Kitchen Remodel Disaster: Citi Denied Chargeback Despite Same Evidence Winning With Another Card Issuer
TL;DR:
Spent about $15k on a kitchen cabinet project through The Home Depot. I paid about $10k using a Citi-issued Home Depot store card, and my wife paid about $5k on a Visa. This was back in February. I still don’t have a functioning kitchen…
The kitchen design and cabinetry were materially defective from the start. Home Depot acknowledged issues and attempted replacements, but the replacements were also wrong. Citi denied my dispute/chargeback despite extensive documentation. Faulty measurements and wrong finish color. Another issuer reviewing the SAME evidence ruled in our favor on the related $5k Visa portion of the transaction. I’ve now filed CFPB and BBB complaints against Citi and am preparing District Court filings. Looking for advice on whether I should keep pushing the dispute, focus on court, or both.
Long version:
We started a kitchen remodel through Home Depot, which handled the in-house measurement and kitchen design process for KraftMaid cabinets.
The project involved:
Home Depot measurements
Home Depot kitchen design services
KraftMaid cabinetry
About $15k total for the cabinet/design portion
Part was paid on a Citi-issued Home Depot consumer card (~$10k) and part on a Visa (~$5k).
Immediately during installation, our contractor discovered a major design failure:
The approved kitchen layout did NOT account for an existing basement door swing. The planned 36” sink base physically interfered with the basement door and rendered the design unusable.
Then more issues surfaced:
Wrong cabinet finish delivered (“Honey Spice” instead of approved “Ginger”)
Missing/incorrect cabinet features
Home Depot initially claimed replacements were being ordered, but there were delays/confusion
Replacement sink base eventually arrived…and it was ALSO wrong (incorrect depth and unusable for the intended run)
As of today, the kitchen is still not properly functional despite this process beginning many months ago.
Additional damages/issues:
We paid to move a window to accommodate the “quick fix” redesign
Months without a functioning kitchen
Extra expenses from eating out constantly
Massive disruption/stress
Time off work and endless calls/emails
What I’ve done so far:
Filed disputes/chargebacks
Organized a large evidence package including:
design documents
delivery paperwork
photos
emails
replacement records
timelines
proof of wrong finish/specs
Filed BBB complaint against Home Depot
Filed CFPB complaint against Citi regarding dispute handling
Prepared District Court paperwork for filing
Here’s the part driving me insane:
The Visa side of the transaction was ruled in our favor using essentially the SAME evidence package. Citi denied theirs.
Citi’s position seems heavily focused on the fact that cabinets were partially installed, even though:
defects were discovered during installation,
the goods/services were nonconforming,
Home Depot themselves acknowledged errors and attempted corrective action.
I’ve also cited Fair Credit Billing Act / Regulation Z arguments involving defective and misrepresented goods/services.
At this point I’m trying to figure out:
Should I continue escalating with Citi?
Focus primarily on litigation?
Is there anything else I should be doing strategically?
Has anyone successfully forced reconsideration after CFPB involvement?
Any advice appreciated.