WORST COMPANY EVER
I rarely leave negative reviews, but this has been one of the worst customer experiences I have ever had.
I paid a premium price for a Calacatta Viola worktop and splashback and expected to receive exactly what I contracted for. The technical drawings I approved and signed stated “VEIN MATCH” twice, in bold, red, capital letters. That was not an aspiration or a design preference. It was part of the agreed specification.
The finished installation does not vein match.
Only after installation was I told that a true vein match could not be achieved from a single slab. If that was known before manufacture, then it should have been disclosed before I was asked to approve drawings explicitly stating “VEIN MATCH”. Had I been told that, I would never have proceeded on those terms.
The response afterwards has been just as disappointing as the workmanship. Instead of taking ownership of the problem and putting me in the position I contracted for, I was offered more stone but expected to arrange and pay for installation again myself. After spending many thousands of pounds, I find that completely unacceptable.
The company has also suggested that I should somehow have identified the issue myself before installation. How exactly was I supposed to assess whether two pieces of stone, each around two metres long, would achieve the specified vein match? That is precisely what I was paying professionals to design, fabricate and supply. As the customer, I relied on their expertise and on the specification they themselves produced. I should not have been expected to identify that their own agreed specification had not been met.
I have now spent countless hours dealing with this, drafting formal legal correspondence and pursuing a resolution that should never have been necessary. Despite all of this, the issue still has not been resolved.
The most disappointing part is not the mistake itself. Mistakes happen. It is the complete lack of accountability afterwards. A company selling luxury stone at premium prices should honour the specifications it asks customers to sign and take responsibility when it fails to deliver them. That simply has not been my experience.
I cannot recommend this company. Based on my experience, the sales process created expectations that the finished product did not meet, and when I raised legitimate concerns, I was left to bear the time, stress and potential additional cost of trying to obtain what I had already paid for. If you are considering using this company, be extremely cautious. Do not assume that a signed specification guarantees the finished result, and do not assume that the company will put things right without a fight. I wish I had chosen another supplier.