wren kitchens prices do they make them up?

k100danny

sorry if this isn't the right place for this but i wondered about peoples experiences. I have seen lots of negative reviews like a lot of places, people only seem to be really vocal when they have a bad experience.

I have my eye on one of their kitchens but what has put me off is their hidden pricing and i can't help feeling they just try to rip people off (like double glazing salesmen for the big companies who makes prices up then say but today we can do this price)

I went into wren and asked about one of their high end kitchens, i said i don't need appliances i have very new ones, i don't need worktops again mine are high end and new I just want to buy these cabinets can i have a price list for this kitchen. they said erm sorry we don't work like that we don't have a price list the price goes up and down depending on what you buy. I said ok so i have 2 walls 3.2 metres what prices are the units today, again he was very evasive in answering that and said we do a free home measure (i know how big my home is) and then you have to come in for a design consultation and we tell you what units will look good.

This really got on my nerves and i said I want to choose my own units in the configuration I want can i have a catalogue showing which units are available in this style, again he said we don't have one.

are these just cowboys trying to make as much money as they can from each sale? It has seriously put me off dealing with them as i like to make my own decisions in regards to what goes in my kitchen and i can't help thinking they will just make the price up BUT this is the only kitchen i would really be happy with now having seen it and I cannot find anything in this colour and style with any other kitchen provider unless I go full custom with a farrow and ball finish.

Any help much appreciated

Tealblue

They're in business to make money, so yes, of course they want to maximise income on each sale. That doesn't (necessarily) make them cowboys; it makes them commercial realists.

Sounds like the salesman was doing his best to help you understand how they operate - much of their profit will come from the deals they do with suppliers on kitchen appliances, which is why they aren't going to give you an off the cuff price just to buy some units. Nor will they rely on you doing the measuring - if the customer gets it wrong, guess who gets the blame...?

You can't dictate how someone runs their business, so why not try and work with them and see how far you get? If you don't like the quote, you don't have to go any further.

Dr._Shoe

The problem is is that the industry is full of people who give one price and then offer a discount for an early order etc. just like in the double glazing industry.

When they do give the actual sale price straight away, the customer always says: "what's the real price?".

This is why they do what they do, not in an effort to rip people off but because it's what the customer has come to expect.

hjd

My friend bought a kitchen from them and she says don't touch them with a bargepole. They didn't measure correctly, sent the wrong stuff, then the fitters went off to another job and didn't come back. They spent best part of a year trying to sort it all out and have given up all hope now.

Lisbon

hjd wrote: »

My friend bought a kitchen from them and she says don't touch them with a bargepole. They didn't measure correctly, sent the wrong stuff, then the fitters went off to another job and didn't come back. They spent best part of a year trying to sort it all out and have given up all hope now.

Sounds as if your friend didn't use a card to make at least part of the payment, which would have enabled them to claim against the card issuer...

Worth looking at the reviews on TrustPilot; over three-quarters of the reviews (and there are 2,000+ of them) rate Wren 4 or 5 out of 5. Link: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/wrenliving.com

k100danny

I totally understand they are in the business to make money, so when a customer asks for a price they should give you one.

I understand totally there will be disounts for buying a full kitchen, for using their appliances which they will get at a reduced rate etc but i didn't ask for that I said this is the size, what size cabinets do you do and how much are they.

as for you mentioning who is to blame if i measure the kitchen, the same person is to blame of they measure your kitchen and it doesnt fit. YOU ARE. they only accept responsibility if their fitters fit the kitchen even if they have measured the units, they tell you under contract you have to have your fitter do a survey and make sure it will fit, I am more than capable of measuring kitchen units and end panels I make very expensive machinery for a living that has to fit sometimes to the 100th of a millimetre I don't think adding up kitchen unit's i will be far out.

any supplier should have a base price for a product, then they can tell you about offers if other items are ordered. This has put me off ordering from them as every other supplier has been forthcoming, such a shame to as i haven't found anything as nice.

Lisbon

The prices are on their website: http://www.wrenkitchens.com/new-kitchen-price-estimator

pinkteapot

The first price you're told is [STRIKE]nonsense[/STRIKE] negotiable.

My mum got a Wren kitchen last year. Was first told £12k. Ended up haggling them to about £7k (though it went beyond the discount the store manager was authorised to give and had to be approved by an area manager). She was in there for about four hours working on it though!

However, she would also tell you not to touch them with a barge-pole. Due to manufacturing problems with the range (handle-less white gloss), she had many, many, poor quality doors delivered that had to be re-ordered.

She ordered in Feb and the fit started in April and should have taken a few weeks. It wasn't finished until November. :eek: She went through their complaints process when it was all over and got a few hundred pounds in compensation.

She said it was lucky she was retired and had time to constantly chase them and complain throughout the delays. If it had happened when she'd been working full-time it would have been hugely stressful.

londonTiger

staff are probably on bonuses (or trained) to sell complete kitchens.

Better off going to an independant kitchen supplier tbh.

SotonRusty

Wren kitchens, I wouldn't recommend them to anyone. I wanted a new kitchen and thought Wrens were a reputable company to purchase from.
The Southampton staff seemed honest and helpful. After their planned visited out home we placed an order for a very expensive but we were assured top of the range kitchens.
The fitters turned up a day early and started work, the following day once some work had been done their boss turned up and told us that they were subcontracted to Wren's and their fee was not included in the original cost quoted and if we wanted the work to be done we had to pay them another £6000. My wife became very upset so I agreed to pay and try to sort things out later.
We found that the fitters often went off site to do other jobs, we were left without water for a number of weeks having to rely on friends and neighbours. We complained to the staff at the Wren shop who were of little help.
Many of the units were damaged on receipt and took an age to replace. The quality of the work was very poor and in fact the fitters boss actually agreed to give us a small refund in order that we could get our own decorator to finish some work.
When eventually the fitters said they were finished we were not satisfied so again complained to the Wren staff who agreed this time and arranged for another group of fitters to come in, these were much nicer but said they were limited in what they could do and eventually staff from Wrens actually came to clean off some of the mess that had been made.
When we complained to the head office we were palmed off and letters and emails ignored. Only after recorded delivery letters were sent to the managing director did we get any contact.
The result of our dealings with Wren Kitchens is we have a reasonable kitchen but hugely over priced, we were inconvenienced for many months ( originally told 5 weeks).
We got no compensation from Wrens because they say it was the fitters who were at fault. We just wanted the matter ended and put behind us as an expensive lesson learned.
Please be very careful if you wish to have a kitchen fitted and are thinking of using Wrens.

k100danny wrote: »

sorry if this isn't the right place for this but i wondered about peoples experiences. I have seen lots of negative reviews like a lot of places, people only seem to be really vocal when they have a bad experience.

I have my eye on one of their kitchens but what has put me off is their hidden pricing and i can't help feeling they just try to rip people off (like double glazing salesmen for the big companies who makes prices up then say but today we can do this price)

I went into wren and asked about one of their high end kitchens, i said i don't need appliances i have very new ones, i don't need worktops again mine are high end and new I just want to buy these cabinets can i have a price list for this kitchen. they said erm sorry we don't work like that we don't have a price list the price goes up and down depending on what you buy. I said ok so i have 2 walls 3.2 metres what prices are the units today, again he was very evasive in answering that and said we do a free home measure (i know how big my home is) and then you have to come in for a design consultation and we tell you what units will look good.

This really got on my nerves and i said I want to choose my own units in the configuration I want can i have a catalogue showing which units are available in this style, again he said we don't have one.

are these just cowboys trying to make as much money as they can from each sale? It has seriously put me off dealing with them as i like to make my own decisions in regards to what goes in my kitchen and i can't help thinking they will just make the price up BUT this is the only kitchen i would really be happy with now having seen it and I cannot find anything in this colour and style with any other kitchen provider unless I go full custom with a farrow and ball finish.

Any help much appreciated

Pun

SotonRusty wrote: »

The fitters turned up a day early and started work, the following day once some work had been done their boss turned up and told us that they were subcontracted to Wren's and their fee was not included in the original cost quoted and if we wanted the work to be done we had to pay them another £6000. My wife became very upset so I agreed to pay and try to sort things out later.

You're blaming Wren for this - but did you read the contract you signed...?