Shocking.
One star is excessive.
Below is a factual account of my experience.
On the Friday evening 5th July 2019 at 19:13, prior to the scheduled kitchen fitting for Monday 8th July 2019, PMH informed me that the start date had been delayed. I replied to PMH immediately but received an out of office reply; PMH did not answer the telephone when I tried to call.
As the kitchen was due to be delivered on Sunday 7th July I had to contact Ikea to get this re-scheduled.
The fitting subsequently commenced on Monday 15th July 2019. PMH continued to correct various (but not all) installation errors until 15th October 2019. Errors included, but were not limited to:
Poor fitting of the work tops (they had to be re-done).
Poor fitting of panels by the dishwasher (they had to be re-done and remain incorrectly fitted).
By that time several errors remained but I did not pursue them at the time as I did not want to extend the already 3 months of PMH visits, correspondence, and other communications (I had been informed that the fitting would take one week). In total six different fitters attended the job.
I would also note that during the latter stages, I had to retrieve the “NYTTIG hob separator for drawer” from the rubbish outside; the fitter had discarded it. The same fitter did not apply the worktop edging as he stated that he did not like using the edging supplied by Ikea. The edges were left bare.
The snags remaining include:
Poor siting of the oven socket. (Recently identified.) PMH subsequently corrected this. However, rather than agreeing that the correction was to meet the requirements of the agreed works as per the contract, this was presented as “a gesture of goodwill”.
Removal of the extractor fan duct. (Recently identified.) When I informed PMH of this, the response was, “You can re-instate the ducting but we would not cover costs to do this as you had already agreed to have it removed and that was not anything that was incorrect at the time. It was just a personal choice.” I would emphasise that such a statement is a distortion of the facts. Moreover, see: Hedley Byrne Co Ltd v Heller and Partners Ltd [1964] AC 465. When a party trusts another to exercise due care, and that party knew or ought to have known that the first party was relying on his skill and judgment, then a duty of care will be implied. Once a duty of care is implied, a negligent misstatement may give rise to an action for damages for economic loss.
Poor fitting of panels by the dishwasher (they remain non-perpendicular).
Poor fitting of the boiler cupboard: no panel at the side, unstable, uneven cupboard, and doors.
Makeshift installation of a drawer front under the oven, rather than a panel. The drawer below therefore does not close properly. Additionally, it is damaged due to the need to remove the oven to access the socket that PMH installed behind the oven.
Poorly fitted drawer – it does not open and close properly and appears loose.
No fitting of edging to the worktops.
Several chips in shelves caused by the fitter.
One cupboard door absent plastic fixtures to prevent slamming and one cupboard absent infill to hide hinge holes. I was informed that these items were “like gold dust” and therefore unavailable.
I had a survey conducted by a team of professional kitchen fitters and they have agreed that all the snags listed above are valid and need to be corrected. Moreover, they identified further issues that PMH had overlooked:
No reinforcement rails in boiler cupboard – as per the above, the boiler cupboard is not sturdy and the doors are uneven.
No supporting bracket beneath the worktop above the washing machine – as a result the worktop has bowed.
No diffusion barrier fitted above the dishwasher (this helps to protect the worktop from moisture).
No colorfill applied to joints in worktops.
Finally, there are two further issues:
Incorrect style of socket fixed to wall (it is safe but it juts out).
Socket fitted above and to the left of the microwave (it is safe but aesthetically displeasing).
