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Comments:
Hi All,
I'm in the process of purchasing a new kitchen and I've had several people round to quote (Moben, Christies, Kitchens Direct, Homebase, KitchensNow, Meta4Bespoke, BettaLiving) and the whole process is just getting more and more confusing and frustrating! I've experienced all the usual sales tricks and gimmicks but what I'm most worried about is parting with a 30% "advance/deposit" and getting sub-standard materials/service or nothing at all. I've read some of the horror stories online in various forums and I would like to gather more feedback from people who have gone through this process either scar-free or have been burnt. Please let me know your experiences and what you got and for what price. My property is a normal 3-bed semi-detached, kitchen is all along 1 wall (about 6m in length) and there are a total of about 12-13 units (5 base units, 1 tall larder, 1 drawer base, 6 wall units, stone worktop, sink&tap, freestanding cooker&extractor hood, cornices, plinths and pelmets). Estimates for supply, fitting and prep work (removal of tiles, plastering, skimming, painting) range from £5000-£6000 and 1 of £2100 (KitchensNow.co.uk).
Has anyone bought from Meta4 Kitchens - based in Barnet? They seem to supply kitchens by BA Components (www.byba.co.uk) and they seem to be okay. I couldn't find much about them at all on the internet except on their website Meta4bespoke.co.uk. I'm a little dubious about a company that no-one has heard of so I would value your opinions. It would really help me to know if they are legit and if they are value for money.
I've also got someone from the Trade side of BettaLiving coming out today who says they can better the price originally given by their Designer who came out a few days ago but I declined to go with them because they were too expensive.
Please let me know your opinions as to the two companies mentioned above and provide advice about what I should do.
I have just been reading the mixed reviews on this site... I wish I had been on here before I agreed to let Betta Living,attempt to install a kitchen at my home.
Brackets missing, warped larder door, cupboards and drawers that peel back after two weeks of installation. Scratched kick boards before installation, Kick boards that become unstuck and fall apart. Worktop that you daren't use without placing mats on before you put a cup down coz they scratch. Connected hot and cold taps the wrong way round. Sales man intoxicated and asking for water. Surveyer demanding two lots of his money. Whether you compain to the fitters or Manchester office, you don't get called back and have to keep chasing. I could go on and on... Oh yeah my kitchen was part installed in November 2009. Still got problems now, just had replacement door front and drawers and alreay peeling away... In total despair.
We just had a kitchen from Betta Living and can say i was really impressed with them. The sales man didn't do us a Cad drawing like some firms, but he did do a clever design. The kitchen was fitted really quickly and the joiners were brilliant. Very pleased with them. I am new to this site but they asked if i would go onto the internet and share my story - no problem credit where it's due. Dom W, Chester.
Betta living is collection of non-professionals, I live in Reading, their sales person gave me quotation and took deposit upfront (This is main indication of dodgy companies such as Betta Living), B & Q quoted me £1500 cheaper with better quality. I asked for refund from and still waiting for more than a month. I would recommend not going for this company, if so then don’t give upfront deposit.
We just had our kitchen which we bought from betta living fitted and i have to say it looks amazing! really top quality. I have read some of the reviews and can honestly we never went through any of that stuff but i will pass on this tip for anyone wanting to save some serious money, What you should do is give their trade dept a ring which i did and got a designer round called tony who did a fantastic design and gave me a quote for 14 cabinets in the textured walnut plum with aubergine for £3500 without any appliances or fitting, normally that would have cost £8000 just for the cabinets!
yes they do come as a flatpack which was no problem as my fitters put them together really quickly who i may add also worked for moben and kbbc they even said that the quality is very high and they were like in the top end of the market. i bought all my appliances from ebay for example a hotpoint induction hob which was brand new for £250 rrp £679.00 and a siemans oven for £200 rrp £600 so saved tons! their customer care was lovely and i should say a big thanks to steve healey who works in post installation dept who was brill as the wife changed her mind regarding the handles right at the last minute and he very kindly swapped them over to the t-bar which we received the next morning down here in wapping london.
So my kitchen all in cost me £7000 where normally by going the other route would have cost me £15000. very very satisfied!
I live in the Reading area and have just had a new kitchen installed, and after reading comments about this company was apprehensive.
I could not have been more wrong.
The company fulfilled all aspects of the contract, and the fitters Joe and William were both excellent and fully skilled in all areas of the work involved.
Nothing was too much trouble for them and they fulfilled all requests to my complete satisfaction.
I paid a deposit for a kitchen in Oct 2008, few days later when the surveyor arrived, he told me that we could not use the materials you was hoping for, so at the earliest I contacted the branch manager Ray, He said, we do not have the materials you wanted, so I told him I wanted my deposit back. He did re assure me, that it would be in the post, Since Oct 2008 I been writing to them, calling them to get my deposit back, neither did they write back to me, And most of my calls they ignored, or kept passing me through to various departments.
But recently In July 2010 I received a cheque for only £300 for when I paid 420.00.
I am still to this day trying to recover the rest of my monies.
I did manage to get out of the clutches of this dodgy company, before paying them too much, and not having anything to show for it.
So readers I warn you, please stay away, It's only for your own good.
We have just had a kitchen fitted by betta living and are absolutely DELIGHTED! It looks so fantastic and is of a high quality. Our fitters (Tony Clarke & Russell) were absolutely brilliant and highly professional in every way. Everything was fitted to the highest standard. The kitchen was a fantastic price and we couldn't be any happier!
We did try to cancel our agreement at the start after reading all the negative comments and having poor communication with the betta living office team. But we decided that to start over again with another company would be too time consuming and no one was able to come close to the great deal we were receiving. Im so glad we decided to go ahead as we have got a great kitchen at a great price that looks superb!
I can only echo the views of Astley. They are poor from start to finish and they take no responsibility for their actions. I spent just short of 5k on a kitchen that can only be described as a shambles. Awful workmanship, handles missing, taps fitted wrong way round.And when you complain they just don't want to know. Please save your hard earned money and shop somewhere else!
Please do not use this company. They have been a nighmare from day one. I could go on forever but the complaints are to many. Put it this way i feel that i have just wasted nine and a half thousand pounds of my hard earned cash to a company that don't give dam. Once they have your money they don't want to know. I am due a refund because i basically ended up with a kitchen i didn't want. When i tried to phone and complain to customer service they said that it is what is expected from having a kitchen fitted. Mistakes are bound to be made. Im sorry but when you spend that ammount of money you would expect it to be perfect. after 4 weeks im still waiting for my refund. If i don't hear within next week i will be seeking legal action. So be warned they are a nightmare
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Visitors to the site are reminded that the details contained within user comments are uncorroborated and as such should not be read as fact but as the opinion of the person who left the comment.
Comments:
I'm in the process of purchasing a new kitchen and I've had several people round to quote (Moben, Christies, Kitchens Direct, Homebase, KitchensNow, Meta4Bespoke, BettaLiving) and the whole process is just getting more and more confusing and frustrating! I've experienced all the usual sales tricks and gimmicks but what I'm most worried about is parting with a 30% "advance/deposit" and getting sub-standard materials/service or nothing at all. I've read some of the horror stories online in various forums and I would like to gather more feedback from people who have gone through this process either scar-free or have been burnt. Please let me know your experiences and what you got and for what price. My property is a normal 3-bed semi-detached, kitchen is all along 1 wall (about 6m in length) and there are a total of about 12-13 units (5 base units, 1 tall larder, 1 drawer base, 6 wall units, stone worktop, sink&tap, freestanding cooker&extractor hood, cornices, plinths and pelmets). Estimates for supply, fitting and prep work (removal of tiles, plastering, skimming, painting) range from £5000-£6000 and 1 of £2100 (KitchensNow.co.uk).
Has anyone bought from Meta4 Kitchens - based in Barnet? They seem to supply kitchens by BA Components (www.byba.co.uk) and they seem to be okay. I couldn't find much about them at all on the internet except on their website Meta4bespoke.co.uk. I'm a little dubious about a company that no-one has heard of so I would value your opinions. It would really help me to know if they are legit and if they are value for money.
I've also got someone from the Trade side of BettaLiving coming out today who says they can better the price originally given by their Designer who came out a few days ago but I declined to go with them because they were too expensive.
Please let me know your opinions as to the two companies mentioned above and provide advice about what I should do.
Thanks!
JAY2011 at 25th May 2011, 01:35PM
Brackets missing, warped larder door, cupboards and drawers that peel back after two weeks of installation. Scratched kick boards before installation, Kick boards that become unstuck and fall apart. Worktop that you daren't use without placing mats on before you put a cup down coz they scratch. Connected hot and cold taps the wrong way round. Sales man intoxicated and asking for water. Surveyer demanding two lots of his money. Whether you compain to the fitters or Manchester office, you don't get called back and have to keep chasing. I could go on and on... Oh yeah my kitchen was part installed in November 2009. Still got problems now, just had replacement door front and drawers and alreay peeling away... In total despair.
yes they do come as a flatpack which was no problem as my fitters put them together really quickly who i may add also worked for moben and kbbc they even said that the quality is very high and they were like in the top end of the market. i bought all my appliances from ebay for example a hotpoint induction hob which was brand new for £250 rrp £679.00 and a siemans oven for £200 rrp £600 so saved tons! their customer care was lovely and i should say a big thanks to steve healey who works in post installation dept who was brill as the wife changed her mind regarding the handles right at the last minute and he very kindly swapped them over to the t-bar which we received the next morning down here in wapping london.
So my kitchen all in cost me £7000 where normally by going the other route would have cost me £15000. very very satisfied!
I could not have been more wrong.
The company fulfilled all aspects of the contract, and the fitters Joe and William were both excellent and fully skilled in all areas of the work involved.
Nothing was too much trouble for them and they fulfilled all requests to my complete satisfaction.
But recently In July 2010 I received a cheque for only £300 for when I paid 420.00.
I am still to this day trying to recover the rest of my monies.
I did manage to get out of the clutches of this dodgy company, before paying them too much, and not having anything to show for it.
So readers I warn you, please stay away, It's only for your own good.
We did try to cancel our agreement at the start after reading all the negative comments and having poor communication with the betta living office team. But we decided that to start over again with another company would be too time consuming and no one was able to come close to the great deal we were receiving. Im so glad we decided to go ahead as we have got a great kitchen at a great price that looks superb!
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