A seven-month nightmare! If you are thinking of buying a Wickes kitchen – don’t. The reality is far removed from the slick adverts that promise excellent design and professional installation. Our problems started on the day the kitchen was supposed to be delivered – it wasn’t. A call to their customer service centre revealed that not only was the kitchen not scheduled to be delivered that day, a Friday, but Wickes were unaware that their own installers were due to start on the Monday. The timetable then spun out of control. Fitters for the granite work surface weren’t booked in on time with a result that the tiler’s slot was lost, and we were faced with the possibility of having to wait three months for the kitchen to be finished. Fitters didn’t communicate with installers or the Wickes installation manager. There was no evidence of any project management and the installation manager would only communicate by email. Numerous emails and complaints resulted in a marginal acceleration of the project, but we were effectively without a kitchen for a month. That, however, was only the start of the problems. The fitting was dreadful – panels were fitted at weird angles and large gaps were left between the wall and the units. Worse was yet to come. When the dishwasher didn’t work properly (because it had been incorrectly installed), the service engineer pointed out that most of the appliances were unsafe because they had not been given proper ventilation. This was a fundamental design flaw. Indeed, the service engineer told us not to use the cooker hood at all. Wickes were not interested. It took them another four months to cobble together some ventilation for the fridge and cooker, compromising a cupboard and wine rack in the process. We had no choice but to have the cooker hood taken out altogether. We opted for interest free credit which was provided by Hitachi. At the end of the first month of the project, I called Hitachi to advise them that I was unhappy with the kitchen and to ask in what circumstances Wickes could draw the money from them. They assured me that no drawdown was possible without my agreement. I have a recording of the call. Before the remedial work was completed, Hitachi broke their promise and paid Wickes. We took legal advice, but apparently kitchen contracts are notoriously difficult to take to court unless there are specific provisions for time and quality penalties. Added to that any case might expose us to costs if we weren’t successful. The solicitor who advised us had handled a number of kitchen claims. He pointed out that kitchen companies are quick to lawyer up and costs can be substantial. In the end we accepted a derisory offer from Wickes to settle the matter. Even then Wickes spun it out by paying by cheque and stating it would take three weeks for payment to be received. The experience has been an utterly dreadful one. We will never use Wickes or Hitachi again and if you are thinking of having a new kitchen, I would strongly advise you to avoid them at all costs.