Kitchen dream turns sour (From Stroud News and Journal)

Kitchen dream turns sour

A DREAM kitchen has turned into a nightmare for a woman who is still waiting to have it fitted after more than a year despite paying over £6,000.

Mrs Jill Oberlin-Harris from Kingscourt bought a half price fitted kitchen worth £12,000 from Moben a national kitchen manufacturer on January 3, 2002 at the Focus store at Dudbridge.

But the kitchen is still incomplete with several pieces still in boxes in her dining room and Mrs Oberlin-Harris is at the end of her tether.

"It has been an absolute nightmare," she told the SNJ.

She said she bought the half-price under extreme pressure from a salesman and was tempted by the offer of a free dishwasher. She paid a deposit for £1,535. " I was told I was getting a £12000 kitchen for £6000," she said.

But she became suspicious after watching the BBC consumers affair programme Watchdog in February, which told of more than 120 customer complaints against Moben.

Mrs Oberlin-Harris asked Moben to refund her deposit but was told this was not possible so rather than lose her money she continued with the sale.

The next blow came seven months later when a salesmen from Moben came to discuss the design with her and told Mrs Oberlin-Harris the kitchen was now going to cost £9,000.

"I wasn't happy with that and I then discovered the free dishwasher would cost £170 to install even when plumbing already exists."

A compromise was reached and the new kitchen finally arrived in November but Mrs Oberlin-Harris said: "The driver refused to unload a single item until I had written out a cheque for £5000."

However after he had left she discovered that the specially made to measure kitchen doors were missing.

Mrs Oberlin-Harris called head office in Manchester who said the kitchen would be fitted and completed on Monday, December 2.

However, at 4.40pm that day Moben called to say they had no fitters available. The fitters finally arrived on Tuesday, December 10.

But after a cup of tea and a look at the plans the fitters refused to take the work on as they said they were the worst plans they had ever seen.

"I phoned Moben in Manchester and Bristol to complain but I kept getting different people. At no time did I get an explanation or apology," said Mrs Oberlin-Harris.

Moben arranged for fitters to arrive again on Wednesday, December 18.

This time they travelled from Scotland but when they arrived they also voiced concern at the plans and left without starting work.

An exasperated Mrs Oberlin-Harris made several frantic phone calls to Moben again in Manchester but couldn't speak to anyone. In January 2003 there was a glimmer of hope when a gas fitter from Bromsgrove turned up but he left after two other fitters arrived from Oxfordshire and told him he was not needed. Mrs Oberlin-Harris said those fitters then refused to carry out the work citing poor design again.

More frantic phone calls followed and the Oxfordshire fitters finally begin work on Saturday, January 4 more than a year after the Oberlin Harris' had decided to buy a new kitchen. However, later that day an area installations manager came to discuss the kitchen with the fitters.

"The fitters were unhappy with some of the wiring and positions of the sockets and left again leaving the kitchen two thirds finished," said Mrs Oberlin-Harris.

Last Saturday, a Moben official from Manchester informed Mrs Oberlin-Harris that the made to measure doors had finally arrived in Manchester.

After numerous futile attempts to contact Moben the SNJ eventually spoke to Mr John-Paul Baines a director of the company.

"We don't comment on individual cases as such," he said, "but I will contact Mrs Oberlin-Harris and try to resolve the matter."