ᐅ Cost increase surcharge for the kitchen after contract signing
Created on: 13 Oct 2021 07:47
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exto1791
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?
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?
I can consider myself lucky. We also started kitchen planning and discussions back in 2019. Then, we signed the construction contract in the fall. We visited the furniture store several times until the final kitchen purchase was completed. We also negotiated a bit with the kitchen salesperson. The contract was then signed at the beginning of 2020, and an installation was scheduled for November/December 2020.
We had to wait for the house approval. When the kitchen installers arrived and set up the kitchen, it was December 2020. The final completion (since there were still some follow-up tasks) took place in April this year.
Result: We ended up paying even less for our kitchen than originally agreed. Because during the last six months, the 16% VAT still applied. The follow-up work had to be finished by the kitchen fitter anyway. It was a bit unusual, but we were very happy about it. 🙂
So, things can sometimes turn out well.
We had to wait for the house approval. When the kitchen installers arrived and set up the kitchen, it was December 2020. The final completion (since there were still some follow-up tasks) took place in April this year.
Result: We ended up paying even less for our kitchen than originally agreed. Because during the last six months, the 16% VAT still applied. The follow-up work had to be finished by the kitchen fitter anyway. It was a bit unusual, but we were very happy about it. 🙂
So, things can sometimes turn out well.
ypg schrieb:
Okay.
I only asked because in the kitchen industry it’s common for an initial quote to be given, which is then negotiated down after several rounds of discussions. If that’s not what happened here, I apologize for the assumption.
However, I find it surprising that you’ve had the quote for three quarters of a year already.
Yes, it’s usually required by the main contractor (MC) that kitchen planning is done very early on. The kitchen supplier expects to hold the kitchen on standby for three quarters of a year or longer, which is then ordered about six weeks before installation. But is it really normal to allow the kitchen supplier to do that without question? Ultimately, it has just become standard practice. A win-win for everyone: MC, client, contractor.
What surprises me now is: have you not signed the kitchen contract yet? We felt like we changed our kitchen design about 100 times, so we didn’t negotiate prices in detail at first. However, based on visits to several other kitchen showrooms, we knew the price here was very good and we felt comfortable with it. No, we haven’t signed the contract yet. We wanted to do that now.
Our general contractor (GC) has had all the installation plans for two months, so we’ve already made the dimensional decisions a while ago – the delays were mostly due to aesthetic choices.
M
Myrna_Loy13 Oct 2021 11:12So, do you have a kitchen fitter with reasonable prices and the patience to accommodate a hundred changes over three quarters of a year without anything being signed?
In that case, I wouldn’t complain about the 4.5% fee, which you might even be able to avoid, given such goodwill.
In that case, I wouldn’t complain about the 4.5% fee, which you might even be able to avoid, given such goodwill.
Myrna_Loy schrieb:
So, you have a kitchen specialist with reasonable prices and the patience to accommodate a hundred changes over three quarters of a year, without anything being signed?
I wouldn’t complain about the 4.5% fee in such a situation, which you might even be able to avoid. Why would I? With every change, I receive a new offer showing the current price and the updated validity of the quote.
That’s exactly why I choose a reputable kitchen specialist, not an average furniture store that wants a signature after just one meeting.
M
Myrna_Loy13 Oct 2021 11:20exto1791 schrieb:
Why is that? Every time I make changes, I receive a quote with the current price and the new validity period of the offer.
For exactly that reason, I choose a reputable kitchen specialist rather than a standard furniture store that wants a signature after just one meeting.So how many hours of service have you already used for free? Without the dealer having any guarantee that you will actually purchase from them?
exto1791 schrieb:
For what reason? I always receive a quote with the current price and the new validity period each time changes are made.Well, with a hundred changes, that must have taken a lot of time from the kitchen retailer, which they invested without being paid extra.
There is no fixed deadline (TZ) in our contract. However, the kitchen will definitely only be ordered after the final measurement is taken.