This review is posted as a caution to consumers. It relates to a kitchen which we purchased from Leonie Dwyer of Louis Divine in October 2020. We were subsequently informed by Leonie Dwyer that she had subcontracted the manufacture and installation of the kitchen to Malcolm St James. Our advice would be to take care when dealing with either of these organisations.
Very soon after installation in January 2021 it became apparent that the kitchen was of very poor quality and appeared not to be solid timber as sold to us by Leonie Dwyer. We made multiple attempts to get Leonie Dwyer and Rick Kain of Malcolm St James to take our concerns seriously. We were ignored, fobbed off and told we were being "unreasonable".
After 6 months without progress, we brought proceedings in the NSW Home Building Tribunal against Leonie Dwyer's corporate entity as the Builder under the Home Building Act. The Tribunal decided
· The kitchen is so defective that it must be removed and replaced
· The work was not carried out with due care and skill
· The kitchen is NOT solid timber
· We be awarded the amount of $84,340 to cover the costs of removal and replacement of the kitchen
Here is the link to the case https://jade.io/article/909355
Sadly the Tribunal's order is not the end of the story. Leonie Dwyer is unlicensed and uninsured and has been fined by Fair Trading for those reasons. Leonie has notified us that her company does not have funds to pay the Tribunal's order, despite what we believe are considerable personal assets.
We recently contacted Rick Kain again encouraging him to take some responsibility for the kitchen as Leonie Dwyer's subcontractor. He asked us not to contact him again.
We are hopeful that Leonie Dwyer and Rick Kain are mindful of their reputation and take responsibility to put this situation right. We will keep you informed.
Polly and Mike Harding read more