Macauley Kitchens - Bankrupt

mcauleycreditor

Currently trying to get my kitchen finished,
it's looking like we are on our own......


McAuley suppliers are being very helpful,
but remember they've lost even more than you have here.......

One's I've identified so far


Doors:
Doors & More, Redlands Road, Larne 028 28260906

Carcases, Hettich Drawers etc:
Unibase Cabinet Systems, Enkalon Estate, Antrim 028 9446 5190

Granite:
Lamont Stone, Wattstown Business Park, Coleraine 028 7032 8882

mcauleycreditor

Quick Update from the Creditors Meeting

Attended by approx 30-40 people, quite a lot of Customers, like myself.


Alison Burnside of FPM was confirmed towards the end of the meeting as the Liquidator. She did an excellent job, hosting this morning's meeting and talking us all through the process.

I'll summarise my take-aways in 4 areas

[1] Debtors - Bank Of Ireland is in charge of the Debtors side, not FPM,
i.e people who "owe" McAuley Kitchens money.

From the meeting it was clear that is is still a bit of a mess.
Some people with NO kitchen at all, have been asked the FULL amount,
others with near complete Kitchens have heard absolutely nothing.

So the lesson here is that Bank Of Ireland will probably approach all customers at some stage and ask them for payment in full.

[2] Unsecured Creditors - FPM managing this list, includes all Suppliers, Customers and Contractors.
i.e. People who are "owed" money by McAuley Kitchens.
A detailed list of all Creditors was circulated in hard-copy.

Again don't assume that you are on this list, or that the amount you are owed is correct. Contact is Briege Ferris [b.ferris@fpmca.com] Tel 028 90243131. Better to register early but no immediate cut-off on getting included in the list.

[3] McAuley Interiors. A lot of discussion about the perceived "links" between the 2 McAuley companies. The official line is that they aren't connected and there was no official connection or handover of contract information. If you were contacted by McAuley Interiors in the period AFTER McAuley Kitchens went bust (16 Sept), then Alison Burnside, the Liquidator would be very interested in exactly what went on. Same phone number as above [a.burnside@fpmca.com].

[4] Suppliers. Some of the suppliers were obviously there. Despite having lost a small fortune, they are still happy to help impacted customers where they can. The guy from Unibase in Antrim, who supply carcases and a lot of the doors as well, was particularly helpful. One of their problems is still trying to work out what stock of theirs is in McAuley's warehouse.


I'm sure I've missed stuff, so I'd welcome anyone else who was at the meeting to fill in some of the gaps....

HMorton

also attended the meeting to discover the company owes £2.6 million.
Mostly former customers present who had been let down and several horror stories unfolded. Mr McAuley controversially is listed as a creditor for £870,000.
Main area of contention is the role of McAuley Interiors and Mr McAuley refused to comment on this while we all know his son is one of the directors. Strangly the liquidator appears to have little knowledge of it despite discussing 'options' with McAuleys in mid August. Everyone needs to provide statement on the events of the demise of the business as I strongly suspect there may have been dishonest activities.

annegilman

i too have an unfinished kitchen i paid £11,000 less the 5% ,no were near enough to pay another company to complete the work, Macaulay told me there was a five year guarantee ,i paid in cash and am not in the position to pay someone else-to Finnish the job,i am devastated and don't know what to do next .anyone got any suggestions

serpico

Forgive me but am I missing something here. I am baffled why people are foolish enough to pay money up front for godds or services they have not received.

This has gone on for years people paying massive deposits before they see any thing for their hard earned money or even borrowing to pay for then the outfit goes belly up and unless they have used a credit card lose the lot.

Over the lat few years I have had the the following

New Kitchen and appliances. Parkview Kitchens Ballmoney (Tommy Henry).

New double Glazing, Doors soffits and guttering. Holgar, Ballymoney

A drive and car park stripped retarmaced, new manhole covers and drains installed. Coastal Tarmac & Ashphalt. Portballintrae

New Bathroom Installed I purchased the the Materials direct from supliers for the self empled plumber.

New garage and summer house builtl

New flooring done by McKay Flooring Contractors, Ballymoney.

Plus an assortment of tyling , Joinery , extensive electricalwork etc by various top class quaified tradesmen.


In each and every case I received top quality products and workmanship at a fair price, never once to I part with a penny until I was satisfied with the completed work. In each and every transaction I was well pleased and satisfied.

I have no connection other than as a cstomer with the companies I have named.

Never part with your hardd earned money till you get and see what you are paying for and satisfied you have not be shafted.

D.A.

serpico wrote: »

Forgive me but am I missing something here. I am baffled why people are foolish enough to pay money up front for godds or services they have not received.

This has gone on for years people paying massive deposits before they see any thing for their hard earned money or even borrowing to pay for then the outfit goes belly up and unless they have used a credit card lose the lot.

Over the lat few years I have had the the following

New Kitchen and appliances. Parkview Kitchens Ballmoney (Tommy Henry).

New double Glazing, Doors soffits and guttering. Holgar, Ballymoney

A drive and car park stripped retarmaced, new manhole covers and drains installed. Coastal Tarmac & Ashphalt. Portballintrae

New Bathroom Installed I purchased the the Materials direct from supliers for the self empled plumber.

New garage and summer house builtl

New flooring done by McKay Flooring Contractors, Ballymoney.

Plus an assortment of tyling , Joinery , extensive electricalwork etc by various top class quaified tradesmen.

Can you tell me what you career is, so I can move into that role and earn enough to pay for all these too? :-)

mamabuddah

D.A. wrote: »

Can you tell me what you career is, so I can move into that role and earn enough to pay for all these too? :-)

lol...judging by Forum name SERPICO...I would say a cop...lol

martinbel

hi i too paid a deposit for a new kitchen with mcauley kitchens but as I paid using my visa DEBIT card I have since received a refund for the full amount of the deposit. if anyone has paid this way contact your bank.

PaulG77

serpico wrote:

Forgive me but am I missing something here. I am baffled why people are foolish enough to pay money up front for godds or services they have not received.

Looking back on this decision it was more than foolish. I knew better but at the time it was a mix of high pressure sales people and my desperation to get a new kitchen.

I paid a £3000 deposit to Mcauleys in June (by cheque). My solicitor told my wife and I that we have very little chance of getting anything back but did suggest we get on the FPM list. I'm still hoping to get something.

My architect has been more than understanding. He has had a few of his customers in my position and he's been putting then in touch with 3Y in Maghera. They seem to be helping a lot of the stranded Mcauley customers. They were £3200 cheaper than Mcauleys and we were able to get the same kitchen we originally wanted with the same white gloss doors.

I've got the kitchen I wanted. If I can just get a little back from the original deposit I will be happy again. I think I'll be putting this down to yet another life lesson.

Thingies

I had a kitchen installed about six years ago. This was a white gloss finish and I was very pleased with it [at the time] About a year ago some of the drawers fronts, panels and cupboards started to fail and the white laminate finish cracked and fell off. McAuley's replaced those that had failed. I got the impression I was not the only customer this had happened to. Some more have now showed the same symptoms.

I was told at the time that this was a fault with adhesive used in the manufacturing process.

I need some replacements and am wondering where I can source them.

Ideally I would like to go back to the original manufacturer and have a 'discussion' on liability for the failure.

Any pointers gratefully received.