New Kitchen

T

The_Big_Woodowski

Well-known member
Or rather lack of it.....

Has anybody had any dealing with a well privately owned kitchen company, with a green banner and a bird as its logo? Rather than name them we will just call them Bren Kitchens.

If you haven't then I suggest you stay well clear!!

My kitchen was delivered on the 15th April, we proceeded to open the kitchen at it became apparent each unit was damaged. chips in the caucus's, wonky doors and shelving, scratches and scrapes all over the internals, blobs of glue, much stuck to the glue, edging peeling away and uneven colours on the door fronts.

we are sending back 38, units frontals, we are keeping two work tops a sing and 2 plinths and the appliances - which are yet to be opened due to issues with available room in my house.

We raised a complaint on that day, and each day thereafter only be told we would be called back at said time. The call back never came. We have spent the best part of the week on phone trying to get this resolved.

After 4 days the said company have agreed to replace these in 10 working days from when they placed the order. Advising us not to book any trades men until 10 days after this has arrived in case they have any issues then they will have time to get a replacement out.

This is a goodwill gesture on their part, and I quote

"We have agreed to replace the items in the absence of a full review, after reviewing your pictures I am confident a proportion of the items are merely cosmetic and are of satisfactory quality. The goodwill gesture I have extended it to replace these regardless."
 
Norfolkred1 said:
TBF I have heard they were shoite. The materials are in line with MFI and we all know they went down the pan.
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had read reviews, some good some bad as with all companies.

The customer service team suggested we fit said kitchen, if the decide its faulty they will send a replacement and I can then pay somebody to take it out and re-fit..

the kitchen fitters said it was the worst they had seen in 20+ years. They thought I had bought a reject/seconds
 
There seems to be more and more examples of companies not achieving the expected service standards they were providing before COVID. After sales care has become a distant memory.
 
I hate the thought of having our kitchen done, I just know it would be chew after chew.

In the past I've just moved house when the kitchen was getting a bit dated but I'm going to have to bite the bullet soon I think.

Hope you get it sorted.
 
I think Bren Kitchens are a victim of their own success - loads of glossy showrooms and sales staff, but they haven't scaled up the logistics and customer service side of the operation.

We have a friend who got a quote for a Bren kitchen in the £15k region (fair enough it was a big room) and they took it to a private contractor who basically knocked £7k off the quote by using like for like replacement products on items like screws, fixings and appliances. So what you're paying over the odds for is a more trendy, glossy set of cupboard doors.

I feel your pain though - we've been without a kitchen for two weeks in the middle of a refurb and every morning making a cup of tea feels like trying to solve a puzzle in an escape room.
 
lad i know had one supplied AND fitted by them too and they had 100 snag points on the list when he was done. bloke said he'd been fitting kitchens for 25 years. honestly it looked like his first some of the photos he put on facebook.
 
I'm currently getting a new kitchen sorted.. went to a similar company @The_Big_Woodowski let's call them Gren as I fancied a laugh at their quote. I was not disappointed.

Fortunately I'm connected to people in trade and will be getting a more valuable kitchen for less money than Gren qouted me just for units and worktops.

Hope it works out for you, to be fair there are plenty of people who rate them.
 
Im currently having a Bren kitchen installed for an exorbitant price - I went with them largely as they do interest free credit over a long period and I didnt want to wait years to have it done.

The kitchen itself if great - although it isnt the kitchen I ordered! I asked for specifics on colour, finish and worktop and the order was never changed from the one the salesman had originally put into the system. Trying to get things replaced has been a brilliant exercise in futility - you call a general support number, wait on hold for 20-30 mins, someone listens to the issue then says they will have to come back to you. The next day you get an email saying your issue has been logged and then a few days after that you get an email asking what the issue is and can you phone them up to tell them - rinse and repeat.

After a few weeks of this I decided to just accept defeat and have the kitchen Ive been given.

The fitter has been superb - he doesnt work for Bren hes a sub contractor - but he is very busy so comes for a day or so then has to go do another job, so far its taken 2 weeks for a 7x9 ft kitchen, worktops not due till next week then oven hob etc all need installing

When its done the kitchen will look great - when its done. If I had the money up front Id probably have gone with a different outfit but the easy payment option meant I pretty much had to go with Bren or wait a few years

They havent been awful but Im struggling to recommend them and the customer service has been non existant. My fitter has made a massive difference, without him I think id have been on her complaining already
 
Ironops said:
Im currently having a Bren kitchen installed for an exorbitant price - I went with them largely as they do interest free credit over a long period and I didnt want to wait years to have it done.

The kitchen itself if great - although it isnt the kitchen I ordered! I asked for specifics on colour, finish and worktop and the order was never changed from the one the salesman had originally put into the system. Trying to get things replaced has been a brilliant exercise in futility - you call a general support number, wait on hold for 20-30 mins, someone listens to the issue then says they will have to come back to you. The next day you get an email saying your issue has been logged and then a few days after that you get an email asking what the issue is and can you phone them up to tell them - rinse and repeat.

After a few weeks of this I decided to just accept defeat and have the kitchen Ive been given.

The fitter has been superb - he doesnt work for Bren hes a sub contractor - but he is very busy so comes for a day or so then has to go do another job, so far its taken 2 weeks for a 7x9 ft kitchen, worktops not due till next week then oven hob etc all need installing

When its done the kitchen will look great - when its done. If I had the money up front Id probably have gone with a different outfit but the easy payment option meant I pretty much had to go with Bren or wait a few years

They havent been awful but Im struggling to recommend them and the customer service has been non existant. My fitter has made a massive difference, without him I think id have been on her complaining already
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Yep totally understand their interest free payment generates most of their revenue and to be fair alot of people can't afford to drop 10-16k on a kitchen so when they say look it's only £135 a month over 6 years it's hard to say no.

Ironically it's a bit like life isn't it, those with a lot of cash end up saving even more because they get access to the best deals by the nature of having the cash to spend in lump sum.

Hope you love it all when it's in.
 
Piccadilly Day Tripper said:
I think Bren Kitchens are a victim of their own success - loads of glossy showrooms and sales staff, but they haven't scaled up the logistics and customer service side of the operation.

We have a friend who got a quote for a Bren kitchen in the £15k region (fair enough it was a big room) and they took it to a private contractor who basically knocked £7k off the quote by using like for like replacement products on items like screws, fixings and appliances. So what you're paying over the odds for is a more trendy, glossy set of cupboard doors.

I feel your pain though - we've been without a kitchen for two weeks in the middle of a refurb and every morning making a cup of tea feels like trying to solve a puzzle in an escape room.
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We have had no useable kitchen since the 31st January. We should have been complete yesterday. on the plus side I can wash the pots while having a number 2
 
The_Big_Woodowski said:
We have had no useable kitchen since the 31st January. We should have been complete yesterday. on the plus side I can wash the pots while having a number 2
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Thats terrible! (the timeframe, not the dishwashing while pooing, which I found to be an unexpected bonus too)
 
Ironops said:
Thats terrible! (the timeframe, not the dishwashing while pooing, which I found to be an unexpected bonus too)
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To be fair the whole kitchen delay is not down to Bren, we built an extension and the wall it was on had to come down, and then delays due to weather meant it has dragged on longer than expected. Then this
 
On the flipside to this we are currently using Howdens for a kitchen. Everything turned up as per the order however our fitter damaged a door and so my wife took it down to their depot today to get a replacement. Guy behind the counter gave us a replacement for free. Said he was that impressed my wife had been honest and not tried to say it had been damaged when delivered. I know it's only a small thing but little bits of customer service like that makes you want to use them again.
 
Howdens are very good if you have the money on hand and can be bothered to project manage the build.

I'm using some bits from Howdens and others from competitors of Howdens. 😉
 
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