When one looks back on ones life, it is possible perhaps to identify a handful of good & bad decisions. You know the sort of thing - life changing decisions and events that stay with you. A good example of a positive event would be when I went to Barcelona in 1999 to watch Man Utd beat Bayern Munich in dramatic style in the champions league final. Happiness you cannot measure, nor will I ever forget. On the negative side, one can look back with sadness at the death of friends or relatives, perhaps the odd bad career move or the one and only time (I doubt people do this more that once) that you sign a Moben kitchen contract!
When I was younger and naive I bought my first apartment. It was lovely and huge, in a nice part of NW London but needed lots of work doing to it. Well, not too much actually - a lick of paint, new carpets and a kitchen & bathroom. However when it comes to anything practical I am the worlds worst. I can hang a nail, change a light bulb or a plug and nothing else. So Moben, with their nice showrooms and "we do everything" guarantee looked superb. The kitchens certainly looked nice in the showroom, although compared to the rental dumps I had been staying in anything would have looked nice.
Anyway, after work one day a nice man came round, drew up a nice looking kitchen showed some nice white panelling and some attractie looking work tops. He promised a 6 week delivery time. The price was ok too - about 4k - of course he tried the old "its normally 8k but today only we have our 50% sale" rubbish. The 4k included a fitted dishwasher and a oven & hob & fan and seemed ok value. But I was delighted as, being Mr BIY dum dum, all the work was done - or so I thought.
Curiously the salesman insisted that I pay 100% up front. Alarm bells should have started ringing (in fact they did, but i though Moben are a reputable company, they will fix any problems so no problemo!).
The kitchen arrived about 6 weeks later and sat in my living room for 2 weeks while I waited for a fitter. The fitters came and had only 2 days to complete the kitchen. As a result it was a botch job - live wires were left hanging from the wall. Worst of all though is that the kitchen didn't fit - it was slightly too small and they had filled the gap with some cheap white chip board - it looked ridiculous.
Naturlly I complained and complained to be told by the customer services people and the inspectors who came out that I had approved the designs and that it was my fault. I was so upset - I even couldn't sleep worrying about the money I had wasted (4k was a hell of a lot for me in those days - not that it is inconsequential now!).
Eventually I phoned the Chief Exec of Moben's parent company, explained very politely what had happened and said that any help would be very much appreciated. Well that did the trick! Within an hour the inspector phoned me at work to say he was at my front door and could somebody come round to let him in to replan the kitchen. Some weeks later it was fixed.
At the end of it al I had a kitchen that looked OK. Nothing special. I now know that 4k for a kitchen is quite small so it could be argued that I got what I paid for . But I will never be going to Moben again - that is for sure!!
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Moben is part of "The Limelight Group". This includes Kitchens Direct & Dilusso Kitchens. They also encompass Dolphin Bathrooms & Sharpes Bedrooms, as well as Portland Conservatories. Be careful dealing with any of these companies, as they are "Direct" sales companies who look for an instant decision on a sale.
SukiWu22 07.03.2004 11:56
I am looking for a new kitchen at the moment, was going to phone Moben later to arrange an apointment, will now wash my hair instead! Thank you, and all the other reviewers for warning me.
intel 04.03.2004 14:37
Great review. I wish I had read it before. Had a nightmare visit from one of their salesmen, and have writtena review about it. I would love to take the matter further. How do I contact the Chief Executive of thier parent company? I'ld greatly appreciate your help.
Many thanks
Intel
Advantages: Quick turnaround of appointments, knowlegeable salesman, great service, value for money Disadvantages: would prefer 3d views/plans during first consultation
MelinaC 22.04.2009 (22.04.2009)
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