In February 2016 I purchased a kitchen from WREN kitchens. I made a number of visits to the local store and a great deal of amendments to the very basic plan drawn up by the "designer" . I provided them with measurements of the kitchen, a basic box shape which was copied into my customer folder.
And here the problems begin.
After a lot of amendments and changes a final layout was agreed and the cost of the kitchen including installation was calculated at £18000 yep thats eighteen thousand pounds... and included the fictional seasonal sale discount etc etc.
I paid the total amount upfront which on hindsight was my second mistake, the first being to buy from WREN. ( given my personal experience )
A week or so later a fitter attended, armed with a copy of the scaled plan and measured up , making a few notes and otherwise OKing the installation.
Prior to the installation I carried out all the prep work, discarding the old units, knocking out fitted cupboards and re plastering prior to the delivery of the new units.
With the room bare and a copy of the plan in hand, I proceeded to mark out roughly where the new layout would sit within the space available. I had to double take as it was apparent the new units would not fit in the space available . Looking very closely at the tiny scale down the side of the plan, it become obvious that the designer had failed to use the measurements which had been provided to them and based the installation on a longer dimension which was presumable a computer default measurement?
needless to say with only 10 days till delivery I was in a panic and to be honest physically sick when I read through the terms and conditions which placed the onus on ME to check the dimensions even though I had the room measured up by the fitters who never noticed the discrepancy.
I contacted the store and fortunately they managed to put things right but it entailed a change in the plans to get things to fit. Unit dimensions were changed and units eliminated from the plan to accommodate. I was pretty stupid at this stage, and thanked the staff for making the changes even though I now don't believe the responsibility lay with me.
I did receive a refund for the difference in value for the eliminated and smaller units, but this was not immediate and I had to ask several times for this refund to be made.
With this matter sorted the delivery day came, I had cleared out my large garage for the units and appliances to be stored while the fitting took place.
The WREN delivery crew were allowed 45 minutes to drop the delivery so any checking of the units or the appliances was a no no. The goods were simply ticked of the list and what was dropped off was assumed correct all items accounted for..
The fitters arrived the same day and fitted a corner unit, the next day they fitted further base units and discovered that an entire unit was missing, and that other units were supplied incorrectly. As things progressed it was apparent that shelving and soft closures were missing and some other panels were incorrect. The fitters eventually bought a cheep unit from another supplier so they could complete the base unit installation in readiness for a laser measurement for worktops...
Now having stripped the kitchen and a week into the installation we had been drawing water from a garden hose, I was asked if I still had my old sink and tap which I did not, so I went to a local scrap yard to procure an old stainless steel sink while the fitters found an old tap that they fitted for COLD water. and so it remained for another week.
In week two and a bit the work tops duly arrived ( supplied by a separate company through WREN ) The work top fitters nervously shouted me through when they discovered that the sink supplied by WREN was not correctly handed, being the opposite of the planned worktop.
No sink could be obtained so the worktops were left unsecured ontop of the base units and covered in cardboard until a replacement sink could be delivered.
WREN claimed to have none in stock and we would have to wait for them to come in .. The fitters did their bit to sped things up and almost 10 days later a replacement sink arrived ... the replacement base unit that was substituted by a cheap stand in still had not arrived and a Void space that was discovered within which a standard unit could be fitted was discovered.. so I ordered a suitable unit from WREN to fit in the void and make best use of the space available..
I paid the fitter a separate fee to fit this unit as it wasn't in the contract.
The worktop fitters dly returned and secured the worktops and fitted the replacement correctly sided sink, unfortunately a couple of small chip had become apparent on one of the worktop edges and gaps appeared at the joins .. WREN passed this to the worktop provider. The worktop provider put the matter right and refunded the cost of the chipped worktop even after making a fairly satisfactory but not invisible repair..
Now were into week 4 or 5 and the fitting still isnt complete due to the delays in the supply of correct items... The cooker hood was wrong and had to be removed masively large and way out of proportion and not what we had actually physically pointed out IN STORE to the designer.. another dealy waiting for that..
We eventually reached the point where the splashbacks were to be fitted.
A wall unit was duly removed and damaged in the process
the splashbacks provided by WREN were severely warped and after a valiant attempt at fitting , were eventually abandoned in favour of yet another delay.
replacement splashbacks arrived the following week ( week err 6 or 7 ) and fitted along with the damaged wall unit that was touched in with paint. screws had then been inserted in the underside of the lower valance panel to help secure a batton of wood used to wedge and hold the new splashback in place while the adhesive cured..
It was then noticed that a full height corner post had been damaged so that was ordered missing soft closures were sent but they were the wrong parts the extractor tube for the new extractor hood was missing and on close, well not so close inspection all the units had been mounted and secured with unblanked screws so all the screwheads were showing..
We were now into something like week 8 and it kinda looked finished but for the details and the missing bits ... The excitement of a new £18000 kitchen was diminished replaced with despair and requests for the proper bits to be sent resulted in a spare room full of incorrect items..
I requested that an installation manager attend and examine the installation.
After some chat and inspection a snagging list was compiled with the assurance that the correct bits would be forthcoming and that the details would be attended to.
about 2 weeks later a fitter attended and replaced every screw the units had been installed with including capping screws where they were visible, refitted and re gapped doors where required and fitted a completely new style of soft closure which required the replacement of the hinges on those particular doors.. BUT the extractor still eluded them... A further reorder resulted in the delivery a week later of a charcoal filter !!!
Its still not supplied or fitted and its now September. Installation began in March
I have been in communication with WREN and intimated that I wished to complain about the timescale for the installation caused mainly by there failure to supply correct items and in a timeous fashion .
After several attempts over a period of weeks It was apparent my complaint was going nowhere so I tried again and was told for the third time that the complaint had been passed to the directors office.
Eventually I received word back which required me to fill in a lengthy form cataloging the things I was complaining about, providing daes and identity of fitters etc etc and only then would my complaint be considered and only then after the items had been put right.
I refused to comply with the request emailing back my feelings and reminding them that all of this would already be recorded through my customer reference number and numerous emails and communications not only from me but from the fitters and the installations site manager..
They failed to respond after 15 days so I wrote back
and continue to wait
So I fond this site and wondered what I can do to speed things up.
I will be straight and admit that I have declared it my intention to seek compensation for the time it has taken for the installation to be completed, but this seems to be being ignored in the hope I get bored and disappear.
The amount of compensation I asked for amounted to the full installation fee I paid which was in the region of £2500. I now know that this is twice what the fitters were paid for the work ...
Where do I stand.
And here the problems begin.
After a lot of amendments and changes a final layout was agreed and the cost of the kitchen including installation was calculated at £18000 yep thats eighteen thousand pounds... and included the fictional seasonal sale discount etc etc.
I paid the total amount upfront which on hindsight was my second mistake, the first being to buy from WREN. ( given my personal experience )
A week or so later a fitter attended, armed with a copy of the scaled plan and measured up , making a few notes and otherwise OKing the installation.
Prior to the installation I carried out all the prep work, discarding the old units, knocking out fitted cupboards and re plastering prior to the delivery of the new units.
With the room bare and a copy of the plan in hand, I proceeded to mark out roughly where the new layout would sit within the space available. I had to double take as it was apparent the new units would not fit in the space available . Looking very closely at the tiny scale down the side of the plan, it become obvious that the designer had failed to use the measurements which had been provided to them and based the installation on a longer dimension which was presumable a computer default measurement?
needless to say with only 10 days till delivery I was in a panic and to be honest physically sick when I read through the terms and conditions which placed the onus on ME to check the dimensions even though I had the room measured up by the fitters who never noticed the discrepancy.
I contacted the store and fortunately they managed to put things right but it entailed a change in the plans to get things to fit. Unit dimensions were changed and units eliminated from the plan to accommodate. I was pretty stupid at this stage, and thanked the staff for making the changes even though I now don't believe the responsibility lay with me.
I did receive a refund for the difference in value for the eliminated and smaller units, but this was not immediate and I had to ask several times for this refund to be made.
With this matter sorted the delivery day came, I had cleared out my large garage for the units and appliances to be stored while the fitting took place.
The WREN delivery crew were allowed 45 minutes to drop the delivery so any checking of the units or the appliances was a no no. The goods were simply ticked of the list and what was dropped off was assumed correct all items accounted for..
The fitters arrived the same day and fitted a corner unit, the next day they fitted further base units and discovered that an entire unit was missing, and that other units were supplied incorrectly. As things progressed it was apparent that shelving and soft closures were missing and some other panels were incorrect. The fitters eventually bought a cheep unit from another supplier so they could complete the base unit installation in readiness for a laser measurement for worktops...
Now having stripped the kitchen and a week into the installation we had been drawing water from a garden hose, I was asked if I still had my old sink and tap which I did not, so I went to a local scrap yard to procure an old stainless steel sink while the fitters found an old tap that they fitted for COLD water. and so it remained for another week.
In week two and a bit the work tops duly arrived ( supplied by a separate company through WREN ) The work top fitters nervously shouted me through when they discovered that the sink supplied by WREN was not correctly handed, being the opposite of the planned worktop.
No sink could be obtained so the worktops were left unsecured ontop of the base units and covered in cardboard until a replacement sink could be delivered.
WREN claimed to have none in stock and we would have to wait for them to come in .. The fitters did their bit to sped things up and almost 10 days later a replacement sink arrived ... the replacement base unit that was substituted by a cheap stand in still had not arrived and a Void space that was discovered within which a standard unit could be fitted was discovered.. so I ordered a suitable unit from WREN to fit in the void and make best use of the space available..
I paid the fitter a separate fee to fit this unit as it wasn't in the contract.
The worktop fitters dly returned and secured the worktops and fitted the replacement correctly sided sink, unfortunately a couple of small chip had become apparent on one of the worktop edges and gaps appeared at the joins .. WREN passed this to the worktop provider. The worktop provider put the matter right and refunded the cost of the chipped worktop even after making a fairly satisfactory but not invisible repair..
Now were into week 4 or 5 and the fitting still isnt complete due to the delays in the supply of correct items... The cooker hood was wrong and had to be removed masively large and way out of proportion and not what we had actually physically pointed out IN STORE to the designer.. another dealy waiting for that..
We eventually reached the point where the splashbacks were to be fitted.
A wall unit was duly removed and damaged in the process
the splashbacks provided by WREN were severely warped and after a valiant attempt at fitting , were eventually abandoned in favour of yet another delay.
replacement splashbacks arrived the following week ( week err 6 or 7 ) and fitted along with the damaged wall unit that was touched in with paint. screws had then been inserted in the underside of the lower valance panel to help secure a batton of wood used to wedge and hold the new splashback in place while the adhesive cured..
It was then noticed that a full height corner post had been damaged so that was ordered missing soft closures were sent but they were the wrong parts the extractor tube for the new extractor hood was missing and on close, well not so close inspection all the units had been mounted and secured with unblanked screws so all the screwheads were showing..
We were now into something like week 8 and it kinda looked finished but for the details and the missing bits ... The excitement of a new £18000 kitchen was diminished replaced with despair and requests for the proper bits to be sent resulted in a spare room full of incorrect items..
I requested that an installation manager attend and examine the installation.
After some chat and inspection a snagging list was compiled with the assurance that the correct bits would be forthcoming and that the details would be attended to.
about 2 weeks later a fitter attended and replaced every screw the units had been installed with including capping screws where they were visible, refitted and re gapped doors where required and fitted a completely new style of soft closure which required the replacement of the hinges on those particular doors.. BUT the extractor still eluded them... A further reorder resulted in the delivery a week later of a charcoal filter !!!
Its still not supplied or fitted and its now September. Installation began in March
I have been in communication with WREN and intimated that I wished to complain about the timescale for the installation caused mainly by there failure to supply correct items and in a timeous fashion .
After several attempts over a period of weeks It was apparent my complaint was going nowhere so I tried again and was told for the third time that the complaint had been passed to the directors office.
Eventually I received word back which required me to fill in a lengthy form cataloging the things I was complaining about, providing daes and identity of fitters etc etc and only then would my complaint be considered and only then after the items had been put right.
I refused to comply with the request emailing back my feelings and reminding them that all of this would already be recorded through my customer reference number and numerous emails and communications not only from me but from the fitters and the installations site manager..
They failed to respond after 15 days so I wrote back
and continue to wait
So I fond this site and wondered what I can do to speed things up.
I will be straight and admit that I have declared it my intention to seek compensation for the time it has taken for the installation to be completed, but this seems to be being ignored in the hope I get bored and disappear.
The amount of compensation I asked for amounted to the full installation fee I paid which was in the region of £2500. I now know that this is twice what the fitters were paid for the work ...
Where do I stand.