Howdens - Margate

Reviews

• PM

  Paul Millar

  Aug 6, 2026
  2.0
  Firstly, I blame myself for much of my disappointment. I purchased a property with a small flat in the basement, which I wanted for my dad. He’s old and on his own, after he became a widower when mum died a couple of years ago. So I needed 2 kitchens. I’d initially been set on getting these kitchens from another company, highly recommended by lots of people who had really good experience and praised the quality and customer service. The competitor is purely an online company, so you can’t physically touch the kitchens (there is one showroom, but a bit too far away) but it gets great reviews and prices are very competitive. My initial experience with them was really enjoyable and encouraging. Unfortunately, my builder (Lee Dent) was very persuasive, almost pleading and coercive in arguing that Howdens were the best option. Basically, his argument was based on their locality and the ability to get anything faulty or missing really quickly. Any delays would compromise timings and cause budget problems. Kitchen units are all the same quality and Howdens would match the competitors prices. This actually proved totally incorrect and unfounded. Faulty and missing units took weeks to replace. The actual installation of the kitchens was haphazardly performed, taking ages, as my builder (Lee Dent) struggled to put the units together and would leave the kitchens after a day or so and move onto something else, as his frustration and inability to build the units proved unbelievably time consuming, so much so I thought he was deliberately taking his time and dragging it out. It would have been much quicker using the online company. Howdens did bring their price down to match the competitors, but at the sake of quality. The competitors kitchens included appliances of great quality from leading manufacturers, like Bosch and AEG. Howdens provided their own make (Lamona) which I’ve now found out to be extremely basic and poorly made, with a pointlessly short warranty (Howdens delivered 6 months ago and I’ve only had one functional kitchen in the last month, so most of the warranty has been used up while sitting in the boxes they were delivered in) The kitchen units were delivered flat packed, whereas the online supplier deliver everything already made, and ready to install with minimum effort or room for error. Howdens flat pack units had flimsy and worryingly poor quality brackets, runners and hinges, everything needed to be screwed together. The drawers, when eventually hung and aligned as best as Lee could manage were like jelly and I feared they only last a few months before falling off. Howdens did agree to “upgrade” the drawers to a more robust runner, which obviously took Lee even more, time to implement, although much quicker than original drawers. Howdens staff are all pleasant, and customer service is good. I feel I was mislead by my salesman on their quality and expectations were never realised, I guess he has a job to do. I should have be warned though, when I witnessed a woman crying with disappointment and frustration about her kitchen, she was literally beside herself. Just be aware, Howdens kitchens if they match a competitor will be inferior in quality and be, from my experience flat packed. I later found out that builders get a “bonus” for recommending customers, and I’ve heard it a very substantial “bonus”, so make up your own mind. I’m kicking myself, I wanted to use the online supplier, but was talked out of it by my builder and hugely regret it! A kitchen is such a huge investment and should bring great pleasure. Mine is littered with bodge jobs and appliances that are cheap and annoyingly inferior to what I would have got with the other supplier. My builder, and his poor quality workmanship caused a lot of my issues, but I don’t believe Howdens give you value for money. If you push them on their price, they’ll compromise quality dramatically to meet your price. My honest advice would be to take time when purchasing a kitchen and choosing someone to install it. Luckily worktop supplied separately
• SS

  Sufyii

  Jul 5, 2026
  5.0
  Best place to choose your kitchen and Joinery.
• GC

  Gerard Conachy

  Nov 5, 2019
  4.0
  Cost a fortune but she was happy

Frequently Asked Questions About Howdens - Margate