Another Frustration

I told you in my original post that I would be sharing frustrations as we went along, to detail specific situations and how they were resolved - or not resolved.

I am in the midst of a heated negotiation between the cabinetmaker and retailer - Wood-Mode (WM) and American Classic Kitchens (ACK), respectively, and myself. I have fully-paid for cabinets that were damaged, are under warranty and the cabinetmaker is playing arbitrator and siding with the retailer, AKC and refusing to replace cabinets until I pay them for contractor work that has noting to do with the cabinets, which I have paid for in full. Now I have a fight on my hand and a lot of it has to do with principal.  Read on if you are interested in the full details.

When I was researching kitchen cabinets for style and design, I went to the American Design Center (ADC) in midtown. It has nine floors of retailers selling kitchens, bathrooms, furniture - and just about anything you would need for renovating a home.

While at ADC I happened upon AKC and fell in love with the cabinets on display, exactly as they were. 

(the kitchen, prior to backsplash installation)


I worked with AKC on the specific design for my kitchen, ordered and paid for the cabinets. When they arrived there were several damaged pieces that required replacement, a couple of the pieces would have delayed the installation for up to eight weeks, which I could not afford since the apartment I was living in was now sold and I was due to move into the new apartment in two weeks. We agreed to put the two damaged cabinets required for the installation in, since you could not see the damage, and AKC agreed to some sort of compensation for the cabinets, minimally the delivery charge of $675 was discussed.

As not to bore you with the specific details, AKC had made several poor measurements, which required replacements, and I received one drawer front three times (two were damaged and one was the incorrect style), and I am now waiting for the fourth try. Due to all the problems with the kitchen measurements and damaged materials the AKC contractor, who they billed for separately, had to come back several addition times to fix the issues. This also meant that I had to take time off work to wait for them. As if that was not bad enough they did not show up for four scheduled appointments, meaning I wasted my time. As a result, I am refusing to pay the bill for the contractors until we negotiate for my vacation time lost, inconveniences for not having a kitchen, and damaged cabinet fronts. In addition they are now saying they never agreed to compensation for the damaged and installed base cabinets.

This issue remains open and I have contacted the COO of Wood-Mode and await his advice. At this point I only want Wood-Mode to stand by their warranty and replace the damaged goods. So far they are saying they will not until I pay AKC, which has nothing to do with the cabinets, which I paid for in full. They are actually taking sides.

Stay tuned, more of this one to come.