Kitchen companies , my experience and advice needed :) Update post 87 01/03

[tspill]

Personally we have gone for a small local kitchen supplier. Used all the same stuff as others at literally half the cost.
Our experience over the past months is that the vast majority of kitchen places are complete rip offs.

[3disneykids]

Originally Posted by Jaybeez

We have a Wren kitchen, I know they get a bad press but our experience was great. No pushy sales as I knew exactly what I wanted and the kitchen is still in excellent condition. We did use our own builder and sourced our worktops from elsewhere.

We also had an Ikea kitchen for years which was great, we just replaced the kitchen when we extended.

I have friends who are happy with their Howdens kitchens, I just don't like their sales system.

theguardian/money/20...omers-confused

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Very interesting article...As it is an insurance claim and the have quoted a very modest £6700 which I feel undervalued my kitchen I don't think that I am concerned in terms of Howdens ripping me off. Like others have suggested though I may well look into getting different appliances as I'm not personally bothered about the big brand names

[Anne]

That article is from 2106. Do they still operate that way? Howdens, like other firms will give bigger discounts depending on how much the trade customer spends with them. Really don't see the issue with it. Why should someone who spends £100 get the same discount as someone who spends £100,000.

[Orlando 2004]

Originally Posted by tspill

Personally we have gone for a small local kitchen supplier. Used all the same stuff as others at literally half the cost.
Our experience over the past months is that the vast majority of kitchen places are complete rip offs.

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We tried going to a smaller local company and were probably going to use them until there was a breakdown in communication from them and we lost confidence. They were more expensive than what we eventually ordered.

[Evil queen]

We used a local family firm who were great. Not at all pushy, explained their quoted price was the only price-no messing about with special discounts etc which I liked. Unit’s etc were ordered and then the kitchen was made in their warehouse were we could go and look at it and check we still liked the layout etc, they were still open to change at that point. All fitted beautifully, kept us fully in the picture and they project managed for us with regards organising timings for tilers, decorators, electrician plumbers etc etc. We had seen them working around our local area and had them recommended by a few people, I would imagine there would be a similar company near you.

[Orlando 2004]

Originally Posted by Anne

Benchmarx is part of the Travis Perkins group. They are not trade only.

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Benchmarx will deal with customers but will only sell direct to trade. DH is in a similar trade so opened a trade account.

benchmarxkitchens/how-to-buy

[Procrastinator]

Originally Posted by skalexander

Stupid question... if you’re not local to the showroom, how do you get a plan done, to know you’re ordering the right stuff?

We’ve had this company recommended but we’re nowhere near the showroom.

Thanks!

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Not a stupid question!

You have I think 4 choices.

1 - Do it yourself - they have software that makes it possible.
2 - Get B&Q etc to do you a plan with parts list etc. I know if you email that to DIY kitchens they will then quote the price to you for the style you pick for the same layout units etc - though this does miss some opportunity as DIYKitchens seemed to have a huge selection compared to most.
3 - Hire a fitter and get them to do it - probably have to pay for this.
4 - Pay an independent kitchen designer to do it.

We did number 4, I think it cost £250, he visited, talked it through, had some good ideas and then produced all of the parts lists / designs etc. Still much cheaper overall even with this cost than the others.

[Rac20]

I didn’t like the Homebase range as I thought the designs were a little outdated. I actually really liked the ikea kitchen we had designed but the flat pack put me off. In the end we went with Wren. The sales part was fine, plus I got a bottle of Prosecco.😉 The after sales was rubbish. Like a lot of companies, once they have your money they aren’t interested. The hassle we had trying to get replacement doors that were damaged upon arrival wasn’t worth my ‘free’ bottle of Prosecco!

How about a local independent kitchen supplier?

I’ve heard a lot of people say Howdens are the best and apparently the units are the same as wren but cheaper. Don’t know if this is true.

[RT7]

We have used Howdens for 2 kitchens and 1 utility room this year.
They came out to do measurements and advise us on the planning.
Very professional from start to finish, wouldn’t hesitate to recommend them to family/friends.

[Talland 2016]

I used a local tradesmen to replace my units in my utility room after there was a water leak
He used Howdens high gloss aubergine units which I am so pleased with