# New Kitchen Nightmare!



## mousey (15 Aug 2008)

I am at my wits end with a new kitchen that we have recently had fitted and was wondering if anyone had any advice for me as to what I can do next.

We booked the Kitchen in mid June and had the said kitchen delivered and fitted in  mid July. 

However on the day of delivery, we discovered that the appliances that we had paid for where not included. Also missing were the cutlery insert and a panel that two shelves were to be placed on. 

My husband rang the company and they told him that the cutlery insert and panel would be reordered from the warehouse but because of the builders holidays we would have to wait. 

In relation to the appliances they advised us that we did not pay and that they had no record of them. I am quite meticulous in keeping documentation and my husband had to travel to the sales office with our receipt to prove payment.

On arriving at the office the sales assistant apologised and said he had found the confirmation of order but unfortunately it wasn’t passed onto the warehouse, he assured us that he would contact the warehouse that day. 

My husband travelled home and was then informed by phone that we would have to wait up to 5 wks for the appliances to be delivered (hob and dishwasher). 

My husband was quite irate by this and said that these were needed ASAP. The fitter started to fit the kitchen on Tuesday and on the Wed he explained that he would be late as he had to collect our appliances. I was delighted at the quick turnaround. This was short lived as when I returned home that evening I found that we had been given shop models. This was not discussed and I was quite unhappy as we had paid top dollar for these products.

My husband contacted the sales office again and the sales assistant said it was crossed wires and that he thought as soon as possible meant we’d settle for shop models. The appliances were fitted so there was little I could do. 

As we settled into our kitchen we noticed that the dishwasher wasn’t working efficiently. A full wash would take two and half hours and a glasses wash would take one and a half hours. However once complete we had to dry glasses, some plates and the cutlery. We have never had this issue with any of our previous dishwashers. This issue was again discussed with the agent and we were passed to customer service who said that an engineer would contact us to arrange a time to check this. 

It has now been three weeks and we again received a call from yet another Customer Service Rep to say she would chase this up and get back to us, to which we have heard nothing further. We are still waiting on the panel to arrive so the shelves can be put up and the fitter needs to come back and put on some handles that he had omitted to do on his first visit and he also needs to look at the handles that were already fitted as some are crooked. 

Only this morning we discovered that our dishwasher was leaking, on further investigation my husband found that we are actually missing a part.  I also feel that our hob is not right either. It’s a gas hob with 5 rings. When switched on the flame is mainly yellow, which suggests too much air getting in. I am now afraid that this too may be missing a part.

I am at my wits end at this stage and have left my husband deal with all issues up to this point in order to keep my stress levels down.

Can anyone offer any advice?


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## alaskaonline (15 Aug 2008)

Sounds like a nightmare alright! Type off a letter (like the one posted here) and send it to their Manager - try to get the most Senior one. State everything in there that you stated in this thread and also mention names of the people who were involved. I would ask for a compensation on the appliances and an immediate adjustment of the existing faulty parts such as the nobs. Apart from the fact that the appliances are faulty, the way I understood the irish law so far is that A) the Shop should have asked you before pressuming and B) if they are shop models, they should be priced reduced.
Give them a deadline as well to make sure they understand you're serious and also mention that if the issue is not resolved within x amount of time, you will cancel the whole thing all together and demand a full refund. Afterall there is enough competition out there. 
I hate this kinda hassle/ stress as well but a letter to the Management helps sometimes wonders


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## tyrekicker (15 Aug 2008)

Also try to google for the name of the M.D. / CEO of the compnay in question and email or write to them directly. Many large company's have an accelerated process for these types of escalations. 

Quote Sale of Goods Act and threaten to go to the press.


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## mousey (15 Aug 2008)

Thanks a mil for your advice guys . Think I'll try the route of MD/CEO as we were dealing with the Store Manager, who at this stage anytime we call is with a customer. The shop is not in the same town as us so popping in is not always the easiest approach. Unfortunately we cant cancel the whole thing as the kitchen has been fitted and we got an independent company to come in and do the countertop, which we are thoroughly happy with.


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## tyrekicker (15 Aug 2008)

Also, be factual, not emotional in your email/letter and remember to state EXACTLY what you expect to be done to rectify. I worked in this area in the past and its amazing how many people forget to state what they actually want to be done about the problem.

Best of Luck.


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## Welfarite (15 Aug 2008)

As far as I can see, you have issues with more than one company here.

1. The fitted kitchen/delivery/ordering of appliances company.

2. The dishwasher manufacturer 

3. The gas hob manufacturer.

4. The fitter.

All will have to be tackled separately, I'd say.


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## Sue Ellen (15 Aug 2008)

Welfarite said:


> All will have to be tackled separately, I'd say.



Wouldn't agree at all.  The company who supplied and received payment for the kitchen and demonstration models will need to address the problems and sort these out with the suppliers/fitters.  A discount should also have applied for the demonstration models.

I think a quick call for advice to www.consumerconnect.ie would be a good idea at this stage.


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## seantheman (17 Aug 2008)

the gas connection sounds like the most serious issue. were you issued with a cert. for the connection by a certified gas fitter?, afaik it's the law now


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## berflan (18 Aug 2008)

Are you LPG or mains gas? if LPG, is your hob fitted with the conversion kit?


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## mousey (22 Sep 2008)

Hi again. Thank you all for your comments. I would be of the same thinking as Jaybird though. The appliances were bought from the kitchen place and they should be answerable first. However I have written a letter of complaint on the 29/08/08 to both the GM and CEO. My husband received a call from the Customer Services dept to say that the GM was reviewing our case. To date we have had no further feedback. I have written a second letter now to be posted today and have asked for refund. Can anyone advise how long they have to reply and if there are any other routes I can look at taking. I have been told that complaint letters arent really looked into until the third letter as companies hope that you'll forget about it. Should I wait for letter three to be sent?


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## Sue Ellen (22 Sep 2008)

As mentioned above a call to www.consumerconnect.ie will confirm your entitlements regarding these matters.


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## Ruam (25 Sep 2008)

mousey said:


> Can anyone advise how long they have to reply and if there are any other routes I can look at taking.



Write a letter to the company explaining exactly what you want done.  Tell them that if they do not comply with your demands within a reasonable time you will picket their premises and hand out leaflets explaining your experience of doing business with them.  I would be prepared to bet that they will sort out any problems for you pretty quickly.

Best of luck getting your kitchen

ruam


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## Gypsy13 (6 Oct 2008)

I've just read about your nightmare and got a shock in reading the second-last line where you said that you were at your wits end..... and ....'HAVE LEFT MY HUSBAND'!!  I thought...hang on here  ...it's not the poor guy's fault

Hope all is flowing (or not) smoothly at this stage!


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## mousey (7 Oct 2008)

Hi Gypsy, no I havent left my husband LOL. I had let him deal with all the stressful phonecalls as I was in the early stages of pregnancy and was trying not to get stressed about it. At present my third letter is en route to both the General Manager and the CEO. After this I will look to press further.


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## consumrclaud (7 Oct 2008)

Hello Mousey,

I'm a researcher with RTE and am working on a programme concerning consumer issues. I would be very interested in speaking with you. Would it be possible to send you a private message with my contact details? Or if you prefer you can contact me at consumer.response@rte.ie. 
I look forward to hearing from you.
Kind regards,
ConsumrClaud


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## z101 (11 Oct 2008)

Name and shame - or print off the above post or offer from RTE and send it to the MD, and you will feel the wind pass as he runs to your house to correct things. THEN go on RTE anyway - its the only medicine for such cowboys.


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