A COUPLE claim they are on the verge of divorce thanks to the stress of waiting eight months for their new kitchen to be installed.
Barry and Jane Sanderson are “constantly at each other’s throats” over the Wickes nightmare, which has left them without an oven since February.
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The pair paid a deposit for the project in January and their old kitchen was promptly stripped out.
However, a worktop mix-up meant a hefty delay in fitting the new one – and additional costs.
Barclays then took full payment several weeks later, as according to them the kitchen had been “partially installed”.
But Barry and Jane were living with just a hob and a sink – and they’ve been left like that ever since.
They are now desperate for Wickes to come back and finish the job – or strip the half-finished kitchen out to make way for a fully-functioning one and give them their money back.
Barry, from Newcastle, said: “The stress of the whole thing is affecting my mental state and my health.
“I can just about handle that, but it’s also placing a massive strain on my relationship.
“We are arguing all the time. We are constantly at each other’s throats because we’ve got different opinions.
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“This is no word of a lie, but I have actually broken down in tears with the frustration and the stress.”
Asked if his marriage could be saved if Wickes ripped the kitchen out and refunded them tomorrow, Barry said: “Yes, I think it would.
“At least then we would be starting from scratch again and it would be done.
“I don’t really know, but I assume we might be ok as we wouldn’t have the pressure or the arguments or anyone letting us down. It’s just causing friction.”
But if the kitchen is left the way it is for much longer however, Barry, who has prostate cancer, said they may well call it quits.
“It would certainly draw a line under it,” the 64-year-old said.
“I’d be quite happy to do that just to get these Wickes people off my back.
“We’re coming up to our ninth month now. It’s absolutely crazy.”
I’ve broken down in tears with the frustration and the stress.
Barry Sanderson
Barry said one of the most frustrating things about their “nightmare” situation is that they’re restricted in what they can eat.
He alleges they’ve been living off chilli, boiled eggs and soup since February thanks to the lack of oven.
“We keep being told it’s a working kitchen because we have a hob and a sink, but there’s only so many meals you can cook on a stovetop,” he said.
“My wife even asked the Wickes CEO to come to ours for a meal to prove it.”
But they’re also living among mess that isn’t even theirs, which is only making things worse.
“We’ve got parts of somebody else’s kitchen that was delivered by mistake, which they’ve never collected,” Barry said.
Workmen were supposed to visit the couple’s house in Walker at the start of the month, but they reportedly failed to turn up.
Barry said they waited inside all day and no one came to finish the job.
The Sandersons are now considering legal action – but they’re terrified of going up against Wickes.
Barry said: “We haven’t got anywhere else to turn.
“I want to exhaust every option before we contact lawyers because Wickes is a big company and could drag it out for years.
“The ideal situation would be if they just took the kitchen away, gave us our money back, and let me go with another company.”
A Wickes spokesperson said: “We’re sorry to hear about Mr Sanderson’s experience as we always strive to deliver outstanding customer service.
“Following arrangement of a contractor to attend Mr Sanderson’s home on September 3, the fitter was unable to attend due to medical issue which required hospital treatment, and this was unfortunately not communicated to the customer.
“An alternative date was offered, however as the customer would like for all work to be completed in the same visit, a fitter is now due to attend the property on September 17 to complete the final works.
“Our customer relations team remains in contact with the customer to ensure this is dealt with quickly and with the best possible care.”
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