not check that the outlet was connected properly so my store room was flooded. I have spent my bank holiday weekend clearing up the water and trying to salvage things. One of the doors the fitters brought has a chip in so have reordered. Wednesday 23rd April waited all morning for delivery of larder unit and door, phone call at 1pm to say hadn’t gone on the van would phone back in 1 minute with a delivery day, unbelievable incompetents. No phone call back I phoned them at 16.00hrs usual rigmarole of being put on hold and then being cut off. Finally phone call back will deliver Monday 28th April, unbelievable.
WEEK 5
Absolute idiots, Monday 28th April waited till 20.24 hours for delivery only to find they have delivered a beech door and beech larder unit when my kitchen is white will they ever get anything right. Email sent, response “We are dealing with this” no apology. Tuesday 29th APRIL phone call to say will be delivered Thursday 1st MAY 2014. Phone call 11.30 Thursday 1st MAY “apologies won’t be delivered today not in your area, will be tomorrow now”........ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVEABLE. I asked customer services if the driver would phone me first thing to give me an idea of time of delivery she said they would. Friday 2nd May surprise surprise no phone call. Phone call at 14.50 hours to say they would be 35 minutes. 15.17 delivery arrived DO NOT BELIEVE THIS FIRM have sent a white larder unit and a BEECH DOOR. Spoke to Toni customer complaints they will try and get door out one day next week. She would phone me to let, me know when this would be.
WEEK 6
Tuesday 6th April ....No surprise no phone call
Wednesday 7th April courier delivers door just as well I was in.
I am now getting local fitters to finish the job. Customer service is appalling the most unhelpful, rude and unenthusiastic people I have ever spoken to (of course that is when you finally get through). Becky the complaints supervisor does not listen to you and constantly talks over you, very rude. According to her an upstand is the same as a splashback. She tells you what the design expert said to you even though she wasn’t present. I have sent numerous emails and the only response to them is they have been passed on or will be dealt with shortly I am still waiting for a response. The design expert is quite clearly not an expert as he does not know what he is selling or what the company actually can supply and neither do the showroom sales assistants or is it that they just don’t care as long as they get your order they will tell and sell you anything knowing they can’t even supply it. The fitters recommended by them turned aggressive and started shouting at me when I wanted to know when I could expect them to finish understandable in a way because the products being supplied are substandard and they are on the frontline getting it in the neck off the customers. However I also found the work they did do very unsatisfactory. They blame the company and the company blames them for delays and shoddy work is blamed on the substandard kitchen being supplied. I paid just over £5000 in total and have ended up with a totally different kitchen than the one I ordered and paid for. I ordered a millennium beech kitchen with silver galaxy granite worktops and splashbacks with cup handles and a chrome tap with black head. I have ended up with a white kitchen with white gloss doors. Galaxy gold granite with joins, no splashback, chrome twist handles, and a chrome shower type tap which the fitters refused to fit because they say 99% of them leak. The only part of the kitchen that I ordered and got was the sink, everything else I have had to compromise on even down to the handles and tap. Handles and taps apparently are free so if they haven’t got the ones you have picked tough.
WEEK 8
18th May finally had my kitchen completed by new fitters. I have had to purchase missing hinges and pay £800 more to have the kitchen re fitted. They had to remove all wall units and refit them. On fitting the larder doors they found them to be warped. Every piece of pelmet and lighting rail was substandard and marked.
I ordered my kitchen from StilHaus Kitchens Warrington and had their recommended fitters. I had read nothing but good reviews and sincerely hoped I would be able to add to them. This is how they treated me. Response to having a design appointment was speedy. Design gentleman Will P sold me a Millennium Beech kitchen of top quality with silver galaxy granite splash backs and worktops to run full lengths of my units no joins. They do not do splash backs only up stands and they do not do silver they only do gold galaxy. They only do just over 2 metres so anything more you have cuts/joins in. I was told the installation would take 3 days I am now into week 6 with no functioning kitchen. The kitchen comes flat packed, they tell you that you don’t have to pay until the kitchen is delivered however there is no possible way of you checking all the parts and pieces prior to handing over your money. They only deal in cash. The carcasses will come in white with a purple tint unless you ask for beech coloured again apparently a misunderstanding with the design expert when I stated I wanted a beech kitchen.
WEEK 1
Delivery Monday 24th March 2014, fitters arrived Tuesday 25th stayed an hour found bits missing and left because they didn’t want to leave me without a kitchen. Fitters returned Friday 28th March ripped out old kitchen removed sink disconnected taps, fitted base units. When the fitters opened the door packages they found the doors were of a substandard quality with marks under the finished surface. I refused to accept these doors and they were exchanged however this led to a further delay. The advice of the fitters was not to go for beech slab door as they were most probably all the same and on their advice I opted for a gloss white.
WEEK 2
On inspecting the kitchen that had been installed so far I was not very happy with the work. Several of the cupboards had been split were they had been screwed together. They had cut my metal extractor leaving jagged edges showing. They had fitted the wall units so it left an inch of wall between the cupboard and the stainless steel back splash. Plinths in places did not fit to the floor and one was fitted leaving the edge of the tile exposed. The wall cupboards on the left had been unevenly fitted. However the fitters were not finished so I wrote a snag list and took photos for their return. No sign of fitters waiting for new doors.
WEEK 3
Granite fitted Tuesday 8th April and it was only when they arrived to fit I was informed they do not do the silver galaxy and only do gold. For some reason they tried to talk me out of the sink I had picked and offered me a square Belfast type one, perhaps because it’s easier to cut. New doors arrived Thursday 10th April, but no fitters, into week 4 still no functioning kitchen, having to get water from upstairs. Two doors still missing which fitters have said they will pick up. I questioned regarding a refund as I did not have granite up stands was told to withhold £180 however later when questioned about a refund for not fitting the up stands this has just been ignored.
WEEK 4
Thursday 17th April fitters came and reconnected my water and fitted some of the cupboard doors. They found one of the larder units to be totally blown and ran out of hinges, left saying they would return at some point. I pointed out all the faults I had found and they blamed the splitting of the cupboards on the substandard quality. The cooker hood they took down put in a piece of wood put it back and used some filler still a 2cm gap and an eyesore. The uneven gaps they say that they were only going of the plan. Nowhere on the plan did it show to leave uneven spacing of the cupboards just lack of thought and planning by them. Didn’t think things could get any worse, last straw with the fitters they did not check that the outlet was connected properly so my store room was flooded. I have spent my bank holiday weekend clearing up the water and trying to salvage things. One of the doors the fitters brought has a chip in so have reordered. Wednesday 23rd April waited all morning for delivery of larder unit and door, phone call at 1pm to say hadn’t gone on the van would phone back in 1 minute with a delivery day, unbelievable incompetents. No phone call back I phoned them at 16.00hrs usual rigmarole of being put on hold and then being cut off. Finally phone call back will deliver Monday 28th April, unbelievable.
WEEK 5
Absolute idiots, Monday 28th April waited till 20.24 hours for delivery only to find they have delivered a beech door and beech larder unit when my kitchen is white will they ever get anything right. Email sent, response “We are dealing with this” no apology. Tuesday 29th APRIL phone call to say will be delivered Thursday 1st MAY 2014. Phone call 11.30 Thursday 1st MAY “apologies won’t be delivered today not in your area, will be tomorrow now”........ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVEABLE. I asked customer services if the driver would phone me first thing to give me an idea of time of delivery she said they would. Friday 2nd May surprise surprise no phone call. Phone call at 14.50 hours to say they would be 35 minutes. 15.17 delivery arrived DO NOT BELIEVE THIS FIRM have sent a white larder unit and a BEECH DOOR. Spoke to Toni customer complaints they will try and get door out one day next week. She would phone me to let, me know when this would be.
WEEK 6
Tuesday 6th April ....No surprise no phone call
Wednesday 7th April courier delivers door just as well I was in.
I am now getting local fitters to finish the job. Customer service is appalling the most unhelpful, rude and unenthusiastic people I have ever spoken to (of course that is when you finally get through). Becky the complaints supervisor does not listen to you and constantly talks over you, very rude. According to her an upstand is the same as a splashback. She tells you what the design expert said to you even though she wasn’t present. I have sent numerous emails and the only response to them is they have been passed on or will be dealt with shortly I am still waiting for a response. The design expert is quite clearly not an expert as he does not know what he is selling or what the company actually can supply and neither do the showroom sales assistants or is it that they just don’t care as long as they get your order they will tell and sell you anything knowing they can’t even supply it. The fitters recommended by them turned aggressive and started shouting at me when I wanted to know when I could expect them to finish understandable in a way because the products being supplied are substandard and they are on the frontline getting it in the neck off the customers. However I also found the work they did do very unsatisfactory. They blame the company and the company blames them for delays and shoddy work is blamed on the substandard kitchen being supplied. I paid just over £5000 in total and have ended up with a totally different kitchen than the one I ordered and paid for. I ordered a millennium beech kitchen with silver galaxy granite worktops and splashbacks with cup handles and a chrome tap with black head. I have ended up with a white kitchen with white gloss doors. Galaxy gold granite with joins, no splashback, chrome twist handles, and a chrome shower type tap which the fitters refused to fit because they say 99% of them leak. The only part of the kitchen that I ordered and got was the sink, everything else I have had to compromise on even down to the handles and tap. Handles and taps apparently are free so if they haven’t got the ones you have picked tough.
WEEK 8
18th May finally had my kitchen completed by new fitters. I have had to purchase missing hinges and pay £800 more to have the kitchen re fitted. They had to remove all wall units and refit them. On fitting the larder doors they found them to be warped. Every piece of pelmet and lighting rail was substandard and marked.