Nightmare Refrigerator Order (Home Depot)

[Texas Proud]

Did you pay for the order with a CC (credit card)? If so, under Federal Law you have dispute rights (ie billing error).

I would discuss it with the local HD management first, but convey that you know that this is an option. They likely would rather make you happy somehow as opposed to having the banks reverse the charge plus the processing fees and time.

Another tactic could be to inspect the demo unit in the store that you based your purchase on. If it is not damaged, tell them that you will take that one. Let HD worry about receiving another functional store model.

I think the store management has a good deal of flexibility here. From the stories I have heard you should be receiving next day deliveries of the replacement fridges. I have heard they hold back some delivery slots each day as a tool to help satisfy good customers that are having trouble with the purchase.

I would never take a floor model without a pretty big discount... at least 30%....

 

[Texas Proud]

I bought a water heater from them this past year and they handled it very poorly. My order was also non-cancelable and needed a third party to install, and the dates all changed after the order was placed. After a week of unsuccessful efforts to re-change the dates, I called and canceled the order. At first they said I couldn’t, and they had already charged my card, but I insisted, and told them I would refuse delivery and dispute the charge.

The reason the order is non-cancellable, it is fulfilled by a third party, so they hand it over to someone else once it’s been placed. I’d say that two attempts to deliver a damaged product is enough, you should call the HD internet orders number, raise a stink, cancel, and then buy from someone else.

+1 on this.... you are not cancelling because you decided not to take the order, but because they cannot deliver you a non-dented product in a timely manner... IOW, they breached the contract not you...

 

[Breedlove]

NOW , we just went through the exact experience …..NO Joke . We sold our house in Houston with the refrigerator . So we move to our country home and we get a storm . I think the storm ruined our Fridge , but we had HD warranty so they give 100% refund . We go to HD for the memorial day sale , by the way we threw out some food and bought some dry ice . We thought this would be a short time.
Now the Fridge DW wants cannot be delivered to our Zip Code for 9 days!
SO we are easy we go to CL and buy a mini freezer 40.00 brand new a couple were moving .
BUT we get the Fridge it is dented on the side , the installers call HD for me . They offer to knock 100.00 off . I declined and they let us keep the Fridge as a loaner .
A week later we got another one ...No problem in excellent shape ,,,,,so far !

 

[Breedlove]

Not to beat a bad Horse if your Fridge was ordered and delivered in the last 4 weeks it might have been because of the Sale. The delivery guys ( an independent company) told us the Memorial Day sale this year was much better then HD had planned and the manufacturers were all messed up so they were shoving anything out the door. Not acceptable but it happens . Our delivery guys deliver by Zip code and they said they had been delivering till 8:00 PM 5 days a week

 

[Souschef]

We ordered as black Maytag refrigerator from HD. The truck pulls up, they unload the fridge, and can see the top of it from my porch. I ask if that is mine, and was told that it was. The only problem was that it was white!. I told them to look at the delivery address, and it was for someone 10 miles away!

Apparently when they loaded the truck, they got the sequence wrong!
I also ordered a built in dishwasher from HD, and it was a wired in model. The installer told me he could not install it, because it needed an electrician. I told him that I was an electrician, proceeded to unhook the old wires, and hooked up the new dishwasher. They were both GE, so the wires went to the identical place.

 

[ocean view]

There is a large appliance store in the Chicago NW suburbs that has an excellent reputation. We went there, and it was night and day. Got what we wanted, delivery was smooth, one problem that came up, but they rectified that with no drama whatsoever. They also do online sales now, but I have no idea if the online experience is the same as their local. Because of that, I don't want to unequivocally recommend them, but if you are interested, they are based in Glenview IL, and the store name is 3 letters.

-ERD50

Are you talking about ABT Appliance?

They were recommended by Consumer Reports for excellent customer service so I ordered an over the range microwave from them. They had the best price, free shipping and no sales tax for CA. During our installation attempt, the mounting hardware came off and fell into the cavity of the microwave, never to be retrieved and making installation impossible. I called customer service, explained the problem and they said “no problem, we’ll send you a new unit, when it arrives repack the original in the new box (the original box had already been discarded) and take it UPS for shipping with a prepaid label”. The second microwave installed easily with no problems.

 

[Katsmeow]

I don't care what the form says, cancel the order. H/D wants happy customers. Today, appliances are often not stocked by H/D (or Lowes)/and they come out of manufacturers' warehouses. Too many people end up handling them, and there are too many chances of damage.

I think you may be right. My ire at Home Depot may be misplaced. At one point, the delivery guy said he was calling LG. So I wonder if this is from an LG warehouse and the incompetent forklift operators are from LG. If so, then cancelling and rebuying at Costco doesn't really do me any good.

I could get something other than LG. I had considered either an LG or Samsung but LG had better online reviews than Samsung. The LG had a few features that I liked that Samsung didn't have.

Right. For HD, most are delivered by a third party contractor. Around here it is JB Hunt Final Mile who usually do a pretty good job. Your mileage obviously varies.

The delivery guys were fine. The problem was obviously in the warehouse (or before for the cut electrical cord).

I would discuss it with the local HD management first, but convey that you know that this is an option. They likely would rather make you happy somehow as opposed to having the banks reverse the charge plus the processing fees and time.

Another tactic could be to inspect the demo unit in the store that you based your purchase on. If it is not damaged, tell them that you will take that one. Let HD worry about receiving another functional store model.

I think the store management has a good deal of flexibility here.

I bought this online. I had seen the model itself at Costco and was going to order it from Costco. But, they couldn't commit to a specific delivery time and we wanted it here the day we moved in. HD could commit.

You need to make a big loud stink. In person probably best - call and let them know you need a manager to meet with you, and show up with photos ready for battle. I would not care what the policy says, they've had 2 chances to get this right and have failed to meet their side of the deal. HD broke the contract.

I agree it was a bad idea for the first guys to leave the "loaner" with you, sorry they convinced you to do that.

There is no store manager since I never set foot in an HD store.

They did not leave the loaner with me. It was suggested that they do so when they thought it was only dented. But, about then, he saw that the electrical cord had been cut off. When the second one arrived the delivery guy told me flat out I shouldn't accept it and I didn't.

Had a similar but not quite so bad experience with Lowes. And the same issue about cancelling.

Went over to the local Lowes and found the store manager. After I told him of the saga he said "what do you want me to do?" I said I want to cancel the order and he said no problem and also gave me a $25 gift card because of all the time, etc involved.

I wish I could do that...but I ordered online. The local store won't care...

I also found out that if you order online from them that the local store is not involved and can't help you out with any issues that you might have with the order or delivery. I'm sure if you raised enough heck they would step up but why can't they be involved from the beginning?

And, that is the issue for me. I ordered entirely online. We just moved to this area so didn't have a relationship built up with any particular store. I saw the refrigerator I wanted at Costco but bought from HD when Costco couldn't commit to delivering when I needed it. HD ironically had the best delivery date.

Not to beat a bad Horse if your Fridge was ordered and delivered in the last 4 weeks it might have been because of the Sale. The delivery guys ( an independent company) told us the Memorial Day sale this year was much better then HD had planned and the manufacturers were all messed up so they were shoving anything out the door. Not acceptable but it happens . Our delivery guys deliver by Zip code and they said they had been delivering till 8:00 PM 5 days a week

I ordered it on May 28. But, they did say they have been doing a lot of deliveries. Part of it they said is that lots of people are moving right now. This is a very hot area with lots of moves. We didn't have Internet until 5 days after we moved in because even though we called over 2 weeks in advance it took that long to get an install date. I've never had that happen before...

 

[JoeWras]

Are you talking about ABT Appliance?

They were recommended by Consumer Reports for excellent customer service so I ordered an over the range microwave from them. They had the best price, free shipping and no sales tax for CA. During our installation attempt, the mounting hardware came off and fell into the cavity of the microwave, never to be retrieved and making installation impossible. I called customer service, explained the problem and they said “no problem, we’ll send you a new unit, when it arrives repack the original in the new box (the original box had already been discarded) and take it UPS for shipping with a prepaid label”. The second microwave installed easily with no problems.

Nice. My sister is an Abt groupie. And it is pronounced, not a series of letters.

Since my sister is a groupie, we just go there sometimes to browse. I rather enjoyed trying out the $25,000 Swedish mattress. That was interesting! I'm not sure if they still sell that thing.

 

[Moemg]

Both the LG and Samsung refrigerators have great reviews but I know of several people who's LG or Samsung fridge died at three years .I have lost all faith in consumer reports .

 

[W2R]

I have lost all faith in consumer reports .

What do you prefer to consumer reports? I know you are a smart shopper.

 

[travelover]

Both the LG and Samsung refrigerators have great reviews but I know of several people who's LG or Samsung fridge died at three years .I have lost all faith in consumer reports .

This is kind of a statistics vs anecdotes argument isn't it? Consumer Reports polls hundreds of thousands of people on their experiences over years of ownership.

 

[audreyh1]

I think you may be right. My ire at Home Depot may be misplaced. At one point, the delivery guy said he was calling LG. So I wonder if this is from an LG warehouse and the incompetent forklift operators are from LG. If so, then cancelling and rebuying at Costco doesn't really do me any good.

I could get something other than LG. I had considered either an LG or Samsung but LG had better online reviews than Samsung. The LG had a few features that I liked that Samsung didn't have.



The delivery guys were fine. The problem was obviously in the warehouse (or before for the cut electrical cord).



I bought this online. I had seen the model itself at Costco and was going to order it from Costco. But, they couldn't commit to a specific delivery time and we wanted it here the day we moved in. HD could commit.



There is no store manager since I never set foot in an HD store.

They did not leave the loaner with me. It was suggested that they do so when they thought it was only dented. But, about then, he saw that the electrical cord had been cut off. When the second one arrived the delivery guy told me flat out I shouldn't accept it and I didn't.




I wish I could do that...but I ordered online. The local store won't care...




And, that is the issue for me. I ordered entirely online. We just moved to this area so didn't have a relationship built up with any particular store. I saw the refrigerator I wanted at Costco but bought from HD when Costco couldn't commit to delivering when I needed it. HD ironically had the best delivery date.



I ordered it on May 28. But, they did say they have been doing a lot of deliveries. Part of it they said is that lots of people are moving right now. This is a very hot area with lots of moves. We didn't have Internet until 5 days after we moved in because even though we called over 2 weeks in advance it took that long to get an install date. I've never had that happen before...

We’ve been very happy with our LG side-by-side refrigerator that we had since 2010. Hope I don’t jinx it now.

We went to Best Buy and bought it. They had a good price. Good delivery, perfect condition and the delivery guys even helped us remove the front door so we could get it into the house without removing the handles.

I usually avoid Home Depot unless for something very basic, preferring Lowes.

 

[redduck]

... I need to find some wood. Gotta touch it and knock.

Apparently, you can find all the wood you want to touch (and knock?) on the Viagra thread.

 

[Texas Proud]

Both the LG and Samsung refrigerators have great reviews but I know of several people who's LG or Samsung fridge died at three years .I have lost all faith in consumer reports .

Why? It has been years since I looked at them for appliances, but even back then the failure rate on their top pick models were pretty bad IMO... they are just telling you which are the best statistically....


You happened to get a bad model...


And also asked by W2R, what are you going to use to determine which brand is better?


OH, BTW, they also are specific on the models as various models in brands can have a huge difference in quality....

 

[ERD50]

Are you talking about ABT Appliance?

They were recommended by Consumer Reports for excellent customer service so I ordered an over the range microwave from them. They had the best price, free shipping and no sales tax for CA. During our installation attempt, the mounting hardware came off and fell into the cavity of the microwave, never to be retrieved and making installation impossible. I called customer service, explained the problem and they said “no problem, we’ll send you a new unit, when it arrives repack the original in the new box (the original box had already been discarded) and take it UPS for shipping with a prepaid label”. The second microwave installed easily with no problems.

Yes, good to hear the on-line experience is good too.

-ERD50

 

[travelover]

Just received a washer and dryer from HD for a rental. No problems.

Killjoy

 

[Walt34]

Now the Fridge DW wants cannot be delivered to our Zip Code for 9 days!

We had a similar experience with Lowes years ago, buying a natural gas clothes dryer. Sales guy starts to key in the order and I ask about when delivery takes place. He says 10 days. I ask "why so long?" The warehouse is in Baltimore, MD, about an hour drive away. I stop the purchase right there and we go to the local Mom 'n Pop retailer downtown, been there since about WWI.

They have it, and at a lower price. It's in their warehouse, two blocks away and "do you want it delivered tomorrow?" Bought it on the spot. Score one for the local guy.

 

[RobbieB]

I always buy from the local guy. Same guy has been there for 30 years, we know each other.

Usually I go and need it fast because the one I had croaked. This time was the first time I ordered up exactly what I wanted. Took 2 weeks for the range and 3 for the fridge.

But I still have a fridge working in the living room -

 

[Katsmeow]

A local store might be a good choice. But, remember, we are in a new area so have no clue what are good versus bad local stores. FWIW, I've generally had OK experiences with Home Depot so wasn't expecting to get two severely damaged refrigerators.

I had thought to cancel the order. But, since some say that the appliances come from the manufacturer's warehouse then it sounds like it really isn't Home Depot's people damaging the refrigerator. That is, if I cancelled at Home Depot and bought from Costco (where I would probably buy it since it is a little less money there) wouldn't it come out of the same warehouse so I would be subject to the same issue?

 

[Texas Proud]

A local store might be a good choice. But, remember, we are in a new area so have no clue what are good versus bad local stores. FWIW, I've generally had OK experiences with Home Depot so wasn't expecting to get two severely damaged refrigerators.

I had thought to cancel the order. But, since some say that the appliances come from the manufacturer's warehouse then it sounds like it really isn't Home Depot's people damaging the refrigerator. That is, if I cancelled at Home Depot and bought from Costco (where I would probably buy it since it is a little less money there) wouldn't it come out of the same warehouse so I would be subject to the same issue?

Simple thing is to just ask where it is being delivered from.....

 

[Katsmeow]

After talking to DH about it, we decided not to cancel the order at this time. We felt that if we still wanted the same LG refrigerator we had on order (we did) that even if we bought it elsewhere it would still come from LG warehouses and be subject to damage.

I had not heard when it would be rescheduled though so I called Home Depot at the number given for order questions. Basically, they pretty much just punted it all to LG. They started out saying I needed to call "the vendor" about scheduling. I pointed out that Home Depot is my vendor. Turns out they meant manufacturer. Basically, their position was that the order was completed as far as Home Depot was considered and it was up to LG to get me an undamaged refrigerator. So, they transferred me to LG. Now -- if I had wanted to cancel the order I wouldn't have settled for that but since I do want the order I talked to LG.

The conversation was very illuminating and actually helpful. I found that the delivery had been rescheduled on Saturday and is to arrive on Wednesday. The important thing is that since this is the third attempt LG has sent it as White Glove. Basically with a White Glove delivery photos are taken of the box at every step of the delivery. The refrigerator will typically go through multiple warehouses until it gets to the one here. With White Glove photos are taken at each stage. She said that, as a result, it is rare to have damaged merchandise when something is sent White Glove. This is because normally if it turns up damaged they look at the photos of the box and can pinpoint where the damage occurred. She said that sometimes there can still be damage but it is rare. (I would assume that they always have some units that are White Glove and they just picked an already White Glove unit to deliver to me).

She was quite sympathetic to what I had gone through on this and said the level of damage I had seen was extreme. She asked me to call her specifically within 48 hours of delivery so that we can set an "inconvenience allowance" that will be paid to me given that it took 3 deliveries (hopefully only 3) to get the refrigerator to me. Of course, I will have to see if that allowance is anything beyond a minimal amount.

It was overall a good conversation. I was glad that they had already rescheduled the delivery and had proactively made it White Glove to try to lessen the possibility of me getting another damaged unit. Of course, there is no guarantee and so far the track record isn't good....

But, we'll see.

 

[Texas Proud]

I will give you a story about buying a conference room table for my work... they said that we were to mention damage when it arrived.... but the box looked good and we said we were good to go...


Then we started to assemble it... and found that the top of the table had a huge split in it... so no damage on the box but the top was split... they had to come back to pick up...



The second one arrived and we opened the box and saw that a corner of the top had been crushed...



Third one arrived and... yep, a damaged corner... called to complain and they said if we took that one they would give us a 50% discount... we took the discount as it was not horrible like the first one....



I doubt they will give you 50%, but I would expect a 10% or more discount... remember, a scratch and dent sale is between 25% to 50% off retail...

 

[audreyh1]

OK - just seems a bit weird. They have to move to this White Glove process. Well, if they’d done it that way in the first place, they’d have saved themselves some dented and damaged appliances? This stuff has got to cost big time!

There is some shipper insurance covering this stuff I suppose.

 

[brucethebroker]

Dig in your heels. I would, however, complain about not seeing a new fridge within 48 hours (24, even better). Hell, tell them to bring two next time.

Haha! Great idea-two next time....thanks Jerry, laugh of the day!

 

[brucethebroker]

Third one arrived and... yep, a damaged corner... called to complain and they said if we took that one they would give us a 50% discount... we took the discount as it was not horrible like the first one....

I doubt they will give you 50%, but I would expect a 10% or more discount... remember, a scratch and dent sale is between 25% to 50% off retail...

We had a major kitchen overall a few years ago. Lowes installers screwed up the cabinet measurements and I needed to re-do part of new wall to accommodate (not a huge job, but a pain...)

HD sent 3 different corian counter tops because of incompetence (polished the wrong side, dropped one and it broke-took 6 weeks...).

After complaining to the store managers, Lowes refunded about 30% of our cabinet order, and HD refunded 35% of our counter tops. Both times in the form of gift cards, but we had no problem using those up.

We have remodeled many properties and problems with delivery, installation, etc. seem to bite about 1/3 of the time. One of the reasons we do business with Lowes and HD is that they have deep pockets and want you to be happy. But you have to complain and complain. (I once talked the store manager and install mgr. into driving 40 min. to see how bad the cabinet job was mangled at our house...they agreed and had no problem with the refund).
Be a squeeky wheel....