Your post is a little confusing - did the manufacturer agree to repair it under warranty and then change their story after talking to the sales people? Who installed the cabinets - were they connected with the sales people who sold you the cabinets? Is the $775 estimate from a 3rd party repair place? It sounds like short of legal action, it's going to cost you over $700 one way or the other to get things resolved.

Yes.. they changed their mind after they spoke to the sales people... And the salespeople and installers are the same people
Sorry for the confusion

Did you get the warranty assurance in writing from the manufacturer when you originally called them? I doubt you want these installers/sales people doing any further work. Unless you can get manufacturer to step up, I think your best option is to hire that 3rd party repair place

I dont expect the installers/salespeople to return. Nor would I want them too... I do want the manufacturer to take some responsibility for some of these problems

I totally understand how upset you are, and don't have any good advice for how to handle these people other than try to keep your cool, don't yell or cry, and present your side carefully to the company. That the installers haven't come after you for your DW money seems like a tacit agreement to me. The close up the drawer idea is absurd. Then they'd owe you a drawer, anyway.

What I can tell you for sure is get it fixed. Unless you're totally tapped out, if you have to spend some money to get it fixed do it. You can take the companies to small claims to recover it if need be. Don't get bogged down in the rights and wrongs of it all if you can't get them to cough up the warranty work. Get the work done. Make it all better. You should have joy of your kitchen, and if it's fixable, get it all fixed.

Tell them (nicely but firm ) that if they don't fix this defect that you'll be suing them and your attorney will be costing you nothing out of pocket while theirs will be costing at min. $200 and hour. Ask them if they think that hassle will take longer than 3 hours - their break even point.

Also remind them that their ERROR is still an ERROR even if they came up with a solution. Kindly point out that their solution was UNACCEPTABLE and that you'll gladly pay them the remaining 500 bucks when they deliver an acceptable solution - not just one that doesn't cost them money!.

When that's not help, go back to Mouser and point out that they are responsible for their warranty - not their dealer. Appreciate the fact they are trying to help out their trade partner - but the warranty is a CONTRACT between YOU and Mouser. Unless their contract has specific language voiding it for non payment of fees owed to DEALERS, they really don't have a leg to stand on. Point out the economics of pursuing this in the courts for them too, and ask their counsel to give a risk mgmt. analysis on their current stance. Remind them that you'll file in small claims court in your district and even if their lawyer is part of the management team, his/her travel costs alone will exceed their part costs for fixing this. Now, if their counsel is not a member of mgmt. , their executive will have to be briefed by counsel and appear in small claims court himself and then he'll get to add lost productivity to the travel costs as well.

Trust me guys - it's cheaper for them to just make a new part for you and tell their dealer "sorry, we tried , but we're getting sued over this - you're on your own!" You have to be polite but firm AND be willing to follow up on your threats - otherwise seasoned people will smell your bluff a mile away.

Good luck.

Those cabs look bad, and the customer service is bad too. The drawer issue of just closing it up is ridiculous. And that sink insyall is horrendous. You did not "imagine" this problem. I would be frustrated too if I was told I had a warranty and then they changed their minds.

Keep your cool and keep working for a solution. Let us know what happens.

All these problems are more installer issues then manufacturer. The only one that is obviously not the installer but the manufacturer is the crack in the wood... the rest was how they installed it and that is not part of hte manufacturers warranty...
antss.. we did exactly that with the dealer and told them closing up the drawer was an unacceptable solution and of course told them we would glady pay them the 500 when they find an acceptable solution.. this fine reputable company that just opened a second location out of state in the Carolinas claims that closing up the drawer was an acceptable solution... SOOOO Frustrating!!! I just get nutty when I think of it..

I will see what happens when I talk to the manufacturer tomorrow... I just got an email from their rep last night that made me so upset. and then they told him is was $750.. not $500.. probably interest! HA!

plllog.. I am going to get another quote on fixing the unsightly things.. just angry because these cabinets are my largest item purchase inside the home and I took my time picking a company and they really tortured me in many ways such as .. at about 2 weeks before delivery I was called by my salesman/owner/installer that Mouser Custom Cabinets does not make 3 inch beadboard end panels so I would have to settle for 1.5 inch beadboard end panels.. even thought I had told them from day 1 , I only want the wide beadboard, the thin one is too busy looking for my taste and they said no problem... I told them they need to find a way to make it happen even if they make it in their own factory. The next day he told me he convinced Mouser to make is "special" for me .. in the end I found out Mouser DOES make 3 inch beadboard and that was a lie to try to get a larger profit. They also lied and told me the marble guy I used did a horrible job in the home of their client that that referred me to them....A very large client of theirs that referred me to them told me her marble guy was great and gave better pricing then any of their referred people...he did 8 stone bathrooms and her huge kitchen in her probably 3 million dollar mansion... she said they are torturing me about using her marble guy because they lost a nice kickback ( about $2000) from me not using their marble people.
company etc.. and it turned out to be an aweful experience.

this may not have any bearing on anything but I can't help wondering about them saying that their solution to fix their error was that "they gave me the remedy to close up the drawer" which in effect
1) took away storage space that you needed and were expecting
2) meant you were paying the price of a drawer but just really getting a face-plate. Quite a difference in cost I am sure. Drawers are not inexpensive

The other thing I was wondering about was if you had shown all these other issues to the manufacturers (with your original photos)

Just some thoughts I had

This is really going to make Mouser look BAD. When people Google Mouser reviews this is what they will find. So if Mouser doesn't fix this according to their contract, so that you can report a satisfactory conclusion here, Mouser is going to look terrible.

I don't think it would be bad for you to let us know the name of the business that did this, as a warning, either. Mouser should stand behind their warranty a bit better than this.

I do hope you get this resolved fairly! Please let us know how it turns out. Mouser makes beautiful cabinets and it would be a shame if they'd rather stand behind a bad distributor than their cabinets!

ajard,

I am truly sorry you are going through this. I wish I had
more words to add to the already excellent advice above.
Do not hesitate to contact mouser with a link to this
thread. They need to step up and try to remedy this.

Thinking of you and sending ((((((((wishes for luck)))))))
your way.
~boxerpups

muspic ... I did send the manufacturer photos.. waiting to see how this plays out. AND when my salespeople/ckd/installers called it a "remedy" to my imagined design error... I cant tell you how that made me feel!!! Why would we need a "remedy" if there was no error....CRAZY .. right!!! They said my original plans did not have a drawer there anyway so it should not matter to close it up... but do you know how many versions of my kitchen layout were done before we had final plans to submit to be maufacturered... so going back to version one was ridiculous..

The company is Packard Cabinetry. I hate to mention the name.. but since you asked, there is it. The cabinets are beautiful and the design was great.. but these items are still atrocious and unacceptable. The drawer is a large drawer well worth saving... but they should have done what ever it takes to keep it for me..but the only real remedies to me that seemed acceptable would be buying a new flat front dw or pulling it out and buying me new marble to be cut. Had my marble not been cut to size the night before we could have pulled the peninsula out 1.5 inches to clear the handle.
I will let you know what happens... Thank you boxerpups and the rest of you for the ideas and support..

There should be an implied warranty of merchantability as well as an implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose as well as an implied warranty of workmanlike quality. http://www.law.cornell.edu/ucc/2/article2.htm

When you buy a cabinet/drawer, you expect a DRAWER that opens. That is required for the the item to be used for its intended purpose. This, to me, is also not workmanlike quality.

I assume you signed off on final drawings at some point that had the drawer and dish washer there? So, that should have been what they built from, not the "original" plan.

What is wrong with people!

i agree with everyone here. especially about the drawer issue.

I commend you for living with this stuff for a year. You seem like a very reasonable person to me.

I don't have advice, just good wishes that your issues get resolved. Without cost to you.

So sorry about your situation, but you are lucky that your husband is a lawyer - I highly suggest you have him send a stern letter filled with legalese via Certified Mail - that will scare them into action!

It's hard for me to undertand exactly what's going on based on your pics, other than it looks like crap and is highly unaccepable, especially for $27,000!

Your upper cabinet is definitely a manufacturing problem - that crack existed BEFORE the cabinet was even built. A good cabinetmaker would NEVER have used that piece of wood. You can never fix a structural split like that, as you have unfortunately found out. It will always keep re-appearing.

Is that first picture a farmhouse sink with a shoddy rail beneath? That is really bad, if so. And it has been that way from day one? What was your installer thinking? And, why was one side properly scribed to the shape of the sink and the other side left square? Huh?!?!

So, your plans included using a D/W that you ALREADY had? And the KD / installers STILL screwed it up? Well, that is ridiculous. And closing up a functional drawer is NOT an option! Who in their right mind would order and pay for a "drawer" that opens and agree to have it just be turned into a decorative panel? No one! Even Judge Judy would not defend that "logic."

As for installer vs. manufacturer, many cabinet companies and even siding manufacturers DO void their warrantee if it is not installed by a "Certified" installer. I assume your installer is certified by Mouser, and they are trying to use your non-payment as a legal way out of their obligations. Well, that's bunk because your "Certified Installer" obviously has no CLUE as to what they are doing, and Mouser has some gall to think that you should pay them even a DIME more! The pictures say it all!

I do feel sorry for you, however I am not in the least bit surprised. After having a GC literally destroy the framing in my house, install the Cedar shakes completely wrong (with GAPS between), paying 3x the price to have pre-primed board-and-batt siding installed only for it to warp within 3 months, having NO windows and doors for months as winter was setting in (and GC LIED and blamed the Anderson factory, when in fact our windows had been sitting in the shop for over a month, the GC refused to pay for them even though WE HAD PAID HIM for them months before!), I have learned two very important lessons. 1) Trust NO ONE! 2) If you want something done right you have to do it yourself!

A lawyer advised us not to waste money trying to sue. Good advice, as the contractor "disappeared" (closed website, disconnected phones) after he caught me taking photos of his trucks and license plates. We did file complaints with local agencies, but big deal, since contractors and installers can close-up shop and re-open under a new name.

But, since your husband IS a lawyer, sending a FIRM letter to Mouser will not cost you anything other than the cost of Certified Mail. Therefore, I would DEFINITELY do that ASAP!

I remember when you were having problems at the time of the install. I was an existing dishwasher so KD new it had a handle. People make mistakes but I agree that the proposed solution wasn't a good one and in fact it isn't a solution at all unless you agree to it. I'll confess I don't think I was in total agreement with your reasoning at that time but I don't remember all the details anymore (more than a good chance I may have missed the boat). Regardless given the cost of the product and the issues you should have some recourse with the manufacturer. Mouser needs to step up and not blindly follow the dealer.

Sorry JohnLiu, but they forked over $27 THOUSAND DOLLARS for those cabinets and they are practically brand new. Those cabinets are completely UNACCEPTABLE, IMHO!

If the problems are not addressed in an acceptable manner by Mouser, then at the very least Mouser deserves the bad reputation they will earn based on Ajard's experience.

The ball is now in Mouser's court!

I don't know. The flaws you photographed . . . They are there, undeniable, but they are small things.

The stickered spot, the edge that is worn, and whatever that is by the sink - those look like they could be touched up with paint. I mean, I expect that's all a ''cabinet repair service'' would do.

What did the repair service tell you they would do about the crack? I expect they would simply sand, fill and paint that as well. I can't imagine they would do anything structural.

If I'm right, and am seeing the photographs right, then you basically have a few very small cosmetic flaws. What to do about them?

Just me personally - I sure wouldn't spend $800 to get them fixed. I would bring a drawer to a paint shop, have them mix a small amount of paint in as close a match as possible, also get a small brush (not a house painting brush - an artist's brush), a little bottle of thinner, a piece of fine sandpaper, and then I'd simply touch up those spots. If you don't know which end of a paintbrush is which, then practice on something else first, or ask the paint shop for advice/tips, alternatively you probably know someone who is handy.

As for suing the cabinet company, that's your call. To me, life is too short. It is a kitchen, not a precious jewel, it is meant to be used and will inevitably get worn and dinged. Like the first ding on a new car - yes, we all obsess about it at first, but we get over it. Or we call a paintless dent guy - but they charge $250, not $800.

Well it is May 1st and Mouser is still waiting to let me know how they will handle this. I send emails requesting an update every 7-10 days.. but after this week I will get my husband involved. I was hoping not to and keep it a smooth easy process. I will keep you posted! Thanks for the support...
Oh and I found another company that can do all the repairs for just under 500.
They will not replace the cracked cabinet... they will try to repair it first. I can see alot going wrong if we tried to remove it.

The cabinet manufacturer provides a warranty that covers the structural integrity of the cabinets. It usually does not cover cosmetic damages that occurs after the install stage and definately doesn't include issues created by an installer. The installer is who you should seek redress from on the majority of these issues, not the manufacturer. It would normally be business as usual for your cabinet retailer to send an installer out to do these minor touchups since you are within your one year installation warranty. Your unsolved adversarial relationship with your cabinet merchant is interfering with your needed service under your installation (NOT your manufacturer) warranty. They obviously didn't consider not receiving the last payment as a solution that they agreed with.

Do you have anything in writing where they agreed to a settlement of their financial claim? If not, then I'm afraid they have a legal standing to refuse your claim for repair service. If you DO have written records that indicate that they agreed to not receiving payment as the solution to the issues, then you do have some legal standing to demand that they fulfill their obligation to provide repair. Unfortunately, if they disagree, the only way to ensure that they do perform would be to take them to court, which would cost well over your estimated cost of repairs.

Your best bet at this point if you don't want to pay them what they think you should is to pay for the installer created repair issues out of your own pocket. I'm sure that the cabinet company will pay to have the split wood filled and repainted, so you might ask their repair person for an estimate on fixing the other dings. You are getting some pretty high quotes for the repairs because the job is so small. It really won't take more than an hour and just a bit of touchup paint from your touchup kit. It's pretty simple to do, and you could probably do it yourself if you are remotely handy.

Mouser Cabinetry is agreeing to pay for the cracked wood cabinet. All else I will pay for to a fine furniture refinishing company. I rather pay the refinishing company then pay my cabinet sales/install company.
My cabinet sales company completely ignored Mousers request to dialog about this.
SO anyway I did find a furniture refinishing company that was about 500 instead of 775 to fix all of these items