B&Q Kitchens - Beware

[mark]

Anyone buying a kitchen from B&Q beware! Between summer and autumn of this year they have doubled their kitchen range prices in order to promote a 50% off sale on Boxing Day. I=92m half way through a kitchen mod and this has stopped me in my tracks.

Earlier in the year I purchased some kitchen cabinets and doors from B&Q's Summer 2008 catalogue. I have been back recently to buy some more items and the prices in their Autumn 2008 catalogue have exactly doubled!

I have taken this up with B&Q and they have suggested that on the 26th of December they will be offering a 50% discount on their kitchens. Not really the offer that it seems!

[Kevin]

what's new about that MFI did this for years :-)

[The Medway Handyman]

I hope you have reported them to Trading Standards?

BTW, get a trade discount card, you can get good rebates on kitchens & stuff.

[JohnW]

Had exactly the same problem last year with a B&Q shower cubicle. It went up massively between me seeing it and deciding to buy it. Was told it would come down again in the Christmas sales. Decided to go elsewhere and thankfully got a better one, but that doesn't help with a half finished kitchen.

John

[Andy Burns]

Why? The law allows discount prices to be displayed, provided the items been offered for sale at the higher price, in a specified location, for a specified duration; seems B&Q are obeying they law here ... you may not like it but it's not wrong and trading standards wouldn't be concerned by it, providing the information is clearly displayed once the "Sale" starts

[Chris J Dixon]

Quite so. I can't remember which outfit always seemed to have had their highest prices at Brent Cross. Maybe they never intended to sell anything

OTOH ISTR reading about some investigator who tried to track down pre-reduction sofas or something and the outcome was that they were on the premises, but not in the showroom visible to shoppers. Go figure.

Chris

[The Medway Handyman]

The letter perhaps, but not the spirit. The law obviously wasn't properly drafted.

Of course its wrong. They may be exploiting a legal loophole, but to anyone with decent moral standards its wrong.

[Invisible Man]

I suppose with kitchens it is not possible to alternate between 50% off and buy one get one free. I never take discounts at face value.

[dennis]

Few sales are.. even the ones in M&S usually say the higher price was in X of their stores. This means they were on sale in X of their higher price stores before they moved them into all the others, they may or may not have sold any at the higher price.

[dennis]

What for? They do it to comply with the law.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

One TV shopping channel had a jewellers in some remote Scottish village where they had the watches they were flogging on sale so they could quote a 'high street' price...

[Mark]

AFAIK there isn't a law. It's a voluntary agreement. Even so many stores have had their wrists slapped for breaking it. They all do it to some extent IME.

It's very annoying if you need something in a hurry and it doesn't happen to be in the "sale" that week.

I was looking at a new TV a few weeks ago. It suddenly went up by about 40% and then down again (still above its original price), only now it's in the Sale! I didn't buy it BTW.

[M]

Following up to Andy Burns

its both legal, wrong (morally) and dishonest

[M]

Following up to Mark

we wanted a certain style and had to either put off the job and risk it being discontinued or pay full price, we went for full price and the design was duly dropped but its annoying to be manipulated just because you want to do the work now.

[Jerry]

So is making a profit....

[Man at B&Q]

e

I'm sure it used to be the law.

I believe this is a recent change to the law. It may have only been a proposal, but I definitely recall some discuccion of relaxing the law. No doubt in the name of the consumer, NOT!

MBQ

[The Medway Handyman]

Hear, hear.

[The Medway Handyman]

Not if you are adding value to something.

[Jerry]

What has that got to do with it, the fact is you don't need to make a profit to sell something, all one needs to do is cover ones costs (including possible re-investment) - as soon as one accepts that making a profit is acceptable any morality goes to the wind.

[Man at B&Q]

So you would be quite happy if youor employer said he was only gooing to pay you enough to cover your bills and not allow you to save any excess?

MBQ