ᐅ Cost increase surcharge for the kitchen after contract signing

Hello everyone,

Yesterday we received the final offer for our kitchen, and we noticed the following clause in the offer:

"The offer is valid until 28.02.2022. If the kitchen is accepted after 01.03.2022, we unfortunately have to charge a price increase surcharge of 4.5%."

I don’t quite understand this. If I place the order for the kitchen now, I am committing to the price in the offer, so I shouldn’t have to accept any surcharge. We are planning to move in around April/May, so it’s quite possible the kitchen won’t be accepted before 01.03.2022.

The dealer’s response was that the kitchen should be taken into stock by February next year, meaning the kitchen would need to be measured early enough once the plasterer has finished. Then it might still be possible to avoid the surcharge.

We are really very, very happy with our kitchen builder, but I honestly think this is unacceptable. What experiences have you had with this? Is this actually common?

Yes, of course, although I find 4.5% a bit steep, but okay.

Your options are: cancel the order, negotiate the price, or accept it. Or consider the following:

You expect to move in April/May, and a lot can happen before the kitchen installers actually arrive to set everything up. If you have relatively a lot of space, you could propose this to the kitchen supplier: they could deliver to the construction site by February and store the items there until all the trades have completed their preparations. Then they can come on call and assemble everything – assuming the 4.5% charge is for storage.

Rumbi441 schrieb:

then it will be stored there until all trades have completed their preparations,

Who pays in case of loss or damage? I assume the kitchen specialist will not allow (or be able) that.

We placed our order yesterday with a planned delivery for mid-March. There was no mention of a price increase at that time.
The kitchen was ordered directly, and the parts are being kept in stock.
What is the collaboration worth to you? Are you already over budget, and is this therefore a hard pill to swallow for you?

Rumbi441 schrieb:

Yes, of course, although I find 4.5% a bit steep, but okay.

Your options are: cancel the order, negotiate the price, or accept it. Or consider this:

You expect to move in around April/May, but a lot can happen before the kitchen installers actually arrive to set everything up. If you have relatively plenty of space, you could offer the kitchen supplier the following: they deliver to the construction site by February, then store it there until all tradesmen responsible for preparation have finished their work. Then the installers can come on call and set it up—if the 4.5% covers the storage costs.

4.5% sounds like a lot at first, but it is quite normal given the current situation. At the moment, price increases of at least 15% are usually passed on to customers. There are homeowners—and I count myself among them—who had to pay an additional 10% on top of the pure construction costs, which quickly adds up to around 30,000 euros (or equivalent), otherwise construction does not proceed.

Applied to your case, this means you either accept the 4.5%, or you may not get the kitchen as you want it. Perhaps you can negotiate a 50/50 split with the kitchen studio.

minimini schrieb:

We placed our order yesterday with delivery planned for mid-March. There was no mention of any price increase at that time.
The kitchen was ordered directly, and the components will be kept in stock.
How much do you value the collaboration? Are you already over budget, making this a hard pill to swallow?

I agree with that. He can order the kitchen without measuring in advance, can’t he? There are plans he can follow, right?

According to what he said, if they can measure the kitchen in time beforehand, there won’t be any extra costs, correct?

But you’ve already placed the order, and the parts will be held in stock?