Stephanie Ciccarelli was floored by her experience with a home renovation project.
She said she went to Lowe’s Home Improvement to pick out new wood flooding for her Jersey Shore home. She placed an order based on an in-store display but got something — in her opinion — very different.
"All these dark streaks through it were not present on the display,” she told NBC10 Responds. Ciccarelli told us she spent 11 months going back and forth with Lowe’s trying to resolve the issue.
The company eventually told her via email that "the store holds no liability for natural variations in tone and color present in the finished product.”
“My matter was closed as far as they were concerned,” Ciccarelli said.
She didn’t find this acceptable, so she contacted NBC10 Responds. "I feel that the display that they showed was a misrepresentation of the actual product."
We took a look at her documents and found the product name on her receipt matches the name on the in-store display. Searching the same product on Lowe’s website, the picture matches the flooring installed in the shore home — not the display.
Lowe’s wouldn't share its policy dealing with these types of discrepancies. But for Ciccarelli, the company did decide to replace Ciccarelli’s floors and "prevent future complications by amending the in-store display."
According to Ciccarelli, Lowe’s gave her a call just hours after NBC10 Responds interviewed her. She says she asked for a full refund and the company agreed. Lowe’s later sent her a non-disclosure agreement preventing her from making further comment to NBC10 Responds.
What to Know if You Find Yourself in a Similar Situation:
- The National Association of Consumer Advocates suggests escalating your complaint to store managers and supervisors.
- Before buying: Check the return policy and guarantee of your purchase.
- Take photos of what you ordered so you can compare it to what you get. That's what Ciccarelli did and it helped NBC10 Responds prove her case.
