Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/15/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On August 15, 2022 I sent an email through Willow Carpentrys website and that led to meeting with ***************************, the owner, on August 17th. I wanted him to build cabinets in my living room. When we met he said it would be $500.00 for the drawings and that would be deducted from the final cost of the project. I gave him a check for the $500.00 that was cashed that day. On August 21st I got the drawings via email and I felt that because the estimate was ridiculously high, that he didnt want the job. I was quoted $27,000.00. We were going to meet on September 15th but he canceled saying that there was a death in his family and he would contact me in a couple of weeks. Then on October 5th he sent another email saying the he had contracted Covid and he would get in touch in a couple of weeks. After 3 more weeks went by I contacted him telling him that I need to be able to trust people Im doing business with and since the job hadnt even started yet he wasnt very reliable, I felt that he had taken advantage of me and I requested a refund. He refused saying that he doesnt work for nothing. The drawings he sent were obviously computer generated and hardly worth $500.00. I have already gone through the ************************ and they were unable to persuade him to refund the $500.00 and they suggested small claims court. I thought Id try the ******************** first, so here I am.I have since hired a company to make cabinets and the total cost is less than half of what *************************** quoted. Oh, and I did not use his $500.00 drawings and did not have to pay for the drawings from the company I hired.I am a senior citizen and I would like to make sure he doesnt take advantage of other people by taking their money and then high balling the estimate assuming theyll quietly walk away.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/16/2023

  Hello, 

  I spoke to the attorney generals office 2 times and after review they even suggested I should not have to forfeit a refund for work already completed and we spent hours on her custom designs and gave her all the pricing and estimates up front.  My name is *************************** owner at Willow Carpentry and Cabinets and sole operator.  I am writing this email in response to a complaint filed on November 16, 2022 by ***********************.  
  
  
      *********************** reached out for help to design her space for cabinetry.  ****** asked for designs to be done and I explained the design cost is $500 for her job. This included 3D designs which were completed and emailed to *********************** for review, I can attach a couple of copies of the designs to this email.  Costs for Custom cabinetry can be between $1500 and $2500 per linear foot depending on how custom they are for me to build them.  If the ceilings are over 8 ft tall which Marthas ceilings were close to 10 ft tall the costs can go up substantially more as well as for extra deep cabinets.  I work solo with no employees and buy materials to build everything from scratch after design work if the customers choose to hire us for their cabinetry portion of their project. I source my materials in raw form from distributors in ************* and mill the materials to build custom cabinets. Her daughter in law hired me for her custom wardrobe this year and paid for design work and build of her wardrobe units which were around $15,000. ******* project was going to be almost double the size and height of her daughter in laws Project. I just completed a job in *********** ************* and the design work for their project was about $2500.  I have hours into the designs alone for ******* cabinetry design. ****** or any customer that pays for my Design Work through my ************* design program are able to take the designs to other companies and hire anyone they wish or they could hire me and my business. I feel like I fulfilled my design obligation portion of Marthas project and she felt the price was too high so she can take those *********** and hire someone else. I have no way in getting compensated for the hours spent designing the cabinets and she has all the *********** and hired someone else to build them and now wants the design money back. I did not over estimate her project to try to not get hired I have a good reputation in my community and tend to uphold that reputation.  Please let me know if there are any questions or concerns. I offered a meeting again as stated by ****** in her complaint and she refused to even reply to my email that she didnt want a meeting. I am learning this news through the complaint that was mailed to me.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/07/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  In response to the email from Willow Carpentry, I contacted the AG's office in an attempt to get a resolution and when ******************** didn't reply to their final correspondence I was advised to take the matter up with small claims court.  I decided to try your office first.
  
  Willow was suggested to me by my former daughter-in-law, that is true however her situation was much different from mine.  After I had paid for the $500.00 plans, it became increasingly difficult to get together with *********************  After waiting for two months I sent him a letter.  I was apprehensive about hiring him because he kept postponing getting together and I felt that if he was unavailable before I hired him that it would only get worse.  I told him in my letter that I have to be able to trust people I'm working with and I didn't feel like he was the right person for that.
  
  As for his 3D drawings, they're computer generated and it feels like I'm paying for the software program he used rather than "all the hours he spent designing the cabinets". 
  
  ******************** clearly took advantage of me.  I paid the $500.00 fee but then his quote was extremely high ($27,000.00).  Clearly he was avoiding me, probably thinking that I would just go away.
  
  As I stated in my original complaint, I have hired another company to build my cabinets and I did not use ************************ drawings. I was quoted an amount less than half of the quote from Willow Carpentry.
  
  ***********************
  
    

  Business Response

  Date: 03/07/2023

  Hi we have already been through the attorney generals office and provided our response. We provided a service and were paid for it. Design services are not free and they are not computer generated. I can prove to you or anyone else you can not automatically generate custom cabinetry on a fireplace or any other custom job we do. Thats only for bathrooms and kitchens. We spent 5 plus hours between designs and meetings with *********************** and she told us we were too much money for the whole project and then requested a refund of a non refundable design deposit. Im sorry we did our due diligence fulfilled our design service. Because she feels like it was too much at a later date doesnt mean she automatically gets a refund back because she said so. She didnt have to hire us to design her custom fireplace cabinetry job. I feel like at this point she is and her daughter in law says the same thing she is slandering my business at this point. Im doing another job for her daughter in law right now. Her daughter in law agrees she has no right to slander me and my business. My attorneys have been contacted already. This is getting out of hand.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/07/2023

  Hi we have already been through the attorney generals office and provided our response. We provided a service and were paid for it. Design services are not free and they are not computer generated. I can prove to you or anyone else you can not automatically generate custom cabinetry on a fireplace or any other custom job we do. Thats only for bathrooms and kitchens. We spent 5 plus hours between designs and meetings with *********************** and she told us we were too much money for the whole project and then requested a refund of a non refundable design deposit. Im sorry we did our due diligence fulfilled our design service. Because she feels like it was too much at a later date doesnt mean she automatically gets a refund back because she said so. She didnt have to hire us to design her custom fireplace cabinetry job. I feel like at this point she is and her daughter in law says the same thing she is slandering my business at this point. Im doing another job for her daughter in law right now. Her daughter in law agrees she has no right to slander me and my business. My attorneys have been contacted already. This is getting out of hand.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/08/2023

  Better Business Bureau:I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # ********. Please add your rejection comments below; if you do not provide any details, your complaint will be closed as Answered. 

  [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.  If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  

  i have in no way slandered that business.  I am not happy with the lack of customer sevice which is the primary reason I would never hire ***** or Willow Carpentry.  I would gladly accept half of the $500:00 since in no way did he put 5 hours into those drawings.  That is a sham.  Those drawings couldn't have possible taken him more than 2 hours and that includes the 1/2 hour he spent measuring at my house.

   

  As I stated in my last correspondence, my former daughter-in-laws treatment by ***** was much different than the treatment I received.

  My complaint stands.

  ******

  Businesses and Customers should be civil, courteous and polite in their responses to complaints. It is important to remain professional and productive when participating in the BBB complaint process.
  
  FAQ
  
  Regards,

  ******