New Kitchen

Doozergirl

FreeBear said:

Doozergirl said: So true.  We had OSB for worktops last Xmas!  And the glass cupboard didn't have the right hinges so they were near impossible to open. 

But you did have the builders on site every day over Christmas so could castigate them as and when you needed to

Can't get the staff 🙄😉

phoebe1989seb

Doozergirl said:

So true.  We had OSB for worktops last Xmas!  And the glass cupboard didn't have the right hinges so they were near impossible to open.  

All forgotten now.  

This ^

We fitted the kitchen (ourselves) within three months of moving to our current house back in 2018, but - because we were waiting for a joiner to do other related stuff - it was a further six months before we managed to fit the iroko worktops which sat blocking the way in the room all that time. Fortunately our cabinets are of solid construction (Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch) so we had a work surface of sorts we could use on top.

Because of issues - even back then - with trades locally, it was a full eight months before we got the LPG connected on our range so cooked veg etc on a plug in two ring hob including for our first Christmas dinner here....

The island was built (by DH using a combination of HKOC cabinets and additional timber) at the same time but I had to wait more than a year with a ply work surface on this before DH got around to finishing it with microcement.

All completely obliterated from memory now 😁😉

There's no denying it's a complete pita, especially with Christmas rapidly approaching, but it will eventually get sorted, OP.

Ganga

phoebe1989seb said:

Doozergirl said:

So true.  We had OSB for worktops last Xmas!  And the glass cupboard didn't have the right hinges so they were near impossible to open.  

All forgotten now.  

This ^

We fitted the kitchen (ourselves) within three months of moving to our current house back in 2018, but - because we were waiting for a joiner to do other related stuff - it was a further six months before we managed to fit the iroko worktops which sat blocking the way in the room all that time. Fortunately our cabinets are of solid construction (Handmade Kitchens of Christchurch) so we had a work surface of sorts we could use on top.

Because of issues - even back then - with trades locally, it was a full eight months before we got the LPG connected on our range so cooked veg etc on a plug in two ring hob including for our first Christmas dinner here....

The island was built (by DH using a combination of HKOC cabinets and additional timber) at the same time but I had to wait more than a year with a ply work surface on this before DH got around to finishing it with microcement.

All completely obliterated from memory now 😁😉

There's no denying it's a complete pita, especially with Christmas rapidly approaching, but it will eventually get sorted, OP.

Plus it will give them something to talk about in years to come and look back with fond memories.

ComicGeek

I still don't think there's any excuse for the mistakes. Yes, mistakes do happen, we are all human - but they seem to be far more common in kitchen fit-outs than in any other area. From my personal experience there is much less focus from kitchen suppliers to sort out mistakes and issues than other trades.

In my opinion it's due to the payment side. Kitchens are normally paid for fully before delivery/installation, so there's very little incentive for them to make an effort when things go wrong. Other building work we paid only on completion of each stage, so there's an incentive to complete.

I think having a 10% retention that is only paid when everything is finished would focus minds more. My builder sorted out a couple of defects in a few days to get their retention payment - our kitchen supplier took 6 months to sort things out, and we had zero leverage. 

Doozergirl

ComicGeek said:

I still don't think there's any excuse for the mistakes. Yes, mistakes do happen, we are all human - but they seem to be far more common in kitchen fit-outs than in any other area. From my personal experience there is much less focus from kitchen suppliers to sort out mistakes and issues than other trades.

In my opinion it's due to the payment side. Kitchens are normally paid for fully before delivery/installation, so there's very little incentive for them to make an effort when things go wrong. Other building work we paid only on completion of each stage, so there's an incentive to complete.

I think having a 10% retention that is only paid when everything is finished would focus minds more. My builder sorted out a couple of defects in a few days to get their retention payment - our kitchen supplier took 6 months to sort things out, and we had zero leverage. 

The OP has paid 50%.  This retailer has plenty of incentive.  They're making some kind of effort, but another mistake has been made.  It's unfortunate.  Humans gonna human.  

Doozergirl

Why would they go out of business? The problem is going to be the supply chain, not a lack of customers.  

I'm not sure how Section 75 works exactly, but I'm quite sure the retailer has a right of appeal if you were to try a chargeback.  You've been told by your legal advice line to wait and you do have more than 50% of your kitchen.  You aren't being ignored by them either.   

I know you're not happy but your experience is not an isolated one and several of us have had similar experiences.  It's very common.   You should be entitled to high expectations, but they need managing, sadly.  Nothing is likely to happen at all for the next two weeks,  so try and concentrate on the good things.   It could be so much worse.