Horror Kitchen Installation by IKEA

melpomene

I have just had a nightmare experience with a kitchen installation by IKEA, it's been a catalogue of errors and no shows, nobody was prepared to go the extra mile to resolve things, such that the installers didn't even attend my house for a full week while they waited for parts to come through the despatch system that were sitting available in branches of IKEA nearby, and that I offered to go and get myself. I suspect that they were on another job and, in any case, all I got was endless explanations as to how the process works!

I feel completely unvalued and the stress was incredible.

Now I'm trying to decide whether to withold the final £420 due to the appointed installers or to pursue a claim through IKEA. Or neither, and preserve my sanity.

They managed to scupper my boiler for several days, have left half of IKEA strewn around my kitchen, some bits too big for me to lift, but mainly it was the delayed provision ansd the total lack of care that really got to me.

I have paid £10K for a kitchen whose parts cost £3K, and have incurred costs as a result of the delay.

Of course I only had a verbal / estimated completion date, nothing binding, but would reasonable expectation apply here?

What I'd really like is for someone to acknowledge that I had a complete nightmare, and to offer a gesture of some sort, perhaps some vouchers.

Any help appreciated.

Mel

Alan_M_2

As you have nothing in writing to guarantee a completion date then I'm afraid you have little leverage, certainly nohting that would stand up legally.

You could appeal to the kinder nature of whoever is in charge of these things by a well compiled letter in the form of a diary of events. Stick to facts only never include opinion or conjecture.

At the end of the statement make it clear what you would like in the way of compensation/recompence.

Always be polite and thorough, when a well compiled and literate complaint arrives on the desk of who it may concern it is usually taken seriously as it's clear they aren't dealing with a chancer.

jimbo_the_jetset

BLT wrote: »

melpomene wrote: »

and we have to listen to people whining

errrrr no you don't have to listen, you have actually spent the time and chosen to read it?

Don't listen to this fool.

I agree that it sounds like you have not got ther service that you paid for. The only problem is, did you raise these points with IKEA or the installers management (are the installers IKEA employees?) at the time? Do you have any photo's of the mess they left, i.e. physical evidence. It will make your arguement stronger. Do you have any invoices/delivery notes which show how late some items were?

It's up to you whether you feel entitled to withold money or not. At the very least that you write a letter to the installers and to IKEA (compy to head office also). List clearly the events as they happened and the effect it had on you. Get someone else to read through it to see if it is a clear logical arguement

When we were doing our kitchen Homebase messed up the worktop order and had to re-order, another 6 weeks they said. Yeah right, no hob or sink for 6 weeks. In the end it was a bit less than that but 3 letters to the store and 1 copied to head office later I got some money refunded back from the store and £50 in vouchers from head office. It made me feel a bit better about the situation after vowing never to shop with those fools again and now I have shopped there again.

melpomene

Thanks very much.

I do have a chronological sequence of events, which in any case they are not disputing.

I did talk to the case manager throughout, the installation contractor's manager was on holiday so I only received brief texts from here mainly, very frustrating in itself.

The problem is that I still have a couple of problems, including that there is no switch to turn the fridge/freezer off [i.e. I can't get to the socket], and I have had great replies to my thread on that issue, so the job still isn't finished.

I think I will send a polite factual letter and ask for some sort of gesture, because you know they made me feel that they had no interest in me or my problems at all!

Mel

sheslookinhot

any good electrician will fit an isolation switch for about £20-£30.

Get it done yourself and bill Ikea.

Meepster

The moral of the story: You want a kitchen fitted properly, don't use a sheds fitting service...

becs

melpomene wrote: »

I have paid £10K for a kitchen whose parts cost £3K, and have incurred costs as a result of the delay.

Mel

Are you saying that you've paid £7k for the installation?

As for cause for complaint, you certainly seem to have had some problems, whether they're worthy of witholding £420 I'm not sure. Different people have different life experiences and different expectations and therefore something fairly trivial to one may be a complete catastrophe for another. The only thing that would have caused me an issue for instance is the boiler. The mess and delays I would have expected to be honest.

Errata

If IKEA are charging £7k to fit a £3k kitchen then Trading Standards may be quite interested. They don't like ripoff workmen. Are you a pensioner by any chance ?

melpomene

I'm not a pensioner, but I am a single female in classic House of Horrors mould.

The actual figures are : £3K for the components of the kitchen, including an oven, a F/Freezer, and a further small freezer.

IKEA then charged me £3,900 for the installation.

The installers have charged me a further £1,321 to connect the gas, reposition and supply additional electrical sockets, etc.

Sorry, I was including the flooring in my £7K figure, which has nothing to do with it.

Lindquist I don't understand your post.

Many thanks everyone for your excellent input.

Mel

Batchy

Sounds to me like you got ripped off, Im sure you would have been better off using the services of a builder. Surely a Kitchen only takes a week to do for a man and his mate, and how much should they get paid? 1k? who knows!

Im Planning on doing a kitchen in due course, my sisters bf is a carpenter and so is the gfs Dad (who is very handy).
Best friends a Gas engineer, as for the electrics have a few friends but they dont live close enough to justify coming over for such small amount of work in kitchen,

Good luck getting the monies back.

I find it hard to believe builders are continuing to earn 4k for a weeks work! But then it is london! so anything can happen!

melpomene

Batchy

I'm not expecting a refund!

On the 4K/week, I think they rotate jobs to suit them not the customer is the problem.

Mel