Greenhouse Stores Anmeldelser 

Have been trying to find out what happened to my order for nearly a month.. no way of getting a response

I have just gotten off the phone with a man from this company. I called as i had waited a week for a response to an email. Whilst i am aware that we are in difficult times, i made a call to ask a straightforward question about delivery times. The vitriol i received on the other end of the phone was absolutely flabbergasting. I have never been spoken to like this before. I am so taken aback. I remained calm but was genuinely shouted over whenever i tried to speak with phrases such as "We are in a pandemic so we are lucky to be delivering at all". I tried to explain that i understood this and perhaps i had phrased my question wrong. He continued to be rude to me and then simply hung up on me. Just wow. I think its worth maybe spending a little more to be treated with a little respect. Manners clearly cost something with this company.

do not bother instructions are rubbish and my delivery arrived with some off the glass damage

Terrible customer service. I spoke to someone who said he was the office manager. He was rude and thoroughly unhelpful.

I bought a 8x4 lean to. Far from being simple and easy to erect as it says on the misleading website reviews, you infact need a degree in engineering to build it. If I paid one of their recommended tradespeople to erect it it would be approximately the same cost as the greenhouse - I was quoted £220. I could have bought a full sized standalone green house for this price.

The instructions have no words only pictures. No online video / tutorial. They should clearly state it requires a professional to erect it and not falsely claim it’s simplicity. They are misleading consumers.

The design is also defective when it comes to attaching it to the wall - it would let in water and cold rendering it completely superfluous to requirements. The product description and photos falsely claim it’s robust and fit for purpose. It is absolutely not.

Even if I did pay their recommended tradesperson the quoted £220 to erect it, it’s flimsy and substandard and would never withstand an English winter. And in the absence of a secure fixing to the wall it wouldn’t protect my tender plants anyway.

I could not have known all of the above had I not have at least attempted to erect it.

Therefore because I had opened the package they wouldn’t allow me to return it. It’s still sitting in my garage!

Avoid.

Customer relations are bad, will not admit mistakes! We had some-one to construct it. He found that there was a pane of glass short. Admittedly, he probably didn't check within the 14 days they allow, but at first, the firm would not admit that anything could be missing, it gets counted!! They eventually did send the replacement glass. (Our builder had put in some spare glass he had in the meantime). Because of the wrong glass possibly, and therefore not constructed as it should have been maybe, the winds we've had made the frame twist a bit, and the panes in the roof became lopsided in the frame, and there was a gap where rain gets in! The door frame got warped a bit, and made it impossible to open to the left as it should. It opened to the right, but today when our builder opened it, it came off and fell to the floor! The two panes, top and bottom shattered, as ordinary glass does, but the centre piece stayed whole. We had paid for toughened glass. The way this broke was in no way toughened glass! The company said they had made no mistake. They said the check should have been made early! Our fault!! We found since that the bigger toughened pieces have a number in one corner, these two pieces hadn't, nor had two smaller pieces, 1x2x2 and a slightly different size where the top window is. The company would not admit a failing, so would do nothing to compensate. Had my disabled husband fallen onto this broken glass there would have been a bigger problem! We went out and bought 2 panes of toughened glass from a local company for £20. Those panes had the safety kite mark on! This company's do not! At the bottom of the order number sheet, it says Vitavia Greenhouses have a 10 year Manufacturers Guarantee. You can guess my feelings about that!!!

This review is about a Vitavia Lean-to Greenhouse 6' x 2' with aluminum frame purchased via this company. I did my research on this and was guided by the Five Stars rating on their website. The delivery and service was fine but the problems start when you open up the Instruction Manual and it's all downhill from there!! The greenhouse is all flat packed with four large panes of glass, then several smaller ones. The Manual has mainly pictures which are difficult to understand with no manner of bits to be put together. No online video to follow although you can contact their Technical people ...... so long as it's not a weekend! No screws supplied to fix the frame to the wall because the space is limited to put the glass in, which resulted in a large pane of glass shattering. We did not realise that the greenhouse glass comes in different sizes - toughened glass ones are large panes on the sides and fronts and are difficult to handle!! Lack of instructions in pack to advise how to fix the triangular piece of glass at the top. Lengthy correspondence and chat with Vitavia resulting in a lot of wasted time!! If you're in a hurry to get your plants away for Winter - look elsewhere, because it will be Spring by the time you manage to put it together!!! At least Vitavia did admit there was a problem with their instructions and credited us with £35 to replace the glass!

Seriously disappointed in this greenhouse and the condescending lack of support (“well we’ve never had anyone complain before” - well you do now mate!)

Three separate sheets of instructions, going between them feeling totally bewildered. Some vital instructions written in the safety section rather than in the section that shows how to put it together. Boundlessly eye boggling diagrams that don’t follow order. Written instructions that are only half an instruction until you check elsewhere. Then there’s putting bits together to take them apart later to put glazing in. The description of glazing that “easily slides together” - yes with a sledgehammer!

The door won’t stay on, the sliders to hold the door glazing on are so inflexible that they won’t go into place and I’m resorted to finishing this off with duct tape.

Only buy if you have someone to put it together for you (of course they don’t tell you till after you’ve bought it that they don5 have contacts in all areas to put it up). Best suggestion - save up for a real greenhouse or get a second hand from gumtree.

Vitavia Hera 9000

It looks nice in the photos, doesn’t it? Don’t be fooled. This is a badly designed, poorly engineered piece of rubbish. The metal is thin and flimsy, it’s a nightmare to assemble, and the instructions are awful. And if – sorry, when – you get into difficulties, don’t expect any help from the company. They will be happy to sell you replacement parts at grossly inflated prices: beyond that they don’t want to know.

That’s the summary. This will be a long review, as there is so much wrong with this greenhouse.

So: your beautiful new greenhouse has arrived. You’ve unpacked the parts, looked at the instruction manual and are ready to go. You start with the metal base - it looks a bit flimsy, but it locks together easily, no problems there. Then the sides. They are too big to assemble indoors, so you lay them out on the lawn or patio, and though it is time consuming and fiddly you don’t mind that, as they slot together without too much difficulty.
The roof is not so easy to assemble. You are asked to measure down each of the six roof bars and make a pencil mark where the ring beams are to go. Why? These measurements should be pre-made, with not only a mark but a small lip, so that you can get the ring beams in exactly the right place. But you do this, and you get the roof assembled. Then, with help, you attach the sides together, and you have a completed frame.
Except for the six plastic eave ends, which fit into the guttering at the six corners. These, according to the instructions, simply slot in. In reality they don’t, because they are too big. No matter how you try, even by slackening off the corner joints, you will not get them in. You will need to use all your strength just to press one wing in (they clip in under a small ridge in the guttering). In trying to get the second wing in you will break it. There is no way around this. I was unable to fit a single one without splitting or breaking it, so patched them with bitumen tape. Zero out of ten for design.

But it’s now that your problems really begin. The instructions say blithely: “Two people should now lift the assembly onto the roof. Connect roof bars onto each corner.”
Sounds so simple. But the reality is that this is close to impossible. You will get two corners attached, then with luck three. The rest will be hanging in the air, half on, or to one side of, or in front of, the corresponding corners of the frame. With a great deal of adjusting, pushing, pulling and heaving you might get the fourth one on. After that, no amount of slackening-off and re-tightening, no amount of heaving and straining, will help you to get the others in place. You might come close with one: but every time you are almost there, the bolts which connect the roof to the base will drop out and you will have to start again.
The problem is with the design. You have to slot two bolts into the channel in the sloping roof bars, position them over the two corresponding holes in the frame, then slot them together. There are two issues with this: one is that the holes don’t quite align, making it hugely difficult to get both bolts to slot in at once (they need to align precisely, they are about 1mm out and there is no play whatsoever in the holes). The second issue is that there is nothing to keep the bolts in the sloping channel, with the result that over and again they slide out. And if you get only one bolt in you have to lift off the roof bar and start again, you cannot get the second bolt in without removing the first.
Frankly this is appalling design. There are so many ways this problem could be avoided. As things stand you have to resort to ingenious ways to try to hold the bolts in place. I tried blu-tac, tape, string and wire. Wire worked best: but to hold it you need another hand, and you already need both hands for manoeuvring the frame, and for trying to lever the bolts over the misaligned holes.

It was at this point that I gave up. I knew I could struggle with this for days and be no further on, so I called on the services of two experienced fitters. Even for them it proved a nightmare. Eventually they got the roof on by putting wooden beams along the top of the frame to support the roof, then using ropes and a winch to pull the frame into position.
Not something your average DIY fitter could or should have to do.
Not something there was any warning or even hint of in the advertising material.

But, you’ve got the roof on and you think surely the hardest part is over and the rest will be plain sailing. Wrong.
The roof dome is fairly straightforward, though you have to stand on a stepladder which is higher than that listed in the instruction manual.
The glazing is also fairly straightforward: the polycarbonate sheets slot in easily, the rubbers slot on the frame easily, and the glass clips in via plastic strips without difficulty. In fact, this was the one and only time during the assembly where I actually thought the design was good – an improvement on the metal clips which are widely used.
This part of the construction is marred, though, by the design of the small brackets which fit over the bottom of the polycarbonate sheets to hold them in place. They are fixed by means of small self-drilling screws. Anyone who has ever used such screws knows that they are difficult to get started – even ones with sharpened points need a pilot hole. These are not sharp, and there are no pilot holes in the brackets. So you have to stop, and drill 24 pilot holes before you can complete this task.
Then you come to assemble the opening vent windows.
I should have mentioned before that in numerous places the instructions are unhelpful. The diagrams are small, it is difficult to see which way round a part fits, and the text, which is very brief and limited, does nothing to clarify things. (Nor is there any online help) You will frequently find you have fitted a part the wrong way round and have to re-fit it. This is the case here – it will take a lot of head-scratching to work out exactly which part goes where
But first you have to put the rubber seal around the edges of the glass pane. Seems straightforward, but in fact it continually slips off. The only way to get it to stay on is to tape it every couple of inches – not something you are warned about in the manual.
Then you have to get the glass into a narrow channel in the frame. But it won’t fit. You try pushing – no good. After much swearing and cursing you conclude that the only way is to put oil on the outside of the rubber, then use a rubber hammer to knock the glass pane home. A hammer? On glass? Believe me, it’s the only way. But… you get one side on, you turn the frame on its side to get the second on… and the first, which is only gripping about ¼” of glass, slides off. Again after much trial and error you realise that not only do you have to tape on the rubbers, you also need to tape each side of the frame onto the glass before you proceed to the next.
When you get all four sides of the frame in place you have to fix them with four screws. The sides have to be precisely aligned – more tapping with the hammer. And it’s easy for them to slip off the glass at one corner: in which case you have to take off the whole side and start again.
Frankly, if a GCSE Art and Design student came up with this as a window frame design it would be F for Fail.

When it comes to the sliding doors the designer must have gone on holiday and left it to the cleaner, because they actually assemble without too much difficulty. So those done, you are in the home straight. Just need to hang them and the thing is finished.
Only before you do so there are one or two bits of finishing off required.
The glazing spacers screw in reasonably easily.
Not so the six door guides.
The designer has saved his best for last. So far you’ve encountered the difficult and the very difficult. Now comes the impossible.
You are instructed to fit these door guide bars via self-drilling screws. You are told to drill down through a tiny metal ridge – at an angle – and through another thin vertical piece of metal where it joins a horizontal piece of metal – all the while standing on a stepladder and leaning against the roof.
It cannot be done. These pieces can not be fitted in this way. Not only is the design insane, it is dangerous. The screws slip off the metal every time, meaning the electric drill slips against the roof and you slip with it. The screw simply will not engage the metal as required.
So you take the metal door guide bars back to ground level and drill some pilot holes. One look at what is required of the screw and common sense tells you it is crazy – but you go ahead and try it. Back at the roof the screw still won’t stay in the pilot holes, but slips everywhere and won’t engage with the metal. You apply a bit more force – but only succeed in damaging the screw head. And of course there are no spare screws.
All that is needed to fit these pieces of metal are some pre-drilled bolt holes into the sides. Instead, this insane screw-into-thin-metal nonsense designed by a moron and passed by his less-intelligent colleague in Quality Control.
I gave up, drilled my own bolt holes and completed the job.

There is more, but I’ve reached the review word limit. So to sum up: this greenhouse is not fit for purpose. It should be withdrawn from sale until all these design problems have been addressed. If that does not happen, Trading Standards should get involved to ensure that it is no longer foisted on an unsuspecting public.

Note: I’ve omitted details of the emails and letters I exchanged with the company. Let’s just say they are in denial about the greenhouse’s shortcomings.

Very fast delivery. Purchased a Palram Harmony 6'x6'. Took me and my son an afternoon to put it together. Had a little difficulty with the front apex but sorted with a bit of patience and very pleased with it.
This new one replaced a 6'x4' of a different brand which had the finger destroying glazing clips, I've lost count of the number of times I've had to repair it. I chose Palram as I have a small one which I've had for over 12 years and is still going strong, so hoping this will last just as long.

Great service and fast delivery.
The Palram hybrid 6x8 silver is fantastic starter for us.
Easy to follow instructions.
Pleased with the finished product.

I paid a deposit for a greenhouse but unfortunately circumstances changed so I had to cancel my order a few months after it was placed.

I spoke to Ian Willstead who immediately agreed to refund the full sum of £2,578 without any quibble.

My experience of this company's after sales service has been excellent!

I very much appreciated that I got a full refund straight away.

Thank you very much.

May your business thrive!

Rick

I love my new green house and potting shed , excellent customer service and delivery .
Potting shed is beautiful ( i might move in ! #retirement goals ) the 'swallow company' that delivered and built the shed were efficient and fast!
Many thanks to the team

I was shocked at the mark up Greenhouse Stores made on my purchase when I spoke to the company that had made and installed the greenhouse. I challenged Greenhouse Stores regards their 25% transaction fee (£879) but was repeatedly told that 'I did not understand' and 'I am going to hang up on you' - which he did. I fully appreciate that Greenhouse Stores have to run a business but given that 'they make 1000's of transactions per year' (their quote) I would anyone using their site to do their market research prior to committing to any purchase from them.

Please read this before you buy Vitavia. I bought a Vitavia greenhouse last Summer, and put it up next to an existing Halls greenhouse in the garden. I came down this morning to find most of the glass blown out, and smashed in small pieces all over the lawn. For the second time. I contacted greenhousestores, who referred me to Vitavia customer service. I had a call from the Manager later in the day. He refused any warranty claim, saying that the 60mph gusts the night before were responsible. Indeed, their own greenhouses had been similarly destroyed.
60mph gusts are not uncommon in a British winter. I have had the Halls greenhouse 20 years. It has been out in far more severe conditions on numerous occasions, without any damage. The Manager suggested I make repeated claims on my House Insurance every time the Vitavia is blown out. “What about the excess and premium increase?” I asked. “I cannot comment on that.”
I am undecided whether to re-glaze the Vitavia again, or just scrap it as rubbish. I wish I had never bought it, and would not recommend it to fellow gardeners.

Arrived the next day. I ordered on Saturday lunch time and by 11:30 SUNDAY it was delivered as described. Well packaged!! Thanks

Dreadful greenhouse, badly designed, bits missing. My poor builder has had to return again and again to put the door right

My new greenhouse was installed for me yesterday after ordering it in the last week of November. The installers turned up at 9am sharp with my new greenhouse on the back of the truck. They were done within 2 hours and I'm now looking out at my little 6x6 wooden greenhouse painted grey to match my gates and garage door, so nice!

Although the delivery was fast and the Halls product good, we have found Greenhouse Stores customer service to be very poor. We made a mistake when we measured the height available for the Lean-to and sent an email to them asking if we could fit the unit without the extra expensive base they supplied asking for some help and advice regarding returns. We received a blunt 1-line email from them insisting that the base was essential. After another attempt to get some advice/help we still got an very short reply insisting is was essential. We didnt really think so................we then assembled the unit to find that it certainly was not and even though they said that the door would not open without the base, it did, no problem. Going to send it back to them for a refund. We will see how they perform with this and report here again.

To cut a rather long and sorry tale short I made the huge mistake of ordering a greenhouse from B+Q. After many problems and endless phone calls and store visits to my local B+Q they gave me a number for the manufacturer and fobbed me off, telling me to call 0800 098 8877.
As luck would have it, rather than give me the number for Palram, they had given me the number for Greenhouse Stores !
I couldn't have been more relieved. Here I was talking to somebody who knew everything about greenhouses and gave me sound advice and was so friendly. I ended up ordering a nice little 6x6 Vitavia green house that arrived with me in 11 days and was installed for me 4 days later (thanks Steve!).
A bit of advice DO NOT BUY A GREENHOUSE FROM B+Q or DIY.COM as they do not have a clue about greenhouses, or indeed the telephone numbers of their suppliers, PATHETIC !
Thank you Greenhouse Stores, no nonsense, great friendly service and knowledgeable staff, great work !

These days there are so many promises of fantastic deals, quick service and free deliveries, but do they always deliver? Greenhouse Stores have, bless them ! I called on a Friday afternoon desperately needing a small greenhouse for a birthday present for my father the following Thursday after having being let down by Argos !
The greenhouse arrived with me on Tuesday without any drama. Thank you so much chaps. Friendly, assured service with promises of a fast delivery fulfilled.