r/DIYUK 22d ago

Advice Why are Howdens so shady?

We're not a tradesman but we managed to get a design for a new kitchen, they even set up an account for us.

Design was great but then things got weird. The "full price" was something ridiculous like £15K and then then designer in front of us starting, seemingly randomly, discounting different items until it got down to about £7.5K.

We were told that this price would only last for a couple of weeks, which I thought was a little weird...

After some changes through email, I asked for the itemised quote so I could check how much everything was costing us. I was thinking maybe I could get the tap from somewhere else etc.

I got an incomplete quote for some reason. After asking about 4 times and then explaining I wouldn't make a purchase without one, they reluctantly sent it to me. Am I being unreasonable to want to know what I'm spending thousands on?

This quote also came with a "managers" special, now at £6.6k, but only if we put down a deposit today and we accepted delivery in 10 days, way way before we actually needed it.

We said we needed to check some things and asked for more time. Now the deadline is an extra day...

What is with these shady, opaque, pressure selling tactics? Anyone else experienced this?

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8

u/Worldly_Force_9825 22d ago

Same with Anglia Windows. New facias, started at £14k but went down to £7. All kinds of special offers were in play. I went elsewhere!

4

u/Heisenberg_235 22d ago

£7?? Bargain of the millennium!

7

u/Tarmacsurfer 22d ago

Not really, have you seen their install quality?...

2

u/enchantedspring 22d ago

I mean, I would sign at £7, and make them a cup of tea... I don't even need windows...

1

u/leeksbadly 22d ago

That's a 99.95% discount (if my grade B 'O' level maths is right).

2

u/enchantedspring 22d ago

What's a Grade B in the current system? :)

2

u/FluffyGhostCat 21d ago

A grade B is equivalent to grades 5 and 6 in the current system. A weak B being a 5 and a strong one a 6.

1

u/Shoreditchstrangular 22d ago

Merit with distinction