My Wren Living kitchen - a Cautionary Tale.

Wren Kitchen Timeline

Acc No – 4448221 Ord Ref – S529613/13 Ord No - 20161487

16.12. 2013 – 1^st design meeting Wren Oxford – (Dan Melville).

28.12. 2013 - 2nd design meeting (D.M) – Order & deposit.

4.1. 2014 – Fitter (Woody) Preliminary survey.

18. 2. 2014 – Full survey (Woody)

5-6. 3. 2014 – Old kitchen removed by my fitter. Kitchen empty for new kitchen delivery.

7.3. 2014 – New kitchen delivered & stacked using most of the whole of the ground floor

– Barely enough room for all boxes. Simply impossible to check for damage. No

one from Wren to supervise. No worktops.

• Lead Time – 10 weeks! Why?

• Do Wren not have enough capacity to manufacture their product & meet orders in a timely fashion?
• Or enough good fitters to do the work?
• Are their links with other manufacturers not good enough – eg worktops, splashbacks, appliances, sinks & taps, handles?
• Are their project management & oversight procedures lacking?

10.3. 2014 – Supposed to be first day of fitting – cancelled at the last minute.

10 weeks after signing contract.

11^th – 14^th 3. 2014 – Fitting – Woody & Ben – a lot of time lost – absence from site.

17.3. 2014 – Site visit (Morgan Phillips, showroom manager) - requested by me because

of overrun. (5 - 7 days for installation quoted)

19.3. 2014 – Woody leaves site, take tools, appliances not fitted. My electrician had to do

a lot more work than expected at the last minute.

21.3. 2014 – Conference call, (unexpected) from Gavin Challinor (area manager, Morgan

Phillips, & an unnamed woman).

26.3. 2014 – Site visit (Dave Fyfe, installation manager) – organised as result of

conference call.

7.4. 2014 – Measuring for quartz worktops because edging of original “Galaxy Dove” didn't

go with cupboards. (Very disappointed - £2,250 extra cost).

23.4. 2014 – Fitting of worktops cancelled, not ready.

24.4. 2014 – Quartz fitters arrive. Upstands too high, have to go back.

9.5. 2014 – Upstands fitted after being chased by me..

12.5. 2014 – Woody measures for glass splash backs.

16.5. 2014 – Glass company say they can't match the standard Dulux wall colour I chose. I

sent a sample of paint.

26 5 2014 – 11+ Weeks since fitting due to start. Estimated time for fitting 5-7 Days. Why?

30.5. 2014 – Glass splashbacks delivered. Woody to do final fitting. 5 months since

signing the contract.

• Does Wren have the structure in place to ensure a seamless process from order to completion?
• How is this process monitored?
• What is the chain of command to ensure that customers are not kept waiting unnecessarily, bearing in mind that the kitchen is the hub of a home & in daily use.
• Does the customer have sufficient information to know what their role is & what is covered by the contract? - In my case not until after there had been problems & delays.

Total time since order 27 weeks.

30.6. 2014 – Waiting for final sealing of glass splashbacks, replacement of tap, cover for

a socket & adjustments to doors not closing properly. 16 weeks / 4 mths

since start of fitting.

4.7.2014 – Site visit by Area Manager Gavin Challinor. Apologised for everything that has

happened. Admitted it shouldn't have. Said a new department had been set up

to negotiate compensation for the many complaints there have been. Mine is

one of the worst. Someone will contact me.

8.7.2014 – Woody should have come at 5pm but didn't. ( A lot of the fitting has taken place

at really inconvenient times & late into the evening as I had to slot into the many

other jobs Woody & Ben were working on. Some Wren some private).

9.7.2014 – Woody came at 5pm & finished the fitting. 17 weeks since start date.

30.7.2014 – E mailed Area Manager G.C, Installation Manager D.F, & M.D A.S about

payment & compensation.

28.8.2014 – No response to above email so Emailed final, formal, notification to G.C, D.F,

& A.S that I would not continue to chase this. They should contact me to sort

this out.

12.11.2014 – Application for M&S credit card refused because of bad Experian rating due

to large outstanding unpaid debt! Horrified! Could only be Wren Kitchen.

Contacted Oxford Wren Living & asked for new store manager Stephen Hinitt.

(Previous one demoted & left). Discovered I should have had 2 documents to

sign off on the installation.

12.11.2014 Emailed G.C, D.F, A.S, & S.H about the above problem. Given a new important

sounding email address by S.H starting “directorsoffice....”

Forwarded the most recent string of emails to “directorsoffice...” No response

so far. AGAIN! Is there anybody there running this company I ask myself?

To sum up, in my experience:-

• High turnover of personnel so no continuity of project management
• Complete lack of efficient & competent oversight of project. There should be 1 person who liaises & has oversight of each job, communicating with the client at every stage & at regular intervals..
• Appalling lack of communication between Wren & client, & between Wren employees & outside contractors & appliance providers.
• Lack of relevant documentation & information given to client.
• No response to concerns, problems & complaints.

Quotes from Brochure.

“Cutting edge design, great quality & exceptional customer service should be for everyone, not just the rich and famous” - Armando Sanchez - MD Wren Living.

1. “I'm proud to be part of a company that puts the customer first....” - Armando Sanchez

“Turning your ideas into your dream room should be lots of fun & with Wren Living it will be”.

“our aim is simple..... (to) give you, our customer, the best possible experience.”

I wonder how Wren Living think my experience measures up to these stated aims & mission statements?

Update
 

16.11.14 – Sent 2 signed forms - “Satisfaction Docs” !

17.11.14 – Letters & copies of time line sent to Wren Directors – A Sanchez & M Pullman.

Formally informed them we are in dispute. Also mentioned Experian credit

rating. Gave 7 working days for them to respond & negotiate.

18. 11.14 – Contacted Barclays Clydesdale via their website. The contract number,

(06799478), Steve Hinitt gave me for payment of the 1yr interest free credit is

not the right number so I can't get any information about the contract. I have

never been given any documentation at all.

19.11.14 – 1)Ben Phillips contacted me from Barclays re my email. I should have been

given documentation about the agreement, (No – 9600360106057496). It went

live in May & ends on 28^th May 2015. I owe £17,770. £8,885.00 to date &

£1,480.83 every month for a further 6 months. I did not know any of this. He will

refer to C Relations customerrelations@barclays-loans.com

I paid off the lump sum & set up the St Ord from Santander. Barclays Acc No -

70185604. S Code – 20 19 90.

2) Matthew Davis, C Relations, contacted me re above. 08001522888 ext

22408. Will raise a formal complaint with Wren.

3)Ludovic ? Contacted me. Wren have to respond to me within 40 working

days. If the matter isn't settled I can go to the Financial Ombudsman,

T Standards etc.

Naming and shaming is all very well. Hopefully prospective clients will learn from my experience. I also hope the company puts their management structure right. But it doesn't solve my problem.