Ultima Furniture Systems Ltd - South Kirkby, Pontefract

Ewan S.

Without prejudice. I have used Ultima for over 10 years and have gone back to them time and time again because their product is extremely well made and customer service had been good.

I'm responding to the review by Susan Sutterby.

I am the so-called sacked builder, in fact I'm her developer, ex boyfriend and was running restoration and refurbishment for her. Her behaviour towards me and others on site deteriorated dramatically towards completion and became intolerable. I said unless some respect was shown to myself and others I would have no option but to leave.
I left.
I have also not been paid for work completed.
I have been in the top end of the industry for nearly 40 years and know that we deliver extremely high quality. I've posted pictures, I received from others, of the kitchen, because I was not there for its arrival but it's unclear which doors are affected. Problems have ensued ever since I left, I expect due to poor knowledge base and poor project management from that point.
The kitchen arrived 1 week after I left ....Susan Sutterby benefited the full (40%) trade only discount applied to it.
The kitchen was not installed according to my design. In the photos I was sent it showed no cornerposts and one cupboard even fitted back to front. The Polish builders informed me that two doors were the wrong colour (only 2, by the way and on base units only) -it was a one off colour from the Farrow and Ball range ...no other issues were raised at this point. I have asked, at least 4 times, for Susan Sutterby to tell me the cupboards affected and left or right hand of these doors so I could organise replacements, she has not responded so I can't ask for those replacements. Ultima have said all along that they will replace them once we know which doors they need to replace.
No corner posts were ever on the order and were to be made up on site from decor panels, ordered and delivered. There was nothing else highlighted within 10 days, so the plinth is a mystery. I have in the past had one or two items not on the order, I raised this promptly as expected and received them within a few days, without any fuss.
The templating I have since been told has been put off as certain appliances weren't ready for the template to be done and in any case, the doors would not affect templating or fitting of the worktops, so this cannot be blamed on Ultima. I raised the issue that the kitchen was not be built to my design so that if any problems arose after templating (doors not having enough tolerance to open in corners etc, this would be down to Susan Sutterby and the new fitters, working to get instruction. This might be why the templating was further delayed.
To be absolutely clear, any replacement doors would just clip on (modern Blum hinges) once delivered and the faulty colour doors would be collected at that time by Ultima. One hinge, whether delivered broken or broken on site could easily have been replaced by Ultima had I been notified.
The order was delayed by only 7 days due to a machine breaking down (it is a full CNC manufacture) and I and Susan Sutterby were informed of this a full week before the initial date. These kitchens are made to order, then dispatched, they are not stock items after all. These things happen and this did not delay the project as multiple tasks were yet to be completed anyway. The worktop company did not mind and rescheduled for a week ahead.

This could all have been sorted out very easily and quickly. The fact that no information was forthcoming about exact details from Mrs Sutterby, is I imagine to exacerbate an easily remedied situation and then for Mrs Sutterby try to get the, I also expect full, cost of that perfectly good kitchen reimbursed, (unfairly) through her credit company.
These bullying tactics are/were used and are unacceptable. Hence this response to try to paint a clearer picture for anyone considering using Ultima furniture .
I will continue to use this company as they have a fantastic product and a great range of factory built options and good customer service.

susan S.

Avoid using this company at all costs. I ordered through the builder who had an account with them and was insistent that I use them. I paid them direct but they refuse to communicate with me and I’ve had to sack the builder. The kitchen arrived 10 days late - they wouldn’t tell me when it was going to arrive. The doors and drawer fronts are all different colours, one of the hinges is broken, all of the plinths are missing and a corner post. It will cost me over £1000 to put it right and caused further delays with templating the worktop but they really do not care about any of that. The quality is really poor and definitely not worth the money even with my builder’s alleged ‘trade discount’ being applied. Thankfully I paid by credit card!

Hannah J.

Worst experience ever with this company! We ordered a kitchen from them and literally every unit was damaged, with bad repairs. We sent the kitchen back and were very reluctant to order again. However the MD assured us he would quality check the next one and the lead time would be just 2 weeks. As we were very desperate for a kitchen at this point we agreed rather than waiting 6 weeks from a new supplier. However the kitchen turned up 3 weeks later in fact more damaged than the first! We gave up unwrapping and checking after the first 9 units. How they can send brand new kitchens out in this condition is beyond me! We offered to take it at a reduction so we could pay for a professional to respray and repair all the damage but the attitude from the supplier was that they didn't care they were leaving us without a kitchen for our new home, nor did they care about the delays and financial implication they had left us in. They just took it back without even an apology. This company is appalling in it's service and quality of product. I wouldn't recommend at all.

Sarah E.

This company is excellent. The staff bend over backwards to help you - Sophie in particular has been amazing. If there are any parts missing, incorrect or damaged, they are ultra quick to replace and rush your order through and send out replacements free of charge (even whilst they are getting through other existing orders!). The quality of the products are superb and way better than any other manufacturers that we've seen. Thank you Ultima for being there for us!
I have no idea why there are bad reviews on here. Seriously, this company is fantastic and you will not find better.

Sharon M.

The owners of this company are totally unscrupulous. I have not had experience of dealing with their products, but I have experience in dealing with them in business. I doubt if you have a problem with their product you will get very far with a complaint because the couple and their family who own this company are unscrupulous. In short they do not care who they trample on. There are many good companies out there doing just what they do. This company is one headache you do not need if things go wrong...when there is an alternative

Kim N.

I would not even give them one star.
We have had a terrible experience with these people. A Dilivery in June that was mostly damaged 13 weeks of trying to get doors that are not scratched or broken. I still don't have a kitchen that doesn't have scratched doors.
These people knew they had problems in their factories even before we ordered and are now sourcing the doors from Italy. They advertise on their website that it is all made in their factories so they are not being truthful. Unfortunately there doesn't seem to be anyway of stopping them as they don't belong to the furniture ombudsman so they wont investigate. Where can you go apart from to court.

Kerry J.

Wether your kitchen costs £2000 or £40,000 you expect quality control to check out all the items before delivery, every single piece of our kitchen was smashed! When replacements were sent... guess what! They were smashed/broken, 10 weeks in and were just giving up.... I wouldn’t recommend this company... after sales manager Thankyou for looking at our case.... and never ringing us back! Ringing round and chasing for 10 weeks is a joke! We live local and god help anyone who doesn’t if they incurr these issues...

Rovin R.

Absolutely love this company. Found the perfect wood kitchen for a very good price in the custom colour I wanted. The quality is great too. One panel was scratched, but customer service quickly sorted out a replacement.