IKEA Make A Mistake
For my kitchen, I need one of these sink cabinets numbered 901.049.37
The cabinet and the front were delivered as three items.
- TINGSRYD drawer front 60×20 wood effect black 402.056.79
- TINGSRYD door 60×60 wood effect black 702.056.68
- ME base cb f b-in oven/sink 60x60x80 wood eff bl 202.055.43
But I thought I ordered one with a drawer.
As the order was split down by a computer, the computer got it wrong.
But then I’ve always had trouble with IKEA’s computer system, as I wrote about in Infuriating IKEA.
These pictures show the current state of the unfinished cabinet.
I’ve e-mailed their customer service and not had a reply.
Incidentally, I can’t find a 60×60 drawer front on their web site.
A drilling tempolate would do, so I could modify the door myself.
But unfortunately with the holes, I have no idea, where to put them!
Has anybody got any suggestions?
Putting Together IKEA Furniture
I took these pictures to show the tools I use to put together IKEA furniture.
Note.
- The Sheba butter knife is excellent for opening packages, as it won’t scratch the furniture.
- The well-balanced hammer for nailing on the backs of cupboards.
- Scissors are always useful.
- This Phillips screwdriver doubled as a light hammer for banging in lcation pegs.
I rarely use anything else!
A Good Start To A Day
Yesterday morning, I went to IKEA and ordered the last set of cabinets for my kitchen. Remember, that for some reason, their computer has banned me from buying anything on-line.
What I needed is scheduled for two deliveries this week, as one item isn’t available for home delivery from their Tottenham store, as it has to come centrally.
So imagine my surprise, when the first delivery happened at 08:15 this morning.
But at least, it means I don’t have to wait in all day for a delivery.
What Do You Call This?
I bought this rack for hot dishes just out of the oven from IKEA.
What do you call it?
IKEA call it a trivet, which is defined thus.
A metal stand with short feet, used under a hot dish on a table.
IKEA either can’t count as it has four legs, or they have done a great job in a redesign.
One Side Of A Man’s Kitchen
I’ve now virtually completed one side of my kitchen.
Note.
- The television is on a 270° swivel so it can be watched from outside, when I’m eating or working.
- The worktop will be extended through to continue over storage cupboards and a small deep-freeze on the other side of the hole in the wall.
- The cooker could be replaced by a small AGA-60 City.
- The shelf above the cooker will be moved up a bit and fitted with lights underneath.
- I think a fold-away stool would be better.
- It is currently planned that there will be a low wooden wall between the two sides, that will be topped by a steel beam, so that hot serving dishes can be placed there.
- The flange of the beam could also be used to store condiments, sauces, oils and other things that might be needed both inside and outside the kitchen.
- I haven’t decided where to put the touch-screen pad computer, so I can display my Serial Cooking pages.
- You’ll notice that there isn’t much electrical equipment. The only equipment, that I use is a Delia’s Little Chopper, which I acquired long before she publicised them, a kettle and a microwave .
- You’ll notice the only gas in the kitchen is in the fire extinguisher.
- Gas incidentally, should be banned from inside the inhabited parts of dwellings on health and safety grounds.
Many of the pictures were taken with me sitting on one of my all purpose stools, that I designed over forty years ago and had made by a furniture maker. Incidentally, four were used as saw horses to support the work-top, whilst it was cut to size.
Are Sainsburys Winning The Bag War?
Since the five pence charge was introduced for plastic bags in England, there has been very little innovative thinking by shops about how they could use the bags to drag people into their shops.
Summing up the shops I use and the comments of others, I would say this.
- Waitrose – Thin and useless
- Tesco – Thin and useless
- Marks and Spencer – Not too bad!
And then there’s Sainsburys!
A Reuseable Orange Plastic Bag From Sainsburys
They are surely the best, as you can fold them flat and then into a size to fit in a coat pocket or bag.
The one in the picture is probably six or seven weeks old.
One day last week, I needed a few items to complete my supper like some strawberries and I hadn’t got a bag with me. So I walked past Marks and Spencer and Waitrose to Sainsburys and bought them there together with a 5p. bag.
Do you think that Sainsburys have deliberately made a 5p. bag that lasts to attract shoppers to their stores?
Judging by the number of orange bags, I see on the streets of London, I certainly think Sainsburys have been thinking this one through.
- Orange bags are easy to spot, so you always take one.
- As they’re easy to fold, some might fold them and put them in their pocket or bag after putting the shopping away.
- Seeing lots of orange bags on the street, reminds shoppers to get what they need at Sainsburys.
- Because of the quality of the bag, it makes you think well of Sainsburys and their products.
On the other hand, IKEA deliberately make their blue bags impossible to fold, so you leave them behind, when you go shopping.
A Clever Idea From IKEA
When I was in the kitchen showrooms in IKEA at Tottenham, I noticed that their corner cupboards didn’t have any lights. And we all know that things get lost in corner cupboards.
I have a feeling that our last two designer kitchens didn’t have corner cupboards because lighting them was difficult.
I thought that I’d be able to use IKEA’S OMLOPP LED spotlights, but wiring them can be tricky.
Then I found some IKEA STRIBERG LED strips, so I took one home.
Reading the instructions, when I got home, it appeared they were for wardrobes. But after a bit of experimenting, I found they worked in my corner cupboard. These pictures show it working.
Note that there are two things left to do.
- The door hinges need to be adjusted to get it straight.
- A hole needs to be drilled in the back of the cupboard to pass the wire through.
But it certainly works well!
Note.
- There is no wiring to do, as it just plugs together and into a 13 amp socket.
- Multiple units can be daisy-chained.
- It comes in various lengths with the 67 cm. version being ideal here.
In my view, it is much easier to install than OMLOPP.
Infuriating IKEA
In Sorting Out IKEA, I said this.
Ever since Summer 2015, I’ve been unable to purchase anything on-line from IKEA. It is very difficult trying to build a kitchen in phases to have to go to the store to buy or order everything. Especially, when you can’t drive. I am lucky, that I can get a 341 bus to IKEA from about two hundred metres away and can even catch a bus from closer, that uses the same stop as the 341 at Manor House station. So it might take about an hour, but it’s not an arduous journey.
I think that the reason for non-delivery, is that that don’t like my home address, as they use a system that checks it against a list of ones with a large number of problems in the past. These were long before I bought the house.
Things have not changed, and I still can’t buy anything on-line, despite having high credit scores that show no problems.
As I need one cabinet to fill a space, I went to the store at Tottenham to buy one.
But you can’t pick it up, as it has to be delivered. So I ordered it in the store and then had to walk miles to get out to pay for it.
How was my shopping experience? Unnecessary and f**king awful, would be the best description.
I now have something small to buy and I shall have to repeat the process for something that I can hold in one hand.
Sorting Out IKEA
Ever since Summer 2015, I’ve been unable to purchase anything on-line from IKEA. It is very difficult trying to build a kitchen in phases to have to go to the store to buy or order everything. Especially, when you can’t drive. I am lucky, that I can get a 341 bus to IKEA from about two hundred metres away and can even catch a bus from closer, that uses the same stop as the 341 at Manor House station. So it might take about an hour, but it’s not an arduous journey.
I think that the reason for non-delivery, is that they don’t like my home address, as they use a system that checks it against a list of ones with a large number of problems in the past. These were long before I bought the house.
If this is the case, a friend who used to be the Compliance Director of a major finance house in the City, said make a request to see what they have on you, under the Data Protection Act. So I searched Google and found this page on the IKEA web site, entitled Privacy Policy.This is said.
For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998 IKEA Limited, is the “data controller” collecting your data. Our registered company address is: 500-600 Witan Gate House, Witan Gate West, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, MK1 1SH. If you have any questions regarding this policy or in respect to data privacy, our contact details are;
IKEA, Customer Support, Kingston Park, Peterborough, Cambridgeshire, PE2 9ET
Telephone number: 0203 645 0000
e-mail:customer.service@ikea.com
So I sent this e-mail to the e-mail-address on Monday morning.
I will give you a bit of background.
In December 2010 I purchased and moved to XXX XXXXXXXXX XXXX, London N1 XXX, where I have lived by myself since.
The property was built new around 2000 and before I purchased the house, it was let out to a selection of tenants, most of whom seemed to have skipped without paying the bills for energy and lots of other purchases, judging by the number of bailiffs, who used to call.
From 2011 to July 2015, I bought more than several IKEA products on-line and they were all successfully delivered against xxxxx@xxxxxxxxxx.com to the N1 XXX address. I had started to rebuild the kitchen and currently it sits half-completed.
Order numbers include XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX, XXXXXXXXX and XXXXXXXXX
In October 2015, I tried to place some further orders and despite getting the initial confirmation e-mail several times, no product was ever delivered.
In the end, I took a taxi to Edmonton and ordered and paid for the products in the store. They were delivered OK, but I had to waste an afternoon travelling to Edmonton and pay extra for the taxis.
Because of the difficulty, I assumed it was an unsuspected problem with my credit history, so I joined Experian and when I looked last week, my credit score was 986, which according to a friend, who runs a financial business, is good.
But it doesn’t appear to be good enough to buy products on-line at IKEA!
I am now ready for the next phase of the kitchen. So as to test if the hiccups of last summer, were just a passing issue, I attempted to place a small order. Despite getting the order number of XXXXXXX and the first confirmation e-mail, no money has been taken from my credit card and I have not had the Delivery Advice e-mail advising me of the actual delivery date. On trying to track the order, it is not in your Order Tracking system.
Obviously, I would like to find out, why you can’t accept my orders and to that end, I want to obtain all the information you hold about myself and my address and e-mail address, under my rights as laid out by the Data Protection Act.
I understand there could be a charge for this.
Obviously, confidential information has been redacted.
So far, two days later I’ve not had a reply or even an acknowledgement to my e-mail.
Today, I will be sending a copy by post.
Thoughts On Credit Cards
I have recently been trying to buy something on IKEA using my John Lewis Partnership Card, which is managed by HSBC.
Twice it has gone through IKEA’s site, but then HSBC have deemed the transaction to be fraudulent and have cancelled it. In one case I waited in all day for a non-existent delivery.
My other preferred on-line card is American Express, which seems to have developed a clever way of card checking. They ask if they can look up your location using your connection, as obviously, if that corresponds to the card and delivery addresses, there is a high chance that the transaction is genuine.
But IKEA doesn’t take Amex and as I don’t use my Visa card on-line because of the dreaded Verified-by-Visa waste of time and space, I was a bit stumped on how to order the next phase of my kitchen.
Then this morning, I tried the Visa and guess what? The Verified-by-Visa didn’t kick in. So perhaps, Nationwide and IKEA have come to my conclusion, that it is a hindrance to business against their joint interest.
Let’s hope the delivery gets through this time!
The Anonymous Widower 