Wren Kitchens - Give me my deposit back

RWilcock

Anyone else had problems with getting their deposit back from Wren Kitchens?
My mum who is 78 visited Wren Kitchens to have a look at the range and ended up purchasing a £13k kitchen there and then paying a 10% deposit of £1300. After she left she realised that might be paying too much and rang them to say she wanted to cancel. The sales guy tried to persuade her to change her mind but she was worried about losing her rights if she didnt cancel within 14 days. She confirmed the cancellation in writing and asked them to send a cheque as she had changed her bank account and the account she had paid from was closed. Wren claim to have paid the refund to the closed account despite being asked not to. They refuse to pay out until they have confirmation from the bank that the money has not cleared which may take up to 2 weeks. This is because they cant rely on our word that the bank account is closed. However we have to trust them that they have paid the money and that they will act promptly on confirmation from the bank. So due to their error we have to wait. What can we do to force them to pay up?

bris

Of course they can't rely on you word and who can blame them. To get a payment one day then a couple of days later ask for a refund in cheque because the account is now closed would be suspicious in any ones eyes.


However the bottom line is they have 30 days to refund, so waiting for bank clarification is quicker and who can blame them.

hollydays

Search the boards for posts about wren.

RWilcock

Thanks for your replies - I really appreciate - however I think maybe I didnt explain the situation - we have no proof that they have refunded anything and despite being told not to pay to that account - they have claimed to ignored it and paid anyway. This seemed very suspicious to me and we are now having to wait as they have allegedly paid. I have looked at the other posts about Wren and it has made me very nervous about them as they are undoubtedly helpful on the phone but dont seem to fulfil their promises. I was wondering if this has happened to anyone else. If they dont pay within 30 days do I have to take to the small claims court?

wealdroam

RWilcock, your mother appears not to have spoken to her bank yet.

Maybe they can help her resolve the situation.

I must say that it appears very suspicious having made a payment from one bank account and then closed it within days.

I do not think Wren have done anything wrong yet.
Surely you can see that they want to be sure they are not paying the refund twice... perfectly reasonable.

RWilcock

Just got reply from Citizens Advice - they gave some really good advice and templates for making a formal complaint to Wren. They are also notifying Trading Standards about my complaint which while doesnt help my case Trading Standards will be aware of their trading practices. I urge anyone else with problems with Wren to do the same so that these issues can be acted on properly.

RWilcock

wealdroam - unfortunately my mother cant talk to the bank - the account is closed - however thank you for the quote and support. Citizens Advice were supportive and didnt have same opinion - thankfully

OlliesDad

Which bank is this that won't allow non-customers/former customers to talk to them???

wealdroam

RWilcock wrote: »

wealdroam - unfortunately my mother cant talk to the bank - the account is closed - however thank you for the quote and support. Citizens Advice were supportive and didnt have same opinion - thankfully

Sorry, I don't understand.
Why can't your mother talk to the bank?
OK, the account may be closed, but it is still in her name.

As above, please name the bank that will not allow their ex-customers to talk about their closed accounts.

What quote are you talking about?

ukpete79

I have to stand next to Wren kitchens on this one.

For fraud prevention, it is common practice (one that I use in my business too) that if refunding, the refund MUST go out the same way it came in, so cash for cash, chq for chq, and card for card (refunded to the SAME card)

if I were Wren, id tell you, that you had to wait for the payment to bounce back to me, then after you prove that the account has been closed, they can find another way to refund you.

In the mean time, can you get wren to send you confirmation that the order has been cancelled, and you are simply waiting to process the refund?