Kitchens - detailed price list?

MGL

Registered User
Messages
11
Hi,
This is probably as much a legal question as a homes/gardens question. We recently decided to go with Cash & Carry Kitchens or our kitchen. All in all, we found the guy we dealt with very helpful etc. Happy with the plans, we paid a deposit of €500 and awaited a call from the fitter.
When this hadn't arrived within a few days, we again contacted C&C, who told us our designer had left the firm suddenly (alarm bells). They appointed a new designer to our case and all has flowed relatively smoothly, EXCEPT:
The kitchen plan has no price breakdown per item(it has a list of unitemised figures). This has become an issue as we intend to supply our own worktop and are not happy with the reduction C&C apply (also, it does not match any of the unitemised figures on the plan). We have asked for a breakdown, but C&C claim this cannot be provided "as we sell our kitchens as a package"

My question is: Are C&C not compelled by law to provide this breakdown, for instance, I found this on the OASIS website (Consumer Information Act, 1978)
This act also covers claims about prices. Actual prices, previous prices
and recommended prices of goods and services must be stated truthfully.
Where a price is stated it should be clear what particular item it relates
to. It should be the total price and there should be no hidden extras. If a
retailer makes a mistake the buyer does not have the right to demand that the goods be sold to them at the marked price.

Any good advice out there on my rights or best course of action?
Thx,
MGL.
 
I don't think that the legislation above obliges them to give a detailed breakdown of their charges. They are offering you something - "a kitchen, in part or full" - and this is what the price relates to. If you didn't clarify with them that you want "a kitchen - minus the worktop that they might normally supply" then you should do so now and, if necessary, get a revised price from them.
 
Thx Clubman....I should probably have clarified that when discussing the kitchen with the original designer, we asked for flexibility on the worktop. He said that was fine, he would include it in the quote, but if we chose another self-supplied one, he would take it into account...hindsight would suggest we should have taken 2 quotes, with and without worktop.
What really bugs me abouyt this is the "customer experience" to here had been very good, but their reluctance to part with this information is breeding a certain suspicion on my part....

MGL
 
Yes, and to be fair, they are not disputing our right to supply our own worktop it is just the discount they apply does not tie in with any of the unitemised figures or resemble the price we've seen elsewhere for the same length of comparable worktop. (We are also supplying our own handles, and are not receiving a discount for not using theirs, as we accepted their reason that press prices include handles, and you can choose any handle type from their selection). Also, I am aware they will sell items individually, so can see no reason why they are unwilling to provide the breakdown we require....Am I being unreasonable?

Thx
 
I've bought from Cash and Carry myself and was very happy with the product and the service but I think you have to accept that they specialise in offering a one stop shop solution- i.e. you buy units, worktops and accessories from them and select from their limited range. They secure discounts from their suppliers based on the huge volume of product they sell each year and presumably these savings are passed onto customers. For such savings you have to accept that some compromise is inevitable- they may be buying a pair of kitchen handles for a couple of euro apiece but to omit them and offer you the doors without the handles will eat into their profit margin on what is (I believe) a very competetively priced product. They may not offer the doors minus the handles (which your fitter will have to fit anyway) but they should have given the cost variation on the worktop option.