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Howdens Reviews

1.8 Rating 225 Reviews
17 %
of reviewers recommend Howdens
1.8
Based on 225 reviews
Shipping & Delivery
Delivery Methods
Courier, Own Driver
Average Delivery Time
Over 7 Days
On-time Delivery
Greater than 45%
Accurate And Undamaged Orders
Greater than 46%
Customer Service
Communication Channels
Telephone, Email, Live Chat
Queries Resolved In
Over A Week
Customer Service
1.5 out of 5

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Howdens  1 star review on 29th April 2025
Maya
Howdens  1 star review on 29th April 2025
Maya
Howdens  1 star review on 28th May 2024
James Breeds
Howdens  1 star review on 14th February 2024
Carl Birkenshaw
Howdens  1 star review on 14th February 2024
Carl Birkenshaw
Howdens  1 star review on 14th February 2024
Carl Birkenshaw
Howdens  1 star review on 14th February 2024
Carl Birkenshaw
24
Anonymous
Anonymous  // 01/01/2019
Categories Blog My Reviews My Settings Help LOG OUT Alternate Text Sam Bird GB For businesses Your review counts! You reviewed Howdens Sam Bird Sam Bird 8 reviews 2 stars: Poor Updated just now They messed up the delivery and then we… They messed up the delivery and then we had to drive to pick up what they missed rather than deliver it for us. We were told by the incompetent kitchen planner that it would 'be tight, but itll work'. However the kitchen they planned for us didn't account for the decorative end panels on cupboards. So it fit perfectly with the ugly base white cupboards. Why would you account for the aesthetics in a new kitchen though? That'd be ridiculous. Basically ended up with a very different kitchen than what was paid for, and excess stuff they sold that wasn't needed. They get away with it because they usually work directly with trades people rather than consumers. Don't go with Howdens. Pick any other kitchen supplier.
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Posted 3 years ago
We had a kitchen designed by Rochdale Howdens. Some of the wall units were in accessible unless you leant across the hob. This is obviously very dangerous. I asked for a site visit and when on site the designer told us that the design was impractical but did not breach any regulations. The kitchen room is a parallelogram; and I did question, at the designers one and only visit, whether or not she need to take account of this but she was adamant that this was a fitting issue and not a design one. I raised this concern a few times in telephone calls I had with the designer but it was dismissed. The designer initially came before the room was plastered but couldn't be bothered to return to check her measurements and asked that I send them through. When the above was followed up the designer and her manager (who did not attend the initial visit or the requested site visit) denied having described the kitchen as impractical. The fitter had unpackaged a double oven to fit into the kitchen that Howdens had designed but due to the impracticality if the design this had to be changed for a built under oven. Despite this Howdens refused to reimburse as the oven had been unpackaged but we were advised that it did have a resalable value should we choose to sell it. The service we have received from Howdens Rochdale has been absolutely diabolical. They have refused to discuss the issues with our project manager, were very willing to apportion blame to us or our project manager and have totally refused to refund any of the issues related to their errors. Customer service is diabolical
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Posted 3 years ago
We've just had a Howdens kitchen installed. We wanted a cream kitchen and the Hockley Super Matt Sandstone seemed just right, judging from the photos in the Howdens brochure and on their website. The kitchen is now installed - and it's grey! There is no doubt about it. It isn't just our opinion. Other people have seen it and said it's grey. Occasionally the lighting conditions bring out a dark beige in the colour, but 95% of the time it looks grey, whether under natural light or electric light. It's actually very similar to the Hockley Super Matt Dove Grey. Under no lighting conditions whatsoever does it ever look as pale as it does in Howdens' photos, so how they managed to pull that off I'll never know. The one thing that we didn't want was a grey kitchen, but that's what we've got. I'm considering speaking to a solicitor about it.
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Posted 3 years ago
The kitchen units may be good but customer service is dreadful. I've written, phoned and still no reply. It took them 3 months to provide an invoice which be warned has very little detail. Also surprised that the manager kept on telling me3 he used to work for Curreys!?
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Posted 3 years ago
A non starter! Had them come out to plan our kitchen. They promised the earth and told my wife and I how fantastic and big they were. That's the last I saw of them. No follow up, no emails, no telephone contact, in fact nothing. They must have thought we we were on a low budget. Our budget for the kitchen supply was £10K. We have bought from elsewhere thankfully. DO NOT USE HOWDENS, THEY ARE A COMPLETE WASTE OF TIME!!! Reading the reviews on here, it looks like we have dodged a bullet!
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Posted 3 years ago
The person I spoke with Aaron at Ashford South continuously lied to me and then lied to my husband to make it look like I was lying!! He clearly has a problem with lies and needs help. I will never use Howdens due to this horrendous experience. They came out to plan our kitchen 2 months ago and after constantly chasing them they sent the pictures but no price, more chasing still no price so I called today (apparently I didn't!) spoke with Aaron who said if I go ahead with the quote he would sort out a free installation for us for the inconvenience.. we were always going to be doing the work so this came as a bit of a surprise, I then spoke to husband and he mentioned it to Aaron later that day who said that he knew nothing of this and hadn't even spoken to me!! (He had!) I have it on my phone records, I then rang up to speak to him to find out why he has said this as it's made me look like a liar to my husband, and he genuinely said he didn't speak to me on the phone! He clearly has a problem and needs serious help. Appalling customer service.
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Posted 3 years ago
welwyn garden city branch is great all the staff are very friendly and are always willing to help you find what you want. The quality of the stock is brilliant and I am over moon with the new design of the legs so easy to adjust I've put lots of different kitchens in and Howdens kitchens always come top.
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Posted 3 years ago
Absolutely horrendous company. Awful quality kichen not fit for purpose. Had to rip it out as the units were bubbling straight after . Their customer service is even worse. Avoid at all cost. Go to Wren instead
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Posted 3 years ago
Received a very nasty letter from your credit department. I have a trade account and spend thousands on your products. I always pay on time or beforehand. Not sure what this is about but to receive demands for me to give Howdens an account summary of the financial details of my business trading is bazaar. If I don't do this they intend to destroy my business it goes on. They want a list of all my borrowings and income which in my case is considerable. This document may be a mistake and I hope so because at the time of receiving the account is zero balance. I suggest retraining whoever sent this and an apology to myself is in order. Rather timely as an order for a £7000 kitchen was about to be placed. I'm pleased to say this has now gone to Magnet. Your staff in the Camborne branch are good and I have a good relationship with all of them. Your credit department does them a disservice. They do not need you looking over their shoulder. Disgusting letter and you clearly have an elevated opinion of yourself. Your threats are impotent and rather funny. Some customers would find them intimidating which is clearly your intention. Stupid and unnecessary. Dave Baker t/a Kernowdevelopers.
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Posted 4 years ago
Using Howdens is risky I would be very wary of using Howdens Joinery - their way of operating means you could be leaving yourself open to fraud by rogue traders. Howdens will then simply deny any responsibility. This happened to us, despite a member of their staff vouching for the tradesperson. We lost £6000 due to this experience, and it took Howdens over 3 months to respond to our complaint. I can't seem to reply to Howdens comments. But there is no point emailing the Howdens review team. The people dealing with my complaint were at head office and I also spoke to an area manager. Several other households had the same experience with the same member of staff from the Morley branch, but the area manager simply said that she did not vouch for or recommend the rogue trader (although she did), so Howdens could not accept any responsibility. After paying about my experiences iny social media, Howdens have blocked me on Twitter and Facebook.
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Posted 4 years ago
Never before have I been insulted, accused of lying, charged double for items, had second hand items delivered. My kitchen was badly planned, so unable to fit.. Also was delivered without an invoice. Also head office haven't even acknowledged my complaint. I would not give them the time of day, let alone my custom. I am referring to management, as the other staff are quite pleasant and helpful.
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Posted 4 years ago
Poor customer service and doesn’t honour price match watch out
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Posted 4 years ago
Rubbish customer service. Booked a design appointment which was cancelled and never rebooked and the person never responded to my alternate dates. Contacted another centre and was told I’ll have the design team get in touch and surprise surprise I’m waiting a week later and never heard back although was told I’ll hear from the team a week ago
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Posted 4 years ago
Extremely poor service! Kitchen designer unprofessional... Didn’t really know about kitchens let alone how to design a kitchen! Unfinished kitchen due to not having semi integrated door size for dishwasher. This is the Oldham road store in Manchester. Spoken with the manager Luke re door... Assured me of a return call...I didn’t receive one! I called again to be informed he was busy. Needless to say I warn anyone that is thinking of buying from Howdons... think again... it’s really not worth all the problems that come with a purchase!
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Posted 4 years ago
Do not buy your kitchen from this company ,they are rubbish,my kitchen was fitted twelve months ago and I have spent most of my time going back and forth to Howdens getting parts replaced ,the staff have always been very good and replaced faulty goods straight away but the point is they are selling absolutely rubbish goods ,in my lifetime I am eighty I have had about six kitchens fitted and I must say it's the worst kitchen that I have had fitted ,so be very careful out there.!
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Posted 4 years ago
Would give zero stars if I could... Hello Howdens, Thank you for lack of willingness to help, I guess social media is the only way to draw attention to the issue we’re having with YOUR product, that you’re refusing to help with… just to let your audience know… we have spent thousands on a kitchen and some of the products you have supplied are subpar. The all singing all dancing compact laminate is great in theory, if the install kit that you sell didn’t damage the product. Yes that’s right folks, the resin supplied in the kit that you have to purchase on top of the worktop (and everything else) stains the work top yellow… not a good look at all. Now considering that the compact laminate worktop is a relatively new product (please check out the ‘new’ status here https://www.howdens.com/kitc.../kitchen-surfaces/worktops...) you’d expect there to be some manifesting faults that haven’t been picked up yet, but Howden’s customer service in spectacular style have placed the blame firmly on the installer because the worktop has been sanded????!!! Is it not standard practice to cut and sand the work top before installing? Otherwise, how on earth do we get it to custom fit the space as we all know, no one kitchen is like another. BTW before we go further, here are the install instructions you supply, epoxy and sanding paper included https://www.howdens.com/.../clh_asset.../ass_25357950.pdf. Now, clear epoxy is known for yellowing – check here https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-to-get-epoxy-resin..., here https://www.resinobsession.com/.../clear-resin-turning.../, and here https://www.artresin.com/.../41958017-why-do-some-brands..., oh and here https://support.promarinesupplies.com/.../360016081072... Now given this is a common issue with clear epoxy, you’d think that big companies such as yourselves would ‘think’ around this issue and supply coloured epoxy to blend in with the work top instead of creating a dirty seem? But then I suppose supplying generic clear resin for all colours of compact laminate is more cost effective for you? Anyways, what I find most abhorrent is the refusal to speak to us (the customers) because we aren’t the trade account holder – even though you were happy to take our card details for payment. Now I understand that your mantra is ‘Quality products need to be installed to a high standard, which is why we only sell to the trade to ensure everything is fitted professionally and exactly as you expect’, but I’m sure you can see the irony in this situation. Now before I wrap up my evaluation of your post sales customer service, I’d like to ask one final question… How on earth have you concluded that the worktop has been sanded (voiding warranty apparently) when 1. You ‘couldn’t see the staining in the original photo’s which prompted further photos being sent that included a blank sheet of white paper and 2. You didn’t send some one from customer services to inspect the staining personally when you admittedly couldn’t make it out in the images? No photo description available. · Reply · 23m Claire Kelly-Arthurs Hello Howdens, Thank you for lack of willingness to help, I guess social media is the only way to draw attention to the issue we’re having with YOUR product, that you’re refusing to help with… just to let your audience know… we have spent thousands on a kitchen and some of the products you have supplied are subpar. The all singing all dancing compact laminate is great in theory, if the install kit that you sell didn’t damage the product. Yes that’s right folks, the resin supplied in the kit that you have to purchase on top of the worktop (and everything else) stains the work top yellow… not a good look at all. Now considering that the compact laminate worktop is a relatively new product (please check out the ‘new’ status here https://www.howdens.com/kitc.../kitchen-surfaces/worktops...) you’d expect there to be some manifesting faults that haven’t been picked up yet, but Howden’s customer service in spectacular style have placed the blame firmly on the installer because the worktop has been sanded????!!! Is it not standard practice to cut and sand the work top before installing? Otherwise, how on earth do we get it to custom fit the space as we all know, no one kitchen is like another. BTW before we go further, here are the install instructions you supply, epoxy and sanding paper included https://www.howdens.com/.../clh_asset.../ass_25357950.pdf. Now, clear epoxy is known for yellowing – check here https://www.quora.com/Is-it-possible-to-get-epoxy-resin..., here https://www.resinobsession.com/.../clear-resin-turning.../, and here https://www.artresin.com/.../41958017-why-do-some-brands..., oh and here https://support.promarinesupplies.com/.../360016081072... Now given this is a common issue with clear epoxy, you’d think that big companies such as yourselves would ‘think’ around this issue and supply coloured epoxy to blend in with the work top instead of creating a dirty seem? But then I suppose supplying generic clear resin for all colours of compact laminate is more cost effective for you? Anyways, what I find most abhorrent is the refusal to speak to us (the customers) because we aren’t the trade account holder – even though you were happy to take our card details for payment. Now I understand that your mantra is ‘Quality products need to be installed to a high standard, which is why we only sell to the trade to ensure everything is fitted professionally and exactly as you expect’, but I’m sure you can see the irony in this situation. Now before I wrap up my evaluation of your post sales customer service, I’d like to ask one final question… How on earth have you concluded that the worktop has been sanded (voiding warranty apparently) when 1. You ‘couldn’t see the staining in the original photo’s which prompted further photos being sent that included a blank sheet of white paper and 2. You didn’t send some one from customer services to inspect the staining personally when you admittedly couldn’t make it out in the images?
Howdens  1 star review on 22nd February 2021 Howdens  1 star review on 22nd February 2021 Howdens  1 star review on 22nd February 2021 Howdens  1 star review on 22nd February 2021 Howdens  1 star review on 22nd February 2021 Howdens  1 star review on 22nd February 2021
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Posted 4 years ago
Order £1000 worth of doors under a promotion, when delivery came in they told me I had to get them before close of play ( approx 2 hours notice) on a Friday or I would have to pay the pre promotion price As I was on a roof I was never going to be able to do that as a sole trader, Turned up Monday morning first thing to collect them and they refused to let me have them I told them they cannot call me and give me 2-3 hours notice as a sole trader I cannot leave a job open They said they had called me earlier in the week ( which is not the case as mobiles and emails record all contact even missed calls ) So cancelled the order and bought from Wickes instead, who are all together happier to deal with customers and value the business, I cancelled my Howdens account immediately Working for myself I don’t need to deal with companies like this Rugby Howdens
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Posted 4 years ago
Having experienced first hand Howden’s build quality, design service and delivery and stock control I would never recommend them to anyone. Backs fall out of cabinet’s larder unit’s don't fit together and go anywhere near the laminate covering and it fall’s off. Don't believe the sales pitch or bold advertising these are pretty rubbish unit’s. Sold through the trade so it’s difficult to get any proper feedback from customer’s. Keep the fitter’s pocket happy and they can deal with the rubbish they are expected to fit so Howden’s don't get bad press . Faulty return’s just get put back in stock till someone end’s up with the rubbish in their kitchen, brilliant idea for them but not fair on unsuspecting customer’s. Just try to find an email for customer complaint’s. Never again would I buy anything from Howden’s. I was advised by an experienced kitchen fitter to use a local well established company but I didn't listen to him.-Big mistake-. Might have been cheaper initially, but the hassle and month’s of stress just wasn't worth it.
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Posted 4 years ago
All appliances broken within 18 months of fitting. Kitchen doesn't even fit together properly. Shocking customer service too, rude, incompetent staff that offer no help whatsoever. Don't waste your time or money!
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Posted 4 years ago
It's a difficult one. Nice enough staff when ordered a kitchen. We had their 'best ' fitter install the kitchen . As always with my luck, this was the first time he had fitted our model as it was a new design. So after cutting into our newly plastered wall to make the units fit we carried on. We then ordered howdens luxury vinyl rigid oak effect flooring with underlay... the experienced fitter layer it straight onto a concrete floor. It bounces and taps against the concrete. Cant decide if howdens mislead the fitter or the fitter has installed incorrectly without perfectly levelling the floor before hand. This is basically the trouble with howdens. You buy a kitchen and materials but they can get out of any ownership due to them not fitting anything. My advice would be to go to a dedicated kitchen company with fitters.
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Posted 4 years ago
Howdens is rated 1.8 based on 225 reviews