Disappointing

We were quoted £3750 to have drawers, doors & worktops replaced in our two bed semi detached bungalow. There was never any question to quibble over the price because the franchise owner Ian Wyper promised with great enthusiasm & sincerity, a complete professional & skilful makeover with quality merchandise including mechanisms such as self closing fittings. In addition, all preparations would be carried out in advance away from our property; waste would be taken away & everything left clean & tidy. However, his expectation of a 30% deposit we did find exorbitant, so he agreed to settle on 20%. The contract states that the time of completion is between 6 & 8 weeks. Within this timeframe we had not heard anything from the company so we contacted Ian by e-mail requesting a starting date; we were given a vague time commencing 3 weeks hence. Nothing materialised so another email was forwarded with a request of a definite date, or our deposit returned. Within hours he was on the doorstep; a date was given for week 13. Week 13- Day 1: It transpired immediately that the promised self closing devices were not on the order sheet & would cost extra Excessive wrenching & hammering to prise the worktop apart from the base resulted in a leakage to the pipe work. A cupboard door was fitted with the opening the wrong way round which resulted in wastage; it was necessary to order a new door. Day 2: Three end panels were all wasted & had to be re-ordered; one panel was fitted scratched & their joiner used screws unsuitable in length which penetrated through each panel breaking the outer surface. For whatever reason the worktop didn’t arrive from the factory on time, so the men decided to abort their working day early & collect it themselves the next day. To do this they would need room in their van. Without permission they decided to dump rubble and waste (From jobs elsewhere) on our drive before disappearing out of sight. Day 3: The worktop was cut on the drive; in fact much of the preparation work on day I & 2 was also carried out on our premises contrary to Ian’s promise to the contrary. Because a bag to collect sawdust was not used on the power tool when cutting the worktop, fine sawdust was left covering our drive & was also deposited on the pathway & flower border of our neighbours’ property. Week 15: The end panels were fitted. The door panel arrived damaged & had to be re-ordered. We had to specifically request that hairline gaps in the joins of the worktop fitted two weeks ago be filled; the filler is white & does not colour co-ordinate. The result looks what it is - a messy job! Week 17: Four weeks after the kitchen was installed a 12 inch of piece of plinth fell off. Examination revealed it was only glued to its corresponding piece of plinth instead of being secured to the wall with screws. Would we recommend Doors & Drawers? Please make up your own mind; our experience may not be yours. Tip: If you decide to hire this company make sure to get a starting date at the time of paying your deposit. We waited so long for Ian’s decision making that we were unable to book a summer holiday. Deposit paid: 24th June – Completion: 23rd October – Over 17 weeks! The most disappointing aspect is that there was never anyone available to quality control procedures during or after completion; we expected Ian to fulfil this role; to have been visible & commutative, but in spite of extensive promises of such, both verbally & in writing on his web-site, this did not happen. From reading order date labels on the merchandise, Ian ordered commodities only shortly before commencement of work, which resulted in delays & inconvenience. Out of courtesy we first sent Ian this review via e-mail with a polite message asking him to respond if he believes any of the content to be untrue or exaggerated; he did not reply.

Heidi Schmidt - 27/10/2015 | report this review