Consumer complaint received 2018-08-01
Product: Debt collection — Credit card debt
Issue: False statements or representation — Indicated you were committing crime by not paying debt
Company: CITIBANK, N.A. (NY)

I went online late XXXX contacting a company I believed to be Home Depot in an effort to do the first ever badly need remodeling of a kitchen in a home purchased in the early XXXX 's. A lady, stating she was an architect, sketched out a plan ( see attached ) which initially would have cost {$4400.00}. The kitchen was actually too old by anyone 's observation to do a partial remodel and as I had {$4000.00} on hand decided to go all the way to keep it consistent with the help of refinancing as explained by her. It took quite a while to actually get the project started as I didn't have a lot of money. 

About XX/XX/XXXX I decided to go ahead as in addition to mold under the sink, the kitchen also had a gas leak and large rodents were coming from the garage below through a gaping hole under the sink and intrude the dining and living rooms. The person who came to do measurements took pictures of the existing kitchen and then I was informed Home Depot would not do any kitchen installation as they could not assume liability for any labor which would not remain intact, such as the new sink falling through a hole in the floor. I hired a contractor who removed the walls, reinsulated the area where the work was to be performed, painted and then I gave them a call to start the project. 

Within a month, after installation, the cabinet doors above the stovetop began to warp from the heat. Two shelves also came loose and so the third-party contractors XXXX came, replaced the doors and tightened the shelves. However, the situation happened again, this time XXXX had to hoist the shelves back to where they used to be. According to the actual Home Depot store, I should not have gone online, the architect had ill advised to drop the cabinets - rather than stand on a chair for the convenience of the occupants - and that it was standard industry knowledge that shelves should be a certain distance up from the stove. 

A new problem surfaced despite many visits and calls to correct the heat situation. Water started to seep from behind the kitchen sink into the same area underneath where the contractor had replaced the rotten and molded wood. It became so bad in a short time Home Depot, at no cost, removed the brand new cabinet countertop and back splash ( which was completed rotted ) and replaced it with another of the same material. Before the second attempt to restore the countertop our home was invaded by dozens of tiny flies and to this day a cloth has to be placed behind the faucets to assist with water seepage. 

I have incurred several hundreds of dollars ' worth of expense to make this project work, I had to pay plumbing expenses as XXXX XXXX would only disconnect but not reconnect the gas pipe. I also paid for two plumbers on separate occasions, one to  install the water pipes and then again when the first signs of water damage became evident, and next when another plumber was hired to install the water pipes again. Electrical work was also a separate charge. 

Despite exhaustive efforts, the bottom line is the materials used to rebuild the kitchen could not replace the original wood. On the surface it really looked nice, but the kitchen has now degraded to the point where its back to mold and mildew, is no longer upright as normal water use has caused the material to buckle as it loses its shape. 

We were told we over use the water, were careless in wiping up the countertop and basically meant to feel we were at fault, therefore I took XXXX XXXX  DBA Home Depot to court and sued for the amount quoted to try and again fix the problem. A check for {$2900.00} was mailed XXXX  and deposited. At the arbitration I asked whether the check was towards the remainder of the bill and was informed the matter was " Done ''. 

I am now receiving letters from Citibank for refinancing payment. I received a letter indicating I could settle for {$3000.00}. At the close of the court date, it was the intention to pay for the entire project without incurring a single interest charge until it became evident that an entirely new kitchen cabinet has to be ordered again and I only had {$2300.00} left to pay.