Avoid howdens joinery kitchens unless you pay yourself

attilathehun

Howden's prides itself on being a trade only company and my experience suggests that they do this to avoid consumer legislation designed to protect buyers of their products. If your builder has to buy the product for you then the builder also has to submit any future claim if the product goes wrong. Very few builders have the time to do this and hardly any would be willing to take Howdens to court if you have bought a faulty product. Remember, under the Sale of Goods Act you can lodge a claim for recompense for faulty products for up to six years from purchase. Howdens have refused me any recompense for a faulty appliance which went wrong just after the one year gurantee period expired and they have tried to palm me off by saying it was the builder who bought it, not me. Fortunately I made sure I paid for it myself so I am taking them to court. The lesson is DO NOT BUY ANYTHING FROM HOWDENS UNLESS YOU PAY FOR IT YOURSELF. This will also enable you to see the true price of the products! If your builder is not willing to let you do this, or Howdens are unwilling to let you pay yourself, then I would strongly recommend going elsewhere with your custom as you really need all the consumer protection you can get with this company.

worried_jim

Try using paragraphs- may make your rant easier to read.

muckybutt

Howdens also might I add keep an eye out for planning application notices that are local to them.

Since applying for planning they have mailed us twice with account application forms stating they have seen our planning application for our extension, please find enclosed a product brochure and account application pack.

It went on the fire ! don't know as well if many folk know that Howdens manufacturing site in Howden, used to be MFI / Hygena...they were !!!!!! too as I recall.

leveller2911

attilathehun wrote: »

Remember, under the Sale of Goods Act you can lodge a claim for recompense for faulty products for up to six years from purchase. Howdens have refused me any recompense for a faulty appliance which went wrong just after the one year gurantee period expired


Not as simple as that ,you can only claim for a product after the initial warranty(12 months) if you can demonstrate ther is an "inherent" fault. So I take it you have done your homework and found 100,s of other owners who have all got the same fault?,independant engineers reports showing the "inherent" design/manufacturing fault? If not your wasting your time and money. 12 months warranty is exactly that unless you can prove in a court the faults I mentioned.

It broke down after the warranty expired, not good I accept and I wouldn't be happy and would be looking for a "good will" gesture from Howdens but they have no obligation unless you can prove an "inherent" fault..

"the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (i.e. perishable goods do not last for six years)."

"A fault present at the time of purchase. Examples are:
• an error in design so that a product is manufactured incorrectly
• an error in manufacturing where a faulty component was inserted.
The "fault" may not become apparent immediately but it was there at the time of sale and so the product was not of satisfactory standard."

Good luck with this one...........;) Remember the onus is on you to prove the fault was inherent..

leveller2911

muckybutt wrote: »

It went on the fire ! don't know as well if many folk know that Howdens manufacturing site in Howden, used to be MFI / Hygena...they were !!!!!! too as I recall.

I think Howdens have some big issues that need sorting out but that aside I have always had pretty good service from my local branch in Bexhill (get fed up with other Branches trying to poach me, these include Hastings,Ashford,New Romney and others), its not like I even use them much now.

Now on to my main point, I posted on the thread regarding German Kitchens and other people saying how much better quality they were and I have to say I have now seen 2 German kitchens recently Poggenpohl and Krieder (haven't go a clue whether they are classed as entry level or above) but neither (quality wise) were any better than Howdens but they were far more expensive than a Howdens kitchen so you pays ya money you make your choice.I do accept the German kitchen manufacturers are more versatile but is that really worth paying £1000,s extra for?.......

vaio

leveller2911 wrote: »

attilathehun wrote: »

Remember, under the Sale of Goods Act you can lodge a claim for recompense for faulty products for up to six years from purchase. Howdens have refused me any recompense for a faulty appliance which went wrong just after the one year gurantee period expired ..

Not as simple as that ,you can only claim for a product after the initial warranty(12 months) if you can demonstrate ther is an "inherent" fault. So I take it you have done your homework and found 100,s of other owners who have all got the same fault?,independant engineers reports showing the "inherent" design/manufacturing fault? If not your wasting your time and money. 12 months warranty is exactly that unless you can prove in a court the faults I mentioned.

It broke down after the warranty expired, not good I accept and I wouldn't be happy and would be looking for a "good will" gesture from Howdens but they have no obligation unless you can prove an "inherent" fault..

"the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (i.e. perishable goods do not last for six years)."

"A fault present at the time of purchase. Examples are:
• an error in design so that a product is manufactured incorrectly
• an error in manufacturing where a faulty component was inserted.
The "fault" may not become apparent immediately but it was there at the time of sale and so the product was not of satisfactory standard."

Good luck with this one...........;) Remember the onus is on you to prove the fault was inherent..

more importantly any SOG remedy you have is against the person you bought the kit off. If you bought it off Howdens then you can go after them, if your builder bought it off howdens then sold it to you then you have to go after your builder as you have no contract (hence rights) with howdens.

leveller2911

vaio wrote: »

more importantly any SOG remedy you have is against the person you bought the kit off. If you bought it off Howdens then you can go after them, if your builder bought it off howdens then sold it to you then you have to go after your builder as you have no contract (hence rights) with howdens.

OP can still claim direct to the manufacturer under the product warranty period. This is also the course of action when any retailer goes kaput.Many manufacturers give a extra 2 yrs on a warranty when applied for online even when the item is purchased via a retailer and not direct from the manufacturer.

I have had taps and worktops replaced by Howdens after the warranty period has expired as a sign of good will.If I brought my own kitchen from Howdens and had the same problem as the OP I would still have to prove there was an "inherent" fault with the product after the initial warranty period was over so his/her post regarding "always pay Howdens direct" means little in reality.

The question the OP needs to ask themselves is it worth the time,effort, court costs involved in taking action for the sake of a few £££....
and remember this is far from a clear cut case , they key here is "burden of proof of an inherent fault"..

It would be interesting to know what appliance (make ,model,cost) went Pete Tong..

ceredigion

what broke ?

Furts

Back to OP
I suggest you are being a little harsh on Howdens and builders. The builders operate on accounts and the purchases are trade sales. The Sale of Goods Act is not relevant here. Take these examples:

The builder buys a kitchen from Howdens on 1 April. The builder pays Howdens by late May...if they are lucky! If a problem exists the builder holds back money until it is resolved.

In your case, a reputable builder and a reasonable customer have an issue. Say 11 months have passed since the appliance was installed. The builder simply witholds some of the following payment to Howdens to pressure them to resolve the dispute. It gets sorted!

This is how business is done everyday, everywhere.

Now consider one of my examples. Some kitchen accessories I purchased last April were not satisfactory in manufacture and fitting. I am a bit particular! They came at a trade price to me of £8000 - you would pay a lot more. I said "sort them out", it did not happen, so one year on they are still fitted but I have never paid for them. The customer thinks they look lovely and she too has not paid for them!

missesther

Furts wrote: »

Now consider one of my examples. Some kitchen accessories I purchased last April were not satisfactory in manufacture and fitting. I am a bit particular! They came at a trade price to me of £8000 - you would pay a lot more. I said "sort them out", it did not happen, so one year on they are still fitted but I have never paid for them. The customer thinks they look lovely and she too has not paid for them!

This makes sense, I bought my kitchen from Howdens last year (as matter of fact, I did pay with my debit card so have proof of purchase), on delivery everything looked fine. However, my kitchen fitter wasn't pleased with a couple of items and so dealt with the exchanges to make a perfect product.

Howdens were fine with the exchanges and if I had dealt with it myself would never have known the issues (slight curve on one of the worktops, etc) until it was too late. The practice works well especially with items that the ordinary layperson (ie me!) is not all that familiar with.

leveller2911

Furts wrote: »

This is how business is done everyday, everywhere.

Now consider one of my examples. Some kitchen accessories I purchased last April were not satisfactory in manufacture and fitting. I am a bit particular! They came at a trade price to me of £8000 - you would pay a lot more. I said "sort them out", it did not happen, so one year on they are still fitted but I have never paid for them. The customer thinks they look lovely and she too has not paid for them!

Never happends to me like that, I'm very surprised this was not sorted out.

If I was to make a product that costs £8k and didn't get paid for it because the builder "thought" it wasn't quite up to scratch I can assure you it certainly would still be in the clients house especially if she thinks it lovelly.There would be a bare wall where it once stood..:D