Northampton couple left with half a kitchen and out of pocket after firm goes bust

Premier Kitchens & Bedrooms went bust on Friday (November 22) after 27 years, with the loss of 100 jobs and showrooms in Northampton, Bedford and Wellingborough.

The customer from East Hunsbury, who wishes to remain anonymous, has had to pay extra for the fitter to finish the job on top of the £9,750 she paid upfront.

"I felt very devastated on Saturday, I felt like I had had a bereavement," she said.

"I can put up with no tiles or flooring until after Christmas but we've not got a washing machine either at the minute."

Work started on her new kitchen on Monday after paying a deposit six weeks ago to Premier, which had a showroom at Becket Retail Park on St James' Mill Road.

The work continued on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday last week but the fitter told them on Saturday that Premier had collapsed.

By then the old kitchen had been ripped out and the new one was being installed - fortunately the whole thing had been delivered to them so the fitter can finish it off.

But the customer feels angry that they found out only because the fitter had come to collect his tools and has heard nothing from the Peterborough-based firm.

"They must have known this was going to happen before they took people's money on false pretences," she said.

"In hindsight I may not have paid upfront but if I didn't then I wouldn't have the rest of the kitchen so it's difficult."

Premier founder and managing director Iain Forsythe told the Peterborough Telegraph the company folded after a financial restructure failed at the 11th hour.

He added hotlines offering advice would be manned from today (Monday) after difficult economic conditions, uncertainty over Brexit and other factors had meant the company had been struggling.

“To say we are devastated is an understatement. Our showrooms are closed and it has been an incredibly difficult time," he said.

“We have some great people and this is also a huge blow to them."

A statement on Premier's website says: "We are very disappointed to announce the closure of our showrooms and the voluntary liquidation of our company.

"A skeleton staff will deal with individual requirements of our customers, we would ask that you be patient whilst we work on this very difficult situation for our customers and staff.

"The helpline number for our customers is 07872 543053 and will be covered from 9am - 5pm.

"We are expecting a high volume of calls and we will respond to text messages or WhatsApp questions along with our [email protected] email address."