‘It’s cost me thousands’: Home builds delayed, budgets blown after Kitchen Things collapse

Wednesday, 24 September 2025

Kitchen Things’ customers in Auckland have been left thousands of dollars out of pocket after the appliance business collapsed into receivership last month, with the only option to file an unsecured creditor claim.

Customer Karl Hawthorne spent about $12,000 in July on a package of appliances, paying half at the time of purchase. A month later Kitchen Things had fallen into receivership and some items were no longer available.

Hawthorne had ordered four large appliances, including a cooktop and extractor fan. After the collapse, he was asked to pick up the extractor fan from Napier.

“We decided to waive the extractor fan simply because the cost of couriering it up here isn’t worth it,” Hawthorne told The Post. “We're seeking to buy another one independently and cutting our loss on that one.”

The cooktop that did arrive was damaged. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, Hawthorne should have been entitled to a replacement. But the receivers’ response was inconsistent.

Initially, they offered a 50% refund, only to revoke the offer and instead give a “goodwill” store credit of 30% — valued at $346.68 — usable in-store within seven days, non-transferable, and expiring on September 26.

“Realistically, I should be getting a new cooktop and dishwasher. They have them in the country, but haven’t offered to replace them,” Hawthorne said.

Paying twice

George, another Auckland customer who did not want to give his last name, spent almost $4000 on appliances during a “flash sale” just days before Kitchen Things went into receivership.

An oven worth almost $2000 never arrived. He said that staff first claimed it was en route from overseas, but then was offered the chance to collect it from Napier, but only if he paid another 50% for the item despite already paying in full.

“The excuse was no serial number had been allocated to my sale, so the deal wasn’t completed. But they still gave me the cooktop, which also didn’t have a serial number attached. It just doesn’t add up,” George told The Post.

After no helpful responses from Grant Thornton receivers, Citizens’ Advice Bureau, or MBIE’s Consumer Protection, he was offered a 30% store credit by Grant Thornton receivers and a creditor claim form.

But he said a Grant Thornton staffer had told him that unsecured creditors were likely to get nothing. “It feels like filling in the forms is just a waste of time,” he said.

Meanwhile, he spent another $2000 on a replacement oven mid-renovation, still out of pocket nearly $2000 from Kitchen Things. “It’s been delay after delay, contradiction after contradiction. I’ve had to just move on, but it’s cost me thousands.”

Home build on hold

An Auckland family, who paid almost $9000 in full in early August, had their home build delayed by eight weeks when Kitchen Things collapsed.

A member of the family, who did not want to be named, said receivers offered only generic responses to multiple email queries.

“We are absolutely devastated,” the customer told The Post. “We have worked so hard to stay on budget, but things like this leave such a sour taste in your mouth. We are left now not trusting anyone.”

Last week, the receivers acknowledged the family had paid in full, but no stock had been allocated to their order. Their only option was to repurchase the same items again at a 50% discount. But most were floor models scattered across Auckland and Tauranga, and none came with warranties.

“We were asked to confirm the order, make payment and only then would we be able to pick up and see the appliances,” the customer said. “We weren’t willing to take the risk, and we didn’t want to give them any more money.”

Instead, the family turned to Noel Leeming, which offered them a discount on replacements. But the family was now $7600 out of pocket.

Little recourse

Hawthorne warned that with more local businesses failing, consumers risked losing large sums and becoming unsecured creditors of insolvent companies.

“The Government keeps saying you’re protected by the Fair Trading Act – bullshit. There’s a big hole in our protection as consumers, and liquidation is another one,” he said.

A Consumer NZ spokesperson said affected customers had few options.

“Unfortunately, there’s not much customers can do in this situation, other than documenting everything and trying to get a chargeback (if you paid by debit or credit card), and registering with the receiver or liquidator as a creditor,” the spokesperson said.

Massey University marketing analytics professor Bodo Lang said the situation showed a clash between legal obligations and moral responsibility.

“Legally, companies aren’t required to fulfill purchase orders once in receivership,” Lang said. “But morally, if you have money from consumers, the obligation is to fulfill the order for an equivalent product, if not the same product.”

Lang noted that social media pressure, a common tool for consumer advocacy, had no effect on receivers. “The business is winding down, and that removes that advocacy element.”

Grant Thornton receivers referred The Post to their frequently asked questions page when approached for a response. The document said that orders with allocated serial-numbered stock before the collapse could be honoured. No refunds were available for deposits, and all other payments became unsecured debts.

Customers could only collect items if a specific serial-numbered product was allocated before receivership. Available stock could be purchased at 50% of the sales price, but only as a new transaction after the receivership, effectively requiring customers to pay extra for products they had already bought.

Four Kitchen Things stores remain open while receivers look to sell the company.