What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY
Kitchen Cabinets not as promised
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY
In the middle of April, we had a contractor come over to reface our cabinets and put on new doors. We picked out doors that we liked, and he was to reface the original cabinets matching the same color. We signed a contract for refacing and new doors. He removed ALL of our drawers to take to the cabinet company to get the facing for them. He came back with all of our drawers, and stated that he could get "exactly the same cabinets for us, only brand new" for only $500 more. He told us that he "made an exuctive decision, and ordered the new cabinets for us". He also told us that we would NOT have to have the countertop re-measured, as the cabinets were going to be "exactly the same"! He put a line through the original contract, and put "remove and replace cabinets". I saved the drawers, as I informed him that I loved the original cabinets, and wanted to make sure that the sliding drawer would be the same in one of the cabinets underneath the counter; so that I could slide it in and out to get my pots, pans and bowls easily. I also wanted the metal lining that we had for one of our drawers. He removed our existing cabinets and started to put in the new cabinets. They were NOT exactly the same:
Every single drawers is smaller, in debth and width.
Every single cabinet is narrower and shorter.
He put a corner cabinet on the floor where we did not have a corner cabinet. ie. the size and configeration is different.
The countertop that we previously ordered will NOT fit on this new configuration with the corner cabinet.
My plates don't fit in the cabinet. The door won't close!!!
When I told him that they are not the same (after the cabinets got here, and he started to put them in), he informed me that he has already gotten the cabinets and if we wanted what we originally had, we would have HAD to had the cabinets custom made. This was NEVER mentioned until AFTER he started the install. Otherwise, I would have stuck with the original plan and just had my sturdy, large original cabinets refaced. The ONLY reason why we went with the new cabinets is because he told us that they would be EXACTLY the same, except for new updated doors and color (ie. like refacing and new doors). The counter size/configuration and the cabinets size/configuration are different. They are located in the same place as the original, but none of them are the same size and configuration, nor will the countertop (we ordered from elsewhere) fit on the new configuration. He says he can not give us the same corner cabinet that we had, as they don't make them, except for custom cabinet makers.
What recourse to we have? We have paid him 70% of the job, and we do not have a kitchen, other than the few cabinets that he put in before we stopped the job. Can we sue him to get our money back, as he was fraudulent? We had every reason to believe that he was giving us exactly what we had, as he took every single drawer with him to the cabinet company; and then told us he would give us exactly what we had. We had every reason to believe that he had all those drawers measured; and he had also measure the space where the cabinets were in place at our home. This led us to believe that we would indeed have exactly what we asked for. In retrospect, I think that he could not get the facing for the drawers from his cabinet company, because our originals were bigger. And, it is easier for him to remove and replace cabinets, rather than refacing cabinets (ie. less money he has to pay for labor). We now are going to have to pay another cabinet maker large sums of money to make custom cabinets that were exactly like our other ones. The new cabinets are so much smaller that we can not even fit the things in them that we have taken out.
The job was supposed to be finished April 28th as per the contract. He did not even start the install until May 14th, and then we stopped the job. So we have been without a kitchen for 2 months.
In addition, his employee screwed a screw through the water line and broke the water line behind the refrigerator; which got the subfloor wet, where the old cabinets had been removed. When I informed him of this, he told me to put a dehumidifier there. When I was not happy with the dryness of the floor, and asked him to replace it, he only replaced a small section; and put the cabinets on top of a moist subfloor. He told me that "it won't matter, as it is not that wet". Then he tore up a portion of our laminate floor to check to see if it was wet, thus destroying our floor that we had not intention of replacing. We now have to replace it too.
Please let us know where we should go from here, and what we can do to make this right. Thank you!!
Kitchen Cabinets not as promised
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NY
In the middle of April, we had a contractor come over to reface our cabinets and put on new doors. We picked out doors that we liked, and he was to reface the original cabinets matching the same color. We signed a contract for refacing and new doors. He removed ALL of our drawers to take to the cabinet company to get the facing for them. He came back with all of our drawers, and stated that he could get "exactly the same cabinets for us, only brand new" for only $500 more. He told us that he "made an exuctive decision, and ordered the new cabinets for us". He also told us that we would NOT have to have the countertop re-measured, as the cabinets were going to be "exactly the same"! He put a line through the original contract, and put "remove and replace cabinets". I saved the drawers, as I informed him that I loved the original cabinets, and wanted to make sure that the sliding drawer would be the same in one of the cabinets underneath the counter; so that I could slide it in and out to get my pots, pans and bowls easily. I also wanted the metal lining that we had for one of our drawers. He removed our existing cabinets and started to put in the new cabinets. They were NOT exactly the same:
Every single drawers is smaller, in debth and width.
Every single cabinet is narrower and shorter.
He put a corner cabinet on the floor where we did not have a corner cabinet. ie. the size and configeration is different.
The countertop that we previously ordered will NOT fit on this new configuration with the corner cabinet.
My plates don't fit in the cabinet. The door won't close!!!
When I told him that they are not the same (after the cabinets got here, and he started to put them in), he informed me that he has already gotten the cabinets and if we wanted what we originally had, we would have HAD to had the cabinets custom made. This was NEVER mentioned until AFTER he started the install. Otherwise, I would have stuck with the original plan and just had my sturdy, large original cabinets refaced. The ONLY reason why we went with the new cabinets is because he told us that they would be EXACTLY the same, except for new updated doors and color (ie. like refacing and new doors). The counter size/configuration and the cabinets size/configuration are different. They are located in the same place as the original, but none of them are the same size and configuration, nor will the countertop (we ordered from elsewhere) fit on the new configuration. He says he can not give us the same corner cabinet that we had, as they don't make them, except for custom cabinet makers.
What recourse to we have? We have paid him 70% of the job, and we do not have a kitchen, other than the few cabinets that he put in before we stopped the job. Can we sue him to get our money back, as he was fraudulent? We had every reason to believe that he was giving us exactly what we had, as he took every single drawer with him to the cabinet company; and then told us he would give us exactly what we had. We had every reason to believe that he had all those drawers measured; and he had also measure the space where the cabinets were in place at our home. This led us to believe that we would indeed have exactly what we asked for. In retrospect, I think that he could not get the facing for the drawers from his cabinet company, because our originals were bigger. And, it is easier for him to remove and replace cabinets, rather than refacing cabinets (ie. less money he has to pay for labor). We now are going to have to pay another cabinet maker large sums of money to make custom cabinets that were exactly like our other ones. The new cabinets are so much smaller that we can not even fit the things in them that we have taken out.
The job was supposed to be finished April 28th as per the contract. He did not even start the install until May 14th, and then we stopped the job. So we have been without a kitchen for 2 months.
In addition, his employee screwed a screw through the water line and broke the water line behind the refrigerator; which got the subfloor wet, where the old cabinets had been removed. When I informed him of this, he told me to put a dehumidifier there. When I was not happy with the dryness of the floor, and asked him to replace it, he only replaced a small section; and put the cabinets on top of a moist subfloor. He told me that "it won't matter, as it is not that wet". Then he tore up a portion of our laminate floor to check to see if it was wet, thus destroying our floor that we had not intention of replacing. We now have to replace it too.
Please let us know where we should go from here, and what we can do to make this right. Thank you!!
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