Ordered custom cabinets, paid 50% ($6700) in June. Made slight modifications was asked to pay additional money in August 9 ($7000) at which time decided on doors and they were ordered.
Doors were ordered finally on 8/19. On Sept 2 supposedly the doors were no longer made. Les brought by another catalogue, we settled on new doors. Was told on Sept 26th doors would arrive on Oct 5 scheduled tear out for kitchen on October 10.
I scheduled my floors to be torn out October 10. Les called A.M. Of October 10 to say the doors were not in. October 11 he called and said the wrong doors arrived. I asked him about ordering the correct ones. No, he said, they'll just make them.
He sends Hector out who cannot really communicate well. He begins tear out. Floors are then installed and Les is to come back to install cabinets week of October 18. He says he may be getting a job at EDS - they want him to be the CIO. Needs insurance due to his wife's illness (later found the EDS thing to be a lie, he's a contractor for them, not employed)
Very little progress is made on kitchen week of October 18. Granite is to be installed on October 21. Island that is brought in is way too big (going into the breakfast area) and is 22 degree angle not 45 like it was supposed to be.
Granite to be installed delayed due to cabinet issues - scheduled now for November 3. Needed chrome posts that were ordered through Les. He says he will bring them on Friday. Les no shows, no call, nothing. I know have a $500 extra piece of granite for a raised bar that is sitting in my garage. Do not hear from Les until November 8th. He says he got a bad check from bad builder (another lie) and he would pay for all costs to get the piece of granite installed (never happened). He says at that time via email, "Come hell or high water plan on having everything finished this week as promised. I will pay any additional fees to the granite guy on the post."
During this time I have called and left messages for Les. His office phone was disconnected. His cell phone worked then it was disconnected. On November 3 he indicated he had a new cell phone. I continued to leave him polite messages and assumed all was in order. Week of November 14 - I leave him a voice mail that I will be out of town, I expect cabinets completed by my return on November 26, give him my electrician/handyman phone number and advise he will let them in the house as needed. I received no answer via email or voice mail.
I return on 11/26. Some cabinet doors are now up (nothing is stained or laquered). The doors are NOT what I ordered, they were made in his shop. All wrong, from not being straight to different sized pegs in the door. The biggest thing though, they are NOT no reveal cabinets which is what was ordered.
I tell the electrician it's unacceptable as he was acting as general contractor in my abssense. He says that Les said he'd had a heart attack and had been in the hospital. He talks to Les who says he wants to make it right. At this point, something that was to be 2 weeks, had taken 6 weeks, my kitchen and dining room are disasters. Les sends out another company to "tweak" everything. The new cabinet guy asks how much I still owe Les. The answer was about $4,000. He said it will take a lot more money than that to fix what is here. He also advises he will not fix Les's work unless I pay for it, because Les owes him $6,000. He also advises Les has been locked out of his shop for non-payment of rent. He talks to Les when at my house and advises that the cabinets need to be redone.
Since Les had advised me he would be done by end of week of November 8th, and had failed to fulfill the contract, I decided to go with the guy that he sent out. I then asked Les for a refund of $11,500 as it was deemed that all that was here was worth maybe $2,000 and that was questionable.
Les said he didn't owe me anything at that point. I told him he would take legal action and have not heard from him since.
I talked to the builder that he was working with, he did something similar to the builder, who in turn sent him a bill/demand letter for $10,000 for all the repair work that had to be done. Another builder in Highland Park was delayed closing on a house that was several million dollars for similar reasons.
0 comments