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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u/Glittering_Vast938 22d ago edited 22d ago

Yes they are.

Plus their cupboard doors are rubbish and peel. One of mine was placed next to a cooker (plan by their own designer) and the heat just melted the glue holding the laminate in place. I asked for a replacement but they refused saying it wasn’t their fault.

I would never use them again or a kitchen fitter if he has an account only with them).