Regalkitchens Reviews 3

In 2017, I paid Regal Kitchens £79,000 for a full kitchen extension. Eight years later, I have discovered that they installed the incorrect tiles on my roof, leading to catastrophic failure and massive damage to my internal walls and ceilings.

When I contacted the current owners, John Martin and Nicola Martin, to rectify this clear case of bad workmanship, I was told they have no liability. Why? Because while they still trade as "Regal Kitchens" at regalkitchens.co.uk, they closed the specific legal entity I contracted with (Regal Kitchens Billericay Ltd - 07684001) in 2020.

This is a classic "phoenix" tactic:
They take your money under one company name.
They perform substandard work.
They liquidate that company to wipe away their legal and warranty obligations.

The Reality of "Quality" at Regal Kitchens:
Beyond the roof, I have had to pay an additional £5,500 to have the entire roof re-tiled correctly. I also had to hire independent gas and electrical engineers to fix dangerous issues left behind by their team.

John and Nicola Martin were the directors then, and they are the directors now. They are happy to take the profits, but they refuse to take responsibility for the damage their workmanship has caused.

My Advice: Do not be fooled by the showroom or the brand name. If your project goes wrong, they may simply close the company and leave you with the bill.

Evidence Supplied on Youtube - Search "CgyTdMMvENs"

They put a kitchen in for us many years ago, sales and design process slick. Implementation absolute crap, cockups, excuses, bloody useless.

I am writing this review because I am still shocked at the behaviour I experienced when visiting the Regal Showroom in Chelmsford this morning. My appointment with John was to review the design he had produced for my kitchen project and come away with a quote for consideration. The meeting started off well but there were a number of issues with the initial design. We discussed changes and I was told the price. I asked if I could have a copy of one particular area of the kitchen to check the measurements at home as this could have had an impact on the entire design. John said I couldn't unless I paid him £3,000 now. I then asked if I could have a copy of the quote so that I could review it as I had not seen any breakdown prior to this meeting. John did not print one for me. He then became quite aggressive and agitated saying I had to pay him £3,000 to commission him to do any further work on my kitchen plan. I explained that I would not commit to a £50.000 kitchen without looking closely at the figures and comparing them to a company of a similar standard. He started quoting all the awards his company had won and picked one up from the side putting it rather abruptly in front of me. I explained that my experience of his customer service department had been less than professional as I did not expect a company of his alleged calibre to text me using heart and smiley face emojis. This did not give the project professionalism he said he was known for. John then said you are not a client and will only become one when you pay me £3,000 . I explained that I was not prepared to do that today and he got up from his seat, went to the showroom door holding it open for me to leave, which of course I did. I can honestly say I have never come across someone who is in the retail trade as bad mannered, rude and ultimately intimidating as John was this morning. It became clear to me that if he could change his behaviour when things did not go his way as quickly as he did, what would happen if I committed to buying a kitchen from him and something went wrong during the fitting stage. Quite a disturbing experience. Good quality does not always equate to good manners. Regal kitchens , who were my favoured option, have not been a credit to their brand today.