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19
Jul
2016

We Uncover Ikea Delivery Charges & Process for You

We Uncover Ikea Delivery Charges & Process for You

Who doesn’t love at least one Ikea product? The range of products is incredible and they’re inventive and good looking to boot.  However not everyone relishes the thought of a trip when the stores are so busy, so there was some delight when the company announced a unique Ikea delivery service.

There have been some complaints recently, however, over the franchise’s delivery costs, which some claim are unexpectedly high. So we’re going to take a look at Ikea’s delivery process and the costs of its delivery options.

Ikea delivery services

Ikea offers 3 delivery options:

  • In-store delivery

If you’re lucky you can get same-day delivery, but next-day delivery may be more realistic as your order is delivered to a store in to closest to your delivery area. Individual stores have slightly different delivery services, so check with the branches concerned.

  • Parcel delivery

Parcel delivery is an online delivery option that caters to items up to 25kg. You can have several items delivered at once, provided the total weight doesn’t exceed 100kg. Note: Some products may weigh less then 25kg but aren’t suitable for parcel delivery, like mirrors or items longer than 1.5m, and they will be delivered by truck.

Ikea uses Parcelforce to handle parcel deliveries. One of the benefits is that you don’t need to be home when items are delivered, at least the first time. You can rearrange delivery so that the time suits you.

Parcel delivery costs £7.50.

  • Truck delivery

Truck delivery caters to items over 25kg and more than 1.5m long. Parcelforce also handles truck deliveries and will deliver items during the week – Monday to Friday, between 9am and 6pm. Certain days are reserved for certain areas, so delivery depends on where you live.

Truck delivery costs start at £35; exact costs depend on the area in which you live (postcode).

Ikea delivery process

Ikea will email a delivery notification within 72 hours of the order. This is the best time to change the delivery date if necessary. Expect delivery within 14 days, except if you have a made-to-order product, in which case delivery may take longer.

According to Ikea, it’s your responsibility to inform the company of any delivery restrictions in your area; for example, height, width and weight restrictions for vehicles, parking restrictions, and time restrictions. You’re responsible for ensuring items fit through doorways, passages and up staircases. Note: Delivery staff are not allowed to remove doors or windows to allow access and don’t assemble items.

If you are expecting a parcel delivery, you can follow its progress by checking in with Idea’s order tracking service. The tracking number is added 24 – 48 hours prior to delivery.

Truck delivery specifics

Ikea will send a text notification 48 hours prior to delivery with an estimated 60-minute delivery window. One hour before delivery, the team will call you to make sure you’re available to receive the order and double check any restrictions.

Ikea’s delivery network covers England, Scotland and Wales, but doesn’t extend to all outlying areas. Use the store’s Postcode Checker to see if your area is included. If you need to ship your items abroad, you will have to find a shipping agent to which Ikea will then deliver.

Ikea delivery cancellations

If you’re going to cancel your order, do so as soon as possible. Once the order is in the delivery channel, the process is difficult to stop. Note: You can’t cancel made-to-order products, for obvious reasons.

You receive a full refund for the product price when you cancel your order. You can also get a refund for the full delivery fee. However, in some instances you may be charged a return fee, which will be the same as the delivery fee.

(prices correct as of 19 July 2016)

Posted by Surewise in Appliance Insurance Articles
12
Feb
2016

What’s the Cost of Installing a New Hob in Your Kitchen?

What’s the Cost of Installing a New Hob in Your Kitchen?

Having decided which type of hob you want to purchase, the next step is to buy the hob and have it installed. The cost of installing a new hob in your kitchen can be broken down into buying and installation costs, and running costs.

1. Buying costs for a new hob

Depending on the type of hob you buy, here is how much you can expect to spend on a new hob:

Base price models (£75 – £200)

  • Gas hobs start at £75
  • For about £100 you will find electric plate hobs with twist-knob controls
  • Starting price for ceramic hobs is £170

Mid-price range (£200 – £400)

  • Between £200 and £250 you will find mid-range electric plate hobs, ceramic hobs and gas hobs
  • Induction hobs start at £300
  • In the £300 and £400 value range, you will find some really stylish and modern hobs with more than four burners

Premium range (£400 – £750)

  • A gas or ceramic hob priced more than £400 will have a designer look and special functions like dual heat zones
  • Induction hob features in the £300 and £500 range remain fairly similar
  • Any hob that costs more than £500 will have designer looks and advanced features such as residual heat indicators and touch sensitive controls.

Designer range ( more than £750)

Any hob in this range will most certainly belong in a designer kitchen. Expect the entire range of features you can possibly have on a hob, including small utensil detectors, overflow indicators, and pause buttons.

Popular brands as per hob category include:

Gas hobs: Stoves, AEG Electrolux, Indesit, Smeg and Zanussi

Electric hobs: AEG, Indesit, Beko, New World, Neff and Baumatic

Ceramic hobs: Bosch, Stoves, AEG Electrolux, Indesit, Smeg and Zanussi.

Induction hobs: AEG Electrolux, Miele, Stoves, Smeg

Electric plate hobs: AEG, Indesit, Beko, New World, Neff and Baumatic

Also check out kitchen retailers like Homebase and B&Q for some low-cost options.

2. Installation costs

The cost of installationing a gas hob will be approximately £120 (this includes labour and fittings). Only a GasSafe qualified engineer should install your gas hob. Hiring someone who is not qualified to install the gas hob will put you and your family at great risk.

Hire an experienced electrician to install the electric hob. You can expect to pay £70 to £100 depending on the type of hob.

3. Running costs

There are significant differences in the running costs of gas and electric hobs. A gas cooker used for about 80 minutes per day for a year will cost £37 less per year to run, than an electric cooker used for the same amount of time. In addition, since the long-term costs of electricity will rise more quickly than gas because of green taxes being added to the former, the difference in running costs between gas and electric hobs will further increase.

Our advice would be to compare the costs of installing the new hob, before you decide on a particular hob brand and model.

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Posted by Surewise in Appliance Insurance Articles
25
Feb
2014

How To Choose A Hi-Fi System Under £50

How To Choose A Hi-Fi System Under £50

Strapped for cash and devoid of sounds? Well you won’t be for long. Not if you purchase one of the following smart Hi fi systems – all of which come in under £50:

  • Karcher MC 6510-S. Has audio ports for plugging in remote devices and for headphones. Comes with CD and radio function (AM/FM tuners). Costs around £36.
  • TM-099K MP3 Micro HiFi System. Has an FM RDS tuner with 30 presets, a USB 2.0 port and SD/MMC slot. Can hook up to portable media and has headphones jack for speakers. Costs around £37.
  • iTek I60006 Silver CD Radio Micro-System. Has a top loading CD player/CD-R/CD-RW player and AM/FM stereo radio along with 20 track programming. An LCD display and single alarm function are also built in. Comes with remote control. Costs around £37.
  • LOGIK LCDHF512 Mini Hi-Fi System. Comes with two mini speakers (which can be connected to an MP3 player), an LED display and remote control device.  Costs around £39.
  • Akai A60006 Micro Hi-Fi System. Micro CD and radio with alarm and LCD display. Comes with LCD display, 20 track programmable memory and remote control. Costs around £39.
  • TOKAI TM-101PE CD/MP3 Micro HiFi System. The system supports CD, CD-R/-RW and MP3 formats. Has an FM tuner with 20 station programmable memory. The USB 2.0 port hooks to portable media. Has an alarm clock with sleep and snooze settings. Costs around £40.
  • Polaroid CM1101W. This micro system contains a CD, radio (FM) and Bluetooth player with headphone sockets. Also has smart LCD display. Costs around £40.
  • Denver MC-5000 CD Player Micro System Wall Mount AUX. Free standing micro hifi system which can also be wall mounted. Has built in radio, CD player and option to connect an MP3 or CD player. Has radio/CD alarm and two way speakers. Costs around £48.
  • IWANTIT IHFUSBN13 Wireless Docking System. Connects between the iPhone, iPad and other compatible devices. Near Field Communication (NFC) means similar devices will hook up automatically for instant sounds. Can also play CDs and listen to radio and has 10 W power. Costs around £49.
  • LOGIK LHFIP2112 Micro Hi-Fi System. A built-in iPod dock, CD player and FM radio, this system comes with 10 W power, sleek-looking speakers and a slimline remote control. Costs around £49.
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Posted by Surewise in Appliance Insurance Articles
19
Feb
2014

Top 10 Microwaves Under £70

The Top 10 Microwaves Under £70

Do you have a limited budget at your disposal? Or perhaps you’re looking for a microwave for your work place so understandably are a bit reluctant to splash out a whole lot of money at once?

Well, you’ll be glad to hear you can still get hold of a good quality microwave for under under £70 and many with some pretty impressive features such as a weighting option, child safety lock and auto defrost options. Here’s some of our pick of the best:

  1. The Morphy Richards P80D2OP Manual Solo oven retails for roughly £50 and has a smart, sleek finish, as well as five programmes.
  2. Still with Morphy Richards, the EG820CFD 20L microwave also incorporates a grill and has a speed defrost setting. It retails for around £64.
  3. The Cookworks 20L touch control microwave has five power levels and an output of 800W. You can buy it for around £49
  4. If you want a slighter smaller microwave, the Cookworks 17L comes in silver and has a 700w output. This smaller version costs roughly £46.
  5. The De’Longhi AM823AZH microwave comes in stylish stainless steel and has many great features, such as eight programmes and easi-tronic control. It is stylish, easy to clean and it costs just under £70.
  6. Why not opt for a microwave which matches your décor? The ColourMatch 17L manual microwave can be purchased in poppy red, as well as green, black and white. It comes with five programmes and is has 700W power. This microwave costs around £55.
  7. The Sharp R6625LM 20L microwave costs approximately £70 and comes with a 100W power grill, as well as 11 programmes and a child safety lock.
  8. The Logik L20MS10 solo microwave sells for about £55 and is efficient and reliable. It includes a handy auto-defrost option.
  9. The Panasonic NN-E281BMBPQ solo microwave comes in black or white. It has a wipe clean interior, nine programmes and a weight option you can use to accurately judge how long to cook foods for. It costs just under £70.
  10. Finally, there is the Sharp R272WM microwave. With its easy to use controls, kitchen timer and clock, this product would make a handy addition to any kitchen. It sells for around £60.

Have you found a better microwave for under £70? If so we’d love to hear about it so we can include it in our list.

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Posted by Surewise in Appliance Insurance Articles