Home Depot Cabinet Installation

Home Depot

East Hanover, NJ

I have always thought that Home Depot excelled in the area of customer service but In September 2005 I ordered kitchen cabinets and a granite countertop from Home Depot. Due to problems with the cabinets I did not have them installed until the beginning of December by Home Depot. Initially we thought the installers did a good job. But as it turn out they did not. When the installer Bill Ray Construction, hired by Home Depot, was putting in the cabinets the electrical outlets put in by our electrician did not end up where they were suppose to be and the cabinet around the refrigerator was 2 1/2" short. The installer told us that the electrician did not put the outlets in the correct spot amd the cabinet was the wrong size. Since everything seemed ok we faxed the form stating that the job was completed satisfactorily. Our electrician came the next day and as we reviewed the plans it was obvious that the installer put the cabinets 2 1/2 inches to high.

Now it may not seem like a big deal to have the cabinets too high but this caused us to have additional expenses to compensate for this error. Such as we had to pay the electrician additional money to move the microwave outlet, move light fixture as it was now going to hit the cabinets (now the lights can not be centered over my sink), we had to order a filler piece to go over the refrigerator, we had to order additional tile for the back splash and I need a stool to reach the top shelf of the cabinets.

I called the installer for Bill Ray he did come over and did admit that he did install the cabinets incorrectly. He also told us that if he took down the cabinets and put them in correctly it was very likely that some pieces would be damaged and we would have to order new molding, so he said he can not just take the cabinets down and put them in correctly. The installer Jason strongly recommended that we not move the cabinets. He did say that he had contacted the management at Bill Ray and they also said to leave the cabinets where the were and we would be compensated for his error.

Despite repeated phone calls to Bill Ray and Home Depot I still have neither company committing to reimburse me. In January 2006 Home Depot and Bill Ray stated that we could have the cabinets moved by the same incompetent installer but at this is not an option at this point because my kitchen is now finished and after 3 months with no kitchen I am not ripping it apart again. I can live with the kitchen the way it is but I should not have to pay full price for the half assed job. In addition I have no desire to put my kitchen in the hands of the incompetant installer who is the cause of my situation and has repeatedly lied to me. I hae made repeated calls and sent many emails but Home Depot customer service only tells me "we are aware of your situation and are investigating" and "Someone will get in contact with you soon". What a joke that is.

I want to be compensated for the additional expenses detailed in the beginning of this email and I should also be refunded part of the installation cost because now I have to live with this botched kitchen.