Why You Don’t Have to Use a Big Retailer’s Installation Service

When you buy a kitchen or bedroom from a big national retailer, it’s often assumed that using their installation service is the safest option.

It feels simple. It feels protected. It feels like everything is taken care of.

In reality, this is where many homeowners unknowingly step into the most common installation trap in the industry.

Most Retailer Installation Prices Are Dry Fit Only

This is the single biggest misunderstanding.

The installation price offered by most large retailers is usually a dry fit.

That typically includes:

• Fitting the units

• Installing worktops

• Positioning appliances

What it doesn’t usually include:

• Plumbing alterations

• Electrical changes

• Gas work

• Flooring adjustments

• Plastering or making good

• Boxing-in pipework

• Resolving issues uncovered once the old kitchen is removed

All of the above are classed as additional works.

And this is where problems start.

The Prefit Survey: Not as Detailed as You Might Expect

Retailer installations do normally include a prefit survey, carried out by the subcontracted installer.

What homeowners are rarely told is that this survey is often limited in scope.

Why?

Because many retailers do not fully fund a detailed, multi-trade survey. As a result, the installer is usually surveying:

• Unit layout

• Basic measurements

• Access and obvious constraints

They are not carrying out a deep investigation into plumbing, electrics, gas routes, floors or walls, which are precisely where most additional costs live.

That level of detail takes time, experience, and coordination across trades and it isn’t always paid for.

When the Real Costs Finally Appear

For many customers, the first time they hear about additional costs is:

• During the prefit survey, or

• Once the existing kitchen is removed

At that point, they’re told things like:

• “Electrics will need altering”

• “The plumbing needs moving”

• “Gas work will be required”

• “The floor or walls will need making good”

And crucially: None of this is included in the retailer’s installation price.

Why Customers Feel Trapped

By the time these costs are revealed, most customers are already committed.

They may have:

• Signed contracts

• Paid deposits

• Accepted “promotional” or discounted installation offers

Backing out now feels difficult, even if the overall cost has changed significantly.

So the additional works are agreed directly with the installer, outside the retailer’s contract.

Which leads to the next issue.

Additional Works Are Not Covered by the Retailer’s Guarantee

The retailer’s guarantee generally covers only what they’ve sold - the dry fit.

Anything agreed separately with the subcontracted installer:

• Sits outside the retailer’s responsibility

• Sits outside the retailer’s guarantee

If something goes wrong, it’s usually in these additional works.

And at that point:

• The retailer says it’s between you and the installer

• The installer is left to resolve issues they didn’t design or price initially

If you’re lucky, it’s sorted quickly.

If you’re not, you’re stuck in the middle.

The Installer Isn’t Employed by the Retailer

Another important point: The installer working in your home is not employed by the retailer.

They are self-employed subcontractors working to:

• Fixed dry-fit prices

• Tight schedules

• Designs they didn’t create

They don’t control:

• The design decisions

• What’s missing from the plan

• What’s hidden behind walls or under floors

Yet they often end up carrying the frustration when reality doesn’t match the quote.

You Do Have an Alternative

You are not obliged to use a retailer’s installation service.

You can still buy your kitchen or bedroom from any retailer you choose - and appoint an independent installer or installation company to handle the work.

When you do that properly, you typically get:

• A full installation scope from the outset

• A properly detailed survey

• Realistic allowances for services and remedial work

• One point of responsibility

• Clear accountability if something goes wrong

No grey areas. No surprises mid-project. No buck-passing.

The Bottom Line

Big retailer installation services aren’t automatically wrong but they are often misunderstood.

The biggest issues almost always arise:

• Outside the dry fit

• In additional works

• After the customer is already committed

Understanding this before you sign allows you to make an informed decision, not an assumed one.

And that’s why you don’t have to use a big retailer’s installation service.