Kitchen woes

I have an onoing saga with my kitchen. It's tiny. Simply an annex in the front room. I paid a guy to supply all the units and appliances and to fit it all last May (as in 2008). This was meant to be a fairly 'nice' kitchen from a reputable company. By the week before Xmas I was completely stressed as the local DIY store units were appearing and a cooker and hob that was on special offer for £110 were dumped in my front room. A nasty grey worktop appeared with the fridge freezer carefully cut into the middle of the worktop leaving, oh, a good six inches for food preparation. The sink and taps don't even warrent a comment. Believe me, I'm not a kitchen snob but I had paid for 'nice' things and so I expected them. How silly!

Guy, let's call him cowboy Pete, couldn't understand why I was so upset. I mentioned that I had paid him £4K and yet the stuff he supplied was worth £300 max. Not to mention the tacky worktop and lack of logic. He had assured me that he used to own an interior design service. Hmmm........

I am now trying to get a refund from cP. It's a struggle and will end up in court seeing as he is not keeping to his out of court offer of a settlement. The worm is turning. Watch out - Seaside Sister will avenge!

A friend, let's call him Bob, was suitably outraged by cP's obvious deception and offered to put right his wrongs. So, off to local DIY store to add to the units. Money changed hands as it was all a matter of urgency (January sales, special offers on appliances etc).

As we speak, or as I waffle, I have got a sink, a tap that is too low for the kettle to fit under, a Bosch hob and one wall unit over the sink. Oh, and a worktop.

I've got all of my kitchen bits and bobs in my bedroom. Everything that should be in a unit is stored in a big box on the floor (I rummage around for pasta, olive oil, beans etc).

Bob was my friend. I trusted him. I gave him nearly £3K. All I get back is excuses. Every week for the past nine months. He must have a book of excuses.

So my sorry tale is that I've spent £7K on a tiny kitchen and I still haven't got one. I haven't got anymore money. I can't buy a third kitchen and pay to have it fitted. I will have to take out a loan. I hope cP and Bob suffer. I will never trust anyone again. cP is a work colleague's dad. Bob was my friend. Have I got 'gullible' stamped on my forehead?

Thank you for reading my rant. I promise not to go into so much detail again but needed to set the scene incase of future references.