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.
