Appalling experience!

Appalling experience! We contracted Home Gallery Ltd in November/21 to provide and install worktops and upstands to our kitchen. As they had double booked their fitter, we were unable to book the day off work to the new date agreed and had to count on the generosity of my step-father to be at our house during the fitting. Big mistake!!! Appalling service, the worst we have ever experienced! We got home to find a kitchen and patio covered in sawdust (not the amount you would consider acceptable, but the job of someone with no pride for their work. Any other trader would at least cover the floor and use a broom to keep the place tidy to a minimum standard. Thankfully we had access to an industrial vacuum cleaner! We had previously had all our windows and doors changed and you simply couldn’t compare the level of care of those workers and Home Gallery’s). But worse than the mess, we also realised that they had installed a second hand, damaged worktop without our knowledge or permission, and contrary to our contract! As they had ordered the wrong size worktop, their fitter removed a display worktop from their shop and installed it in our kitchen. To add insult to injury, while cutting the display worktop to fit our kitchen, he damaged it! Not only that, he kept quiet, installed it, tried to cover the damage with some sealant and just announced the job was finished, for us to arrange payment! We immediately contact Mr Masters who visited our house and confirmed the damage. We discussed a replacement wouldn’t be convenient due to the amount of work needed (removal of the worktops, upstands, plumber to reinstall hob and sink, day off work, etc). He spoke to one of his "reliable fitters" and was told trying to repair the damage could cause extra damage. So we requested for him to finish the work (edging of the worktop, since it wasn’t the one we bought from factory with the finished edge) and we would accept the damaged/second hand worktop with a discount. As soon as he realised he would have to cover the costs for the second hand/damaged worktop, his customer skills showed to be absolutely inexistent, and started a pattern of total lack of accountability blaming everyone else for their errors. His failure to try to find a solution to the problem was shocking! His only answer for every communication was to give his fitter a chance to fix the problem, despite having said the job was unrepairable (Mr Masters' words: “As we both know Tony caught the front edge of the Sink Work Top with his router. That cannot be repaired to a level where it cannot be seen.”). After over two unsuccessful months trying to get a discount, since repair or replacement were not possible or inconvenient to us, we sought legal advice and gave Mr Masters the chance to get into an agreement. As he again failed to seek agreement or provide any other option, and failed to address or explain the installation of a second hand worktop, we were advised to report Home Gallery Ltd to Trading Standards and send them a final settlement letter with payment for the job done, less the discount for having a damaged/second hand worktop fitted and the cost for a reliable fitter to finish their job. Fortunately, the service we had contracted was a small amount (£550, being £400 paid in advance and £150 at completion), so we had the remaining £150 to work with and had no extra costs (by the way, we were advised to NEVER pay in full in advance for a service, in case there is a problem. Reliable traders will issue an invoice for goods and service AFTER completion of job and will have insurance to cover any problem). We know that things don’t always run smoothly, with even the very best traders having jobs that don’t go to plan. And sometimes, given that we are all humans, there may be mistakes, but due to the way the matter was dealt with, appalling customer service, total ignorance of their legal obligations, the complete lack of accountability for their mistakes and unwillingness to find a resolution, we would NEVER recommend Home Gallery Ltd to anyone! Mr & Mrs Hopper.

Hop Hopren - 02/06/2022 | report this review