Harvey Jones Kitchens Post Reply

[wilkinem]

We are thinking of ordering a new kitchen from Harvey Jones. They claim to have a 70% market share in the local area so I was hoping someone might have used them and be able to comment on the end product and installation process etc?

Thanks for your help.

[MrsAmanda]

Luddite that I am, I'd never heard of them! Had a look at their website, and the kitchens do look lovely.

But, a 70% market share? They claim to do 70% of all new kitchens fitted in Wandsworth? I find that really very hard to believe. I've had our kitchen done, several of my friends have, too, and none of us have HJ kitchens. So perhaps we're just part of the 30% but I'd be wary of that claim. And salesmen bigging themselves up puts me right off a company, even if they do produce fantastic goods.

[jafina]

Their kitchens do look great and the designer on the Northcote Road was really helpful.

My issue with them was that they wanted us to pay a "small deposit" (£750 or so) in order to be sure to get the 10% discount offer which was only valid until the end of that month. We ended up going ahead with another kitchen company and noticed that harvey jones had a new and better discount offer going a month or so later. Made me happy that I had not gone with them.

Having said that I have a friend with a Harvey Jones kitchen and it does looks great and she is really pleased with it. Just don't get sucked into paying a deposit before you are ready!

[NoMorePeppaPig]

I got a quote from them and was shocked at the total cost, including the "discount". I second what was said about there always being an offer on.
We went with a different kitchen company, but for what it is worth, our builder says that the quality of their kitchens are poor for the amount paid.

[ready2pop]

Same here - although their customer services etc was very good we just couldn't justify the amount they were charging over and above what everyone else was.

[3hotcrossbunnies]

We have just had a quote from HJ to do our kitchen. Hubby wants to shop around a bit and do a little research first before parting with our deposit - hence looking on here! He's keen to cost up a Magnet kitchen but I have dreadful things about them re quality and customer service.
Did the original poster get her kitchen from HJ in the end? Where else locally would anyone recommend? So far I have to say I think the designer was very helpful. Thanks for any feedback!

[audrey]

We also researched kitchen suppliers quite extensively this summer before going ahead with our kitchen project. We decided on a cream gloss range and were considering between Benchmarx and Howdens Kitchens. In the end, we went with Benchmarx Holborn range, as the difference between them and Howdens was that they had soft-closing drawers and soft hinges on cabinets as standard (rather than paid as extra upgrade with Howdens), same 18mm cabinets but with thicker back panels (15mm as compared to Howdens's 6mm on base units and 3mm on wall cabinets) and 66mm void in the back of the unit (compared to 75mm). Howdens were also very slow in providing us with a quote at the time, and I felt I was chasing them instead of the other way round - so, maybe they didn't really need our custom after all.

Benchmarx (www.benchmarxjoinery.co.uk) have a showroom in Vauxhall (we dealt with Billy Garner, the showroom manager, there) and one in Fulham (although I saw a flyer that they are due to open one in Balham as well, in the Travis & Perkins shop on Balham High Road).

One piece of advice - once you get the quote from a showroom, feel free to ask other showrooms from the same company for their quote on the same design, they are all in competition to win business, so they will be willing to offer discounts or other freebies thrown in. The Vauxhall people were very nice and very accomodating - pre and post service.

Magnet kitchens didn't come highly recommended on other forums, due to poor value for money - quite expensive for the low build quality. If you can afford John Lewis Kitchens, go with them, they are very good, but bear in mind that once you place an order with them, it will take 4-6 weeks delivery. Same for any replacement or other new units that you might need to order on the spot.

We were on a tight timetable, so for us the priority was to get eveything delivered really quickly. With Benchmarx, the advantage was that they would have most of the stuff in their warehouse, so when we needed a replacement due to slightly changing the design at the last moment, they delivered them within a week.

[3hotcrossbunnies]

Thank you for posting your research, very helpful. We're in no rush - the kitchen we have is fine but has been badly thought through by the previous owners of the house - the layout could be greatly improved and there are lots of things that drive me mad on a daily basis! Difficult to justify a massive spend because I'm irritated!! We are coming under a little pressure to make a decision because various companies have offers which "expire" at the end of the month. But, as someone rightly points out, there's always another offer!

[NorthcoteLuvvie]

Is Unfinished Kitchens just what it says on the tin? Buy a carcass type thing? Do you measure up or do they help with things like that .
Sorry to appear dim just never heard and sounds like you got a great end product?

[sw11_]

we have just got a B&Q kitchen and it is fab!! i know their image isn't great if you are dreaming of a posh kicthen but believe me their top of the range stuff looks really good, and is much much less than harvey jones, who i was going to use until i realised that everyone i knew with a HJ kitchen was disappointed with it.. B&Q also gave us 5 years interest free credit, which really sealed the deal for me.

[philippa]

I went to Jewson's (the builder's merchant), the one on Carnwarth road (SW6) near Wandsworth Bridge. design, customer service and price were fantastic. I went top-of the range and the quality is superb, with the added benefit that they will help you shop around, and use their buying power if you want something unusual.

Really superb service

[Medway]

Regent Kitchens

157 Mitcham Road
London SW17 9PG
020 8672 6366

A family run business selling 'Crown' kitchens. Chris has literally spent hours with us planning a new kitchen costing and designing various options until we got what we wanted - including a double fridge - for under £10K. We were recommended by a lady who is a building project manager as the best around.

All in all it took 8 months for us to buy and we were NEVER chased or given the hard sell

[valleymum]

Hi,

That's lots of really good kitchen tips...which i'll refer back to in the future. We have spent the last few months looking round the Northcote area at kitchen shops, and found David Tindall really good, if pricey. A neighbour got a Magnet kitchen at nearly half their original 'discounted' quote as they said that was all they would pay- I was amazed at their haggle power!

We have decided to defer putting a new kitchen in for a few years and are trying to compile a 'recyled' temporary kitchen to fit in our new side return. I would like to ask if anyone who has posted on this thread, or anyone who is upgrading their kitchen would mind if me or my husband came over (just before people rip their old one out) and took a few cabinets or cupboards to add to our not-quite-a-full-kitchen collection? This could be any time between now and March.

Thanks... its really upsetting to see everyone's old kitchens in pieces in skips, going to landfill!!

[Soon-to-be-a-SMOG]

Check ebay if you're looking for some old cupboards to tide you over. We had a HJ kitchen in our house when we moved in (seemed to have lasted well, was all solid wood, and we got a good resale value on ebay for it and lots of bids - so there must be fans out there ..... though I would question the 70% market share quote). I couldn't bear to just throw it as it was in such good condition, and the wood was such good quality.

We got a Bulthaup one to replace the HJ one (very different look) and their service and aftercare has been pretty much impeccable. Would recommend them.

[3hotcrossbunnies]

Ooh Valleymum we might be interested in selling our kitchen units (from Ikea) and definitely the appliances (range cooker, American fridge freezer and intregrated dishwasher) once we decide what we are going to do! Still umming over a HJ kitchen....

Thanks to everyone who posted. Seems no-one has got a kitchen from the same place so great to get lot of tips.