Wren Kitchens - Croydon Reviews 15

My experience with Wren Kitchens was extremely disappointing and far below the level of service you would expect for such a significant purchase.

From the outset, the sales process felt unprofessional and pressured. I was not provided with clear or complete information, and after receiving the quote, I was repeatedly pushed to pay a deposit. Basic questions were left unanswered unless I committed financially, which is not acceptable when making an informed decision.

The project management was equally poor. The assigned fitter was unable to coordinate an installation date and became unresponsive. I received no meaningful support from Wren and ultimately had to source my own external fitter to move things forward.

Communication throughout was highly fragmented. I was passed between multiple contacts, none of whom took ownership of the situation. At one stage, I even had to organise the kitchen delivery myself, struggling to get through to anyone by phone.

What should have been a straightforward process turned into a six-month ordeal from the initial store visit to final delivery.

The only reason I proceeded was because I liked the cabinet design. However, based on the overall experience, I would strongly advise others to consider alternative suppliers. The lack of organisation, communication, and customer support made this an unnecessarily stressful project.

I’m very disappointed that the measuring person arrived at 11:30am instead of between 12:00pm and 1:00pm, which was my scheduled appointment time. By the time I arrived, he had already left.
I have emailed Wren twice, but they seem to have ignored my messages. It was a complete waste of my time coming home to wait for the wardrobe measurement. I also have door camera evidence showing the time he arrived.
There is no excuse for this. I am extremely disappointed with Wren. I am concerned that my emails may have been ignored because I am deaf. If this is the case, it is unacceptable.

Having had the excellent service of the sales team (not surprising as getting you to order), I then received confirmation on the 5th of Jan that my delivery would be on the 9th Jan "AND THIS CAN NOT BE CHANGED". so I arrange with my friendly builders to carry out the installation and he then moved around work that could be delayed to be able to take my install on for the 19th. This gave them a week to complete as they were then leaving for overseas holiday. I also had timeline to get the installation complete in my rented flat ready for a new tenant family to move in on the 31st.
So come the Friday before the deliver due on the Monday, I get another email advising delivery now the 21st, with no reason given. When I call, I am told that the error was theirs and when the system emailed me to confirm the delivery date it did not email the production team to get things moving. Their error and they offer to refund the delivery charge. After much insisting of escalation of my complaint that took pretty much all day to achieve, I am told that they have managed to bring it forward to the Tuesday 20th and that a first delivery if the day (AM) would be requested. I can then see on their app that my delivery is scheduled for the 21st in the AM. Not the outcome I expected but at least my builders can get to work during the morning and have a fleeting chance of completing by the end of the week as required. I then receive an update at 6am on the Tuesday that delivery will be between 14:05 - 15:35 - what part of the AM is that.
So now, I have picked up additional costs to pay my builders guys their missing wages as no work to be had and will be having to provide accommodation for my pending tenant who has to move on the 31st.
So when Wren tell you that the delivery dates cannot be changed - that just relates to you as the customer. They can choose to walk all over you to suit their needs even when the error was of their own system making. This companies website and phone messages make a big thin about their customer service focus - DO NOT BELIEVE THESE PEOPLE, THEY DO WHAT THEY WANT FOR THEIR END, NOT YOURS. Do the sensible thing and go try another supplier who can be flexible and will do what they can to put an error right, like laying on a van to send a missed delivery or at least holding up their response actions to a complaint. Howdens' have done us proud in the past, why of why did I change supplier to these cowboys!

The delivery was on time. No long wait.
Michael and Thomas the delivery guys were very lovely. Michael did a lot of the carrying of heavy items with a smile on his face. With all that lifting I joked he didn't need
to go to the gym. We all had a good laugh.

This is the second kitchen we've bought from Wren. Happy the first time and certainly happy this time round.
All in all we are very pleased with the service provided and will recommend Wren to friends and family . Keep up the good work 👏

I really regret choosing Wren Kitchens, especially the Croydon branch. I’d read reviews saying things started well and went downhill after, and unfortunately that’s exactly what happened. Even though our designer seemed great, the communication afterwards was terrible.

On the first day of getting the quotation, we asked for flatpack kitchen but after making minor changes of removing and adding, they automatically added infinity kitchen without our permission without asking. We didn’t expect this to happen. Though my husband and I noticed increases in the pricing, when we asked about the reasons as to why, we were told this was the costs of appliances. We were not told it was due to the change to infinity kitchens. Due to not having prior experience, we only noticed infinity kitchen had been purchased after the delivery, ultimately that was the reason why the price increased drastically, not due to appliances like we were told .

On the day of the delivery, as soon as realising the error, I visited the branch and was rudely brushed of and not communicated with appropriately, being told my husband and I have come in too many times making too many changes and accused us of making the change to infinity kitchen even though we hadn’t. The members of staff told us they could not help in any way and we4 have to talk to customer services. It felt as though the politeness was only until we made are payment and from there onwards they took no accountability. Customer service told us to read the agreement.

We don’t buy kitchens everyday, this is a new experience. After finalising out designs, the woman that served us did not bother to go through the design patiently with us again, talking through colours and choices. Unprofessionally disregarding us and saying she wants to go home, rushing us into signing a contract for something we did not get the chance to check. We are unfairly expected to know everything already and not taught and clearly educated about the design.

These are the ways innocent people are being tricked into paying for something unapproved of.

We have not opened our kitchen yet, and I am yet to know there state we have received it. I know many people have received kitchens with missing and damaged parts. If I find any issues upon checking, I’ll have to take the issues further.

My husband and I had separate design appointments and made changes, but no one ever fully went through the final plan before sending the contract. Instead, I was rushed to sign to “meet the delivery schedule.” I thought I was buying a flat-pack kitchen, but later found out we’d somehow been charged for a fully built one—something that was never clearly explained.

Customer service was rude both on the phone and in the showroom, and now I’m left with a brand-new kitchen that isn’t what I wanted. I wasn’t made aware of the difference between “Vogue” (flat pack) and “Infinity” (fully built) until after the fact. Overall, a really stressful and disappointing experience. I wouldn’t recommend Wren to anyone.

I expect to be hearing back from the appropriate team soon regarding this issue.

I chose Wren Kitchens after visiting the store in Croydon (Thornton Heath). From the very beginning I stated clearly that this purchase was being made through my company. Despite this, the entire process was handled as if I were a private customer, and the administrative details required for a business purchase were completely overlooked.

I opened a Trade account, but there was no proper business support. I asked about financing and was told that financing was not available until after the first year. Even though suppliers like Howdens offer immediate financing to companies, I still proceeded with Wren because I believed it would be more cost-effective, and I paid the entire order upfront from the business account.

Problems started immediately:

The kitchen delivery took nearly four weeks, delaying the project.

Several items were not correct according to the design, and Wren initially refused to send the correct piece. Only after raising a complaint did Customer Service agree to send it.

Overall Customer Service was extremely slow and poorly coordinated.

We also purchased tiles through Wren, supplied by Topps Tiles. I was incorrectly told that I could return the tiles to any Topps Tiles store. When I arrived at the nearest store, I was told they were NOT part of Wren’s scheme. I had to pay for a second delivery to take the tiles to a participating store. Topps Tiles staff ended up helping more than Wren, as Wren Customer Service didn’t even know which stores were included in their own return programme.

The worst issue, however, is the invoice and VAT handling. Even though I made it clear from day one that this was a company purchase, the final invoice was issued using the details of the client at the property, not my company. Nobody asked me to confirm invoice details before issuing it. The kitchen cost approximately £4,400, with nearly £700 in VAT, which I cannot reclaim without a correct VAT invoice.

When I contacted the Wren Kitchens Croydon (Thornton Heath) store, the manager (Karen) told me that the invoice might not be changeable. For a business customer, this is completely unacceptable.

Overall, my experience with Wren has been extremely disappointing:

Poor handling of a business customer

Incorrect and misleading information

Slow and disorganised Customer Service

Additional delivery costs due to Wren’s mistakes

A critical invoice error that puts nearly £700 of VAT at risk

This has been my first and last experience with Wren Kitchens. I cannot recommend the service, particularly for business customers who need accurate paperwork and reliable coordination.

I request that Wren corrects the VAT invoice with my company details, as this issue was caused entirely by failures in your process, not mine.

If I could give them less than 1 star, I would. Ordering the kitchen was easy. Payment and delivery has been a nightmare.

Getting a new kitchen fitted is stressful and living without a kitchen was impossible for me so I booked to live away for the fitting. I sent payment to Wren which they failed to acknowledge for over 2 weeks, despite me getting proof from my bank of payment and proof that Wren had received it. Wren refused to acknowledge the receipt. After multiple phone calls and emails and having got the proof from my bank that they had received the payment, Wren magically “found” my payment. At this point, they told me I couldn’t keep my original appointment and all the money I had spent on booking somewhere to stay for the kitchen fitting was wasted. They offered no compensation for their poor reconciliation process and no customer service number or email. I have sent multiple emails asking for a customer service number or email that I can raise a complaint to and these have been ignored.

My initial kitchen delivery failed as the delivery men said I didn’t have adequate space. I then had to pay £150 for a re-delivery. My re-delivery was due on Friday. It failed to arrive. After receiving no phone call, I rang their phone line and was re-directed to the delivery department who kept me on hold for 1 hour before hanging up. It is 3 days later and I still have no idea where my kitchen is.

I have wasted so much time and money due to their failings and am extremely disappointed with this company. I never usually leave negative reviews but everything else I have tried has failed.

Misbah at the Wren Kitchens in Croydon was great. So helpful with useful insight and advice. She was brilliant. Can’t wait to receive our new kitchen :).

First class experience. Visited the Croydon wren store where my designer John was assigned to my kitchen. John was absolutely amazing in helping me design my dream kitchen. He then contacted and excellent fitter who in turn provided plasterers, and electricians who were all 1st class. I now have the most amazing kitchen and I am one very happy customer.

I had a terrible experience with Wren. Ordered some cabinets for my existing kitchen . They sent unit with a smaller cut out inspite of informing them about the size of the hob which needed to be to be installed. Another until had the wrong height and did not fit our kitchen. Again they were clearly informed of the height of the ceiling .I went to their branch where they accepted their mistake but said they were helpless and we should contact customer care. The store manager refused to come out of her office and speak to us. The customer care is hopeless and has an alleast 2 hour wait each time you call them. Inspite of their fault they refused to return/replace the order. A few thousand pounds gone down the drain.

I would of given zero stars if I could, worst customer service. Bought a house with a wren kitchen installed, and been to branch requesting help to get a replacement, but we were told they can't help us because we ever bought the kitchen originally. So if you buy a house make sure it does not have a wren kitchen as they wont help you.

Terrible had a salesman that told lie after lie promised everything even said wardrobes come part assembled all lies. I will never use them again

Croydon Store
Very rarely feel the need to give a business 1 star but on this occasion, I wish I could give 0.

From the moment we placed the order and sent over the money for the kitchen we were treated like second class citizens. The designer made some fundamental design flaws despite making it very clear to them along the journey and we’ve been subsequently ignored by the designer and the store manager. Direct emails have been unanswered and after waiting on hold for hours for customer services, we are met with rude, abrasive and evasive call centre employees. They just say no and do not wish to help you in any way whatsoever. I wish I could go back in time and pay another deserving company for their services.

Also - absolutely do not buy the three bin unit. It doesn’t come with bin lids by design, which is so gross! They won’t send me lids for the bins even though they’re identical to the lids for the two bin unit. Customer services think it’s okay for my kitchen to continually smell like rotten food.

Summary:
The design fault by our designer set us back nearly £1000 in having to purchase additional parts and pay our carpenter for longer.

My brand new kitchen smells like a refuse site due to poor design features.

Customer services and the Croydon store manager ignore you should you run into any difficulties once purchasing.

The aftercare is terrible and I’ll never buy anything from Wren again!

Downgraded for following reasons
1. I had queries with my contract.could’ve been resolved quicker if consultant called me as I asked.
2. Either delivery men or fitters have damaged hallway and kitchen tiles plus paintwork in hallway.
3. Picture frame broken no apology or mention of recompense
4. Is it because I’m a woman that some of the finishing touches were left undone? (My partner had to add sealant in many gaps)

No such thing as a warranty on these kitchens they say it is accidental damage! Cheap wood which chips! They are good at taking your money but the customer service is awful!