kitchen delivered does not match the design??

[craigbenham]

i purchased a kitchen a couple of months ago for me to fit at my home, spent a lot of money on it and am taking my time to do it properly. i have now come to the worktop which was very expensive (most expensive item of the whole thing) and arranged for a fitter to come in to help with this. as soon as the fitter saw what was supplied and the plans he said "that won't fit".

 

it will require patching in a piece of worktop where the materials are short, in a way that the instructions say you are not allowed to do. this kitchen was designed by the company (instore), using their cupboards, their appliances and their work tops. it is going into an open plan space (which was originally the dining area and is empty bar 1 pipe running down the wall)

 

This worktop will require 3 joins (2 were expected) and when we read the instructions it states clearly that cutouts (the holes for the appliances) have to be at least 100mm away from joints these at the moment are 55mm. also that this piece that was missing should not be patched in (even though this materials boasts NEAR invisible joints) both of these things would void the warranty according to the instructions

 

first of all the manager came out said he agreed it could not be done and would speak to the designer about it being changed at their cost for granite. then returned with the designer who tried everything to get out of switching for granite (the fitter told me the designer would stand to lose his commission on this if it was). they went away and many phone calls followed, the designer contacted the manufacturer and they said they would guarantee the worktops, when i spoke to them and explained the exact dimensions (not what the designer assumed would be) they said they could cover the extra joint, but that the design was not right as the breakfast bar in it is not supported, but with the cut-out we would have to move appliances to reach the required distance, this means moving them further away from the edge and in the case it is the hobs so it will be twice as far from the front of the worktops as is expected and implied in all pictures (and standard i am told by the fitter)

 

my fitter is telling me that what they are asking is not right, the joint is a bad idea and that hobs should be 50mm from the front this will probably have to be doubled to achieve the distance needed. and that the breakfast bar will be a problem as there is no support and something would have to be built to support this

 

i was told by the designer that we had to send our fitter home, their fitter would come out and fit the worktop. but this will either require him bodging this and breaking the fitting instructions from the manufacturer or moving the item around rather than putting them where they were designed to be.

 

I am paying on finance and put 100 pounds on credit card.

 

My question is : are they allowed to make me move things around to places they are not on the design and which will make the kitchen less practical and more awkward. also should i allow them to stick in an extra piece of worktop?

 

there was an offer to replace this with granite earlier by the manager before he spoke to the designer, should he have to stand by this (personally i would rather the worktop we picked but have been told it is impossible to manufacture the required piece)?

[Annoying Twit]

I can't answer your question. But, could you tell us whether the design created for your kitchen is infeasible given the dimensions of your kitchen. Or is it just that it's impossible to implement the previous design given the materials that have been supplied.

[Conniff]

The manufacturer gave his warranty for good reason, and although they now say they will guarantee the join, do you really want all the hassle that will be associated with repairs if it should fail.

I think you should now demand the marble be supplied and the fitting by the shop where you bought given free plus some compensation for the joiner you hired who will not now be doing the work.

[Kraken1]

What top are we talking? Obviously not granite, so I assume some sort of corian or maybe wood? Was a template needed at some point?

 

One of the main points here is who was doing the fitting and who is the kitchen company?

 

I ask because the majority of kitchen companies state that their designs are subject to a pre-fit survey which needs to check measurements etc before the fit begins. If you buy it all from the one shop, furniture and fitting then no problem, they are liable for it all. If you are buying all the furniture and fitting separately then it can make identifying liability hard. Often it will come down to the fitter.

 

Also, if the design was always going to mean that you were short on the materials and if it had been done properly then you'd have needed more top, then it is difficult to see where the loss is and therefore where the claim might be, you'd have needed to buy more in the first place.

 

If this was the case however you might wangle a claim for a day of the fitters time, but not much more.