Wickes Dangerous Fitting

[DripDripDripBang]

I got new kitchen from Wickes 8 years ago using their fitters. There were a few issues at the time of fitting that got escalated to Wickes but they got resolved or so I thought

Dishwasher has broken, on pulling it out I realised they must have forced the sink on top of the freestanding dishwasher when they were putting it in place and now I've broke the sink seal and can not slide the dishwasher back in due to sink fitting. When fitting the sink Wickes did acknowledge there were sizing issues on their side not mine but they could sort it

John Lewis arrived this morning and refused to fit new dishwasher. I need new isolation tap (my issue to solve) but even if I fix that they still wouldn’t fit it due to plug being directly underneath the tap

They said although no regulations for kitchens like in bathrooms it was so dangerous they wouldn’t fit it

YABU it's been 8 years suck it up and fix the 3 issues yourself
YANBU to expect Wickes to sort out the plug and sink issues

It wouldn't occur to me to go back to Wickes after 8 years, unless it's specifically still covered under warranty.

Wickes have a 2 year warranty on the work done but do have they below. My sink has come away from the quartz and my dishwasher no longer fits under the sink because of the bodged way they fitted the sink

it's the dodgy electrics that worry me the most

20-year guarantee on cabinets, hinges, and drawer runners. Doors and drawer fronts have a 10-year guarantee. Blum hinges and drawer systems are guaranteed for up to 20 years

Ok, so I'd say you're 6 years out of warranty, as it's down to workmanship only guaranteed for 2 years, so Wickes won't help. You can try, obviously, but I don't think you'll get anywhere.

I'm going round in circles but am trying to get the right person to speak with at Wickes

thing is I can’t see anything about sinks that are now not secured to the worktop at all

they were completely aware there was an issue with the sink they supplied and that it didn’t originally fit but assured me they would make it work but they obviously haven’t

it now could leak all the way round onto the dodgy plug socket

You can try…. I don’t think you’ll get anywhere but you never know.

I'm more annoyed I’ve got 2 dishwashers in the house and I’m having to wash up!

Do you have all of it in an email where they take accountability of the dodge works or wrong fitting? Or was it all over the phone ?

Yes I’ve got it all on email, when they said it was the wrong sink and how what they were trying, to avoid paying for a new worktop, to fix it and when it was going wrong and flooding all over the sink and dishwasher. They said they’d fixed it but it was obviously a botch job

i don’t have anything about the lethal electrics but do have it in writing that John Lewis would refuse to fit the dishwasher until the plug was moved

They even said they were updating Wickes ordering system on the back of the incorrect sink details

They are a bunch of cowboys. I have nothing positive to say about wickes. Spent £20k on a new kitchen/dining/utility area with them and had nothing but pain and heartache from the moment they started work.

They are Teflon when it comes to try and make them take accountability. I did manage to get some money back and force claims but I escalated to the ombudsman because of their incompetence and even then some of the shoddy workmanship can't be repaired.

They lied to me and our units were an end of stock so can't even get replacements now from the ones damaged from how they incorrectly fitted the dishwasher ams they won't allow me replacements from the store of some they have cause its not a "warranty issue" 😡😡😡😡

Your fitter wasn't called Frank was he??

Well if you do contact them I would do so via email by forwarding these emails. Can save them as pdf and attach them if different threads and ask to be forwarded to correct department and explain the situation and ask for a solution to resolve your problem. You would have a better leg to stand on as they have claimed responsibility already so.

oh no sorry to hear about that @MissIonX i thought they were a good firm. Interesting about the ombudsman, I was thinking small claims but I guess I should do this first. This is the email conversation I had with them that they acknowledged

The thing is my dodgy fitter said Wickes was the hardest store to be accepted as a fitter, he wasn’t called Frank

'Just to let you know the sink fix didn't work, we need another solution. The water just drains under the counter, onto the dishwasher then onto the floor.

I've sent Rick a message last night but haven't heard anything yet. No doubt he'll be in touch with you/me shortly.'

Actually, it is perfectly safe (and legal) to have a plug socket under a kitchen sink providing its on a rcd on the consumer board.

Yeah I did google this and it’s not. John Lewis confirmed this

I escalated the issues I did know about and there were a lot and to be fair to Wickes they sent the regional installation manager out and an independent fitter out to resolve the issues I could see.

They knew it was a bad fitting, but obviously I couldn’t see this one

This is one of the 'snags' I was left with ( pic to be approved)

It would say it would be cheaper to move the tap rather than the plug

can’t workout what you mean about the sink though

But, 8 years ago you accepted the fix, and workmanship only had a 2 year warranty. You're replying on goodwill from Wickes for them to deal with this. From what PPs are saying, it doesn't seem like Wickes are likely to be very helpful, but no harm in trying.

And told don’t touch the exposed wire and you'l be fine and it’s my fault for being short that I can see the pipes they were supposed to box in

It looks like the put the DW in place then forced the sink over it and it got stuck under the sink. When I've pulled the free standing DW out it’s pulled the sink out of the quartz which means the DW can’t be put back in place because of the sink fitting and the seal on the sink is now broken

It would say it would be cheaper to move the tap rather than the plug

can you do this once the pipe has been cut and is leaking? I know nothing

Is this an issue that was fixed or an issue you accepted? I cannot see what this has to do with the problem now

The pipe is leaking?

Yes the issues in the photos were resolved by Wickes at the time but they didn’t see the plug issues and how it was set out till now when I had to pull out the dishwasher

yes the tap is leaking over the plug but John Lewis fitters made it safe. I've now got two DW in my house but I can’t use either of them

It’s that Wickes accepted the original fitting was dangerous but didn’t go so far as pulling applications out to confirm they were safe