Are there ANY kitchen suppliers it's safe to use?

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  • pollypenny
    pollypenny Posts: 29,393 Forumite
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    Use a local firm that has a local reputation to maintain.

    They!!!8217;ll probably live in the area, use fitters and electricians who do so as well. They!!!8217;ll want to maintain a good reputation.
    Member #14 of SKI-ers club

    Words, words, they're all we have to go by!.

    (Pity they are mangled by this autocorrect!)
  • parcival
    parcival Posts: 949 Forumite
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    We are just embarking on a new kitchen. It is being provided and installed by a highly recommended local fitter.
    He is sourcing the units from a company called Crown Imperial.
  • moneyistooshorttomention
    moneyistooshorttomention Posts: 17,940 Forumite
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    pollypenny wrote: »
    Use a local firm that has a local reputation to maintain.

    They!!!8217;ll probably live in the area, use fitters and electricians who do so as well. They!!!8217;ll want to maintain a good reputation.

    To which I'd add - make it clear what your standards are.

    Thankfully, the guy in charge picked the message up to a large extent (though I did have to check - as there were a couple of points where it came over that he's used to customers locally often choosing the cheapest option and I had to point out that's not what I do and a few things had to be altered to be dearer/better standard). But the message got over to start with basically - as it looks as if he chose his best kitchen fitter for me (ie the correct one for my standards).
  • jayship
    jayship Posts: 387 Forumite
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    Homebase under new ownership have come up with a new range of kitchens with competitive pricing. Not sure about quality but probably worth looking.
    The Australian owners have a good reputation and pricing in Australia which they are trying to replicate here. They have a lot of challenges to overcome here.
  • trailingspouse
    trailingspouse Posts: 4,035 Forumite
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    We bought ours from Homebase - but not before I'd had quotes from
    - a local kitchen supplier (very expensive and not much choice)
    - B&Q - just didn't like the ones they had on display, so didn't get to the quote stage
    - Magnet - very expensive, but the guy that did the quote came up with some great ideas that I used for the actual kitchen
    - Tesco - he didn't get past the door as he insisted on my OH being present (OH was working in India for 10 months, but that wasn't the point.)

    And I spent a lot of time working out what could be achieved and what I wanted.

    The designer at Homebase couldn't have been more helpful, and we literally spent hours going through what we could do and what we couldn't do.

    Some people just like to complain. And some people complain about the wrong organisation - no point in blaming the supplier if it's the fitting that went wrong.

    Homebase are now owned by Bunnings, which is a big player in Australia.
    No longer a spouse, or trailing, but MSE won't allow me to change my username...
  • WeAreGhosts
    WeAreGhosts Posts: 3,100 Forumite
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    We had a kitchen designed and supplied by Magnet, but then found our own fitter through recommendations.
    Had no issue with Magnet - the sales person was great, came up with good ideas and we all enjoyed the process. I really do believe, though, that it is pot luck with the sales people.
  • J_B
    J_B Posts: 6,445 Forumite
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    Bill23h wrote: »
    Hi.
    I'd appreciate some advice on buying a new kitchen please.

    If all the big suppliers are so terrible, how does anyone get a kitchen done well?
    All advice welcome - I've never had to buy a full kitchen before - so thanks in advance!

    We have just ordered three of these kitchens - our joiner seems to think they are decent.

    https://www.masterclasskitchens.co.uk/
  • Bill23h
    Bill23h Posts: 68 Forumite
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    trailingspouse wrote: »
    We bought ours from Homebase - but not before I'd had quotes from
    - a local kitchen supplier (very expensive and not much choice)
    - B&Q - just didn't like the ones they had on display, so didn't get to the quote stage
    - Magnet - very expensive, but the guy that did the quote came up with some great ideas that I used for the actual kitchen
    - Tesco - he didn't get past the door as he insisted on my OH being present (OH was working in India for 10 months, but that wasn't the point.)

    And I spent a lot of time working out what could be achieved and what I wanted.

    The designer at Homebase couldn't have been more helpful, and we literally spent hours going through what we could do and what we couldn't do.

    Some people just like to complain. And some people complain about the wrong organisation - no point in blaming the supplier if it's the fitting that went wrong.

    Homebase are now owned by Bunnings, which is a big player in Australia.

    This is good stuff, thanks to you and all the other responders.
    1. I didn't know Tesco did kitchens - don't think they do now??
    2. " he didn't get past the door as he insisted on my OH being present". When was this, 1973? Unbelievable!

    I realise bad reviews are self-selecting (people vent when annoyed, but are often slow to praise) but it's a bit scary - does ANYONE buy from these people and end up happy? - is what I was asking, really. I'll have a look at Homebase - I take it you were happy with the end result? - and maybe look at a local guy to fit, but what i'd really like is for someone reliable to project-manage the whole thing for me, even if it costs a bit more.
  • Bill23h
    Bill23h Posts: 68 Forumite
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    WeAreGhosts wrote: »
    We had a kitchen designed and supplied by Magnet, but then found our own fitter through recommendations.
    Had no issue with Magnet - the sales person was great, came up with good ideas and we all enjoyed the process. I really do believe, though, that it is pot luck with the sales people.

    Thanks for that. Were you happy with the price? Most people say they are a bit pricey? Also, was the cost spelled out and finalised by them? I've heard their pricing can be a bit, er, random.
    Cheers
  • hunters
    hunters Posts: 827 Forumite
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    First thing IMO is find your fitter then check out various kitchens and designs. My fitter did all the electrics and plumbing (fully qualified) himself as well as fitting. His preferred company is Howdens and he passed on all his discount. I wasn!!!8217;t struck on their worktops so looked at a company that specialised in worktops and he had an account with them too so was able to order and organise delivery.

    I went off on holiday for three days so was only there for the initial rip out of the old kitchen and back in time for finishing touches. I did have plans drawn up at Homebase and Ikea and the fitter and I tweaked them to what I wanted and his suggestions as to what actually could be done.
    :j
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