BOXBOROUGH, Mass. — Karen Andrews said she paid Lowe’s around $16,000 dollars last winter to install cabinets and bookshelves throughout her new house. Seven months later, she’s furious with the results.
“I don’t think I’ll ever shop in Lowe’s again,” Andrews said. “For the money I paid, I get very upset. I paid a lot of money and I didn’t get what I paid for.”
Andrews pointed to bookshelves she said were installed upside down, deep scratches and holes left in the walls, cabinets either not finished or open the wrong way, and a glass cabinet built around a sprinkler head.
“I was concerned that the sprinkler is in the cabinet, that it’s a code issue,” Andrews said.
Andrews provided Boston 25 with emails showing her back and forth with a Lowe’s employee at the Hudson location. She said she’s called and emailed the company dozens of times but the problems have not been fixed.
“They need to be accountable and I don’t feel they are,” Andrews said.
The Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office has received more than 340 complaints about Lowe’s since 2016, with more than 50 complaints related to specifically home improvement projects, an office spokesperson said. Boston 25 sister station, WFTV in Orlando, reported on similar problems last month, uncovering more than 200 complaints filed against Florida Lowe’s stores since 2019.
One of those disgruntled customers is Carmen Antley.
“Here we are six months later, our kitchen is still a wreck,” Antley told WFTV earlier this spring.
Antley said the work done by two independent subcontractors hired by Lowe’s caused nearly $40,000 in damage, from scratches on their wood floors to dings and scraps on their existing appliances. The Antleys pointed out a series of mistakes, including a vent covered by cabinets, a microwave that’s a fire hazard because it’s too close to the stove, and a farmhouse sink not properly installed that’s causing the kitchen island to crack.
“I want them to take it seriously that they put somebody in our home that has caused an enormous amount of damage,” Antley said.
A Lowe’s spokesperson told Boston 25 the company is working with Andrews to correct the problems.
“The satisfaction of our customers is our top priority. We apologize for the delay caused to Ms. Andrews. Our team is scheduled to meet with her…to discuss next steps to resolve the issues and ensure she is satisfied,” the spokesperson said in an email.
“We apologize for the communications challenges Ms. Andrews encountered. We are committed to consistent communication with customers through our Installation Support centralized contact center,” the spokesperson said.
The Mass. Attorney General’s Office recommends making sure your contractor is registered with the Mass. Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. That will allow you to check any complaint history. Also, make sure you obtain a written contract or price estimate that details the job that will be done, and your contractor should get any building permits required by your city or town. If you pull the permits yourself, you hurt your ability to recover if something goes wrong.
Andrews said she wishes she had gone with a different company.
“I would use a different contractor that has a good reputation. I would not use Lowe’s,” she said. “I probably would have been better dealing with my own contractor and doing it myself.”
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