Profits before Customer Service

I have a Howden’s Tewksbury Oak kitchen around 6 years old and having just completed a house extension, moved the washing machine from the Kitchen and needed to retro-fit a matching cabinet in the 60cm gap.

I went into my local Howden’s in Windsor (local to me) and purchased a base cabinet, door and plinth, stating I had a Tewkesbury Oak kitchen.

The base cabinet fitted easily but I soon realised that neither the door nor plinth matched the colour of my existing Kitchen. They we're both lighter in colour. At first I thought my cabinets might have darkened over 6 years but decided to give Howden’s a call to double check before fitting them.

I spoke to the person who served me (friendly chap), and explained my existing Kitchen doors we're darker in colour. He admitted Howden's were at fault as they should have double checked the colour of the kitchen I had but not a problem as he'd check stock of the darker colour and ring me back in order to come in and swap them over.

5 minutes later he rings back to inform me they haven’t stock currently but they'll be ordered and the branch will ring me when they're in. No problem I said, I'm not in any rush.

A month passes without a call....

Having taken a day's holiday during the week to catch up on various jobs around the house I decide to phone Howden’s to find out what's going on, hoping to quickly pop in and swap them over. I speak to a woman, who I believe is the manager. The items haven’t arrived, and after checking the system she informs me the "dark oak" is now a discontinued line. However she'll check stock at local branches but I'll have to pick the items up myself as a courier would cost her £35.

I wasn’t that happy about this as Howden's gave me the wrong colour, but as I wanted to get this sorted on my day off, and had a fitted cabinet without a door, we proceed and she checks stock at other branches.

She informs me the closest branch, Ruislip, have the door and plinth I need. I can go and purchase the items from them and then bring the incorrect items back to Windsor branch for a refund. I ask her to phone ahead to make sure the items are there as I'll be driving from Windsor. She calls back to say they've reserved them.

So I leave home at 10am and drive from Windsor to Ruislip (A40 was a nightmare) and arrive at Ruislip branch.

However we have a problem, although they have the plinth (or so I thought), they have the wrong size door. They've reserved the 50cm door, not the 60cm, and they haven’t got the 60cm door. The chap checks local branches on the system and we go through a series of London based branches that show stock. However, wanting to avoid London traffic, we settle on Chessington (also because I knew where Chessington is).

I buy the plinth, and trundle off to Chessington branch via A40, M25, and then A3. 45 minutes later I finally arrive at Chessington branch, where I buy the door and drive home. I get back at 1 a.m. (3 hours later from when I first left), having travelled 91 miles. So much for my day off, but at least I finally have the items I need...

However I soon realise both the door and plinth are totally the wrong colour, they're far too dark!

I phone Windsor to see if I can return the items but I'm informed I need to take them back to original branches for a refund. Sod that, I'm not driving back to Ruislip and Chessington again, so I write the purchases off. Sure I'd wasted around £60, but I'm more upset by the 3 hours I'd lost.

Thinking my kitchen must have darkened over the 6 years, I fit the original "lighter colour" door by attaching the hinges and handle. It's not right, but that's the one I must have, or so I thought...

That evening I check the Howden’s website, and low and behold, my door (in the exact colour I needed) was there in the online catalogue.

Apparently there are three shades of Oak for the Tewksbury Kitchen, Light, Normal, and Dark (discontinued). I had normal, and is was what I originally asked for!

Armed with product codes from the website I went into Windsor to explain what had happened. As I'd fitted the light door I couldnt return the item so I paid another £73 for the normal oak door (max discount she said), and I can't return the dark oak as "were a franchise" (I kind of established that already).

So I'm now stuck with 2 doors (light and dark) and a (dark) plinth that I don't need and wasted around £133 due to the original mistake made by Howden’s a month back.

What’s worse (and the reason for this review), is I got no sympathy or apology from the manager. On explaining my disgruntlement at paying yet another £73 for the door I actually wanted, she explained "the doors solid oak you know" which kind of missed the point...

I rarely complain and have never written a negative review before for any company or product (in fact I feel sorry for small companies trying to make an honest living who get a few negative comments), however I feel angry with the way I've been treated by Howden’s Windsor, therefore this review.