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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To think my builder shouldn't have done this?

64 replies

Dolwar · 08/05/2017 08:53

We are having a new kitchen installed. Builder ordered it from Howdens which is a trade only place. It has been stored in his garage as he's been making the doors himself. He put the order on account under our name and we phoned up and paid for it directly. Due to the cost of the order, Howdens threw in a free radio with Iphone dock/USB. Our builder already had one so we knew what it was and we thought it would be really useful for in the shed or garden doing diy so we were pretty chuffed to see it on the invoice.
Fast forward for the week of fitting the kitchen. I asked the builder to bring the radio and he's told me he sold it because he already had one.
AIBU to think that it wasn't his to sell? I know he ordered the kitchen on his trade account but we paid for it and it's on our invoice. Hubby will be fuming

OP posts:

Topas0117 · 08/05/2017 08:56

Was the radio included due to the cost of the order or due to how much he spent overall on his account?

CheeseCrackersAndWine · 08/05/2017 08:57

I'd probably let it go & be happy I was getting the kitchen at trade price.

SleepFreeZone · 08/05/2017 08:57

i think howdens deals with trades directly don't they? So if the account was his then the radio was his surely?

Topas0117 · 08/05/2017 08:59

Yes, Howden's offer a free gift just for signing up for a trader account, the radio is his to sell! Sorry!

witsender · 08/05/2017 08:59

If you ordered and paid directly he should have offered it to you or asked I think.

Henrysmycat · 08/05/2017 09:01

If you only paid trade prices for your kitchen, I'd let it slide. A dock radio thinkiemebob is less than £100 for a really good one but a kitchen paid retail would be 100s if not 1000s.
and why should the huby be fuming? Tell him to get a grip.

monkeywithacowface · 08/05/2017 09:02

Actually I think the radio was his on this occasion. He is the trade customer and bringing business to them so the freebie is a thank you to him not you.

He could easily have ordered and paid for it himself and "bumped" up the price but didn't. Disappointing yes but wouldn't get into an argument about it with the builder.

Only1scoop · 08/05/2017 09:04

Hmmmm I wouldn't be upsetting your builder especially if he is still storing/working on your new kitchen.
Is the invoice on his account? Then it's his....

Foreverhopeful22 · 08/05/2017 09:04

Yes you are. Normally a builder will order the kitchen as they get a huge discount.

Price your kitchen up at b&q (equivalent) and see the price difference and see who is being unreasonable.

Shoxfordian · 08/05/2017 09:05

Did he say you could have it? Agree if it's his trade account then not yours

LedaP · 08/05/2017 09:05

I think yabu. Does it really matter that much?

Original poster

Dolwar · 08/05/2017 09:06

He already had the trader account so it wasn't a new account. It was due to the cost of the kitchen that we got it. He didn't even offer it to see if we wanted it.
We'd said when we got the invoice that we were pleased that we'd got a radio like his and he said nothing.
He is not just doing our kitchen but helping renovate that half of the house at a cost of £25,000.

OP posts:

Onthecouchagain · 08/05/2017 09:07

His account, his radio.
YABU

BollardDodger · 08/05/2017 09:08

It makes me laugh how ppl don't actually read the first post. It quite clearly states in the opening post that the account is in the OP's name.

PatriciaHolm · 08/05/2017 09:09

It's a reward for him for putting so much business their way, so it's his. He could have passed it on, but it was never yours I'm afraid.

Topas0117 · 08/05/2017 09:09

But it's his account and you're getting a discount on prices thanks to that.

GahBuggerit · 08/05/2017 09:09

How much is this radio?

Justanothernameonthepage · 08/05/2017 09:09

I wouldn't be impressed. It was on the invoice and your account at Howdens. If it was on his account and you had the advantage of his trade discount so you got the kitchen at cost (instead of the Howdens trick of making up prices dependant on order volume) then I'd probably ask for him to create a new invoice minus the radio so if there were any issues, the paperwork was correct. Or to countersign a note on the invoice that he'd sold the radio on his own initiative. If you had an account created that doesn't take advantage of the 50-80% discount on list, I'd be fuming and ask him to replace as it was on the invoice from your account.

Strikhedonia · 08/05/2017 09:10

He already had the trader account, but he didn't have to pass on the entire discount, he would have been reasonably entitled to keep at least part of the difference.

I don't think he was wrong at all, and you need to let that go, if you start to have bad feeling about less than £100 when you are spending £25k, that will end up in tears!

CiderwithBuda · 08/05/2017 09:11

No I think the order is in the op's name but the builders account. The OP can't have an account as it's trade only.

Strikhedonia · 08/05/2017 09:12

It makes me laugh how ppl don't actually read the first post. It quite clearly states in the opening post that the account is in the OP's name.

ahem.. the account is in the builder's name, the specific order under the customer name.

Unless they are trade, the OP couldn't have open the account. You might want to read the posts?

Only1scoop · 08/05/2017 09:13

Quite

Maudlinmaud · 08/05/2017 09:13

I would put it down to one of the very few perks of his job.

SecretNetter · 08/05/2017 09:16

He ordered it on HIS trade account...you just paid for it directly, presumably to minimise admin for all involved.

It's his account though, which I'd imagine not just anyone could set up (i.e. You need to be in that business and prove it?). The radio should definitely go to him.

Figaro2017 · 08/05/2017 09:17

£25k and you're worried about a radio for a few quid? If that's all you have to worry about in a house refurb you're doing brilliantly!

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