I would not recommend WREN to anyone who is looking to have their kitchen ‘designed’ or fitted by this company; based on my own experience of course.
That said, if you do use this company, CAVEAT EMPTOR!
The company policy and contract you sign admonishes the company and any of its employees from any blame for any mistakes they make.
The salesmen / designers obviously know this ‘get-away-with-it’ clause that anything THEY oversell to you won’t be accepted for a refund.
Over 30 years of fitting kitchens, I have always placed my faith and trust in the designers and sent clients to companies to quantify the units and material needed to do the job. It is part of their price built into the sale. For me to do the design, I would have to charge for this service.
With WREN I have never had a designer get it so badly wrong in carrying out this task.
I had a large kitchen to fit and it was not cheap. But to be charged over £1000 for material which should not have been put in the order is shocking to say the least.
The Over-charge List:
Using decor-end panels as spacers between a wall and the units.
I only needed one tall unit and two wall unit decor-end panels as these would be the only ones that anyone would see; hence decor-end.
I had one large (£198.99) two base (@£99 each) and a wall panel (£84), all extra, added to the list. I cut down the extra kickboard (part of the list) and used this instead.
An extra length of cornice (£69)
An extra length of kickboard (£48.99)
An extra length of plastic strip (£5)
An extra 3m length of 40mm Oak WORKTOP (£354.99)
Queried at the time I was told it was short by 100mm and would need to buy another 3 meter worktop as they do not have anything shorter. I had a 400mm cutting AND a full length worktop spare!
Four extra worktop bolts (@£2.04). 9 bolts were included in the worktop price.
Five extra handles (@£8 each) I needed 33 and was sold 38.
I had read of others in this situation and the ‘lip-service’ replies from WREN, ‘Sorry you feel this way but you signed the contract, no refunds,’ I didn’t even bother to contact them. I was rather fortunate though, I had enough space for an additional ‘broom’ cupboard and utilised the over-subscribed material. As for the extra worktop – chopping boards for all next Christmas methinks.
I responded to the feedback email with a zero for the quality of the designer. Zero for the recommend WREN and nine for Quality of Product. It is good quality but some niggly things that bring it down a bit.
A few days later the Designer contacted me to query the feedback and was given the explanation. ‘It was not my intention to add all that extra stuff to the list,’ he said, ‘It is the computer programme that does it.’ No offer of a refund on the excess bits either!
So there you have it. It is the computer programme that has been badly put together, badly tested, and left running badly in situ to be blamed by the employees: NOT the company policy, nor the designer that has to make a commission that are responsible!
So, if you have had your kitchen designed and fitted by WREN, and are happy with it, then you are lucky to be in ignorant bliss as to what extra you have paid. I’d be a very happy joiner walking away with all that ‘surplus.’ Brings a whole new meaning to ‘cleaning up’ after themselves!
If you are thinking about WREN for your next household project you have two options;
- Go elsewhere. 2. Take their drawings and go elsewhere and give them to another company to check. Like me, your measurements might be spot on but their quantifying certainly won’t be.