Magnet kitchens - total rip off!

Jules1014

Hi anyone got any thoughts on this please - We obtained a quote from Magnet in September 2013 for a new kitchen from the Neve range with laminate worktop.
The total cost including fitting came to £13,715.46. Fitting cost £2663.00.
Looking at their catalogue which said “to help you choose a kitchen that’s within your budget” (joke!) - we saw that the kitchen ranges are split in to different value bandings from the basic Essentially Magnet, to the Purely Magnet to the most expensive Uniquely Magnet kitchens. We realised the Neve range was in the medium banding “Purely Magnet” and for a “typical 12 unit kitchen with worktops” it quoted “6,019.30”. We realised, to keep us more within our intended budget that it would be more economical for us to buy the “Strata Gloss White” range from the Essentially Magnet banding quoted for the same “typical 12 unit kitchen” at £3,123.30. So, by changing range we would save £2,896 which would bring us much more in to the budget we were looking to spend. Not true! We went to Magnet to obtain a second quote (dated 27 December during their half price sale!) which we anticipated would meet our requirements. How disappointed were we!
Instead, we were told that the total cost for the cheaper range, including fitting, would be £13,350.20!! Fitting cost £5,070.00!
The cost of fitting suddenly became £2,406.94 more expensive! And altogether we lost 10.72% in discounts applied. So basically where we had worked out that we would save approx. £3,777.75 on a cheaper range, they slapped this back on to the price of the fitting and other lost discount!
And this is supposed to be during their 50% sale!
Con merchants! We will be going elsewhere. Has anyone else been ripped off like this by Magnet. We would be interested to hear from you.
And if anyone from Magnet is reading this we would like your view too.
Julia

hebridean

Unfortunately Julia, most if not all of these showroom/we'll design/ call round and plan how much we can get out of you establishments are the same.
There is no value from what i could see in kitchens in that 90% of them are made from chipboad or MDF with a plastic coating, and once you accept that fact you are best going for the cheapest. Within reason as the fittings can make a big difference. I eventually bought mine from diykitchens.com at a cost of £5500 including the utility with solid wood doors, a Bosch extractor fan and dishwasher and all the lighting and worksurfaces. Fitting was an additional £1200.
So if you know a good Joiner, Plumber and Sparkie do it yourself and save a fortune rather than pay for showrooms and home visits.