Experiences with Wickes Bathroom Design and Installation?

[Slothosaurus]

I'm hoping to refit my bathroom but am unsure of where to start. I'd really appreciate hearing about your experiences of the bathroom design and installation service offered by the big high-street brands e.g. Wickes; B&Q; Plumworld; Victorian Plumbing etc., if you'd be so kind. Thank you in advance.

Neighbour is currently having their recently installed Wickes bathroom ripped out and redone as original installers messed it up. Leaking shower tray that wrecked the bathroom.

I personally would find a local independent with personal recommendations.

Wickes did a crap job and charged a lot. Will never use them again.

A work colleague used Wickes, then took the plans to Wren kitchens when she read Wickes reviews. (She screenshot the screen when the planner left the computer area/room)! Then went from Wren to Howdens as found out that a few other staff had kitchens completed by them to a very high standard.

I went had an initial design consultation with a Wickes designer. Personally, I wouldn't rate the experience. The biggest issue I found was communication, both in him understanding what I wanted and then communicating with me after he sent over the design. Literally did not hear a word from him again after he sent over the design, despite me emailing and calling. Anyway, aside from that, the number 1 issue is that the designer will often not have a thorough understanding of what is actually practical for the bathroom design and will basically put something in whether it will work in reality or not. The quote I received from Wickes was about £7000, excluding installation.

I ended up designing the bathroom myself, ordering in all the supplies and getting a local fitter who used sub contractors to do the plastering, plumbing and electrics to install. I ended up paying £3500 for the goods and about £5000 to rip out, replaster, remove and dispose of old bathroom(s) (I was having two bathrooms knocked back into 1) and fit the new stuff, and best of all I wasn't restricted to Wickes products.

I used Wickes for my bathroom refurb and wasn’t overly impressed. Quite a lot of delays and excuses, then the plumbing was done wrong for the shower. Perhaps par for the course (no experience of anyone else) but I wouldn’t use them again.

I've booked with Victoria plumb wickes local to me is terrible and we've had six months of trying with independent trades but it's nigh on impossible.
the only good prospect turned up horrific reviews after googling so be wary.
Victoria at least accept visa so there's some recourse!

I had my bathroom through Wickes and the fit was poor. The process of trying to get all the mistakes rectified was lengthy with lots of no shows from the plumber. In the end I put in a complaint and was sent a cheque to get all the issues sorted by an independent fitter.

Dreadful!

Told me 36 hours before works were to begin (total bathroom overhaul) that the fitter could no longer do it.
Couldn't give me a timeframe for re booking
Then asked me if I still wanted all the products delivered next morning.
Um...NO

Went with a local company I'm the end - which was also not workout problems tbh

Don't even think about using Wickes.Their bathrooms are expensive,fitted by useless plumbers using inferior items.The plumber that fitted mine was loud,foul mouthed and disrespectful. When I complained about his attitude to Wickes ,he telephoned and issued stupid threats.It has been nearly a year since it was installed but I am still experiencing problems with his work.Wickes are always obstructive in rectifying faults and make all sorts of excuses not to sort them out.

Hi JustTheOneSwan - just wondering if you went with Victoria Plumb in the end and what the experience was like?

I'd be wary about using a big franchise like Wickes/ B&Q etc.

I think they are as KwikFit is to cars.

Some of them will be great, some will be awful, and without exception they will overcharge compared to local companies.

Your local community FB page is always a good place to start. Ask for recommendations, the same names usually pop up if they're good. Ask to see a portfolio of their work, never pay until you're completely satisfied and never use a big high street bathroom shop, they subcontract the work out.

We used Wickes for ours as we wanted someone with a public profile in case of having problems. Massive mistake. There were several issues but the main one was that our shower leaked. Original plumber came to look, then never came back. After a huge amount of chasing Wickes and being ignored (several months not being able to use new shower) they eventually gave us permission (in writing) to employ an independent plumber to fix it and they would pay.

Got work done, all good - shower working. Then came months and months of trouble trying to get the money back. We were ignored, fobbed off, lied to by Wickes. We were treated so badly. In the end we got the money back when we wrote to their CEO. One of his team picked it up and was mortified by how we were treated and sorted it straightaway. Despite this I would absolutely not recommend them, we were treated so badly. The ironic thing was that the whole reason with going with a ‘big name’ was the hope that we’d have easier recourse in case anything went wrong!

A family member recently had a very awful, stressful experience with Wickes so I would never touch them tbh. Even after they admitted a refund was due, it took loads of calls and emails before they actually did authorise the refund and had to be threatened with legal action!

We just got our en suite refitted through Easy Bathrooms and they were excellent on the other hand, had a couple of minor niggles but they sorted them out straight away. Look on Trustpilot at the reviews for Wickes, Easy Bathrooms and any other companies you are considering.

Wickes bathrooms
I had a bathroom fitted in 2021 and within a day there was a leak in the kitchen. The fitter returned and persuaded me that it was a fault in the flat roof. The leak continued and he then cut a hole in the kitchen ceiling to access the shower drain (at my expense) and told me there was no problem. I had the roof checked and it was fine. On Christmas day 2024 I was cooking dinner when the shower drain broke and I was flooded. When I checked the drain had just popped open after being ineptly glued together by the fitter. I complained to Wickes and this is their reply.

After a thorough review and assessment, we have determined that your claim does not meet the criteria outlined in Wickes workmanship and product warranty policy.
The reasons for this decision are that upon review the shower waste had been fitted sufficiently at the time and it is normal practice for a waste to also be sealed with sealant. With sealant being a perishable product this can over time disintegrate or break down over time.
The waste had lasted for 3 years before failing and causing the issue.

So be warned. Wickes regards a catastrophic plumbing failure as something to be expected after just four years!

I know that this is an old thread...

I was searching for feedback on Wickes bathrooms as looking to have my bathroom pulled out and refitted and I need someone who will do it all from start to finish (design, supply and fit). I don't have time to do it myself, deal with deliveries and find fitters. Wickes was the obvious choice but this thread has totally put me off!

I've also tried a few local companies but they seem a bit uninterested (eg don't email or call back) which doesn't instil confidence tbh.

Any other ideas?? I'm in London.