Howdens Traders passing on discount

A question about : Howdens Traders passing on discount

Is the whole traders can get you your kitchen at discount from Howdens a scam, how come you get different sets of paperwork and does anyone here have the final invoice from their trader/builder and if so does it differ from the quote and more importantly what you paid.
I think this company is letting rogue builders scam people like me as how else can you get your original quote for say Ј6k, like me, then invoice for trader, when you pay first of all and then Howdens only deal with trader after beause they are the account holder but I got hold of a very very nice person who sent me the final invoice paid by my builder for EXACTLY the same items and he paid Ј2,000 less, the same branch manager processed both sets of paperwork..... I am certain this is not right, but do Howdens support traders doing this, is this a company that give licence to builders to pocket money in a deceptive and what I think amounts to criminal way??? I feel sick and basically robbed! My builder looked around and saw a single Mum and was so charming, whilst seeing Ј signs!?

Best answers:

• I used my builders card to get the discount but all invoices came direct to me, and I did all the negotiating the prices/discount/freebies etc. Howdens will deal direct as long as they are sure you are using a tradesman and not doing it DIY.
• My builder was the account holder and the one who ordered it all, paid for it all and did the work. I was the builders customer, but I paid the price of Ј6k which was Howden paperwork I got but I managed to get the paperwork for the transaction of the Howden trader who did my work and it is Ј2k less, no DIY here but a Howden manager and a trader doing something dodgy?? Have spoken to Howden security who are a bit "oh what shall we do" the branch manager when I mentioned the Trader name started to get very twitchy - this is a scam and Howden let it happen??? End of the day I have been scammed for Ј2k I reckon..... other advice would be welcome, thanks>
• I've replied on the other thread that you've posted on.
  Howdens are trade. The idea of trade is that you buy at a discount and sell at a profit. It's what every shop in your high street does.
  It's your job as a consumer to get the best price you can for something. Anyone that kitchens for a living is making a profit on it. Because they buy the kitchens cheaper than you can.
  Some traders will pass on their genuine discount to you, others will see it as a way to make extra money. If you are being offered a genuine discount on Howdens it will come out cheaper than any prebuilt range on the high street. Flat pack you can find cheaper but a genuine trade discount at Howdens you will find hard to beat - even with 50% off sales that the high street offers.
• Okay I hear you but he told me I was paying the Howdens price, so Howdens need to regulate their pricing or the traders, or both. I still dont think this is right and I believe this trader scammed me as he gave me Howden paperwork for the Ј6k, he would not give me the warranty because it was the invoice I now realise cos he didnt want me to know that he whacked on Ј2k, this is entirely dishonest and for Howden to actually provide the Ј6k paperwork for me to pay is wrong - if you say is right then Howden need to make it clear that their traders are making mark-up and not actually buying at discount..... oh this will be fun. I had problems with MFI years ago, nothing where I was ripped off like this but even then they messed up with the fit of my kitchen and I got Ј1k compensation and all appliances free, then I went on Watchdog. The two sets of paperwork = not right Ј2k pocket by a tradesman approved by a Howden branch manager. Me ripped off.
• There was someone on here that had a £6k quote for a Howdens kitchen. I got her exactly the same, delivered miles and miles away for £2400.
  Howdens kitchens are not expensive with the trade discount. I'd rather eat my own hair than pay £6k for a Howdens kitchen.
  That probably doesn't make you feel better. Sorry.
• Nothing other than cash back would make me feel better, this trader has ripped me off further too with my bathroom, it was just that I discovered the two lots of paper this week because I tried to get replacements for things going wrong in the Howden kitchen, fitted in April - so now I know the quality.
  Anyway, Mr Traderboy has to sort a few things out, but I know he has a scam with a friend at Howdens, just an outline of what I had to Howdens Head Office got me straight through to the Head of Security office, perhaps they dont want people to know how it works, or does it really work this way.
  I just feel ripped off, ****ed off and fed up. I paid in good faith and expect the same and now I cannot sort out the grill, hob and freezer drawers, what is to come with my four month old kitchen!! Never again.
• I am sorry to say I don't think it is a scam. Howdens are a trade supplier, just like Costco, Makro etc. If you go into those places yourself you would get one price, if you went into a shop (a middle man, in effect) which sold their goods you would pay a marked up price. Exactly the same. You chose a kitchen which your fitter then obtained from Howdens, he then becomes the middle man, and puts his mark up on before passing the kitchen to you. Quite normal trade practice.
  Sorry to say, but you were a little niave not asking for the discount Howdens are famous for giving from your tradesman. We chose a kitchen, satisfied Howdens we were using a trades man, and then did all the negotiating persoanlly, and all the invoices etc, came direct to us. We did this after we had obtained a fitting quote, so that no mark up for lost revenue (from Howdens)could be applied. So not a scam, just a tradesman making a profit.
• Jillytb, see my answer on the other Howdens thread
• I have fitted many Howdens Kitchens and I am always happy for my customers to see the invoice total That " I pay".I don't make profit on the kitchens my "Cut" if you can call it that ,is Im VAT registered so I claim the VAT back against my quarterly bill.
  I give the client a quote for fitting and thats it. Its all very transparent for the client to see.
  I don't agree with all this "discount" rubbish. People want a decent product for a decent price.I have a client now who has a quote for a kitchen from B&Q for supply only and when the asked for a quote for them to fit the quote came to more than the kitchen price.It works out they want around Ј3k for a weeks work . Obviously the client has smelt a rat and is shopping around.
  Its just as Doozergirl says, the customer has a duty here to and that is to be pro-active and get a few quotes.
  I don't really have any problems with Howdens, the branch I deal with are professional and give me good service, I do wish they would make up their minds ,whether to be "Trade only" or "Public" and get rid of their discount system....
  Lastly you can ask your builder to "trade off" between branches of Howdens as they all need the sales and will cut each others throats to get the work.I have and have saved some clients as much as Ј800 for the same kitchens just by going between 2 local branches.
• as someone pointed out earlier it is meant to be a trade discount so that a builder can make a profit. However my feelings are it is a bit of a scam like all these 70% discount sales that unscrupulous retailers use. No business can exist knocking 70% off the price unles they had marked it all up in the first place. Howdens sell pretty dull, basic kitchens theyre not the worst but theyre not even vaguely near middle of the road. However pretending they are knocking off 70% makes builders think they are getting a deal. and coupled with fact they have most stuff in stock makes a builder truly believe its a good product. i personally wouldnt touch them with a barge pole. If your on a budget you can get a much better product for your money and if you have a healthy budget and by that i mean ~ Ј5k for cabinetry (dont forget labour appliances and worktops will bump it all upto about Ј10k+) then you can actualy get something pretty decent. See www.crown-imperial.co.uk or www,mustardkitchens.co.uk forexample or mail me ifyou need an impartial opinion on whether what you are contemplating is any good or not.
• I don't think Howdens kitchens are dull. They have a really big range. If you want bright purple gloss, curvy doors etc, they do them. They do the same sort of ranges as anyone on the high street.
  The discount thing is odd but no one thinks they're getting a great deal when everyone knows that no one pays full price. The % makes a difference when they are offering 50% to one person and someone else is getting 75% or more. That's where the % is different. It's the customer of a builder that might be fooled into thinking that they are doing well by getting a discount off the RRP.
• This kind of thing is common.
  Travis perkins offer discounts of upto 75% on some items, that is why you see a lot of tradesmen taking customers around Travis perkins showing them how expensive things are
  Some tradesmen are not happy with making the money on the installation, but want to make a packet from the supply as well
• I just feel it is unethical for me to be provided with Howden paperwork with the Branch Manager name on it and Trader and then I couldnt the get invoice from either of these people, even though it is my warranty, because they didnt want me to see the difference that was being pocketed, sorry but I think I have been ripped off by my builder and I am certain his "friend" as he called him was in on it as I now have the invoice from Head Office with all the same names on it but with the different price - maybe not a scam then but I feel ripped off and yes I was naive and Howdens seem to have no set policies at all, so some get lucky and others get ripped off depending on who they know and fiddled paperwork! I still smell a rat here....
• I have to say it doesn't sound like a 'scam' to me.
  You were happy to pay Ј6k for your kitchen - if you wanted it cheaper you should have negotiated or shopped around. Your builder has added a daft mark up because he negotiated with Howdens to buy the kitchen cheaper than you were prepared to pay for it.
  I buy flours eggs and butter, make them into cakes and sell them for more - thats how capilatism works!
• As for the remarks about the Warranty. When Howdens do a quote and then a sale the quote is held against your address and you as the client , so you still have a warranty even though you shouldnt have the invoice.. In fact it use to be the case that when they delivered a kitchen all of the appliance warranties were automatically logged with each manufacturer, you didnt even have to send them in ..
  Leveller the warranty is the actual invoice, Howdens have confirmed this to me, they also have no record of my address and Howdens never came to my home... there is also a discrepancy over appliances I have, there is definitely some things that are not right about this.
  Yes, I am naive I realise that now, I was recommended to use this man and I was just so keen to have someone i had believed was "honest" - if the mark-up had been 10/12% I would say fine but he was well paid for fitting the kitchen... anyway I live and learn but there are some questions over certain details and whole transaction. Not to worry I will stop ranting here, can see I am just a silly woman who got ripped off to most of you - cheers!
• I understand your anger Jilly and I would be in the same situation.
  I did say in my post that the kitchen can be planned usually by a rep but also the builder,obviously the "builder" planned the kitchen and thats perfectly legal and above board (kitchens really need to be planned by someone with experience tbh).
  I also said the warranties use to be automatically logged. You can still log the warranties for the appliances via the manufacturers.
  I wish you luck Jilly............Ps there are a lot of decent, honest and reliable tradesmen out there and youve been very unlucky ..Keep thinking positive and ask around for recommendations, never go via the Yellow pages and the like, always get a few quotes, word of mouth is the best recommendation....You sound feisty and driven so keep your chin up and you,ll get there.......