Hi All,
SWMBO has decided that she wants a new kitchen. She's had the designer from Magnet take measurements and do a design. Magnet have designed and priced, £5.5K for the parts + £2.5K for the fitting. They want all the money before they start work.
Is this normal business practice? It seems to me that once the've got the money, there's no incentive for them to complete the job properly, or in good time. Do all these businesses work this way?
I certainly wouldn't be prepaired to do that.
I'm currently buying a kitchen with MFI. They want 20% deposit and then staged payments throughout the process.
Also is your price complete - all the kitchen companies I contacted excluded plumbing, tiling, appliance installation, electrical work - these are confirmed when the fitter comes round to do a full estimate.
They could argue that they need all the money for the units before they can supply them, but again it depends on what lead times they are talking about - MFI mentioned 10-12 weeks.
When doing large building jobs I would always try for stage payments but certainly ensure that there is a good sum that is only paid on completion to your satisfaction.
I'm lucky enough to always had good craftsman, but they are always very busy (and working on a few jobs at once) and towards the end when they have all their money they can be more inclined to attend to other customers. And when it comes to fixing your snagging list it can be very difficult to get hold of them. But they will be much more attentive if you still owe them money.
Cheers,
Nigel
"Nigel Heather the-heathers.co.uk>" I certainly wouldn't be prepaired to do that.
I have never paid upfront, even a deposit, for work carried out on my house. I've had several extensions, a fitted kitchen, doors and windows, gas fire and wood fireplace, new central heating system etc, and on no occasion have I ever been asked for money upfront. I would avoid MFI like the plague if this is what they're asking. Any decent outfit should have enough cash flow to avoid asking for money in advance. BTW, the MFI price seems over the top - are you getting gold plated fittings. A decent small firm could probably do a better job for 2/3 of the price or even less.
Terry D.
Read carefully, MFI aren't asking this, Magnet are.
Also, I don't see how you can make any subjective comment on the price of the units when you don't know what they are nor what quantity.
Cheers,
Nigel
Under no circumstances should you pay in full in advance. A deposit for "make to order" stuff, and maybe balance of materials on satisfactory delivery, is the max. Only pay labour when completed satisfactorily (unless a long job, with stage payments, which a kitchen shouldn't be; and even then you would expect to withhold 5% or 10% as a retention).
Magnet claim they are part of "Trustmark", and the Trustmark site says... "In return, you are expected to deal fairly with the firm, agree a fair price for good work, and pay quickly when the job is finished."
Before choosing our kitchen we did the rounds of the companies. Magnet offered wonderful incentives such as free dishwashers and great discounts but when we worked it out, nearly all the firms amounted to much about the same price. Our kitchen is in an extension built for the purpose and we were lucky that there was a local company who wanted to get on the right side of our builder so gave us an excellent deal - good quality stuff for an excellent price and we let the builder arrange the installation. All in all we did well. It was a different story when we needed to refurbish the bathroom. No builder involved and the same firm as supplied the kitchen quoted an exorbitant price. This confirmed our earlier impression that it was the builder's influence which did the trick in the first place. We found another local company for the bathroom. I guess this ramble is just backing up a suggestion to work out carefully what it is you are paying for and do not pay up front. Maybe a deposit but hang on to the final amount until you are fully satisfied.
Thanks all.
We've decided against Magnet, and we're going with a local chap. He wants a deposit when we confirm the order, full payment for the parts when they arrive, and payment for the fitting, when the fitters have finished fitting it. That sounds much better to me.
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