Now in the hands of Trading Standards

Not entirely to our surprise, Fitters4 reneged on their promise (made on 2 separate occasions) to realign the fridge/freezer base units and fit a new wall end panel, so that the 'V' gap would disappear.

We just got a snot-a-gram from the IM referring us to the Furniture Ombudsman, as she did feel that there would ever be a 'satisfactory conclusion'. Well, that's entirely down to them. It's not rocket science to realign the fridge/freezer this time using a spirit level. It is, however, a long way for their "star" (the IM's words, not ours) fitters to come - an hour each way.

So, the matter is now referred to Trading Standards with whom the case was first reported some time back.

This means that we are still unable to tile the walls, since there's no point getting tiling done until we know for sure that those tiles will not be at risk.

MFI - No Response

The installations manager has not had the common decency to return the voicemail. We've given her a week - but then haven't we just been giving them break after break for the past 5 months.

SINK
We have now discovered a hairline crack running through the sink 2 inches out from the tap base - this would not have been immediately apparent due to it being pristine, but over the past few weeks I guess dirt has got in the crack so it is now visible.

FRIDGE/FREEZER alignment
Fitters4 spent a long time messing about with the alignment of these units. And now they turn round and say that it's the fault of Fitter1 who should have noticed the warp in the worktop so it could have been replaced, and who fitted the whole base structure seemingly without the use of a spirit level.
The doors are not operating smoothly, open the doors and it's blatantly obvious they're not straight, plus there's that awful inverted V gap at the wall end panel.

- - -

Happy birthday - not - to the Remedial Work
... now 5 months old!!!

I've done a quick search on the internet and apparently we are supposed to be noticing some things...

Development Milestones at 5 Months :

* Sit, if supported, to view the world. - yeah it sure needs support
* Start to connect eyes and fingers, co-operate in reaching and grasping. - connection & co-operation never seem to have been a strongpoint
* Make sounds and interrupt conversations when wanting attention. - it certainly sneaks into conversations
* Display an awareness and wariness with strangers. - yesss, how many fitters have we had now
* Babble double consonants such as baba, dada, mama. - certainly leaves us babbling incoherent wrecks

Remedial Work: Fri 10-Oct-08 ... AAGGGHHHHH

1. End panel on the wall units has finally got replaced satisfactorily.

This was what it looked like when it was replaced the first time - Fitters4 said they just never noticed...

2. Fridge/Freezer fitting

Then Himself asked Fitters4 what they were going to do about the inverted 'V' on the f/f fitting. (Bear in mind this is the one I'd discussed with them on previous occasions, and they'd said they'd not got the wood to do it, fair enough, but they'd get hold of it and put the wall end right.)

The first guy flatly replies that he didn't know about it and has never discussed it! Yeah right, the words "Pants on Fire" spring to mind.

So I go into the kitchen & look the guy squarely in the face (maybe he didn't realise I was in the house) and ask the same question. He cannot look me in eye as he replies that yes, maybe it was mentioned* but he doesn't recall all that well.

* [see post: Remedial Work 03-Sep-08]

After a subsequent protracted investigation, Fitters4 found that ...

(a) Fitters1 had fitted a worktop which was ever so slightly warped; they should have checked it with the spirit level before fitting so that it could have been replaced at the time.

(b) Fitters1 had also seemingly lost the use of their spirit level when fitting the left side of the cabinet. It is not vertical, and Fitters4 went on to determine that in fact the whole cabinet is not fitted correctly; consequently both fridge and freezer are out of kilter. It is impossible to get them right as a result because you're always going to have a 'V' gap somewhere along the line. And because of the worktop you're always going to have the top not right.

Solution?

Well, technically that's not our problem is it, because these people are supposed to be the fitters, the ones with the Solution.

Apart from, in reality, it is very much our problem because we're the ones stuck with it - and they couldn't give a fetid rat's kidney.

Ideally, what should happen is this:

MFI take responsibility for Fitter1 being incompetent, and replace the WHOLE corner - worktop and cabinet structure, and refit the appliances correctly.

Bets are currently being taken for what MFI actually propose.

Surprisingly (not) the installations manager's mobile phone rang out to voicemail this morning. Hmm.

We await a call back.

- - -

At the top of this blog is a fair assessment of how we hoped this would go - they messed up, we gave them the opportunity to put it right. And we hoped, and believed, that they WOULD put it right, and that this blog would be a TESTAMENT to that resolution. They still could.

We have given them ...

TIME

OPPORTUNITY

UNDERSTANDING

... even though we have had to put up with FIVE MONTHS now of remedial work and personal stress, and as a result the house has not been ready to receive guests.

That darn butterfly again...

...or "One of Our Tilers is Hissing".

So it turns out that the integrity of the plastering was indeed compromised by the way that Fitters4 removed the previously hacked worktop, as we have been advised that the way the wall now 'curves' out prohibits a vertical tiled surface.

Another big Boo Hiss rears its now familiar head.

Remedial Work: Wed 3 Sep 08 - still not right

Fitters4 were just as floored as I was to find that the wall end panel which had been delivered a day early was, in fact, the Wrong Panel.

Fitters4 did all that could possibly be done, or at least all that could be done with at least a modicum of effort (at the Very Least), to rectify the light switch which looked like it had been plastered in by Shrek on acid. They also put sealant round the back of the sink (hurrah! the sink finally looks like a half decent job!) and half-heartedly drilled the floating junction box back ONTO the wall (wait till I post THAT pic). Note how I say ONTO. Not "into". No. It's still very much a separate entity from the wall. It's just attached to it now, rather than adrift from.

They agreed about the invert-V shaped gap next to the freezer.

So they'll have to come back again when the correct end panel arrives, and bring another new piece to tailor between the freezer & back wall.


Meanwhile...
I mentioned to a colleague at work that we were approaching the 4 month anniversary of remedial work. She replied that they'd had exactly the same problems - wrong deliveries, stuff not fitted right, getting fitters back to redo stuff, and in the end they'd given up and decided to Put Up With It. I wonder if Customer Putting Up With It is one of the key remedial strategies on MFI's customer satisfaction charter?

When a butterfly flaps its wings...

Himself has just spent all weekend fixing a leak to the overflow in the downstairs washroom. Turns out that since Fitters4 plumbed in the kitchen sink, the cold water system is full of rubbish and grit. That's what caused the overflow to leak.

Remedial Work : Fri 15-Aug-08

Dawn breaks over the silver birch, a lonesome magpie surveys a silent field from a high branch. Not me, I was fast asleep. Thank feck.

Fitters4 came back without any alternative sink clips. As far as we can see they've fitted just two of the ones they gave up on last time - one at each end of the sink. And that shallot.


The sealant round the sink looks GREAT ! ! ... Pity it's only on 3 sides. Yup, they've not done the back. FFS.


Here's the best bit. Fitting the shelf in the sink base unit. Tell this story to your children at night for endless fun and amusement.
And this is the reason that YOU NEED TO WATCH OVER THEM...

Fitter4 holds shelf at an angle in the base unit, weighs up where the randomly placed filter cartridge bracket comes to on said shelf (roughly) and puts a dodgy pencil line on the shelf.
He then hands shelf to his apprentice with the instruction to cut a square into it so it will go onto the brackets.
I enquire, just out of interest, with Fitter4 whether the filter cartridge bracket could have just been moved 2 inches to the left - thus negating the need to saw a square out of the shelf.
Fitter4 does a good impression of sucking on a lemon.
In the background the sound of manic sawing fills the air outside.
Fitter4 smugly remarks that it's too late now anyway.
I helpfully remind Fitter4 that the piece of wood his apprentice has is not the only spare shelving in the house. There is a full size piece, for example, under the stairs out of which he could have not 1 but 2 more bites at the apple.
Fitter4 gives an encore performance of the fruit impression.
In a fit of pique, he takes his cordless drill and unscrews the filter cartridge bracket (one small screw so no biggie), totally fails to measure 2 inches, shoves it back in again at a 30 degree angle using a combination of unprofessionalism and random guesswork and then finds the shelf still won't go in because the new location is still too close.
He then repeats above step another inch to the left.
Shelf then fits in perfectly with no need to hack it to pieces.

I guess that now makes me a qualified fitter.
What say you.


The sink base units are still misaligned. The end wall panel still needs replacing. There's an inverted 'V' gap on the endfill next to the freezer now that those appliances have been moved around. Rods in the drawers are adrift. The electrics are still not done.

Etc Etc. It just goes on and on. Plus we now have an additional 2 wrong holes in the back of our sink unit.

After the fitters leave, I open the sink base cupboard to find a steady leak is slowly creating a little froggy paddling pool.

By the way, kind regards to all my new readers.
:-P ;-)
Love and hugs, guys.

TeleCommunications

On Monday this week, the IM rang about our list of concerns following Friday's work which I duly went through. We traded gritted teeth comments about the sink fitting; she said that moving the sink an inch to the right wasn't on the original list. Of course it wasn't - (a) it was a Solution that Fitters 2 & 3 came up with, and (b) it's common sense that you work out how much room you need for the plumbing tackle you're going to use and then ensure that you put the sink in at the appropriate place for it!!! Jees. And I'm only in the next room for feck's sake, is it really that much effort for them to ask.


Anyway, 2 things were missing at the end of last Friday's session
- the Franke connector kit, and
- the Duropal sealant tube.

The IM said that Fitters4 had probably taken the connector kit to match up with an appropriate fitting to replace what they'd used.

As for the sealant...
...I told her that if the reason for it missing was that they'd used it all up then I'd have to know asap because it would mean ordering another tube for them to do the sink edging. She said she'd ask them.
...I now have a voice message from her today to "confirm that the sealant is not required". What? Eh? Of course they need it! To do the sink! - and does that mean they did use it all or not? !

FFS.

She didn't mention the Franke kit on the voice message, so I'm taking that to mean that her original answer stands on that one.


Footnote
That makes a running total of 4 things going for a walk now: the kit, the tube, the bag of bits, and the Gorgeous Blue Mug.

Remedial work: Friday 8 August 2008

NEW SNAGS!
Fitters4 have discovered the following additions to the original snag list:
24. Isolator valves were not fitted to the sink feed pipes. They've now done that.
25. Seals were not fitted to the bases of the plinths. They've identified what the spare plastic thing is.

Remedial work done on Fri 8-Aug-08:-

a) End panel reinstated on wall unit, now fitted close to wall eliminating gap. Door handle sorted.
SNAG: The bottom corner of the end panel is dented and looks rounded instead of right angled as it should be.

b) Base unit incorporating new Franke sink, door handle and replacement counter end worktop reinstated; pipework under sink tidied up. Edging seal fitted at other (cooker) end of worktop.
SNAGS:
1. U-BEND MISFIT: Fitters4 found that the U-bend does not fit to the outlet properly; so they've forced it hard up against the side of the unit to get it to meet the plug outlet, so it's slightly angled as a result. They said that was causing a leak, so they've left a bowl to catch the drips and say they will obtain a more suitable telescopic U-bend. They should've come & told me that they would not be using the Franke connecting and waste kits supplied.They should've measured up for their solution, too. The sink should've been at least another inch to the right to make their solution fit (moving the sink to the right was one of the original solutions discussed with Fitters 2 & 3 in any case).
2. LEAK: We have found that it is NOT just the U-bend that is slightly leaking. The joint/seal of the filter tap is leaking worse.
3. MISSING FRANKE CONNECTOR KIT: This was supplied with the sink and should've been left in the box (with the opened Franke waste kit) but was nowhere to be seen at the end of the day.
4. POOR CUTOUTs: The cutouts for the sink are mismatched to a very visible extent.
5. SINK SEALANT: Gap under edges of new sink, requires more sealant to eliminate dirt trap. Fitters4 also took the remaining Duropal sealant with them.
6. NO SINK CLIPS: They were unable to get the clips to fit & are sourcing alternatives.
7. LOOSE water TAP: The taps themselves are ok, but the central water spout is very loose.
8. Hot tap has a flexible feed; cold tap does not.
9. MISALIGNED UNITS: each unit is slightly off kilter to the one next to it, leaving a step effect where the worktop sits, and the bottom shelf inside each misaligned to the frame.
10. WORKTOP JOINT still standing proud.
10. WORKTOP: Edging seal tape to be fitted at cooker end of remaining worktop.
11. WORKTOP: Refit edging brackets either side of cooker so they don't protrude out.

c) Footings fitted on floor to ceiling unit.
SNAG: OMG they look awful. Truly awful. They're a totally different colour (and I mean TOTALLY!) and should have at least had some beading or wooden seal across the join to mask it. One is slightly misaligned too, so it has a more noticeable gap where it meets the main panel. Plus they should've pulled the vinyl flooring away.

Still to do:-
1. Realign fridge & freezer (fridge door slight misfit).
2. Lower cooker height.
3. Fit shelf in sink base unit.

OTHER ISSUES
a) Socket covers that were unscrewed by the plasterer do not screw back onto their casings due to the plastering. One of the sockets hisses when the cover comes back close.
(nb. The plastering curves outwards as it reaches the worktop. This is going to make tiling difficult.)
b) Extractor fan joint box is lying loose on top of the wall cupboard. The box and its wires should have been fitted back into the wall.
c) 2 months warranty has been lost on the appliances by MFI submitting registration too early and without asking. We want those 2 months back.
d) The fact still remains that we were missold on this kitchen right at the outset, because it does not meet the brief: ie. wall units which, when fitted at the correct standard height relative to the worktop, meet the ceiling.

ON THE BRIGHT SIDE...the tap doesn't spit madly out like an irate customer.

Arrangements for the base units

IM rang Friday to let us know that Fitters4 will be back this Friday. They're bringing the handle with them and should finish the wall units.

We have not been given their contact number.

6 Reasons why the Wall Units are Still Not Right

1. Fuse box hanging out (pic in previous post)
2. Gap at back of unit (pic in previous post)
3. Big gap between units as shown below - you can also see how the wall sockets were left in this pic. The cornices also have slight gaps. There is a plastic seal left unused from the cornice boxing.

4. Door does not close properly

5. Handle on ill-fitting door is loose; this is down to a faulty product and Fitters4 have said they have added the item to the reorder list.
6. Internally, the units are slightly misaligned to the frames so the bottom shelf looks out of skew.

Sitrep
Email: IM is waiting on delivery info for panel, then we will get dates for Fitters4 to come back.
No mention of delivery of replacement handle.
It's now 2 and a half months since the kitchen install began.

Reinstatement of wall units

The wall units were put back up on Thursday. They look smart but then again the wall itself is a better backdrop now anyway.

BUT...

when I climbed up to see on top of the cupboard, I found that the fuse switchbox for the extractor, although now out of sight, was just left lying on top of the cupboard with about 10 inches of wiring trailing out of the wall like the entrails of a ritual sacrifice. And the wiring for the extractor which now has a decent socket on it behind the extractor, had been fastened to the fusebox wire with a bit of yellow tape. I'm not a leccy but that just doesn't look right.

The Fire Officer who did the home safety inspection today (Monday) basically said that if the electrics had been left like that in his home he'd play merry hell. Natch.

There is also a gap between the back of the end wall unit and the wall - I can fit my fingers in behind it. The wall just isn't flat. Fitter4 said they'd order in a wider end panel and tailor it so it does give a smooth finish... They wouldn't have said anything if I'd not mentioned it. This is my point. None of these fitters has been proactive in resolving snags before we've mentioned them. That could be down to either laziness/apathy, policy or pressured adherence to work schedules, who knows. The plasterer who last week assured me that the wall was now flat is himself an ex- MFI fitter's apprentice (Fitter3 to be precise) who had decided to specialise in plastering rather than fitting.

We are waiting to find out when the fitters will return to put right the base units. If indeed they ever will. I suspect they may have changed their minds: they expressed concern last week at how exactly they are going to do the worktop jointing. This is a good example of the gap in MFI between design and capability. If it is not possible to effectively joint a worktop where a sink has been designed in, then the designers should not be designing plans that have sinks at integral joints.

As the customer, we were promised a sink in that corner and that is what we expect. With a professionally finished joint. We have, after all, already been missold on the wall units which do not meet our brief.

Arrangements to put it back together

And now the FOURTH set of Fitters is about to descend.

As predicted, we were backed into a corner over the sink problem. The IM rang early this week to say that Fitter3 would not be coming back as he did not have another slot until end of August. She had a couple more guys (hereafter referred to as "Fitters4") though who could come in Weds & Thurs this week. However, I was not going to be available during Wednesday and although she did offer to 'house sit' for us, we were both reluctant to allow tradespeople in without us being here.
Especially given the history up to now!
So we negotiated for one day only - Thursday (yesterday, more on that later) - in order to at least get the wall units back up so we could put stuff away.
We will then have to sit and wait for a slot to get the base units done. A very on-the-hoof way of doing it, and I'm resigned to the irony that if we'd waited for September when Fitter2 was available then it probably would have been sorted quicker. Ho hum.

On top of that, everything now has to be reiterated AGAIN to more fitters.

It's also not escaped our attention that the IM has finally accepted that the work can be split up into bite-sized pieces. There was no need to insist on everything being done in one slot with all the kit having to be here.

That Sinking Feeling

Blacksheep rang to tell me that the sink had been delivered but it was the wrong colour. AAGGHHH!!! they'd been sent a black one, not champagne. I'd started to get nervous about it yesterday as I'd been expecting a call on Tuesday to confirm delivery.

I asked them to do me a favour and drop me an email so I could send it on to MFI. Otherwise the IM will probably think that I never placed the order and am now stalling. They said they would, and took my email address, but no email arrived.

I rang Fitter3 and told him about the sink. He said that he would come back next Thursday then, instead of tomorrow, to start on the base units.

On a separate note, the plasterer did not come back today. He did say (plenty times) on Tuesday that he'd nip back to finish the corner today so we could paint by weekend.

I texted Fitter3 (didn't want to overdo the Hassle By Phone) to find out when the plasterer was actually going to come back and finish the corner, but there was no response.

That's it then. Sit back and wait for the sink whilst trying to manage a household using a kitchen that is mostly packed away in cardboard boxes or spread across 3 rooms.

The remaining installed worktop that is not to be replaced has been covered in plaster to the extent that it could take months to get all the bits out of the textured grain finish. Why didn't they cover it, or at least come and ask me if I wanted to cover it myself. Took me ages yesterday to clean the f*g kitchen floor, too. I could've put newspaper on it in no time if they'd said. And the windows and remaining units are all covered in f*g plaster splashes and, even worse, huge swathes of whitewash effect where they wet-wiped the splashes into the grain.

PHOTO: I should've taken more pics before I cleaned up; basically the place looked like the opening titles of Saving Private Ryan. Like the high tide had come in through the hall, washed over the kitchen and swept out down the drive again leaving a trail of debris reminiscent of Hurricane Katrina.

Personal reflection
A day of tears. If it were not for being a mother, I would have got on a train to god knows where to make it all just go away. I am so sick & tired of half-a-job harrys doing every little f*g job wrong and having to do it all over again or get it put right somehow with little or no chance of it ever being put right in any f*g case. And it's not just this kitchen. It's every f*g thing I ask any tradespeople to do. The house roof. The decorating. The wardrobes. The cleaners. The conservatory roof. The carpet fitters. The builder who moved the downstairs door. The idiot who did the chimney. I'm not bossy, maybe I'm not assertive enough. I thought that being polite and respectful to people was right and proper. Seemingly not so, because it obviously gives them carte blanche to write 'doormat' in huge invisible letters across your forehead.
Jeez I'm so fed up. I don't sleep at night because I'm too wound up. I don't perform well the following day because I have no f*g motivation left in me. I'm getting migraines, mood swings the like of which could start an international incident, and barely feel like eating anything until at least midday. Just walking into the f*g kitchen is enough to put me off food.
I'm frightened that if this misery continues, there is nothing to ground my thoughts and rein my depression in. I am just grateful that I at least have a sense of humour, and the sense to remain reticent, and that I can exorcise my mind here!!! :-P ;-D

The Walls are Done.

Emptied the wall cupboards last night and cleared the kitchen ready for the fitter today. Strange feeling of deja vu.

Fitter3 turned up this morning - with his apprentice, the plasterer (who was actually Fitter3's previous apprentice), and the plaster's apprentice. I didn't realise it was a block party. The kitchen is no bigger than a small caravan. And here's me with only one mug between the 4 of them. ;0)

By the end of the day my house once again resembles a re-enactment of The Somme, inside and down the drive. Even my black car has not escaped being dowsed in splashes of plaster. But, bless them, they did try to clean up a bit - even asked for a mop! which unfortunately I had tidied away to some forgotten remote recess a long while back. So they did their best at wiping down with an old wet tea towel. My new car did not escape the wiping and has some scary streaky effects down the side now.

The wall is looking good. Very good. If walls got invited on chat shows, this one would be on Parkinson. Impressed so far!

Later on, I noticed the partially plastered-over electrical joint on the newly plastered wall was hissing intermittently, after they'd all gone. Thought "that can't be right" and rang the IM to get Fitter3's mobile number. IM was on voicemail. Coincidentally Fitter3 rang up anyway to see how the plastering was looking; by then the hissing had subsided and he said it had probably just been a bit of water off the plastering that had got in there.

They'll be back on Friday he says; the plasterer will finish a bit round the pipe boxing so we can decorate over the weekend, and Fitter3 will do the base units.


Somewhere in a Regional Office far far away...
Plasterer spoke a little bit about an internal shake-up within MFI to expel the bad fitters. He spoke of a new regional manager overseeing the shedding. He didn't say whether the guy walked around in a brown hooded cloak and carried a luminous wand which hummed when he waved it.

Agenda Morphing.

I got an email from the IM last week asking whether Fitter3 had contacted me with dates for this week. I answered No, and said I needed to know. I need to plan around it accordingly. Ok, leave it with her.

Then in some bizarre turnaround, she rings me Friday asking if I've got the sink and when I say no, it'll be Tuesday, she says he's not coming until the sink's here. WTF???
He doesn't need the sink here to come and take the blasted units off the sodding wall and smooth it over.
Allowing the plaster to dry before it's even ready for an undercoat will take at least 3 days!!!

How dare MFI back us into a corner and hold us to ransom against him starting on the wall. In fact, he could have done that already by now, sink or no pigging sink! It's been TWO MONTHS, FFS!

Can you sense a distinct edge to my tone at this point. :-P

Anyway, Fitter3 rang last night (yes, Sunday evening 8pm) to say he'd come Tuesday for the wall, then return probably Thursday to start the base units.

I should jolly well think so.

"How very dare you" ! ! ! pmsl

Still waiting.

Do you remember the bits in The Battle Of Britain where they're all sat around waiting for the scramble? It's eerily silent today.

Yesterday another wall unit arrived by courier & swathed in bubble wrap. I've marked everything 'unchecked' and not opened a thing; it's down to them to ensure it's all present & correct.

Hopefully I can collect the sink from those Very Nice People at Blacksheep in Macclesfield soon. They have been fantastic, a veritable beacon in a stormy night.

The installations manager asked me via email yesterday if we'd heard from Fitter3 re dates for next week. Fitter3 has not rung. Er, so that was a big fat No.

What's arrived, and what's not.

The replacement worktop arrived from those Very Nice People at Blacksheep in Macclesfield yesterday. They must be made up.

Phone call from installations manager yesterday to check Saturday's delivery; I told her what had arrived and she agreed that it was short by a unit and a base door, the latter of which is not available for another 9 days (so, she said the larder unit will have to be done on a 'nip back' basis but as it involves the completion including foot plates of the larder unit I would expect it will take a bit more than a 'nip'). A voicemail from her later confirmed that the missing items (except that base door) will arrive by courier tomorrow.

Also rang Trading Standards and got a reference number. They will add the details of my call to the MFI branch case file.

Now awaiting Fitter3 to give us a date to come and remove the wall units & skim so we can get some proper base coats put down.


Thought
Why wasn't the floor to ceiling unit designed originally with all base units, instead of 500 wall units stacked up? It's not right - using wall units means there's uneven spacers down the front. So that's another thing we were missold on.

Fitter3 Prepares for Action.

Last Saturday, Fitter3 came & surveyed the required remedial work, identifying that the original replacement list fell short and an additional unit would have to be ordered on top of what the IM had listed.

He said he would strip the units off the wall and get it skimmed, then allow a couple of days for us to decorate before he put the replacements back up.
He said he would contact us this week to let us know a date.

No-one's rung this week.

Today we had a delivery of a few items - looks like it falls way short of the mark in terms of what should be getting replaced.

28 Jun 08: New worktop ordered

The Installations Manager rang - she'd had a meeting with Fitter1, most of the contents of that meeting wasn't my business to know (my words from the start, not hers) but she asked for my assurance that he would get paid at the end of this. Boo hiss!.. Of course a payment will be due when what was supposed to have been done right the first time is eventually done properly. I just feel that, ethically, I should be paying the person who does it right.
MFI really need to rethink the way they contract their fitters!


Had an email from the IM yesterday confirming the worktop & sink would be credited to my card, so I ordered the replacement worktop from those Very Nice People at Blacksheep in Macclesfield and sourced the sink.


Fitter3 has not rung.
Still no further comment from the branch.
Or apology from MFI in writing.

To answer those who asked the question...

Why MFI, why not IKEA?....

(just tickles me, this one!)

Wednesday 25 June: Let's get it right.

Sent revised schedule of works back to installations manager - as a lot had been missed off her original version, including fitting the replacement worktop and sink!!! Also sent the quote from Blacksheep which arrived today, and asked for written guarantee there would be no further invoicing to us arising at any point (do you detect an element of mistrust creeping in?) All this is via email.


An Aside...
Did you know that under the Goods & Services Act if you are not satisfied with work done then you have to give the supplier the opportunity to put it right within a reasonable time? ie. let them back into your home for a second time no matter what! sorry but that's just a late night comedy sketch waiting to happen, that one.


Personal reflection
We are both 'feeling the strain' now, as Himself has intimated that he is experiencing a similar 'sick gut' when he pulls into the drive. We are trying to keep ourselves sane, and united. What love has brought together let no kitchen company divide!!! haha.

The Action Starts. Part 2.

Schedule of works sent to me from the installations manager was not accurate & had stuff missing. I've had to correct that.

Spoke to installations manager about Fitter1 ringing up last night. She, like me, was surprised (or very good at acting surprised) that he had not been appraised of the situation. He must have been appraised by now anyway, because he's not rung up this evening as he said he would. Hmm.

Here's the fun bits. Ha sodding ha.
They want us to pay for the replacement worktop up front & then they'll refund us. The installations mgr says MFI "don't have an account set up with Blacksheep" so they can't order direct. They don't have an account with us, if we're talking technicalities! Like we have the cash to just fork out willy-nilly on worktops. She then said that the branch manager may be able to provide the cash advance or refund my card upfront, and would get back to us on that.
I'm getting a quote from Blacksheep and forwarding it on to them, along with the corrected Schedule of Works.

Have contacted my credit card company on an "f.y.i." basis.


Footnote: re Fitter1, this is the icing on MFI's Cake of Ludicrousity:

MFI's Fitters get paid whether or not they do a good job.

How do I arrive at this conclusion? Simple: the IM said that when the work is complete and satisfactory, then we must pay Fitter1 his bill because then the work on his schedule will have been completed.
Even though someone else had to correct it (which will be at MFI's expense).

What kind of incentive is THAT for a fitter to do the job properly & professionally??? WTF?!?!?!

3 phone calls in 1 day

1. Call from Fitter1 saying that he'd got the gas & elec certificates for us (no, really) and he now wants payment of his invoice. Unbelievable! MFI haven't engaged with him!

2. Call from Fitter3 who said he'd come over this weekend to review the necessary work.

3. Picked up a voicemail that the Installations Manager left earlier confirming Fitter 3's name, delivery date of 5 July and estimating remedial work will start the following week.

The Action Starts.

A phone call and an email today. Exactly as promised.

The phone call was to get our decision about the sink; we have accepted the offer of a refund for us to source a sink elsewhere for their fitter to include in the remedial work. I was prepared to upgrade the sink to a better one from MFI, mirror polished instead of matt, and pay the difference - but MFI can only sell via pictures in a brochure. None of those pictures give any indication as to quality, cost or value - there are no prices next to the picture, hence ending up with this "cheap sink" (her words not mine) in the first place. MFI do not offer the facility for customers to select a good quality sink by the tried & tested old-fashioned method of comparing the physical goods & prices. And we do not want to risk making the same mistake again, so if MFI cannot show us the goods pre-sale then we will have to find a store that will.

The email came with a checklist of the work planned, so the next step for us is to check that everything we raised is covered for on that list. The spare parts are being sent to us, and of course we'll have to take delivery of the replacement units - once more the house will be a bombsite. In addition, we have to contact the worktop supplier and get a quote for the replacement worktop, as MFI have stated they will be paying for that so it needs to be ordered asap as it's availability will directly affect the refit date.

What we don't actually have is an Answer. You know, a formal response to our complaint that APOLOGISES. A letter that acknowledges our complaint and states what their intentions are. All we've actually got here is a set of facts & instructions.

A visit from the Installations Manager

On Friday last week the Installations Manager rang me up to say that she had received Fitter 2's report, and arranged a home visit for Wed 18 June 08 to check the comments made in that report with a view to assessing Fitter 1. She asked how his manner was generally, to which I replied that he seemed ok, although my partner had overheard his colleague question a number of things he was doing. You can't stand over people though - there's always an element of trust involved isn't there.

What concerned me at the outset of our conversation was that the primary objective of MFI would appear to be their own internal investigation around resource issues. In a customer-facing environment, their first priority should be to address the customer's complaint which as far as I'm concerned is product related! in that the kitchen in its present state is sub-functional, sub-standard and meets neither expectations nor requirements. And another 3 months wait to resolve the situation is unacceptable.

I raised this again when we met today. My concerns were taken on board and I did feel that she went on to conduct the visit from the Cust Sat angle rather than HR. I was given the verbal assurance that the remedial work would resolve all the points on the snagging list, and she would try to get a fitter to us within 4 weeks.

She was here an hour & a half, we went through every detail of the list I had against what Fitter2 had written. I asked for a copy of his report, along with the electric & gas certificates. She offered a refund on the sink so we could be responsible for sourcing our own, said she would email me the list of remedial work that MFI intended to do and said that MFI would pay for a replacement worktop which we would have to arrange with our supplier.

All in all, a positive experience. [yay!]


Footnote : I had to laugh re the sink. I pointed out that the water was ponding on the drainer, and her response was that (as she apparently tells a lot of people when they say the same thing) the draining board is just for pots to drip onto, it's not meant to take the water anywhere in particular... !

Well, there's something I bet you didn't know about sinks, and from an industry professional, so it must be true. :-P

nb. There has still been no communication from the branch.

oh no not you again

On Saturday we took delivery of an additional wall unit + cornicing which is now sitting under our stairs. I had to place the order post-fit because it's transpired that we need the extra space since it's now looking unlikely that we'll get the shelving that I had asked about at the pre-fit.

Anyway...
This morning at 8.30am MFI attempted to deliver another identical wall unit! WTF?!

There's more...
I idly joked that if they left it I'd put it on ebay to recoup my costs, and the guy very nearly DID try to leave it!!! I had to tell him to take it away!

And that's not all...
About ten minutes later I got a call from the manager asking if they really had just tried to deliver something I'd already got because he wanted to make sure the delivery guys "were telling the truth?" (his words, not mine). That says a lot doesn't it.

Amityville - brace yourselves here's The Snag List

When MFI's saleswoman told me that MFI actually could offer me a range that would go up to my ceiling with no annoying dusty gap, I conceded that my search was over.

I gave her my room height at the design stage, as I also wanted her to incorporate a customised floor-to-ceiling unit (involving a stack of wall units) on an opposing wall.

Now that the fitters (whom I shall index as Fitter1) have been and gone (twice), the following is a list of all the things that have gone and/or are still wrong with our MFI fitted kitchen:

1. Wall units damaged. The backboard on one was cracked, and another was scratched. Fitters claimed it was not them, that it was probably done in transit and that they never noticed any damage anyway during work until I pointed it out to them. (Aren't they the ones who are supposed to have the trained eyes?)

2. Unacceptable discolouration on wall unit. I'm intelligent enough to know that wood has natural hues and variations, but this looks like it's gone 10 rounds with a flame thrower. It should never have passed factory standards inspections - if, indeed, MFI operate such a process.

3. Cooker hood is misaligned and touches the wall cupboard on one side, causing vibrational stress to the unit and rendering any attempt to clean down the side of the hood impossible.

4. Base level fridge & freezer are misaligned - the front doors & end panels look like they're all sloping in different directions.

5. Standalone cooker misfitted so it touches the unit at the side (fridge) causing vibration from the cooker fan.

6. Mess. Pan drawers were not removed when the fitters came back to fit the worktop, so they were full of dirt & sawdust afterwards.

7. Closure faults. All units are supposed to have the 'soft close' mechanism but the pan drawers & a cupboard do not close & need to be helped.

8. Cupboard under the sink - what a disaster.

a) Huge holes have been gouged into the top end of this unit for no apparent reason.

b) Lots of wrong holes were drilled into the backboard before they guessed right on ones that would actually accommodate the plumbing furniture. There are even mysterious great gaps gouged out of the top of the back board that have no obvious purpose.

c) Filter tap cartridge has been left lying around loose, no bracket fitted.

d) Plumbing & pipes for dishwasher & sink are left hanging right through the middle - inadequately fitted & bracketted. Space is subsequently unuseable.

e) Door misfitted, stands proud of unit.

f) Handle missing!

9. Mini end cupboard next to sink cupboard - handle was also missing off this one and so, without asking, the fitters used their initiative (great) and took the one off a sample door in our washroom that I'd left a £5 depost with MFI for a couple of months back when I'd borrowed it for tile matching. (Ho hum.)

10. Electrics.

a) The electrician made a mess in the hall when he fitted wiring to comply with building regs requirement for a ring main. He never covered the carpet and did a poor job of wiring into our main switch box generally.

b) Sockets/switches in the kitchen that were moved now stand proud of the wall because they have been badly fitted.

c) An end wall had been perfectly plastered. I had asked Fitter1 beforehand about the socket that needed moving and he said to get the wall done and they would move it later - not to worry, the patch would not be visible. Ha! It looks like a lump of blancmange on my otherwise pristine wall. Incorrect filler used, should have been plastered.

d) Fuse switch next to the cooker hood is totally in the wrong place.

11. Unuseable walls: When surveying and subsequently stripping the walls, the fitters never indicated that we would need some plaster & skim work to the wall prior to the wall units & cooker hood going up. The wall they uncovered is in a dreadful state, and they have just mounted everything on top of it so we are now unable to plaster, decorate or tile over it. What filler they did use on the boarded-up alcove was inappropriate & has left more of a problem than it solves.

12. Worktop. As I wasn't taken with any of the MFI worktops, I bought a top-of-the-range Duropal laminate worktop from Blacksheep (Macclesfield) which is superb. Or at least it was.

a) It has been severely hacked into under the sink by the fitter, comprising its structural integrity and capacity to support the sink.

b) The fitters have not applied the laminate covers to the edges of the worktop at the break where the cooker stands. They've put standard MFI metal brackets on the ends which do not sufficiently covered the laminate inner , so leaving the 2 front corners there vulnerable to liquid ingress - fatal for laminate! You can see the compacted 'inner' sticking out the sides of the metal end pieces.

c) They have executed a very poor 'invisible' join at the L-shape in the corner; the silicon-filled gap is wide enough to allow deterioration of the seal and one side stands higher than the other which is visible at the corner itself.

d) The sealant itself appears to be sub-standard and everyone that has seen the kitchen since (including other MFI fitters) have said the wrong type of sealant has been used.

13. Sink.

a) The finish on the matt sink is impossible to clean. Wiping it brings up a blackened hue, and water 'pools' all over the surface causing blotches.

b) Inadequate silicon sealing around the sink - there are obvious gaps in the sealant. If any water gets in there, it will leak underneath and also wreck the inside of the worktop.

c) Filter tap spits, there's no smooth flow to the water. No matter how you try to turn the tap nozzle, the water just spits out uncontrollably to the sides. Poor product design.

d) Ponding on the drainer.

14. Sub-standard plastering. The filler/plaster used to 'make good' the wall where the alcove is boarded up, and at various places over the rest of the wall (including the moved socket - ref.10c) is sub-standard and has been put on very badly. It looks like cheap polyfiller and no attempt has been made to smooth it over, even high up on the wall where tiling is least likely to be.

15. Boarding-in of water pipes that run up the corner of the kitchen has been very poorly done. The ply has not been cut accurately and there is no support on one side - so the whole thing looks awful, is not secure and cannot be decorated over. A very unprofessional job.

16. Floor to ceiling unit has no base boards! It looks like it's just 'floating'! If you bend down you can see the support feet that are supposed to be hidden.

17. Scratch on end plate where the sink cupboards finish.

18. Fridge is missing a top protector plate from the door fittings. When the fitters left, they took a bag of unused stuff (screws, brackets, etc) which included the unfitted fridge piece. I had gathered all this up myself, expecting to keep it and of course fit the fridge piece!

19. No paperwork, forms or certificates were left for any electrical and gas fitting work carried out, or any aspect of the fitting itself. Legal point.

20. Appliance warranties only 10 months. MFI register the product themselves ahead of fitting. I discovered that my appliances were registered back in March. That only leaves 10 months' warranty period post-install.

21. Plinth drawer unuseable. The fitters were unable to fit this new-style drawer into the base plinth, they said it just wouldn't fit and I should take it back for a refund, which I did.

22. My bag of bits has gone for a walk. (As has my gorgeous, blue flowery, big mug... and both disappeared around the same time. Just a coincidence?) The fitters left a lot of rubble in the kitchen - screws, brackets & other fittings dotted around the place & inside the cupboards. I collected the whole lot up and put it all in a pink carrier bag in a corner of the kitchen for keeping safe. I never saw it again.

23. And finally....The piece de resistance!!!....

The wall units do NOT reach the ceiling!

Despite giving MFI the room height measurements at the design stage, I was not informed that the ceiling height would render my requirement undeliverable, and that using 'gap filler' in this instance was untenable due to the size of the gap involved (half a foot).

I was therefore MISSOLD in the first instance.

As a footnote, the cupboards themselves are simply a waste of space. There's not enough room in them and the shelves I wanted have not happened, so we've had to order another wall unit. :-(

Recourse:-

The following are the steps I am taking...

a) formal complaint with MFI Macclesfield.

This is where we are now. The manager rang up and has sent one of his expert fitters (Fitter2) to survey the kitchen & submit a report, as understandably he does not have the 'trained eye' to do that himself. Apparently he is new to the branch, and so far I have found his verbal response to the matter to be positive and proactive. It would be so nice to be able to blog an entry for an excellent resolution! However, Fitter2 mentioned during his visit that he personally would be not available for a re-fit until September, and he can't book us in even provisionally until he gets management instruction to proceed, so that will probably push out to even later. This is a major issue as far as I'm concerned, such a wait is unacceptable.

Since that report was done there has been no further communication to us from the branch.

b) Further action as events shall warrant.

Personal reflection

I get a sick feeling in my stomach every time I have to face the horror story that is my MFI fitted kitchen. When I pull into the drive after a long day at work, having collected my son from school, all I want to do is make a nice meal for us all and have a rest. Instead it just upsets me to walk in there, and I'm ending up with more migraines & depression. We are expecting a visitor from the US at the end of September, how the hell can we welcome anyone into this horror story.

FOOTNOTE: Howdens and MFI are joined at the hip. Check Wikipedia and bear this in mind when shopping around.