New kitchen contract and payment etiquette

[slithytove]

Hi, we have just verbally agreed a quote with our kitchen fitter.

He has given us a written quote and it seems to include everything we have discussed. But I have a few questions I thought I would ask here first for fear of causing offence.

• should there be a contract signed of any sort?

• they want £7k of a £9k total upfront, is this normal? Is it protected in anyway? How can I protect myself from loss here. Tbh it doesn't sit right giving such a huge amount before any work is carried out.

• should snagging / guarantee of labour be included in the quote/contract?

Are there any other questions I should ask? I should say I am very happy with the 2 meetings and communication I have had so far, I found the company via rated people, and their reviews have been very positive. They are a family run business local to me.

Any help would be great, thanks in advance.

thats quite a lot up front. We have recently had a quote to get our kitchen done and it will cost us £14K. We have to pay 20% deposit and the rest on completion when we are happy with the job so have paid just under £3K so far.

So would I be reasonable to ask to pay a deposit of a similar percentage? The other guys who quoted me said the same incidentally.

Can I also be cheeky and ask how you are paying? I'm loathe to pay cash or bacs but not sure how to protect the payment.

Also should I be getting safety certificates on completion?

Just check who is plumbing in the sink? Who is fitting the gas pipe for your hob, or electrics for induction?

We had plumbers, electricians, kitchen fitters on site all at once, and somehow those questions fell through the gap! I had assumed the kitchen guy would do it.

I paid 50% upfront, 50% once fitted.

I know that he has a team of people and they will all be in doing their bits at some point. Plumber, plasterer/painter, electrician, and the fitters. The guy I'm dealing with is the company owner and overseer.

I am in a similar position to you and the kitchen designer wants 40% up front.

By cheque...

I am in the middle of having my new kitchen fitted. I am using an independent fitter. and supplier.
I have already paid for the appliances and had them delivered, I currently have all the units in my garage which I have paid for.
The fitter wanted payment for the units the day before delivery, I refused as essentially he was still a stranger to me and I was not prepared to transfer thousands of pounds into his bank account with nothing to show for it, I transferred the money as soon as the units were delivered to my house.
He wanted £1000 deposit on the first day which I did, the rest of the money I pay on completion.
The total cost is about £12000.

I am currently stressed out with this kitchen fit, we are one week in of what is supposed to be a 2 week fit and I can't see it being finished by Friday, The fitter just seems so slow, it is really winding me up.

I think they are putting you in a bit of a position asking for all the money up front. Im sure they are legit but why dont you ask to split the payment. Maybe a 20% deposit so they know you are serious and not going to pull out. Remember you may well be buying a made to order kitchen so once its ordered they have to buy it. Then pay the cost of the kitchen on delivery day. As for the installation part pay some on the first day so they can cover their costs and pay the balance once you are happy with your new kitchens. Keep in mind that kitchens can cost quite a bit to fit especially if plastering, moving gas pipes etc is needed.

Thats how I work at least

I can tell you that our company - we do kitchens, bathrooms and other stuff - would normally ask for a 40% deposit on a job such as yours and I know some ask for 50%.
I think it would be reasonable to ask why such a large deposit of £7 is required and offer instead to pay by stage payments: £3k deposit, £3k when the job is half way and £3k on completion. One possible reason may be that the company has experience of bad payers and is concerned that you might not pay promptly.

Many companies take credit card, you could pay that way for the extra protection credit card companies give.
One issue could be timing. If the kitchen was to be fitted in 6 months time then perhaps just £500 to hold the date would be reasonable with the balance of the deposit paid nearer the date.
In my experience it is not necessary for you to sign a contract.
It is important that everything is in writing - and he has given you detailed written quote.
So if you go ahead that quote and any other written communication is the basis of your contract.
Emails also count as a good form of written communication.

You will always be entitled to expect the company to come back and repair any faults/ honour and guarantees within a reasonable time frame. That time frame does vary from months to years depending on what problems occur. That is part of standard consumer law. It wouldn't hurt to ask the company owner what happens if you identify faults or things break in say 6 months time.

By the way, £9k sounds reasonable for a new kitchen. The installer may be spending out a lot of money up front.

People often assume businesses buy everything on 30 day credit terms but this is not the case. The best price is obtained if we pay up front. The installer may have paid for all your kitchen units and appliances up front before the job begins.

if he's sold it to you in your own home or your place of work, then he needs to provide you with written details of how to cancel it too - and obviously have given you the price and time shedule etc in writing ! you have a 7 day 'cooling off period ' from the day that your cancellation details are given to you . it's the law ! and it's there to protect you !!

I agree that credit card payment offers you the best protection !

Thanks all for replies.

I don't have a credit card unfortunately.

I'm not worried about cancellation at this stage, all I've done is accepted his quote over email, I'm waiting to receive the full updated job sheet to confirm everything we have agreed is on it.

I think then I will ask for a payment schedule like pp have mentioned - deposit upfront, more upon receipt of units and appliances, the rest on completion. The job is scheduled to take 8 working days with a weekend in between (wed-fri) so not enormous.

Apparently they make the units themselves, I don't know if that makes a difference?

In my case as a kitchen fitter I have to pay for everything up front either when ordering or on delivery so that is a big upfront cost usually more than 50% of the total cost.