George McBride
Flat 33 Una House
Prince of Wales Road
London
NW5 3LA
07771566693
[email protected]IKEA Ltd
Customer Relations
Kingston Park
Peterborough
PE2 9ET
To whom it may concern,
My Ikea Nightmare
June
I came to Ikea on the 25th June excited about my new kitchen and hoping to have
it bought and installed in a timely fashion. I had no idea about the huge amount
of my money and time Ikea was going to waste over the still ongoing months.
When I first made the minimum four hour round trip, I was told that no one was
available to discuss buying a kitchen and that I would need to go away and book
an appointment. I was disappointed but my girlfriend and I had a look around
and picked the kitchen we wanted and went home hoping to book an
appointment for the next week.
When we called to book an appointment we were informed that we needed to
book an appointment in person at the store. We had not been told this when we
were at the store the previous week.
July
When we were finally able to book an appointment with a kitchen planner the
first available time to see someone was on 23rd July. We spent over three hours
choosing the kitchen from precise measurements we had taken at home. I said I
wanted to take the plans home and check we had everything just right and that
we would call and order. Frustratingly, I was told that I couldn't order online and
had to return to order. Your employee told me this would be simple and that
there was no need to book another appointment.
August
When I yet again made the one and a half hour one-way journey from my place
of work to Ikea on 7th August, I was told I needed an appointment to order
because I couldn't order without running through every item again, essentially
going through the whole process I had already been through with one kitchen
planner again. I explained that this wasn't what I'd been told and the Ikea
employee kindly offered to try and fit me in.
After over two hours of waiting whilst numerous people came and complained
about missing/broken/incorrect items which they had been sold she started to
help and pointed out a huge number of errors in the products her colleague had
picked as well as a number of essential products which he had failed to include in
my order. After over an hour and a half of this process we had a confirmed list of
products and I was ready to pay. Unfortunately during the processing of my Ikano
finance agreement, the computers went down and we had to start again. After
these problems processing my payment I left Ikea at 11pm; six hours after
leaving work to travel to Ikea. I arrived home after midnight.
Whilst ordering I was told that a few of the doors and end panels were not
currently in stock at the distribution centre but that these would be available
within the next couple of weeks and that it wouldnt delay the build of my
kitchen because these were the last pieces to be fitted. I said this was fine and
that I would pay for them now and have them delivered as soon as available. I
was given a number to call to arrange delivery of the items not currently
available for delivery 0203 645 0006 and an iSell No with a quotation for the
products 557446069.
After delaying my delivery date twice over three weeks and regularly ringing the
distribution centre to check whether the items were available so they could be
delivered together I still wasn't given a date when the items would be available.
At the time of writing (28th October) a large number of items are still not here and
my kitchen remains incomplete.
Despite the repeated assurances that the products would be in stock very soon, I
couldnt wait any longer for my kitchen fitter because he had another job he
urgently needed to start. I had the products in stock at the distribution centre
delivered on 27th August and the work fitting it began on 30 th August.
I continued to call the distribution centre every few days to check when the
remaining items would be ready for delivery. On every occasion, after a very long
wait listening to the Abba back catalogue and Journey for 30-60 minutes at a
time, I would give someone my order number and they would tell me that the
products were not yet in stock but that they would be very soon so to keep
ringing to check.
September
During the construction of the kitchen I realised that some of the end panels I
had been advised to purchase and purchased were not necessary (BODBYN cvr
pnl 62x40x80). On 10 September I rang the number again and after being
passed between various members of staff was told that I would be refunded the
140 and those items would not be delivered once the panels arrived in stock. I
needed instead BODBYN cvr pnl 39x106 and had to go to the store to collect
these. I also had no doors on the units and in order to fit hinges and ensure fit of
everything I needed the doors and again had to make the four-six hour roundtrip
to Ikea to buy a door (not the correct model or colour - just the cheapest one
available) and use it to fit the kitchen. I was refunded the 4 for the door. No
2
refund was given for the five hours it took me to get the door. The cover panels
cost me an extra 68.
Every few days I continued to check whether the items I needed to finish the
kitchen were in stock and they still were not but repeatedly I was forced to listen
to Abba for up to an hour at a time.
During the construction I realised what poor quality some of the parts which I
hadnt been shown were. The legs of the units were made of a flimsy and brittle
plastic and seemingly designed to break at the merest gust of wind.
I then called the Ikea Distribution Centre yet again on the 24 th September and,
after 42 minutes on hold (I was so frustrated that I timed this one), when I gave
the reference number I was told that there was no such order. I patiently and
politely gave my name and address and he found an order placed on 10 th
September but it was still for 270 and there was no evidence of any refund for
the 140 BODBYN cover panels.
Back on hold. Long passage of time.
I was then told there were three orders and that one of Thomas colleagues had
made an error and I would be called back in half an hour. I specifically asked that
if he couldnt reach me on the phone first time that he didnt leave a voicemail
but tried to call me again as I am on the phone at work a lot and I'd spent
countless hours on hold to Ikea over the last few months and wanted to avoid
more of this, instead, I was left a long voicemail which started to give an email
address to send my payment reference to before cutting out mid email address.
I then called the Ikea distribution centre back on the 25th of September and was
told to expect 15 minutes waiting time. I waited well over half an hour. I have
called Ikea more times than I care to mention at every hour of the working day
and never have I been greeted with anything other than "we are experiencing
high call volume". It's not high if it's always high, you simply do not have
sufficient staff answering the phones to deal with the simplest of issues. I will
now forever associate Abba and Journey with how much I hate Ingvar Kamprad's
Kafkaesque hell-hole. From its early years of using the forced labour of East
Germany's political prisoners to its modern reputation for outstandingly poor
quality and service, Ikea has few contenders in the race to the title of "Worst
Company on the Planet".
Once I finally got through to someone I was told that there was no evidence of
payment for the items. This was the first time I had been told this despite calling
at least a dozen times and giving my order number. I explained that I had a
finance agreement for 3,019 and that I had a receipt for 2,749 for the items
that were in stock and a "Quotation" for 270. I had paid for the items but just
didn't have a till receipt. I was told that I had to go back to the store to get a till
receipt and that in the whole of Ikea in the UK there was no one who could
accept my card details over the phone even I wanted to pay now just to get
resolved. Despite having already paid!
The staff member apologised profusely saying no one is FSA trained and they
cant view Ikano finance agreements or use them as proof of payment for a
product and they cant take payments or print till receipts. He said there was
nothing he could do to deliver my items without me going back to the store.
What then is the point in having them delivered? I can just pick them up.
That would be a good idea because they will be in stock in store long
before being in the distribution centre.
Good to learn at this late stage!
In any event, when I enquired as to when my BODBYN doors would be in stock I
was told therere Chinese whispers to say theyll be in stock by mid-October.
I have been charged for a 3,019 loan and delivered what purport to be 2,749
pounds worth of shoddy, partial rubbish.
October
On the 14th October, after a very long time of being in regular contact with the
distribution centre, I rang the normal Ikea number to check stock and the
recorded message told me I can receive a text when it comes in stock. Why I
wasnt informed of this earlier defeats me after making a number of complaints
about how long the items had been in stock and mentioning how long Id been
on hold each time I had called. I did not receive a text alerting me of the
availability of the remaining parts of my kitchen nor have I heard any follow up to
my complaint.
I then tweeted Ikea with an earlier draft of this letter of complaint on 28 th October
2014. I still have not heard anything in response to this on the day of writing, 10 th
November 2014. As of 10th November I still havent received a text about any
availability of my items.
November
No response whatsoever from Ikea and no alerts about stock availability.
Defects:
1. I was told that the extractor fan I ordered was a re-circulating one. It was
not. I had to pay extra for the builder to fit an extraction pipe .
2. The legs on the units are so wobbly and brittle that a two year old could
snap them. They were unsafe and unfit for purpose so I had to spend
96.26 to buy alternative legs from B&Q (who I should have bought the
kitchen from in the first place).
3. The sink waste is utterly useless. The very design itself of the sink waste is
incapable of safely keeping water in pipes and not sloshing all over the
floor even if you have a VARIERA drip pan which I still havent received.
When pressurised water comes through from the dishwasher through the
waste pipe (as designed by Ikea kitchen expert) it pushes the fitting off
and water rushes all over the floor.
4. The hinge for the dishwasher doesn't fit properly and therefore I cannot fit
the cover for the dishwasher and the result is an ugly dishwasher which
floods the kitchen whenever its used.
5. The kitchen is still presently missing all doors, drip pan & a spice rack. It
looks terrible and is of limited functionality.
Items still outstanding
1. Variera drip pan 802.046.25
2. BODBYN drawer frt 60x40 grey 802.210.50
3. BOBBYN door 20x80 grey 802.210
4. BODBYN door 40x80 grey 502.210.37 (X4)
My losses
The following are only the losses I can readily identify and the stress and
irritation that all of this has caused me is beyond calculation.
I run my own business as well as working a full-time job and renting out my flat. I
have valued my time at 50 an hour but that is a conservative estimate
considering the effect this whole debacle has had on my performance at work,
my business and loss of rent and potential loss of tenants at my flat.
The journeys and phone calls I mention below are only the needless ones and not
the essential ones I needed to buy the kitchen and arrange delivery dates. The
payments for loss of amenity to flatmates are not for fitting the kitchen but
rather for the ongoing lack of fully-functioning kitchen.
1. My time
Needless journeys to the store (doesnt include all journeys)
6 - including the time I will eventually have to go if and when
the products I bought back on 7th August ever become
available.
Total time 27 hours
Total cost - 1,350
Needless phone calls
At least 15
Total time 10 hours
Total cost - 500
Writing this letter
6 hours
300
2. My builder's time:
o
Fitting an extractor pipe
Going out to buy new legs for units
Half day - 150
Delays in not having the correct parts
Half day - 150
2 days - 600
Trying in vain to fit an unfit for purpose sink trap
Half day - 150
3. Wasted cost of dishwasher, cover & sink trap
o
HJALPSAM integr dishw 902.224.26 - 300
GREVSTA frnt dishwshr 45x80 102.248.82 - 31
BEHJALPLIG sldng-hng dishwasher 502.913.70 - 20
DOMSJO int sink 800.346.09 - 85
6
ATLANT trap sng 202.155.23 - 15
4. Overpayment on Ikano agreement for products never received
o
270
5. Loss of amenity reimbursements to tenants
o
800
6. Cost of unit legs & any other parts
o
96.26
Total cost of losses: 4,817.26 and counting!
I look forward to being reimbursed in full for my losses and await your offer for
reimbursement for the stress and inconvenience caused by the whole palaver.
Please see my contact details at the top of the front page and note my relevant
numbers below.
Complaint reference number 21459517
Main order number 569534560
Missing parts order number - 5577446069
Yours sincerely,
George McBride
