Sandra G.’s dealings with Home Depot could have been worse—she didn’t get the exact experience she wanted so she got her money back, albeit with a fair degree of hassle—but we figure it’s time we let you tell us about your worst experiences with Home Depot. We’ll start with our own: Why won’t Home Depot let you use gift cards online? We’ve got a $50 card that we’ve had for a year.

But before ya’ll speak, Sandra:

Home Depot.
What lovely little angels of home improvement!
Sure, when you can actually *find* one of the orange apron wearers you might get some assistance but what happens when you try to buy and have them install an appliance?

Last summer I bought my first home and after seeing the Flintstones era dishwasher I decided it needed to be replaced.
Flush with $200 in Home Depot gift cards from my recent housewarming party I set off to Home Depot, ready to get it done.

Home Depot had other ideas.

Buying the GE dishwasher was easy enough.
Home Depot, like many other retailers, is adept at *taking* your money.
I plunked down my gift cards and popped the rest on my credit card.
I even arranged for them to install it.
I was elated by the good news that they had my model “in stock” and that it could be installed in a few days.
I scampered home, eager to wait by the phone like a sophomore girl awaiting a call from the captain of the football team.

Two days later, I got the call.
They offered me a few dates, I picked one.
I asked for an installation in the early morning or late afternoon since I would have to arrange to be late to work or leave work early.
Piece of cake, right?

It wasn’t cake after the jump.

Nope.
They only do installations for my area of Sacramento between 11am and 3pm.

“What if we move the installation date?
Would that be helpful in changing the time?” I asked.

“No.
We only deliver and install in your zip code during that time window.” the “helpful” installer caller replied.

“Well, is there a Saturday appointment available?” I asked.

“No.
We are all booked up for Saturdays for the next month.
We can do it next week but it would be between 11am and 3pm” she said.

I gently explained the problem with that installation window but she would not budge.
I asked what would happen if I was the only install on the books for a particular day.
“Could I have the dishwasher installed early in the day since you had nobody else to deliver to?” I inquired.

“No, we only deliver and install between 11am and 3pm to your zip code.
It’s because of how we route our installs and deliveries.
Your item will be in the middle of the truck and we would have to move other people’s items to get to it for a morning delivery” she replied.

“But, if I was the only one, there would be nothing else on the truck” I pointed out, feeling victorious in my logic (I should have known better).

“Sorry, it’s our policy.
11am to 3pm for your area”, she said, undaunted by logic and reason.

So, I told her to cancel the order and restrained myself from directing her to place the GE dishwasher in her lowermost orifice.

Getting my money back from Home Depot proved to be equally difficult.

You would think that by cancelling an order over the phone that it would be entered as cancelled in their system and that you could go to your nearest Home Depot, present your order number, have them retrieve the order and refund your money.

Of course not.
That would be too easy.

It took me two weeks to get my money refunded.

First, I had to wait until the cancellation cleared through GE’s system.
Why?
I couldn’t tell you.
GE never had to touch the order as far as I was told.
I bought from Home Depot, they had it in the warehouse and their rigid “only between 11am and 3pm” installer was to bring it out.
But, no, GE had to clear it through their system. The customer service rep at their “help desk” told me it was because they “transmitted payment directly to GE daily for appliances purchased” and that I had to wait for GE to send the money back to Home Depot for my order. Once that happened, I could return for my money.

How long would that take?
In my case, almost five days!!

So, a week from the day I bought the GE dishwasher I returned for my money.

They couldn’t find the order.
They found the installation order but couldn’t find the order for the product.
I was flummoxed. They were ordered at the same time, with the same payment method but now one has gone missing?

After 45 minutes of calling, conferring amongst themselves and calling GE again, they approved my refund.
I got part refunded to my credit card and then began the “gift card war.”
Since I paid with $200 in gift cards they would only give me a $200 gift card.
Exasperated, I took the gift card and marched on out of there, determined to never spend one more dime at Home Depot again.

7 months later, I still haven’t.
Luckily, I sold the gift cards to a co-worker for full value. 🙂

Bonus Link: Home Depot Tool / Equipment Rental Class Action Investigation [Lawyers And Settlements]

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