2008 NEWS

NEWEST NEWS IS NOW AT THE TOP!

A year or more to install a kitchen

17 December 2008 If you think you've read that headline before then you're right. Nothing much changes in the world of Moben Kitchens. I'm currently in correspondence with another customer who has been suffering Moben's incompetence, lack of consideration, greed, apathy, procrastination, broken promises etc etc for about a year. I suspect this customer is not going to accept this treatment much longer.

Some of you may have noticed that we're in a recession and times are hard. Every cloud has a silver lining though - there's not many Moben Kitchens being sold. So there's fewer customers to be disappointed. No doubt sales will increase a little after Christmas as that's a peak time for big home improvements. If you find yourself in the market for a kitchen then make sure you find out plenty about the companies you are considering.

As this is probably the last 2008 news item, I'll wish all Moben, Sharps, Dolphin and Kitchen Direct customers good luck in getting their problems sorted in 2009. And to those Moben etc employees who do have a conscience, good luck in finding an employer who treats you and its customers with respect.

A year or more to install a kitchen

11 October 2008 This week I heard from a customer who has been struggling to get Moben to complete their kitchen. After a whole year it's still not complete. The customer has asked Moben for compensation and they offered a derisory £250. Moben's excuse for offering such a sum is that the time they quoted for fitting (typically a few weeks) was only an estimate and not guaranteed.
So if you buy a Moben kitchen, the salesman will spin you a yarn about what experts they are and how you'll have a wonderful kitchen in a few weeks, but the truth is that if you're unlucky it could be much much longer.
And if you want fair compensation you'll need to go to court as this customer is doing.

50% off, off! Or maybe not?

2 October 2008 You'll know that Moben is always having a sale. In fact I'm still waiting to hear from the Advertising Standards Authority about my complaint of July about that. The complaint was about the misuse of claims such as '50% off' when they were not compared to normal Moben prices. Well this weekend I nearly fell off my perch; in the Sunday Times there was a Moben advert which didn't offer any price reductions. Instead, it extolled the virtues of its 30 years experience in fitting kitchens.
It didn't mention its experience in mis-fitting kitchens, in being incompetent, in going into Administration and in being a company best avoided etc.
However, their website today says 'Autumn Sale, Every kitchen half price'. So no change there then.


MFI is safe!

1 October 2008 Recent press articles indicate that MFI is not being taken over by or merged with Homeform Group, the owners of Moben, Kitchens Direct, Sharps and Dolphin.
More in the Times

Buy one, pay for two!

1 October 2008 In these recessionary times it's quite likely that Moben's sales are not doing that well compared with the recent relatively booming years when they ended up in Administration. But despite this, the tales of woe roll in by email. A couple of these are different from the usual histories of botched installations.

The first involves a customer who was charged twice for the same kitchen. Imagine buying a kitchen for many thousands of pounds and then finding that Moben have taken too much money from your account. This could cause all sorts of difficulties. Despite a lot of hassle the customer eventually received only £35 compensation.

The second involves someone who had the salesman (sorry I mean 'designer') round and agreed to buy a kitchen. After several weeks and visits from designers, surveyors and fitters the customer is left thousands of pounds worse off and with a houseful of kitchen units which Moben can't fit because of a problem with the design.

The word 'incompetent' seems to crop up a lot on this website.

Birds of a Feather?

26 September 2008 When I bought my kitchen from Moben I also made the mistake of doing a deal with Moben for a loan from GE Money. I paid the loan off in full shortly after the kitchen was fitted (mis-fitted?) and therefore only had to pay a small amount of interest. However, I consider that this small amount of interest was more than was due and put this down to their incompetence. They ignored any request for a refund.
But now I see from today's Times that GE Money have been fined £1.12 million for overcharging mortgage customers. I don't know if Moben still keep company with this incompetent outfit.

Another way to tackle poor service?

16 September 2008 Someone else who has been suffering at Moben's hands for 18 months has drawn my attention to another way of tackling poor service from companies such as Moben. It involves the Enterprise Act 2002 and needs the help of Trading Standards. The helpfulness of Trading Standards does vary from area to area. Here's the link.

And here's the reader's story:

I was unfortunate enough to also get sucked in by Mobens "Quality" blab and have suffered.  After corresponding with them for eighteen months now I am still no further forward.  Having suffered the usual quality complaints as Blown Worktops or "Water Ingression" they call it to Doors not fitting.  Self assembly (or Dis assembly) Taps to sinks leaking I am now going to take court action but would be interested in anyone that has succeeded in this.  Any way I will keep you informed.

Do let me know if any of you out there have had any success obtaining a satisfactory solution fro Moben, via the courts or otherwise!

Possible merger with MFI!

7 September 2008 The Sunday Times today carried an article about a possible merger between MFI and the Homeform Group (Moben, Kitchens Direct, Sharps, Dolphin). MFI may not be doing very well but things must be really bad if they're considering a merger with the Dark Side.

Despair!

30 August 2008 No updates in last few weeks as everyone here at Kitchenhell Towers decided to take a well earned rest! Thanks for those of you who've contacted me recently with your horror stories. I'll try to make use of some of the info soon. In the meantime I couldn't resist sharing the following quote with you :

Moben is a very different story. It would be hard to find another brand that is so bound up with despair. Mrs Wright was left with two small children and no kitchen for eight weeks. Mrs Fewings offers a single piece of advice: 'Do not touch Moben'. Neil has spent the past two weeks picketing his local Moben store in protest at the quality of his kitchen and Moben's inability to reply to his complaints. Mrs Grant is now into her sixth month waiting for her kitchen to be completed. Charles from Leicester, meanwhile, has reached 'breaking point' because of Moben.
For more on this see http://www.brandingstrategyinsider.com/2008/08/brands-live-and.html

Back to old habits!

17 July 2008 Over the last few weeks, Moben has gone back to advertising '50% Off' in its Press and TV adverts. The adverts claim that the 50% is off higher prices charged during the period 28 April to 22 June. As Moben did advertise some 50% or 55% offers during that period then I believe that the recent adverts are misleading. I have therefore complained about this to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA).
My letter to ASA also complains about the way that Dolphin Bathrooms and Sharps Bedrooms advertise price reductions that I believe to be fictitious.
I hope the ASA deals with this complaint more quickly than it dealt with my previous one - that took over six months - roll on January!.

SO DON'T BUY FROM MOBEN, DOLPHIN OR SHARPS!

'Incompetent, disorganised and very expensive'

28 June 2008 Not only do I receive emails from readers about their experience of Moben and other Homeform companies, I also get to hear of reviews on other websites. The above is a quote from a recent review on the www.dooyou.co.uk website. The review is by someone who made the mistake of buying a Moben Kitchen and a Dolphin Bathroom.
It's worth clicking on 'Next Review' at the bottom of each review page so you can get some idea of what several other people on the site think of Moben (not a lot!).
No change there then!
SO DON'T BUY A MOBEN KITCHEN


This month's emails

21 June 2008 It's not the end of the month yet but there are two clear themes to the emails I've received this month :
HIGH PRESSURE SALESMANSHIP I'm told that Moben continue to be very pushy, provide misleading information about price reductions and promise a speed and level of service that they can't deliver.

PAYING IN FULL ON DELIVERY If you buy a Moben kitchen you will be asked to pay a deposit when ordering and the balance on delivery. That means you will end up paying the full cost of the kitchen days or more likely weeks before they make a start on installation. Moben like to do this because :

1) It improves their cash-flow situation. They have lots of lovely money in the bank which makes it easier for them to afford to pay their bills.
2) They can get interest on your money. As they fit a few hundred kitchens a week this adds up to a tidy amount.
3) There's little incentive for Moben to finish the job in a reasonable time because the longer it takes, the more interest they can earn before they have to pay their installers and suppliers.
4) If you're not happy with the finished product then you are in a weak bargaining position because they already have your money. You could be faced with needing to sue them instead of them finishing the job properly in order that you will pay them.
5) They don't trust you and they like to know they'll get paid. Why should you trust them if they won't trust you?

Many home improvement companies operate in this way. But there are many that do not. Many companies now work on the principle that you pay for the goods on delivery but you only pay for the installation when it's complete.

IF A COMPANY WANTS ALL THE MONEY UP FRONT DON"T BUY FROM THEM!
SO DON'T BUY A MOBEN KITCHEN


The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!

20 June 2008 A look at Homeform Group's advertising since the ASA ruled on Moben's ad (see 28 May) :

THE GOOD A few weeks after the ASA's ruling, Moben changed its newspaper ads so that they no longer refer to '55% off' and the like. Instead they refer to 'Simmering Offers' or similar - a pretty vague description which suggests large price reductions but doesn't actually say that. This just goes to show that one valid complaint to the appropriate body can have an effect. So if you see an ad which is dishonest, misleading and/or offensive then let the ASA know.

THE BAD There's a few :
1) Moben continues to advertise half price kitchens via its website. Unfortunately the ASA does not deal with such ads and so Moben are free to continue to mislead potential customers.
2) I've not passed any Moben showrooms lately but I assume they're also peddling half price kitchens there as the ASA's ruling does not apply to shop displays
3) Moben salespeople continue to peddle their fictional price reductions when they visit potential customers' homes.
4) Dolphin Bathrooms are not covered by the ASA ruling so their adverts continue to refer to '55% off' etc too.
5) Sharps Bedrooms are also not covered; I've not seen any of their recent ads but assume they will be continuing with '55% off' etc

It remains to be seen how effectively the new rules for consumer protection (see 27 May) can be used to deal with companies making misleading offers via their websites, shop displays and salespeople.


ASA Rules! Moben advert fails on 'truthfulness'!

28 May 2008 The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) today published its adjudication on the Moben advert I complained about back in November 2007. Basically, the advert offered 55% off the prices in Moben's price list - but Moben did not satisfy the ASA that the prices in the price list were genuine prices at which the kitchens were normally sold.
Moben's ad is judged to be 'misleading' and fails the tests re 'substantiation', 'truthfulness' and 'prices'.

See http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_44465.htm for fuller details.
New rules for consumer protection

27 May 2008 At the weekend the UK Government introduced 31 new laws aimed at protecting consumers from rogue traders. For more info see BBC News Business and/or Times Online Business or read the Regulations here. I suggest Moben's management should familiarise themselves with the Regulations!

If you're short of something to read and you want to see what Moben and the Furniture Ombudsman are capable of then why not visit www.moben.org It's one man's documentation of his experience, with photos.


That sinking feeling!
23 May 2008 It's only a minor fault but the pad underneath the sink has fallen off ie the black sticky thing that's there to reduce sink noise. Moben can't even attach things like that properly. I'll stick it back soon when I'll also get round to sorting the self-dismantling taps.


Happy Birthday Moben!
18 April 2008 It's now roughly a year since MKD Holdings Ltd went into Administration and the Moben name and assets were taken on by HF Group Acquisitionco, a company which is owned by a Private Equity group in the USA. So I thought it appropriate to review what's changed in that year. This is based on the correspondence I have received, information in the Press and on other websites. I did try to get Moben to tell me about the way their service would be improved but they refused to answer. So here goes :

- Some stores have closed, some have been smartened up and there's the odd new large one such as the one in Milton Keynes (don't know what MK residents did to deserve that!)
- The adverts now look more polished but they actually tend to say less. They no longer claim to be specialists and no longer claim that installations will be fully project managed
- The adverts still always offer discounts of around 50 to 60% off their price lists ie the price lists that are difficult to obtain and that in many cases include prices that are never charged, hence my complaint of a few months ago to the Advertising Standards Authority
- Moben have spent some money on improving their 'back-office' systems; this should make them more efficient in dealing with administration but doesn't necessarily improve the quality of the finished product
- Moben still require full payment before installation
- Moben still use many sub-contractors rather than having dedicated, fully trained installers
- Much of the project management is still left to the customer
- There is no routine quality control at the customer's house ie if something is not up to standard there won't be a Moben inspector to spot it, it's up to the customer to spot it and chase it up
- For every unhappy Moben customer who contacts me there must be hundreds out there who don't contact me. This means a lot of unhappy customers!
- Moben prices are quite high, even if you haggle, which can make a big difference to the price.
- They're still reluctant to offer reasonable compensation for their poor service.

Not a lot of change from the customer's point of view!

Customer Feedback!
17 April 2008 My email inbox has been particularly hot this month. I've heard from several Moben customers who have suffered poor service. One in particular has had a really bad time which has included amongst other things :
- Misleading information from designer (or should I say salesman)
- Deliveries not arriving, wrong items arriving, too many items arriving
- Installations not taking place on agreed dates
- Lots of waiting around for deliveries and installers
- Electrical work being left in an apparently unsafe condition
- Water leakage
- Disruption and mess over many weeks (and it's continuing)
- All this for a high price!

I think it's only fair to say that I've also heard from a customer (just one) who is actually happy with their kitchen but considers it very overpriced.

Dolphin disappoints!
27 March 2008 The latest report on poor service from the Homeform Group that I've received here at Kitchenhell Towers relates to an abysmal bathroom installation by Dolphin. For a mere £10,000 plus, the unlucky customers have had aggro with a botched boiler installation, damaged ceiling, water leakage and other symptoms you sometimes get if you're unlucky and have bought from the Homeform Group (Moben, Dolphin, Sharp, Kitchens Direct).

So tired, tired of waiting!
28 February 2008 On 5 November 2007 I complained to the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) about a Moben advert - see Sept - Dec 2007 News Apparently ASA is on the case but nearly 4 months does seem a long time.

Sale now on! Sale Always on!

14 February 2008 Now that the extended January Sale has finished I see that Moben (and Sharps Bedrooms and Dolphin Bathrooms) are having a 14 day 'Countdown' Sale. As usual they're offering discounts of around 50% off their price list; that's the price list that they refuse to supply. I wonder which few days of this year Moben won't be having a sale - maybe Easter Sunday and Christmas Day? (I'm not even sure about those days!)

31 January 2008 I see that Moben Kitchens January sale has been extended to Sunday 3 Feb. So does this mean you'll need to buy your kitchen before then to get their '55% off'? Well firstly the 55% off needs to be treated with caution - ask yourself 'Off what?' - the answer is a price list that I've found it impossible to obtain. Secondly, you could hang on for the February Sale, or the Easter Sale, or the April Sale, or..... (you get the idea).

They can't get no satisfaction

31 January 2008 You might like to amble along to the dooyou.co.uk site to see what recent customers think of their Moben Kitchens.

Modern Marketing

2 January 2008 I found this proof that Kitchenhell is affecting Moben sales.

Newish Man's Kitchen Sink drama

2 January 2008 The First Post (The Online Daily Magazine) has this article about Moben's ongoing poor treatment of customers.

Happy New Year! Gis a job!

1 January 2008 Happy New Year! I see that the Homeform Group have many adverts for new staff via various online recruitment agencies; the adverts suggest that they are a company which is trying to improve its customer service and boost its sales - but we'll see in 2008 which of those two aims gets priority.


Please contact me at mw@kitchenhell.co.uk if you have any news on Moben etc or if you have experience of their 'service'. I'm particularly interested to know how customers of 'new' Moben (ie since 5 April 2007) are getting on. You can contact me even if you've been happy with your Moben Kitchen. There must be some happy customers?