Supply Only Kitchens - ceased trading

kid28

Troubling times for many customers and many more who are completely unaware of what's going on due to the lead times for kitchens.
Majority of staff are owed over 2 months money unable to pay mortgages/rent or even pay utility bills. Scores of customers who paid 100% upfront by bank transfer haven't got their kitchen and no information as to whether they will ever see this money again. Back in January/February of this year sales staff were instructed to make sure all payments be made by BACS, no credit card payments, and all kitchens are to be on a 12 week lead time. This means that what they have done is a criminal offence in my opinion. They knew, pure and simple.
Companies House shows Supply Only Kitchens Ltd Company number 06385659 as having accounts overdue.
They have another company called Horizon Kitchen Design Ltd Company number 05875562 with the same MD and the registered address is an accountants. Now, I can assume this is the same accountants for SOK.
I left the company in March of this year due to continued pressure for sales and I did not agree with the new 'bank transfers only' policy along with other issues. As an example, a customer of mine paid 12/13k for her kitchen and then contracted a builder. The builder did her a favour and said if he pays for the kitchen then he will save her the VAT. Fine, customer deals with (text removed by MSE Forum Team) and agrees that the builder pays for the kitchen, (already paid for by the customer) then (text removed by MSE Forum Team) will issue a refund to the customer. Nothing wrong in that only as far as I'm aware my customer still hasn't received a refund for the 12k she originally paid some 6 months later!!!
In January this year staff were not paid and the owners were, at the time, in Barbados and I was told to tell everyone that a problem with the banking was to blame.... Everyday customers were phoning because delivery's were not met and again in February wages were late with shortfalls. At that point, I left knowing that orders were coming in with no guarantees that they would be completed, especially as suppliers were on the phone explaining that payments are seriously overdue and current orders with suppliers would not be dispatched unless payment was made, multiply suppliers....
I have no doubt that in the last few months (text removed by MSE Forum Team) has done his best to fulfil the orders but unfortunately his wife (text removed by MSE Forum Team) has run the company into the ground since taking over in 2012, no doubt at all....
So, where has all the money gone I ask??? 100% upfront payment, staff not paid, suppliers seeking legal action for non payment, lease not paid on premises/vans and Homag not paid for leasing/renting or whatever on the CNC machines on site.
All in all my dealings with (text removed by MSE Forum Team) have been less than pleasant during my employment and even worse after I left. Solicitors involved because I worked within a 50 mile radius, police interviews to answer allegations of theft because a dared to take a copy of my own personal sales figures. If (text removed by MSE Forum Team) had put as much effort into the business as she did to making other peoples lives a misery then the company would still be trading.

sokemployee

The poster kid28 is (text removed by MSE Forum Team) the former sales manager at supply only kitchens. (Text removed by MSE Forum Team) He can be found on Linkedin and also presumably at his new employers premises.

I worked with (text removed by MSE Forum Team) at supply only kitchens and he is quite possibly the most dishonest person I have ever met.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team) was dismissed from supply only kitchens for misleading customers on the items included in their orders, and for colluding with a local kitchen fitter to take cash payments off the books for his own personal gain. I know this as I had to take over a number of his projects when he was dismissed and deal with the mess he left in his wake. A number of these cases led to legal action and damages against supply only kitchens. The mistake the owners of Supply Only Kitchens seem to have made is to put their trust in this scoundrel.

The irony of his post just days after supply only kitchens ceased trading is unbelievable!

For the record Supply Only kitchens was receiving products from suppliers, manufacturing kitchen cabinets, and delivering complete kitchens up until last Tuesday. They were not taking orders they did not intend to fulfil at any point. If a company is going to fail there must be a single moment when things get on top of them and this happens, and this seems to have been Tuesday of last week.

You mention a police investigation? I very much doubt this would be regards your personal sales records. Rather than spread your stories and publish your dirty laundry I suggest that you bury your head in the sand and prey that the police investigation doesn't dig into this further. I for one would be willing to testify!

Whereismykitchen

sokemployee wrote: »

For the record Supply Only kitchens was receiving products from suppliers, manufacturing kitchen cabinets, and delivering complete kitchens up until last Tuesday. They were not taking orders they did not intend to fulfil at any point. If a company is going to fail there must be a single moment when things get on top of them and this happens, and this seems to have been Tuesday of last week.

Given what you have said in your response can you shed some light on SOK's 12 week manufacturing cycle? At what point during the 12 weeks would SOK likely order products from suppliers for customers kitchens and at what point during the 12 weeks would SOK likely start manufacturing the customers kitchen? Finally, is the product allocated to a customers order as it is received by SOK or was stock centrally stored and called off against each production run as manufacturing required?

I am only asking as our kitchen was due to be delivered in 3 weeks time and I'm trying to gauge the potential state of completion of our kitchen in the hope that the administrator will permit collection of customers complete and incomplete orders.

hollydays

sokemployee wrote: »

The poster kid28 is (text removed by MSE Forum Team) the former sales manager at supply only kitchens. He currently works for K100 Kitchens. He can be found on Linkedin and also presumably at his new employers premises.

I worked with (text removed by MSE Forum Team) at supply only kitchens and he is quite possibly the most dishonest person I have ever met.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team) was dismissed from supply only kitchens for misleading customers on the items included in their orders, and for colluding with a local kitchen fitter to take cash payments off the books for his own personal gain. I know this as I had to take over a number of his projects when he was dismissed and deal with the mess he left in his wake. A number of these cases led to legal action and damages against supply only kitchens. The mistake the owners of Supply Only Kitchens seem to have made is to put their trust in this scoundrel.

The irony of his post just days after supply only kitchens ceased trading is unbelievable!

For the record Supply Only kitchens was receiving products from suppliers, manufacturing kitchen cabinets, and delivering complete kitchens up until last Tuesday. They were not taking orders they did not intend to fulfil at any point. If a company is going to fail there must be a single moment when things get on top of them and this happens, and this seems to have been Tuesday of last week.

You mention a police investigation? I very much doubt this would be regards your personal sales records. Rather than spread your stories and publish your dirty laundry I suggest that you bury your head in the sand and prey that the police investigation doesn't dig into this further. I for one would be willing to testify!

Very brave of you to post anonymously , may I say..


So you are saying this person was a) stealing kitchens and being paid in cash( no doubt he would be charged by now)
Or
recommending his own fitter , for the fitting ( not quite the same, yet it's honest to tell the customer to pay by bacs ?)

This does seem to be a case of" let's find someone to blame "
And trying to shut them up with threats.

Asking people to pay a failing business by bacs is highly unpleasant.

[Deleted User]

hollydays wrote: »

Very brave of you to post anonymously , may I say..

Posting anonymously but making allegations about a named individual is hardly "brave" in my opinion.

Thankfully, MSE have deleted the personal details posted.

I urge MSE regulars not to get involved in such public spats, especially "congratulating" one side (or the other) for posting anonymous accusations of wrong doing. Either or both posters could be telling lies.

I regard both posts as inappropriate to a discussion forum about Consumer Rights. Customers of this failed company need advice about how they will get restitution, not a blow-by-blow account of where the owners allegedly went on holiday and/or who was sacked for apparent dishonesty.

sokemployee

Everyone seems to post here anonymously including kid28. I will be happy to go public if this goes to court as it should.

Neither of the conclusions in your post are correct so let me clarify. The kitchen was discounted at office end with a additional deposit paid by the customer to the fitter off books. This was then split between the fitter and kid28. This fitter was recommended by kid28 and in many of these cases this fitter never turned up. This is why kid28 was dismissed but the full extent of these actions and the consequences were only revealed once he had left. Do you don't think this is an underhand and self centred and criminal offence. Lying to the customer, lying to their employer, and then lying on a forum.

Supply only kitchens has accepted both bank transfers and card payments for the last 10 years. From my own personal sales I would say it was half and half. What does the owners of supply only kitchens possibly have to gain by receiving bank payments rather than card payments? If the business has closed the liability to them is the same for each method. If there were ever issues along the way supply only resolved them regardless of the customers method of payment.

I understand that now that supply only has gone bust any customers that paid by BACS are unprotected. But if this is a crime then perhaps bank transfer payments should be banned throughout the industry or in every industry! As long as it is not a crime it our responsibility to choose where to purchase from and how to pay and not now look 'for someone to blame'. With hindsight I regret accepting bank payments but that is with hindsight. If I go to work for another business I can't very well refuse to accept a bank payment can I? A business can struggle and survive, or struggle and go bust. If supply only kitchens had called it a day 2 years ago or 1 year ago or 1 month ago we would have been having this same conversation then.

Finally regards the lead time of 12 weeks. The lead time was 8-12 weeks for many years depending on the product and extended to 12 weeks for all kitchens about 8 months ago. This increase came with new fully bespoke door styles, as well as other made to order features. The only time kitchens were sold at very quick lead times was through false promises made by kid28 during his days. Have a look on line. If a kitchen is quality and made to order it is on an extended lead time. If it is off the shelf or standardised it should be on a quick lead time. If a kitchen is made to order and supply only the full payment is usually asked for, if it is off the shelf or standardised split payment may be accepted.

Regards the manufacturing cycle items were ordered in for each customer and cabinets were made to order for each customer with deliveries in particular colours and styles coming in for each customer. The cabinets were made last as it was in house. If everything was received and manufactured before they went bust it may be in the form a complete kitchen or it may be in the warehouse but just not yet assembled, or perhaps with no cabinets yet.

agrinnall

Moneyineptitude wrote: »

Posting anonymously but making allegations about a named individual is hardly "brave" in my opinion.

Sarcasm, but obviously over your head...

naedanger

sokemployee wrote: »

Supply only kitchens has accepted both bank transfers and card payments for the last 10 years.

There was an accusation that since February (or thereabouts) payments had to be made by bank transfer. Is there any truth in this accusation?

smafters

Thanks for the insight SOK Employee but I think what we disappointed customers would like to know is: at what point after our payment would the materials normally have been ordered, and when would the directors have known that those materials would not be supplied? Logic suggests that the materials would be ordered early in the process, and the suppliers would notify SOK pretty promptly if the order was declined. The directors could then have cancelled our orders and refunded us couldn't they (as per their website T&C's)? But they chose not to do that because they were using these payments as cashflow in order to continue the business for as long as possible, even though it would have been obvious that the company had no prospect of recovering. That is a crime.
nb. you say an SOK kitchen was delivered as recently as last Tuesday: when did that customer pay for it?

[Deleted User]

agrinnall wrote: »

Sarcasm, but obviously over your head...

Obviously.

I see the ongoing "discussion" (which was the main thrust of my post) continues apace.

I'll leave you all to it..