We've had a truly terrible time with Magnet Kitchens, does anyone have any advice on where to go next?
We bought a kitchen from them last year and very excitedly booked in the fit. Pretty much everything went wrong (mostly due to incompetence) and we had Magnets kitchen fitters coming and going for months - at one point we were essentially living upstairs for four weeks with two toddlers and a baby because of issues with the downstairs flooring. It was highly stressful as you can imagine.
There was a serious incident where one of the workmen left a solid wooden door off its hinges and propped up in a doorway which we weren't informed about. My two year old pulled on the door handle and it fell forward - nearly on top of him. I saw it happen but wasn't close enough to intervene and it was really quite traumatic - it was so heavy if he'd pulled on it with his other hand I genuinely think it could have killed him. I complained to Magnet about the nearmiss incident and the living conditions we'd been subjected to. (This complaint was after 5 months of ongoing problems and delays). I anticipated an apology and priority status, however, the Installations Manager wasn't at all concerned that Magnet was in breach of contract and in regards to my son, said 'our duty of care extends only as far as the kitchen cupboards are concerned'. It was cold and grossly inadequate. When I pointed out that he was neither acknowledging nor addressing my complaint he didn't even bother to reply.
As part of the new kitchen we had underfloor heating placed and then engineered oak floorboards. The underfloor heating circuit was severed when the oak flooring was being laid on top. Fast forward several more months and the underfloor heating had been repaired twice and then failed a third time. The floor boards had been cut through to access the problem and were irreparably damaged. The floor is now failing in other areas. To top it all off I received an electric shock off the kitchen tap which Magnet also deny all responsibility over (despite the broken underfloor heating laid by their fitter that they recommended, and their kitchen pipework, needing to be earthed to make it safe). Because the water system was live, it could have been my four year old son washing his hands upstairs that got the shock instead of me. Again, complete lack of care from Magnet.
I complained to the Ombudsman who said I needed to resolve the problems with Magnets kitchen fitter, who incidentally had gone AWOL since payment. I then contacted Citizens Advice who said I needed the kitchen fitters business address in order to send him a letter, providing a deadline to fix the problems with the flooring. However, his business isn't registered anywhere online including Companies House. I asked Magnet for the details (given it is pre-contractual information I should have already been supplied with). They refused due to GDPR. I contacted the Data Commissioners Office who advised that legally no, Magnet don't need to supply the information, however, with the fitters consent they could and that they didn't think it was reasonable for them to obstruct this when the intention is to resolve a service complaint. They recommended that I go back to Magnet again, which I did, and the door was shut very firmly in my face yet again. I have enquired with several Solicitors - all are at full capacity for dispute resolution. I have written to Watchdog and the Consumer Champions at the Guardian. I am so loath to let Magnet get away with this horrorshow. What has happened to customer care? A bit of empathy and good old fashioned decency?! All I want is functional flooring (that I paid ~£5000 for), and in an ideal world, an apology for the hellish time we've been put through. Does anyone have any advice on where to go from here? Do I just keep phoning solicitors until I find one who's interested? Apart from the fact that £5000 is too much to just let go of, I am so very angry that the lives of my children were needlessly endangered.