Going crazy over kitchen worktops

[Twal9]

??Please help. Has anyone bought worktops from Arlington work-surfaces direct? They are also known as UK worktops direct. Their prices are very reasonable but sometimes that can be a red flag. We're looking to buy Tristone worktops from them which have to be templated and fitted by the company themselves. Can Anyone anywhere help?

Hi Twal9,

Just wondered how you got on with your kitchen? We're in exactly the same boat...looking to buy tristone and also seen the company you mentioned; did you take the plunge and go with them?
Any advice would be great!
Thanks!

Hi. We are still waiting for our kitchen to be installed. We are having Tristone but because of the geographic location of Arlington we were too far away to visit them to check them out. I spoke to Tristone UK about Arlington and they did say that they do business with them. Hope this helps.

Ooooh, Good Luck with it! Fingers crossed there will be no hiccups! I still haven't gotten to the part of getting a quote yet, but I'm HOPING it's going to come in quite a bit under a Corian worktop!
I did ask for some samples, but they came quite different to what it looks like on screen, so that's thrown me off a bit.
I would much appreciate any feedback on what you think of the whole process and the results when you're kitchen is fitted :)
Thanks!

Thanks. I know what you mean about the cost of worktops. New kitchens are so stressful. Haven't done one for some years and had forgotten how many things you have to think about. The only advice I would give you is don't use Wren Kitchens. We went to them and found their sales technique was good. We had them design a kitchen and we paid the deposit. From that point on they were absolutely useless. We chased them for 9 weeks to get their installer to come and see us. We phoned the store and they couldn't have cared less. We cancelled the whole order in the end. When you look on the Internet we were one of many disgruntled customers. Our kitchen starts at the end of August. Good luck with all your planning.

Avoid Arlington. I used them to my regret. Shoddy workmanship, delays, and excuses. Don't be seduced by persistent sales emails. They might be quoting the cheapest price, but I've learned that bargains and renovations don't mix.

AVOID Arlington Work Surfaces Direct. We have had the absolute worst experience with them. We decided to go with Tri-stone surfaces and have no end of problems. First set were fabricated beautifully but they had had them made to the wrong dimensions and the fitting was poor. The second set were really poorly fabricated, lumpy, scratched, width even varied. They are happy to take your money and do a good job with the sales pitch and have a really fab showroom but when something goes wrong they are a nightmare to deal with. Missed appointments, no phone calls back. They will not reply to emails all done verbally on the phone. Don't want to give you your money back. They also have set up many other differently named internet based work top company's but they are all tentacles from the same octopus so be wary. After doing some detective work I found out that they have all the Tri--stone worktops (don't know about any other type) they sell fabricated cheaply by third party owned companies. Nothing is made in house. They just want your money and it seems to be pot look if you get a decent product and fitting. AVOID these sharks looks elsewhere. We have been royally ripped off by this company.

I can't begin to describe what a poor company this is. Do not even think about using this company.

We ordered a simple work surface with inset sinks. It has taken almost 6 weeks to get it put in. They had to measure up twice, they did not provide the correct fixings for a tap. In between each of these three errors there was (at least) a one and half week wait for them to deal with the issue. They had to collect the worktop (from London) take it to Leeds and return. There was no urgency about this process and no concern that we were left without water in our kitchen for weeks.
They constantly made false promises about time scales and about return dates.
Their way of working was to set a date for return and then at the last minute tell us there had been a mistake and it was delayed.
The managing director only responded when we threatened legal action but with a belligerent 'don't try it on us' attitude telling us that as a 'gesture of good will' they would fit it. The truth was they had to because they had to rectify their mistake.
Totally appalling on every level.

Completely disagree with the negative reviews. I had excellent service from this company from start to finish. I visited the showroom and am glad I did as the tristone is much nicer than in photos I had seen. I selected the French roast, they came and measured up, delivered and fitted exactly as arranged. My kitchen is a cream shaker which is lovely but the work tops are so classy they take the kitchen to another level. I have work tops which cover the end of the units and go to the floor, splash backs, window sill and hob splash back all from tristone, it loooks spectacular and is the envy of all my friends. My electrician who fitted under cupboard lighting has taken photos to put on his website as he says it is the nicest kitchen he has seen and my decorator who was having his kitchen done at the time was so impressed with my work tops that he cancelled his granite and ordered tristone!! I have had them in for approx 6 months and have had no problem with them. I can definitely recommend both the company and the worktops!!

I am worried now as I have ordered my worktop from Arlington due to have it templated and delivered over the next 3 weeks. I have paid 33% of cost. So far their sales and customer service has been good. Worried I have been sucked into their sales chat and will end up with an inferior product....

When faced with differing opinions, it's sometimes worth looking at the posters, in case some of them joined only two days ago and have only posted once in order to praise a supplier.

I agree with pigletjohn

Sometimes people really do over-egg things

Hi

Just wondering if Arlington were ok. I'm looking to order work tops with them and now worried after reading the comments.

Kind regards
Hazel

Are there any updates of users of this company? I did more research on providers of Corian worktops and discovered that while the product may be without faults the way it is fabricated and fitted can vary widely with lack of reinforcement where hobs are fitted and poor sealing of joints. It is probably wise to at least deal with somewhere that can be visited. It is such a costly item but cheap options may be a false economy.

We recently had a Tristone island top from this company. DP organised it all and then I read some reviews and started to worry. There was an issue where we had ordered a specific return but the top was fabricated without it - they did sort it out to our satisfaction though. No complaints.

Hi everyone,
Is there any further feedback on these guys? I'm looking at getting a kitchen worktop from them but worried after reading the above comments. Any update would be much appreciated. Thanks x

We went for Luna Stone after seeing it recommended on mumsnet by a few members.

Going direct to the manufacturer was around 30% cheaper than the sellers. Here's their website:

www.quartzworktopsdirect.com/

If you are near Welwyn Garden City then I'd recommend a visit as the full version with all it's markings look nothing like the tiny sample you get in the post.

Thanks... I gave them a call but I don't think I want quartz or granite. Thank you though

Wish I'd seen this thread before getting Arlington to fit our worktops. A good price and great sales technique but we are now in our 6th week without kitchen and bathroom … Endless missed appointments, excuses, unreturned calls, broken promises … and almost impossible to get anything in writing from them. On the plus side, the bit they have managed to fit looks good, but I definitely wouldn't use them again.