Third Consultation and Payment
Finally agreed our kitchen layout and made the final payment. Once the contract is final, there is only one or two days grace to change anything before it is uploaded to  the factory. There are however 3 things that the purchaser should pay attention to before final payment, ie:
a) Section 2.10 of the Conditions of Sale states that the customer should chect that all products listed on the order are the correct model and specification. Now the Wren Contract list of items does not normally specify make and model of appliances for example......you should request clarification.
b) Section 7.1 states  that Wren will deliver the products ordered within 30 days of the Order Summary or by the delivery date agreed at the time of the Order.
c) There is a degree of misinformation floating about regarding the clearances required by surfaces adjacent to cooking appliances. Distances are defined in HSE Technical Bulletin 022, 2014. Wall cupboards must be at least 460mm above the hob and an extractor hood must be at least 760mm above the hob, If the extractor hood is 100mm wider than the hob then wall cupboards can be butted up against the hood.

Surveyor Visit
We have had the Wren Surveyor visit to check measurements. Took about an hour with a laser device. he didn't actually check my measurements, his results were only for feed back into te Wren system for a check before the final contract payment. However, if there are any areas of the design that you aren't sure about, you can discuss informally with the surveyor but he does not have your actual design with him.

Second Design Consultation
Having carefully considered the initial kitchen design, it just did not do it for us so back to Wren for a second consultation and a re-design based more on what we originally requested. Having read the preliminary contract in some detail and also able to compare pries of appliances elsewhere, we were in a far better position to drive the design in the direction we wanted, even if our designer wasn't too happy with all the changes. This took a long time to sort out but we took the view that we needed to understand every item on the list and where it fitted into the design. Clarification is very important since even with the discounts, we are talking a lot of money.
Wren advertise a 25 year guarantee with their kitchens, the terms and conditions of this can be found in 3 pages of fine print at the back of the provisional contract. Now bearing in mind that discoloration and wear and tear are excluded, I'm not sure what would be valid inclusions at the end of 25 years.

First Design Consultation
Wren publish an interesting handbook which gives you an idea about what kitchen furniture and styles are on offer but it is full of pretty pictures with no detail whatsoever on unit sizes nor appliances but you can get a basic idea of those on their website. Anyway we turned up for our first onsultation with a dimensional layout of our kitchen and what units/appliances we would like and in what locations. Wren use a 2D CAD system essentially with a 3D view capability. So sitting down with our designer, he didn't much go for our design so he changed about half of it to the way he would do it. Yes it all looked very good and we came away with a multi page provisional contract with plans, unit sizes and general details. The first thing you realise is that there were items on the list that you have no idea what they are.....unless you are experienced in kitchen design.....they weren't discussed but are the standard Wren computer add-ons. Read carefully to make sure you understand. ......there is no standard book of terms and definitions to refer to. You can phone or e-mail your designer, you will be lucky if you actually get hold of him/her, ours didn't answer his phone and wouldn't commit anything to e-mails.

The other item in the contract is the cost breakdown which consists of the 'list price' and the actual price you pay. This is interesting since Wren advertise 50% off plus a further 25% off in their permanent Spring Sale. Now this should mean  you pay only 37.5%  of the quoted list price. So what did we end up paying? See below:-

a) Wren manufactured Base Units, Wall Units and Tower Units - 37.5%

b) Wren manufactured decor items, End Panels, Infill Panels, Cornices, Plinths and Pelmets - 50%

c) Wren manufactured worktops - 52% to 64%

d) Appliances - 80% to 100%

e) Add-on Items, Care and Maintenance Kits, Bolts, Lights etc - 50% to 100%

So it would seem that the advertised discounts DO NOT apply across the board to Wren manufactured items. Appliances are manufacturer's list prices generally, some Wren prices are competitive with Curry's, AO etc and some aren't.

Wren advertise that they are cheaper than Wickes, B&Q, Magnet etc.......we have no way of confirming if they are or not. What is clear however that some of the list prices quote by Wren before taking off their discounts are just plain stupid and just a marketing gimmick...no one in their right mind would consider paying over £1000 for a Tower Unit Larder Cupboard 600mm wide.

Preamble
The Portsmouth showroom is very impressive, it is a large display of kitchen layouts that will tempt you. Presumably this is typical of other showrooms. The purchase process involves one, two or more consultations, an initial deposit to pay, a surveyor visit to your home to check dimensions and finally when you are happy with the design, the final payment up front prior to delivery. Then of course comes the kitchen delivery and build.
I am going to submit blogs on each stage of the process or part of the process as necessary. The next blog will outline the first consultation and the preliminary contract.

March 2017- Introduction

We have decided to purchase a new kitchen from Wren at their Portsmouth showroom. The reviews on line are a bit mixed so we shall see how ours goes. So far we have had 2 sessions with a kitchen designer, the first session he modified our requirements from what we originally drew up but in the second session we got it back to how we wanted it.
We are now waiting for a visit from a Wren surveyor to confirm our measurements and then we pay the balance.
I shall be giving more details about our design, some cost issues and the process in getting to the final contract stage and delivery timescale.