“Wren Kitchens left me in a £25,000 nightmare with no sink, washing machine or fridge”

Lynda Deacon, 71, from South Tyneside, thought her £25,000 makeover with Wren Kitchens would take three days but it ended up dragging on for weeks

A disabled grandmother was left without a fridge, washing machine or kitchen sink for weeks after her ‘dream’ kitchen makeover turned into a ‘nightmare’.

Lynda Deacon believed the £25,000 refurbishment would take three days but ended up dragging on for weeks.

She was unable to wash her clothes and was forced to drink water from her bathroom faucets. ChronicleLive reports.

The 71-year-old, who has multiple sclerosis (MS) and spinal problems, fears she could catch food poisoning as she still doesn’t have a fridge.

Lynda paid for a renovation with Wren Kitchens after moving to South Tyneside to be closer to her daughter Sarah.

But the clutter and disruption has left Lynda feeling “stressed” and struggling to sleep.

Because of the chaos, she couldn’t invite her young granddaughter to play either.

Wren Kitchens says the company has had “global supply chain issues” and has since been able to ship the equipment to Lynda’s home in Hebburn after prior “miscommunication”.

At the end of April, Lynda received a batch of boxes that she believed contained the cuisine she had ordered. With little room for it in her apartment, delivery drivers asked Wren if the fridge-freezer could be stored in their warehouses until there was space in the kitchen, and Lynda says the company agreed.

The following week, Lynda was on holiday in Spain, a fact she says she warned Wren about in advance. Nonetheless, she received a series of calls while she was absent from delivery drivers trying to drop off more kitchen parts and appliances.

When Lynda was back in the country on May 9th, fitters removed her existing kitchen.

She figured it would take three days to install the new one; but her washing machine was out of print and the fridge freezer was gone, while she says the cooker originally provided was not suitable for the kitchen as it had a steam function that had to be installed.

A total of three sinks were delivered; The first two were wrong, Lynda claims, and the right one took until late last week to arrive.

Although a makeshift sink was installed first, the retiree said when her new countertops were installed, she was left without a kitchen sink and had to get all her water from the bathroom.

Some spare parts that were due on May 14 did not arrive and she was then promised the last of her deliveries in June, which without a working kitchen would have meant a wait of over three weeks.

After ChronicleLive contacted Wren about the delays, Lynda was contacted by a manager who helped bring the date forward to Thursday, May 26th.

That wasn’t the end of Lynda’s kitchen nightmare either, as although her new oven arrived on Thursday, it didn’t get to her until 8pm – after the kitchen fitter had to leave.

Now that her kitchen is almost complete, Lynda says she’s confident it will look “absolutely fabulous,” but can’t understand why the work started without all the equipment available.

She said: “I had a dishwasher, which is lucky because I had a faucet but no sink and [was] Have to use water from the bathroom.

“It’s been a nightmare: Wren is said to be the number one kitchen retailer in the county but there just doesn’t seem to be any communication. The boss in the showroom just washed his hands and said it’s not his responsibility. It’s beyond frustrating.

“I worry about food poisoning and things like that because there’s no fridge. If I had known beforehand that I was going to donate the old fridge and washing machine to charity, I would have kept them – I would have rather waited for everything to arrive than be left in this mess.

“If my daughter Sarah wasn’t around to deliver food and do the laundry, I’d be left stranded.”

She was also concerned about a backyard full of debris from the renovations, which she claims is unsafe for her two dogs to go to. Although garbage collection is included in the price of her kitchen, there is only one pickup, so she waited until everything was ready for the garbage to be cleared away.

Lynda added, “I’m sure the stress made my MS worse. I spent a lot of money on this kitchen and it will look beautiful but the stress has made me hate it.”

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A spokesman for Wren Kitchens said: “There are widespread issues in the global supply chain which unfortunately affected Ms Deacon’s oven and washing machine, but the problems have been compounded in this particular case with Ms Deacon refusing the fridge when he likes scheduled to arrive on April 21st as it would take up too much space while the kitchen is being fitted.

“Due to a communication error, the customer was on holiday when we attempted to redeliver the fridge and sink days later, by which time she had given away her old fridge.

“Regarding the oven, Ms Deacon changed her mind shortly after the kitchen was delivered and it took a little longer than we had hoped to get the new oven delivered.

“Kitchen installation began as planned on April 25th and by April 28th Ms Deacon had full water and cooking facilities as the installer had arranged for a makeshift sink and faucet to be connected and also the previous oven from Mrs. Deacon had installed so she would not be left without cooking facilities.

“We are pleased to confirm that Ms. Deacon’s final units were due to be delivered on May 26th… We have spoken to Ms. Deacon and she is very pleased with the solution that has been reached.”

Lynda said she was pleased the delays had been addressed, but added, “I’m not happy with how long I’ve had to wait.”