‘This has caused so much stress. It has been the worst customer experience of my life’
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A man who spent thousands on a badly fitted kitchen more than a year ago said his kitchen is still not fit for purpose. John Cook moved to Tylorstown in 2022 and used trusted home improvement brand Wickes to do up his kitchen.
The 59-year-old, originally from the Midlands, had previously used the company with no issues, so he was shocked and dismayed when his new £13,000 kitchen fell apart just weeks after it was installed. He also described experiencing "the worst customer service" of his life, claiming the company has not rectified the problems despite it being under a two-year guarantee.
Although John said he is able to use the kitchen in a practical sense, he complained of clumsily fitted cupboards with broken and "sagging" doors. Worktops that he did not order and are not to his taste were all installed, he claimed. He said workers had left replacement cupboard doors and worktops on his kitchen floor for months, while he has been left unable to tile his walls.
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He said: "We moved to Wales 2022 and we went to Wickes because we had a kitchen from there previously which was perfect. We wanted a replicar in our new house, but it went wrong from the get go. The person who sold us the kitchen got the measurements wrong, then they couldn't get in touch with the installation guy. Every time they said he was coming, I had to book a day off work.
"It was always me doing the chasing, then eventually the guy came and did it in three days. They fitted white marble worktops that we did not choose and said the ones we wanted weren't available. [However] he worked hard to be fair to him and we were pleased because before that we did not have a working kitchen and had been using the next door's washing machine. It was completed in November 2022."
Within weeks John said it became clear that his kitchen had been poorly fitted. He explained: "The majority of the cupboard doors are hanging on, nothing is straight. The freezer door scrapes the glass oven door when you open it. On one occasion because of this we thought the freezer was closed and it defrosted, meaning we had to throw away lots of food which had gone soft. We told Wickes about this and they sent us £50 to replace the food."
John said he had made numerous attempts to contact Wickes through customer services to fix the problems. Although they agreed to resolve some of the issues and sent new doors and worktops to his home, he claimed that nobody had been over to make the changes.
He said: "I went into a battle of trying to get in touch with customer services, which was awful. Eventually they came out and took pictures and agreed it was fitted badly. He ripped a cupboard door off while he was trying to adjust it. Following that they sent 19 doors out and new worktops. That was in June and they've been on our kitchen floor ever since."
Adding to his stress, John said he was informed by the company that he would need to get a third party in to fit his new cupboard doors, which he fears would cost thousands. He said: "The recent development is that they said they are willing to replace the worktops but not the kitchen doors. It means I would need to go to a third party to get that done, but it's still under guarantee. They would need to replace the side panels, plinths and top pieces of wood as well. That would be at least [several] grand."
John said even though he can use the kitchen for cooking and cleaning, it is still not fully fit for purpose. He said he worries that the loose worktops are dangerous and might get damaged on his floor. It also feels uninviting because he cannot finish tiling the walls in its current state.
He said: "The kitchen is supposed to be the heart of the house but we can't even complete the tiling and there is bare plaster throughout it. I have been asking Wickes about the worktops as they are on our floor leaning against a cabinet. I am worried they will get damaged or that they are dangerous. Our grandchild is only one year old and we won't let him in the kitchen because we are worried that it could fall down on him, which could kill him."
John said he believes Wickes customer services has blocked his email address as he can no longer send emails. He said has also been on the phone "hundreds of times" to try and get things moving, which has so far been to no avail.
He said: "I can't get through to customer services at all. When I email them it doesn't accept my email, so they have cut all ties to me. I have tried going into the shop [on Newport Road in Cardiff], but they say it's a customer services issue, not the shop. I said I couldn't get through and they said I would have to get in touch with the CEO. I received an email from the CEO's office on Monday and the last I heard was that they were getting in touch with the shop and installation team to see what the situation is."
John said the situation has caused him and his family a lot of stress and that he has little faith that the problems will be fixed any time soon. He said: "This has caused so much stress, it has gone on for two years. It has been the worst customer experience of my life. We've been pushed around by customer services and the shop. It isn't the fault of the people on the phone – and I have apologised because you do lose your temper – but you can't get through to anyone who will make a decision
"When we first moved from the Midlands to Wales, the kitchen was the first thing we wanted to sort. We started tiling it but then we had to stop, and we've not been able to decorate the kitchen. We've not moved forward for around two years. The bottom line is that it's under guarantee and there shouldn't be any question about replacing it if it's broken or doesn't fit."
A Wickes spokesaoman said: "We’re very sorry to hear of Mr Cook’s ongoing experience. A designated member of our Customer Relations team is in contact with Mr Cook to arrange the removal of the worktops and for all remaining work to be addressed and will remain in contact with him until the matter is fully resolved."
