Optiplan kitchen units

pambie

We bought a new build house 6 years ago that had an brand new Optiplan kitchen.
Last year the vinyl started to come away from the wall cabinet doors.
I contacted Optiplan who said that there was a fault with the doors and they would quote for replacement doors.
They sent me a quote for £1000 for 5 doors, but said that they had changed manufacturer since supplying my units and they thought that the replacement doors would not match the existing doors and it was better to have all the doors replaced at a cost of £3500.
I was surprised as most of the DIY or building websites say that kitchen units should last at least 15 years and a lot of the 'budget' kitchen unit suppliers guarantee for at least 10 years.
So I again contacted Optiplan who now say that as they supplied the units to the builder and not me, they have no liability to us.
Does anyone know if this is right?

Leif

Optiplan kitchens have a long guarantee, either 20 years, or 25 years, covering faults in workmanship. I guess you should contact the builder, and also look through all of your documents saved from when you bought the house.

As Optiplan seem to have a record of the installation via the builder, it seems to me somewhat mean not to honour the warranty. I suppose when they supply to a builder they might sell at a lower price and provide a lower standard of warranty.

ryder72

In the interest of customer relations I would expect Optiplan to replace these doors FOC. If they cant get a colour match, then they should do whatever is needed at no additional cost to you. Whether or not they are required to under the terms of their warranty is a different issue.

This is another instance where the weakness of vinyl/foil wrap doors is reinforced. MY advise is to avoid vinyl wraps at all costs. Its a problem waiting to happen.

fatboyfat1

they only give that on the cabinets - not the doors. I have just rejected 75% of my new kitchen doors as they were such poor quality and have told them that I want the kitchen out and my money returned if they cant fix it ( 5 weeks and a couple of attempts so far)

I did a check on them at companies house and whilst a strong company the directors are taking an awful lot of money out of the business in dividends - so in reality as its not insurance backed its not worth the paper its written on if they decide that they have had enough and sell it on/off.

Personally I would look at for the specialist companies that do door refresh/replacements and get a comparison from them.

Leif

fatboyfat1 wrote: »

they only give that on the cabinets - not the doors. I have just rejected 75% of my new kitchen doors as they were such poor quality and have told them that I want the kitchen out and my money returned if they cant fix it ( 5 weeks and a couple of attempts so far)

I did a check on them at companies house and whilst a strong company the directors are taking an awful lot of money out of the business in dividends - so in reality as its not insurance backed its not worth the paper its written on if they decide that they have had enough and sell it on/off.

Personally I would look at for the specialist companies that do door refresh/replacements and get a comparison from them.

The warranty on wood doors is 20 years. On vinyl wrapped doors it is 5 years. On painted and lacquered gloss doors it is 1 year.

What document did you examine at Companies House?

Which Optiplan branch did you deal with?

It would be odd for them to close as they are doing quite well during the recession unlike many companies.

keystone

Hate to burst your bubble Fatty but often insurance backed guarantees frequently ain't worth the paper they are printed on either.

Cheers

ryder72

fatboyfat1 - What is your point exactly with Optiplan directors taking large dividends? That is money left in the company after paying tax on profit. What the shareholders do with the money is entirely their business, no-one else's. Insurance backed guarantees are just that, and have no bearing whatsoever on the financial standing of the kitchen company. You are simply muddying the waters with that statement without adding any value whatsoever to the discussion.

Leif - I am surprised they offer a longer warranty on vinyl wrapped doors as compared to lacquered ones. Lacquered doors will last as long if not longer than wood doors.

IBG's really aren't worth it. As a kitchen specialist we looked into offering them and examined the wording carefully. They are pretty pointless. After all, what would you expect from a policy that costs between £25 and £100 and expects to provide cover worth up to £100k?