Kitchen fitting (B&Q)

linnett

We had a Wickes framed kitchen installed three years ago, it looks good and we feel they made a reasonable job.

We had to call them back to sort our the integrated dishwasher since the door got tighter and tighter until we couldn't open it, also had a problem with one of the drawers which they also sorted.

However, the frames and doors are foil wrapped and on three of the doors the foil is starting to peel. We contacted Wickes who immediately agreed to replace these items under their guarantee. It now seems they are unable to replace the items and have offered replacements of all the doors and frames of any other kitchen so that it will all match. This seemed a generous offer until they said we would have to arrange and fund the fitting ourselves.

Whilst we appreciate that we are outside the two year workmanship guarantee but it is not our fault that Wickes cannot provide replacements for the faulty items which could be fitted by any competent DIY person at little or no cost to ourselves.

We feel that having to dismantle the units to fit new end panels, cornices, frames and doors is a challenging job and will not be cheap.

Furthermore, the new cabinet trim is smaller which means the under cupboard lighting will no longer be hidden and will also involve further tiling.

We were prepared to stand the cost of the tiling since Wickes did not do this for us but to be told we have to stand the cost of the fitting because Wickes are unable to supply the parts we need seems totally out of order.

Anyone else had any experience similar to this and can offer any advice. Many thanks.

MarkWatson

Just a heads up - we have just had a quote for a kitchen and fitting from B&Q, and one from a local company. The kitchens are broadly similar - but the price of fitting certainly isn't!


B and Q are quoting circa £8,150 to fit the cabinets (including £2,300 to assemble them)


The local company are charging £4,000, ready assembled.


Unless you are putting the cupboards together yourself, don't use B and Q to put your kitchen in (and even then, if you find your own fitter, you'll probably save money).

bobbi1002

B&Q planned our kitchen or so we thought. They were the 2nd kitchen supplier we asked to quote, wickes were the 1st. we used B&Q when they apparently found a huge flaw in the wickes design. They told us that the plan would not allow us to use our existing appliances as they would not fit into the cupboard as per wickes plan. so we allowed B&Q to visit and quote, that was our 1st mistake the planner was 2 hours late and evidently in a rush to leave as he spent no longer than 10 minutes. We were given an appointment for the following evening and spent 1.5 hours with the planner who had carried out no work on the design at all prior to our visit. Strangely the plan was almost identical to the wickes plan but included integrated appliances instead of our own. i was happy with the layout so we chose the kitchen style and paid up (a little over £6 which was approx £1800 cheaper than wickes inc applicances) with a delivery 2 weeks hence we ordered from them, that was our 2nd mistake. we have fitted several kitchens over the years and this was going to be easy its a square room and was prepped and ready for the kitchen. Unfortunately the kitchen units were not ready for us, of the first 9 boxes my husband opened 8 were wrong or damaged, drawer units had missing and odd runners so the drawers could not be fitted plus one of the drawers was wrong, the integrated freezer panels were missing, so we could not make up the freezer cupboard. My husband drove back to the store to complain and was charged for the missing items which he tried to explain were part of the design and that we had already paid, but the b&q rep insisted on payment but did offer a 50% discount and said it would be a week or more my husband then insisted that the missing items were delivered earlier as he had taken a week off work to fit the kitchen and wanted them by the Friday latest. He had no option but to pay the extra we could not finish the kitchen without these parts and the B&Q rep was not going to order without being paid. That evening we spent the best part of an hour putting together the mechanism for the magic corners to find that they were for the wrong side (they were left hand opening for a cupboard going into a corner) - so next day my husband returned to B&Q only to be told that the correct corner mechanism would not be available for over a month - try putting a magic corner system into a cupboard that has been fitted and then try explaining how difficult it would be to the b&q saleswoman. consequently we opted for the cheaper available kidney shape corner unit and was given a credit note. but with the comment from the B&Q saleswoman ' i cant keep given you 50% discounts' - we don't want 50% discounts we want what we have paid for according to the B & Q planner, we want the equipment that allows us to finish the kitchen. more damaged cupboards later, we decided to make sure that the damage was hidden out of sight. On the home run - we thought - our garage was full of the new kitchen and as bits were being taken and made up to install we were gaining access to the remaining few items. then the latest issue became apparent. Our lovely new bosch fridge freezer with 70/30 compartments had 50/50 doors - not another trip to B&Q and yes you got it the doors are not in stock and we still have to wait to complete the install. Its clearly our own fault for trusting them plus the fact that not one member of B&Q staff felt compelled to apologise for the inconvenience or the '!!!!-up'. I did contact the online customer service and have been sent a 'someone will contact you soon to discuss your problem' but that was last week. i wish i had gone back to wickes and told the planner about the appliances and the fit - they did better their offer but we had already commited to B&Q if i had bought on buy now pay later i may have had some leverage but unfortunately it was cash and now they've had our money, plus some we have nothing to barter with. i dread to think how bad or long it would have taken if we had used their installers. Would not recommend or use again - unless i plan and can collect the goods cannot believe how bad this has been - i expected a couple of issues but not to this extent.

robatwork

Couldn't read - can you break it up into paragraphs?

JackieMandK

Hi, as with others I've experienced issues with B&Q. I used a kitchen planner from B&Q to plan new kitchen. I was happy with service and design so rather than trawling around to other companies I bought the kitchen from B&Q using my credit card but decided to have it fitted by a local fitter/joiner. Unfortunately there were issues with delivery. This resulted in the kitchen fitter having nothing to do for three days for which he charged me £150.00 per day.

I have complained to B&Q and requested a refund of the full £450.00 but B&Q is only offering £120.00. Their reasoning is that you can apparently cancel a kitchen fitter for 3 days with just 24 hours notice and then expect him/her to come back at your convenience!

If B&Q does not increase their offer do I have a claim against them via my credit card. Any comments would be appreciated. Will also see if there is another forum where this might be more appropriate as new to this

cddc

Would say that B&Q are likely to have a get out clause stating it is customers responsibility to check the goods prior to fitting.. Which to be honest is common sense.
If you are going to be paying someone to fit a kitchen, it makes sense to check the kitchen is all there.

However I am perfectly aware this is not always practical or possible. So are they, which is why they have offered you some compensation, if not full compensation.

JackieMandK

Thanks for your reply Cddc. The fitter was there the day it was delivered. The B&Q delivery guys scanner actually ran out during the delivery and as soon as everything was in the house the fitter started checking the boxes off against the codes on the invoice. It became apparent the next day that some items were missing and B&Q was informed within 24 hours of delivery. The fact B&Q is making an offer shows they know the fault lies with them. B&Q appear to have very negative feedback, a lot of customers have experienced similar problems. Just sorry I did not check before I bought or even immediately after as I would then have cancelled the order. Lesson learned!

Oswald_Funkletrumpet

sunstarrr wrote: »

We are having our kitchen totally redone, it's a very small kitchen (2.4m x 1.4m). Quote from B&Q was £1500 for the units/appliances.. we thought this sounded ok - it includes integrated washing machine, electric oven, gas hob, hob chimney, new sink, taps, worktop, 8 units, and new flooring (we are keeping our existing fridge/freezer)

BUT......... for our tiny kitchen they quoted us £2700!!! for fitting. Ridiculous, no? Especially considering that this charge does not include extras that we will need e.g. swapping round the position of the washing machine & cooker. It also includes a £77 charge for moving our freestanding fridge/freezer out of the kitchen during fitting, and moving it back into the space in the kitchen afterwards! Think I can move the fridge myself actually!!!!

Suffice to say that we are NOT getting the kitchen fitted by B&Q, although we are ordering the units & appliances from them we are getting a local handyman to do the fitting....

I had the same with Wickes, £1200 for the kitchen and £2500 to fit it, so I think most of the bigger chains will be the same. Like you I paid a mate £130 per day and it was less than 3 days

Dave_Mullen

Sorry have only just seen this forum. I hope you didn't go with B&Q, they are very expensive and their fitting service is appalling. We had a bathroom fitted by them and instead of a "team of skilled tradesman" and a "project manager" and the job taking just over a week, we had 1 "jack of all trades" and no project management at all. The job took 4 weeks during which we were left with no toilet for one weekend. Plus there was a catalogue of errors culminating in water pouring through our kitchen ceiling below. Avoid B&Q!!!!

siliconbits

Hi, did you take them to court? They say their kitchen comes with 5 year warranty on workmanship.