Sharps v Hammonds Furniture

dhobi

I'm in the process of buying a Redrow new build and one of the optional upgrades is Hammond built-in wardrobes. They are triple sliding jobs with or without mirrors and come in at the princely sum of £1900 each. After reading some reviews I'm a little concerned about the quality of them. Does anyone have any experience of these wardrobe upgrades and if so are they worth the almost 4 grand price tag? Thank you.

MartinCG

Another poor experience with Hammonds - would not recommend them to anyone.


Unfortunately we fell for their sales pitch of being the best quality product on the market. Price for 3 wardrobes, a free standing chest of draws and 2 bedside tables was £4,250 (but would have been >£6K without so called discount for early order).


Fitter arrived on the day arranged and he found that several of the doors and panels were damaged and said he'd arrange for them to be replaced (however on closer inspection many other parts were chipped or damaged but eventually never pursued their replacement).


Replacement panels were due to be refitted a couple of weeks later but received a call from Hammonds stating that the replacements had been found to be damaged.


Eventually disassembled units and replaced parts almost exactly one month after initial fitting - during which time could not carry on and decorate room.


Also quality of product was not as we had expected. Base of draws very flimsy and loose - have had to glue them already. Soft close mechanism is awful and far inferior to our recently fitted Howdens kitchen.


We approached Hammonds and said that we were not happy with the inconvenience caused by having to wait so long for replacement panels etc and disappointed by quality. They offered us 1% off bill. I said that a 1% discount was actually an insult to which they escalated it to 2%; I said this was still an insult but they would not budge.


Hence, poor service, poor quality and on reflection very expensive for what we got for the money. Steer clear of Hammonds.

ontheland

I don't know about Hammonds, but we had an awful experience with Sharps. The size of sharps company has gone up, but their quality has gone down. They are hiring designers who are not well qualified or professional. Their designer (Jarm..owicz) didn't even bother to show up on his appointment, and his manager didn't even bother to offer an explanation or apology.

petrovpete

I used a company called Bravo London - they did a great job and quotes half the price of hammonds.

I got a design sketch from hammonds initially which was a little overwealming - and i then went ahead on a hunt for alternatives.

Visited a few showrooms and came across Bravo London - based in Park Royal i believe.
Their showroom was pretty impressive and quality was impressive.
Installation time took a few days longer then expected, but i guess it is all made to measure so you can expect a day or two delay.

Anyway, i hope this helps.
Good luck everybody.

cwauk

It may have just been the specific wardrobes we chose but we had 2 and have had nothing but problems with the doors and frames warping, the soft openers failing repeatedly, and the doors developing a 'clanking' sound when they open, and a range of other related problems. Hammond's standard procedure is to deny the problem is due to the product which is kind of baffling. 2 wardrobes for 3k seemed like we were buying a reasonably decent product but they are just awefull quality and we wish we had gone for Sharps. In hindsight even Ikea would have probably been better and we would have saved a load of money. The ironic thing with hammonds was at the time we wanted to buy some furniture too and we told the sales person when they were sat in our front room, but they never go back to us despite me chasing it up on 2 further occasions - so at least we made a saving there - and these items were horrifically expensive for what they were - but my wife wanted them to match :-/ EDITTED - Ive just read some of the other posts regarding the problems with Hammonds and we also experienced similar issues at fitting stage.

KMaude

Unfortunately I had major issues with Sharps
Design visit was great but it fell apart after that, It was a £15,000.00 job so they wanted a big deposit and nearly all the money before work started. After my design visit I had a surveyor come do his bit, However there were issues with the designer work and it all had to be redesigned causing delays.
1: My fitting date was set back twice so I had to reschedule all my plans to ensure I was at home.
2: They fitted the wrong draws in the dressing room and nothing matched the plans, I had to spend hours on the phone to try get them to sort it out.
3: my cupboard doors were not cut straight and the fitter had to reorder them causing more delays where I had to be home
They do not have dimensions on the drawings so you actually don't know what you getting as my home office looks like a kinder garden toy set
4: They sent damaged table tops causing more delays
5: They tried to fit book shelves half way up the wall rather than totally fitting them all the way up as per plans
6: They also left the property like a bomb site and I was told it was my responsibility to clean up by Emma Atkins from Sharps customer service, They they agreed to come and remove the remaining junk they left, However I was told that I had to remove it out of the property first because of health and safety, I then told them what about if I injure myself on they stuff? So they agreed to remove it.
7: In total I had to spend 8 extra days at home because of them thats 2 week lost earnings and holiday down the drain.
I have never dealt with such a terrible company
I will be posting a video on You Tube to back up everything I have mentioned

bubblesmoney

In the middle of installation of "£13,500" cost allegedly of 3 wardrobes with regular doors some with mirrors. Sliding would have been higher cost. After "discounts" sharps agreed for cost of £7500. 50% "discount" without considering VAT. First designer visit, then surveyor and now fitter. Have stopped them fitting midway through the process as am not happy with the quality of the shelves. Had explained need to keep both books and gadgets and clothes in large wardrobes. One is 5 door, second is 7 door. Third is 2 door. 5 door one had 2 mirrored. 7 door one had 3 mirrored. The 2 door one is basic without mirrors. Didn't want drawers and just have clothes hanging areas and shelves. They put 16 or 19 mm MDF instead of 22mm needed for books. The double shelf was bowing just by pressing with finger without any weight on it!!! Asked them to redo the work with single shelves like on my other wardrobe which is much sturdier. An not paying extra as not fit for purpose as had described what I intended to use it for. Handles were small and not quality and flimsy. Website and brochure didn't give size and I showed designer our existing wardrobes from bd living and said I want better quality than that. Bd living was thousands of pounds cheaper and door thickness is more for cheapest quality on their range and stock handles are thicker and bigger and look better quality than the sharps one provided contrary to what designer said would be better. The inside of bd living shelf is better quality than sharps and much more sturdier than sharps and didn't bow even though shelf extends over 4 doors and the sharps shelf over 2 doors bows just with a finger pressing on it. Having it redone by shapes as refused to let them finish with this quality. Just had the new delivery of shelving delivered an hour ago and awaiting first to remove weak shelves and redo the work. Fitter was very good and helpful and agreed the designer and surveyor have ordered inappropriate shelving as books were clearly mentioned by me for all wardrobes as I don't want mine and child's books getting on same wardrobe and wanted combined wardrobe and bookshelf in our own rooms. Childs handles were already fitted by the time I saw the quality and child likes that handle so left it but had them reorder mine due to flimsy small handles. They don't seem to have the better looking handles of the bd living range. Bd living couldn't install before January hence went with sharps and think made a mistake as I now have 4 wardrobes by 2 different companies now. Think for the 5 bedroom won't go with sharps and have told them that due to their shoddy quality won't go with them or recommend them. Have already shown others in our new development and told them to compare the 2 brands and make up their own minds. Will get the 5th bedroom by another local person and do comparison video and show sharps how they compare! Both in terms of cost and interior quality and exterior quality and people can make their own minds up. Will wait for them to finish the work before uploading video but first will get 5th bedroom done by some local company. Keeping in mind they quarter me think either 13k or 17k before discounts and came down to 7500£ after "discounts". If I wasn't in a hurry to get work done then might have gone with bd living or local builder. Christmas time is difficult to get work done till after January and needed it done ASAP