We believed the advertising and the brochures and went along to a Magnet showroom. We were prepared to pay a bit more for a quality product, believing the brochure about their 'Craftsmen' fitters and good quality cabinets. How wrong we were. This was late 1999, so if Magnet has changed since then some of this might not apply. However, I would want to alert ciao members to our bad experience. I do know that point viii) below definitely still applies, I phoned to check.

The fitters were booked in and then our nightmare began. All the units were delivered OK and nothing was damaged, but the fitter was rude, arrogant, and seemed to be permanently in a hurry. He did all the plumbing and joinery himself, employing staff himself as required (including an electrician who was a family member). Looking back, I wish I had demanded that Magnet take that rude man out of my house, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. He was more polite when my husband was home, which says a lot.

The fitter didn't like any interuptions and reacted with impatience if I pointed out anything that didn't seem right. In particular, if there is any joinery to be done which is outwith the fitting of the actual kitchen (eg I wanted a small recessed area above the worktop tongue and grooved), then the deal is that the joiner is paid separately for this. As it turned out, the joiner did not have the skill to do this job.

i) One of the electric sockets was heating up
ii) The cupboards were not properly fitted and were out of alignment
iii) handles were clearly not on straight, on drawers and cupboards
iv) the worktops were poorly fitted, with large gaps where the worktops should meet neatly
v) at the back of one of the drawers, water pipes had been left exposed and had not been boxed back in. As these pipes go up to the roof space (block of flats), we started getting insects, eg spiders and the odd beetle, into the cupboards - see viii) below
vi) part of the window frame had been sawn off to gain access for the worktop, but had not been fixed back in place (infact the joiner denied he had done it)
vii) the edges of the worktops, where the matching edge is attached, had been filed down to fit very badly and looked awful
and worst of all
viii) we discovered that Magnet kitchen base cupboards do not have full backs. Consequently, anything put in the very shallow drawers is in danger of falling out of the back of the cupboard - which happened numerous times. Magnet advise this is a deliberate design to help the fitters!!!! How about the customer!? The salesperson I complained to about this honestly couldn't see what the problem was!
Only one cupboard needed access for wires/cables, so this was a real nuisance.
ix) the recess cupboard area that the joiner had been paid separately to do was nothing short of an eyesore.
x) the kickplates have very poor fixings. Because things kept falling out the back of the drawers, we had to take them off a few times, and the brittle fragile fittings did not last long.
xi) over following years - about two - we noticed that the worktop in front of the sink was swelling and coming apart. When I rang Magnet, they said we should shave off the swollen part and seal it with varnish - and no, they would not do it! Apparently the fitter should have sealed it.
xii) we have also found the worktop to be quite porous to stains.
xiii) Magnet tiled in agreed areas, but the tiler (who I think was employed by the fitter) stated he did not know how to put sealant around the edges and refused to do that!

My mother in-law recently had a kitchen fitted and went to MFI. They have fitted a kitchen very well in her house, despite it being an awkward shape.