Kitchen doors

LallyPops

Hi there!

I'm new to the site and could really do with some advice. I'm hoping someone might be able to assist.

I bought a new kitchen which was fitted in December 2004, and I started using it at the end of December 2005 (my place was being gutted and it was easier to stay with my parents than endure living in what was, at that time, a shell of a house!).

Anyhow, recently I've noticed that three of the kitchen doors have started peeling - that is, the veneer coating is coming away from the door and is now cracking. The three doors are close to the oven, so I assume that the steam/heat created in the kitchen is the probable cause for this.

I purchased it from a local kitchen provider/fitter and contacted him to explain the situation. He in turn, then contacted the manufacturer who said to him that they "make no guarantee that this won't happen". As a result, my kitchen provider says that he can get replacements but I have to pay for them - approximately £78.

I feel that this is unfair; I paid nearly £6,000 for my kitchen and don't expect that after such a (relatively) short period of time, that I should have to pay for the replacements. Given that the kitchen doors fitted are designed to be in a kitchen (where there is lots of heat and steam), I feel that the doors are not 'fit for purpose' and as such, I shouldn't incur a cost for their replacements.

Am I wrong and being unreasonable to expect that these should be replaced free of charge? And if I am right, where would I stand when it comes to fitting the replacements too?

Thanks in advance and apologies for the length of the post!

McKneff

Unfortunately, yes i do think your being unreasonable, yes you say its 4 years but it is in fact 5 years since it was fitted.

If no particular guarantee was given to cover this i dont think you have a leg to stand on to be honest.

And yes, it will have been to do withthe heat/steam but have you been able to lessen this with a cooker hood/ventilation.

Fitting a couple of kitchen cupboard doors is childs play, you dont actually have to pay anyone to fit them they are easy enough to do yourself. But remember they are going to look different as they will have had no wear and tear on them. So really for the sake of £78 in relation to £6k its not a lot is it.

Is it not possible to do some remedial work on the doors that are there.

LallyPops

Thanks for your comments.

I thought that under the Sale of Goods Act 1979 something should be fit for purpose' and 'last a reasonable length of time', and that you could claim up to 6 years after the purchase was made. That's why I wondered if a kitchen falls under this, too.

Yes, I do have an extractor fan - I paid extra for it! - and always have the windows open when cooking, so that's why it's particularly frustrating that this has happened!

I've considered trying to fix the problem but am concerned that it might make it worse, given that the veneer is starting to crack.

Other than that, the kitchen's immaculate, so I'm not too worried about the replacement doors looking out of place due to 'wear and tear'. I'm not at the place a lot of the time as I have to travel with my job which makes it even more annoying, given I haven't used it on a very regular basis over the past few years!

McKneff

I understand your frustration, and believe me i sympathise.
Why dont you give trading standards a ring, to find out for sure.
If you havent had full use, ie 2 or 3 stints of cooking a day it must be annoying.

The other alternative is maybe to liase with your kitchen fitter and ask him to offer the manufacturer half the cost and see what goes from there.

Perhaps to alleviate the problem when you are about to fit them maybe you could mix and match, ie put the newest one out of the eyeline and put the older ones instead of replacing the damaged ones. Im sure that was rubbish but i'm also sure you know what i mean.
good luck

LallyPops

Thanks for that - those are some really good ideas! Will give them a try!

Oh, for a simple life!