Cabinets gone bad

[RandyH]

What is the name of your state? Arizona

I bought cabinets for my new home last Nov. They arrived in Jan as scheduled. The problem is that they were all scratched and/or rubbed. These are dark so it shows up really good. These are Kraftmaid cabinets purchased through Home Depot. I contacted Home Depot and they had Kraftmaid come out and look. Kraftmaid then reordered a number of the cabinets and all new door and drawer fronts. All of this came in the same condition as before. I'm now under a time constraint with a contruction loan, Contruction insurance etc. I contacted the regional manager at Kraftmaid to tell them just to pick up the cabinets and I would go elsewhere. He told me they had quality control all over this and they developed a new packaging method and the next shipment would be perfect, and plus it would take longer to reorder from somewhere else. I went with it and the next order was the same. Now I'm down to the wire. I've already extended the loan 3months and they will call the loan due. I contacted Kraktmaid and they gave me a date. I told them I could wait till then but not 1 day longer as other items needed to be done after the
cabinets were installed. The cabinets never came until a week after that date.This is now July. At that point I was so busy getting the rest of the house completed, I told them I would contact them after I was done with the house. Now Home Depot wants no part of this and Kraftmaid is offering $2000 to settle. The way I'm seeing it, I just paid $30,000 for used looking cabinets with $15,000 worth of granite sitting on top. What is
the right thing for Home Depot and Kraftmaid to do? What type of legal options do I have as this is too large for small claims, right. Would be
happy to go into more detail with someone who is willing.
Thanks for your time, Randy

 

[HomeGuru]

What is the name of your state? Arizona

I bought cabinets for my new home last Nov. They arrived in Jan as scheduled. The problem is that they were all scratched and/or rubbed. These are dark so it shows up really good. These are Kraftmaid cabinets purchased through Home Depot. I contacted Home Depot and they had Kraftmaid come out and look. Kraftmaid then reordered a number of the cabinets and all new door and drawer fronts. All of this came in the same condition as before. I'm now under a time constraint with a contruction loan, Contruction insurance etc. I contacted the regional manager at Kraftmaid to tell them just to pick up the cabinets and I would go elsewhere. He told me they had quality control all over this and they developed a new packaging method and the next shipment would be perfect, and plus it would take longer to reorder from somewhere else. I went with it and the next order was the same. Now I'm down to the wire. I've already extended the loan 3months and they will call the loan due. I contacted Kraktmaid and they gave me a date. I told them I could wait till then but not 1 day longer as other items needed to be done after the
cabinets were installed. The cabinets never came until a week after that date.This is now July. At that point I was so busy getting the rest of the house completed, I told them I would contact them after I was done with the house. Now Home Depot wants no part of this and Kraftmaid is offering $2000 to settle. The way I'm seeing it, I just paid $30,000 for used looking cabinets with $15,000 worth of granite sitting on top. What is
the right thing for Home Depot and Kraftmaid to do? What type of legal options do I have as this is too large for small claims, right. Would be
happy to go into more detail with someone who is willing.
Thanks for your time, Randy

**A: I follow your plight all the way up to July. What were the events (briefly) from that point until now?

 

[RandyH]

Just before the last shipment in July, Kraftmaid wanted to pick up the excess cabinets. I told them I woulld rather hold onto them until this was resolved. In July I told Home Depot and Kraftmaid that I would not have the time to discuss the issue of bad cabinets and the cost of being delayed until I was done with my home. I then contacted Home Depot a couple weeks ago to see what was going to be done. They in turn contacted Kraftmaid which said they were done with this and I could just keep the extra cabinets that were sent to replace the damaged ones (these are also damaged). I told them I had no use for the cabinets and would like a cash settlement so I can fix the problem (with different cabinets). They then said they would need to pick up the extra cabinets before any settlement was made. I said ok as long as it was in writing. I then told them I would settle for 25k. They came back with 2k. To fix this right I would need new cabinets and new granite counter tops. It will cost me about 45k to fix, so I thought I was actually being quite fair.

 

[HomeGuru]

Just before the last shipment in July, Kraftmaid wanted to pick up the excess cabinets. I told them I woulld rather hold onto them until this was resolved. In July I told Home Depot and Kraftmaid that I would not have the time to discuss the issue of bad cabinets and the cost of being delayed until I was done with my home. I then contacted Home Depot a couple weeks ago to see what was going to be done. They in turn contacted Kraftmaid which said they were done with this and I could just keep the extra cabinets that were sent to replace the damaged ones (these are also damaged). I told them I had no use for the cabinets and would like a cash settlement so I can fix the problem (with different cabinets). They then said they would need to pick up the extra cabinets before any settlement was made. I said ok as long as it was in writing. I then told them I would settle for 25k. They came back with 2k. To fix this right I would need new cabinets and new granite counter tops. It will cost me about 45k to fix, so I thought I was actually being quite fair.

**A: no you were not fair, as you did not deal in good faith but put them off until you were ready to continue communicating with them.

 

[RandyH]

I disagree with that HomeGuru. They knew I was building this house myself and they were the ones that caused this position. I was working with them in good faith for six months trying to get this resolved. I was at the point I had no time to deal with them until the house was done, and I let them know that at the time. So are you saying I should just eat it since they put me in this position?

 

[lwpat]

What HomeGuru is saying is that you did not follow proper procedure and as a result you brought about some of the problem yourself.

For example: What type of documentation do you have where they were causing this problem? Your post is full of told and tell but nowhere do I see that you put them on written notice about the cabinets not being acceptable. Phone calls and emails are not sufficient, you need written documentation, as in U. S. Postal Service CRRR.

They did not force you to proceed with the installation of the countertops and now to expect them to pick up that cost is unreasonable.

My suggestion would be to hire a professional home inspector/appraiser and have him issue an opinion on the loss in value of your home by using the damaged cabinets. There is also probably some language on the original order about their limits of liability so you need to check their documentation.

 

[JETX]

Bottom line... the minute that you put YOUR granite tops on the cabinets, you accepted them. I would suggest you accept their $2000 and purchase and install new 'skins' and doors.

 

[HomeGuru]

Yes, the writer did not take the pertinent steps to mitigate damages and make good faith efforts to resolve the problems.
Either the writer should hire an attorney or follow the advice from JETX.

 

[RandyH]

Huh, I thought I was doing everything possible to mitigate damages and act in good faith. I let them know early on that there were time constraints. I even told them to just pick up their cabinets and refund my money and I would go elsewhere. Kraftmaid at that point convinced me they had quality control all over this, replaced worked surfaces, new packaging measures in place and the next shipment would be perfect. Fact is, they came in worse than any of the prior shipments. I don't understand how I could do anything else. I had to get this done to convert the construction loan to permanent financing and I had already got the max 3 month extension because of this. I also had the insurance co. wanting to cancell my policy because of the delays. This would have been a disaster for me. Had I not finished, the loan would have been called due. What to do then? I'm sure Karftmaid would not have covered the loan until they could get there issues resolved. I ordered the cabinets last Nov. and they could not get me good cabinets by July? I have a garage full of damaged cabinets that should show that I tried to mitigate damages.

 

[HomeGuru]

Huh, I thought I was doing everything possible to mitigate damages and act in good faith. I let them know early on that there were time constraints. I even told them to just pick up their cabinets and refund my money and I would go elsewhere. Kraftmaid at that point convinced me they had quality control all over this, replaced worked surfaces, new packaging measures in place and the next shipment would be perfect. Fact is, they came in worse than any of the prior shipments. I don't understand how I could do anything else. I had to get this done to convert the construction loan to permanent financing and I had already got the max 3 month extension because of this. I also had the insurance co. wanting to cancell my policy because of the delays. This would have been a disaster for me. Had I not finished, the loan would have been called due. What to do then? I'm sure Karftmaid would not have covered the loan until they could get there issues resolved. I ordered the cabinets last Nov. and they could not get me good cabinets by July? I have a garage full of damaged cabinets that should show that I tried to mitigate damages.

**A: and at what point in your construction schedule did you think to consult with an attorney?

 

[JETX]

Or to contact another cabinet firm and determine what their delivery schedule would be.... and use THAT as your last date to resolve the outstanding issues with Kraftmaid. Simply, if they didn't have it resolved by that date, place an order with the alternate supplier and pursue your issue with Kraftmaid knowing you had resolved this time-constraint problem.

 

[RandyH]

I did give Kraftmaid a date that the cabinets had to be installed by. I also contacted another reputable cabinet maker and they gave me a 2 week turnaround. That's the point I went to Kraftmaid, told them to pick up their cabinets, refund my money and I'd go elsewhere. I did tell them of this 2 week turnaround for the other supplier as well. They are the ones that said they could meet this time frame, and as I stated before, those came in worse shape than any other shipment. I gave them an out earlier on and they said they could fix it in my time frame. They didn't. SInce I'm not a lawyer, I really didn't think that would be necessary at the time. Kraftmaid seemed to bend over backwards trying to get this resolved, they just never could get a quality product to me. I understand everything you're telling me I should have done, but I'm past that point and don't feel that I should eat this cost myself. The $2000 that they offered won't even cover the 4 leaded glass doors that are still broken. They cost $550 ea. So I guess what I'm trying to say is, what do I do now? I know from reading other posts that hiring an Attorney for $25k may not be worth it. Should I contact the BBB or the consumer protection agency? I do appreciate all the responses and input on this. Thanks!

 

[HomeGuru]

Yes, file compliants with those agencies. And hire an attorney. No one said that the legal fees would be $25K.