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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
No way would I buy another kitchen from Howdens, been back a few times pieces missing had to wait weeks for the shelf. Now a couple months later dish washer broke, phoned them today they said it would not be fitted for me so that’s more money for me to pay out . My sister ordered the same kitchen cancelled it when she saw the state of mine . Had to put bleach on it straight away when getting a bit of dirty water on it . HONESTLY KEEP AWAY FROM THEASE KITCHEN COMPANY
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Posted 4 years ago
Disgusting price hikes. One unit has gone from £193 to £343. Absolute rip off. Same kitchen as what i has less than 18 months ago.
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Posted 4 years ago
Credit for sorting things out. I recently posted a not so nice review about Howdens Minworth however after talks with David the manager we were able to identify where & why communication failed between us. David has made every attempt to rectify issues raised by myself & as a direct result I will have a fully functioning shiny new kitchen in time for Christmas. I suppose the lesson of the day is to talk, listen to each other & move forward for this I can only applaud Howdens. My kitchen is of good quality, eye catching & everything I ever wanted. I’m one happy customer who won’t hesitate to purchase my doors, skirting & flooring with. Thank you David your a credit.
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Posted 4 years ago
Apparently Howdens are the best that's why I went with them not realising I was about to put my trust & money into the pockets a bunch of unprofessional uncaring staff. I asked for while work tops a few days later I was told they were out of stock so the designer said mirror chip would be the most appropriate option for the look I wanted, wrongly of me I trusted him & agreed without viewing also as a senior nurse working frontline every shift I wanted to protect staff at howdens & keep my social distance so I trusted in advice give. The day of fitting I was at work however upon returning I was horrified the tops were most certainly not white (see pictures). After my emails being ignored along with phone calls not returned & some rudeness Howdens manager changed the tops to white oddly enough the original tops I'd requested. Sadly it doesn't end here... since fitted (not the kitchen fitters fault they followed the designers plans) I've not been able to open my back door. Howdens solution to this is to pay a fitter 300 & move the whole kitchen down a few inches. If this plan is followed I will have to pay an electrician to move plug sockets, extractor, oven & hob moreover the under counter fridge would need moving leaving the last cupboard not fitting. I don't have a lot of money I've literally spent my life savings on this dream kitchen I have items left over yet the appliance washing machine door is missing, when I emailed the manager he said the 600 base unit is the same ??? well if this is the case why doesn't it fit ? My kitchen fitter is a true craftsman if he says it won't fit then that is the case. I never expected to be fighting for my rights from Howdens as well as covid. I brought the kitchen in September it's 20th December & I still don't have a functioning kitchen, I can't put a floor down till it's rectified I can’t express the amount of upset this has & continues to give me. I'm so desperately upset & stressed. Thank you Howdens I'll raise my glass to you on Christmas Day as I tuck into my pot noodle because that's all this shambles of a kitchen is good for.
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Posted 4 years ago
I am an account holder. 1. There kitchen's are as good as any other in the price range. 2. Some Flooring is very poor. 3. Each branch works independently from each other (not helpful) 4. Changing your account to another branch is like trying to leave a religious cult. 5. The price of kitchen's can be come down dramatically, but you have to keep going back and saying wickes or magnets are cheaper. 6. Never buy there appliances. They are overpriced and of a poor quality. 7. If you buy a kitchen, it's likely it will be delivered with unit's missing. Even though when you placed the order it is all in the warehouse. When you go in to complain, they rob from someone else's order. 8. Don't try to complain above branch level as you will have no chance of a resolution. 9. In short. For a British owned company, I am disappointed. They could come across so much more professional. Instead they are more like a secondhand car dealer. Its all about the sale! All business need to make a profit, but Howdens needs to get a lot more professional in there core customer service, instead of making as much money as they possibly can out of every kitchen and putting on all their rubbish appliances on every quote even when they are not wanted. Stop the pestering phone calls after every quotation. Stop putting pressure on your staff to make there margins or else! I don't understand how these reviews are so different from some other review sites!!! I wonder£
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Posted 4 years ago
Absolutely shocking customer service , very unprofessional, really don’t care or value customers vision . Pushy sales men and just want to close the sale , wrong sized cabinets delivered, no care or concern was asked to ‘just come back and swap then’. I think all the school drop outs are Employed here . Even a monkey can be taught how to use the CAD software . Please avoid ! save yourself the headache and the stress .
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Posted 4 years ago
Bought a kitchen that was designed by unprofessional people that work for howdens. No customer service skills in the branch that I bought from. From area manager, depot manager to reps all have a rude and unacceptable attitude. I am very unhappy with their service and would not recommend them to anyone I wish I'd bought my kitchen from Wren.
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Posted 4 years ago
Terrible customer service and kitchen appliances stopped working within 3 years. We had our kitchen remodeled by Howden in 2016 and began having issues with our dishwasher, fridge freezer, and gas cooker, a little after two years. Every time we called Howdens someone would come out but would claim the problems were our fault, that they are not covered by the warranty. A couple of years after our microwave began to spark. Although, we had initially been informed the kitchen had a 10 year warranty, after being pushed around from one department to another, we were told the appliances only have a 2 year warranty. For such a large company, I would expect better customer care than has been shown to my home, considering the amount of money spent with them.
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Posted 4 years ago
Hi I have just had my kitchen fitted by DHL JOINERY AND BUILDING WHAT A fantastic job they have done I have got to give a big shout out to Mike and a big thank you to James Haigh
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Posted 4 years ago
I have asked Shrewsbury Branch a number of time, since last year, to close my account ,do not send message or phone me and do not send by post a brochure. To date I still get all these marketing action. If no action is taken by next month I have to go for another line of action to stop all this nonsense. SABAH NASSRI SY3 8BU
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Posted 4 years ago
We are a small Ltd company, just a couple of us with an outstanding credit record and excellent bill-paying history. We have fantastic relationships with all out suppliers and that's why we were shocked to receive, in the middle of a pandemic, a CCJ debt recovery letter from Howdens for £500 approx. We immediately paid all but £12 as I had recently returned some handles but they still persevered and now we have a £12 order plus £107 court costs. One of us received texts from the legal team but no phone calls or letters. Our account will be closed on Monday morning. Another reason to wash your hands.
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Posted 4 years ago
Howden's designer provided excellent planning and advice. The kitchen is in a flat in an old house and is correspondingly idiosyncratic. The planner started from where I was and immediately understood the need for maximisation of space and more storage. I am impressed by the quality of Howdens cupboards. I had an excellent fitter who knows his stuff and had fitted the splendid kitchen (from a different company) in my previous house. I correctly assumed that the fitting of kitchens has more commonalities than differences. However, I have given Howdens only four stars because of their poor communication with my fitter which resulted in him having to refit the under cupboard lighting. I gather that Howdens do not routinely provide a booklet for fitters (which would have obviated the extra work and which begs the question as to why, unlike other companies, they overlook this vital aspect). Usually, under cupboard lighting is fitted once cupboards are on the walls. We were not told that Howdens recommend that the wiring be fitted to the cupboards BEFORE they are in situ.
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Posted 4 years ago
I wait 3 months to get estimate and I'm trader using howdens for past 10 years. They got something completely wrong lately. They fired only designer I trusted. After misleading few estimations I went for different company and very regretful I'm after many years of corporation but I have done with this type of misleading people.
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Posted 4 years ago
Howdens - Doncaster, York Road Absolute joke of a franchise, this is not my usual branch. A customer asked me about kitchens and I recommended Howdens, said to her I've got an account I can come in with you and organise planning. And get you the best price. Without warning the customer went to Howdens Doncaster to see kitchens. Howdens phoned me to see if it was ok to discuss pricing. I said yes and a planning appointment was arrange. Then Howdens were saying they have a sale on soon. We were asked by the customer how long before we could fit the kitchen. Were always booked up to 6 months to a year in advance. So long story short Howdens dangled a carrot to the customer to buy the kitchen which she did. Now this is where it gets interesting, the customer has been allowed to buy a kitchen and put it on my account using my credit facility, which was never authorised by me or any paperwork signed by me and then to top it off another company fitting the job who obviously had a availability and sing my account, me getting emails saying £4500 has been spent then £300. So I had a word with Kyle and Adam to say nothing is to be added to my account. Low and behold there are refunds going back in and other transactions again. And this is Howdens who are trade only. I've had words with the customer as well as she knew it was trade only. it's subsequently caused issues for me we were supposed to have other work to do for this customer but as she has been under hand, we won't be doing anything more. I run a ltd company and the way these clowns have behaved is appalling. Adam and Kyle I've dealt with on the phone. Kyle didn't have the guts to call back himself so got Adam to call. Well I'm sorry I see this as fraud, you have rinsed a sale out of my account without my say so, using a secured credit facility. awaiting reply from Howdens head office, police and solicitor will be involved, also I've contacted the financial ombudsman for advice! It's no better than taking my credit card lads and spending what you want on it. Heads up for any tradesmen using this branch to watch what they are doing behind your backs, completely untrustworthy ! Change your branch 🤦 When I spoke to the customer in question she said Kyle was practically begging for the sale, desperate or what, bless you mate. Anyway let's see how funny you think you are after this 👍
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Posted 4 years ago
My first contact with Howdens was good, polite and friendly. However when the kitchen arrived a lot of the units were measured up wrong, there were marks and chips on several, which had to be changed. The breakfast bar was not what we asked for, it was only big enough for one plate, it was a joke really! This was replaced eventually. We still have some tiny marks in places, but have decided to live with it, as only we would know they are there. Would never recommend..
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Posted 4 years ago
Good designers, sensible prices.
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Posted 4 years ago
We had to leave 1 star in order to review! Their lucky to get the 1.. Christ where do you start with this?? The list goes on and on and looks to be covered by everyone else on here. The last straw has definitely been the county court letter and fine we’ve had to pay because they can’t pick the phone up, email or mention to us when in branch (daily) that theres an issue with the account. Not 1 letter was sent, 9 years of using Howdens has officially ended.. account closed! Avoid like the plague!!
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Posted 4 years ago
Terrible customer service. I gave clear specification to the designer and asked for two options when he came to visit. He told me that would be no problem. Instead he only sent one option and itvwas all wrong. I emailed and reveived no reply for 4 days. I then called ans asked to be called back and got nowhere. I emailed again with the what I wanted and again he sent me the wrong design and no ohone call. Will not buy from them now.
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Posted 4 years ago
Excellent service incredibly friendly and helpful team. Right from the outstanding manager Chris docwra down to the lads in the warehouse. Good quality kitchens supplied with the knowledge that I have the support and backup of a national company. All of this allows me to work confidently and to a very high standard. I've never had a dissatisfied customer ! Many thanks for all of your help, easpally the egham/Thorpe branch. Chris west.
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Posted 4 years ago
Awful company to work for. Very well known for their bullying tactics with staff. Never worked in such a horrible environment. From managers who bully 16 year old apprentices (who then buy them things on the side to keep them quiet) managers who make inappropriate sexual comments to staff ( but it’s swept under the carpet because they are female) having to watch your colleagues suffer every day at work because their lives are being made a misery but there’s nothing they can do about it. People eventually having the courage to speak out and nothing comes of it, a few interviews to make it look like they care but with no real outcome. I worked there for 4 years. With only one year of that being a happy one with my previous manager. Since I have left howdens I have heard no end of stories from other member of staff and how they have suffered from bullying or had to watch it happen to somebody else. Joke of a company who only care about their staff if they are putting money in the till. I really don’t know how they are getting away with it!
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Posted 4 years ago
Howdens is rated 1.8 based on 225 reviews