Troubleshooters: Home Depot responds to viewer complaints

Some Action News viewers have been complaining about a certain big box store.

The good news is that retailer has been very responsive to the Action News Troubleshooters.

Winter is just months away and before we know it, we'll be cranking up the heat and I bet you'd be annoyed if this were to happen to you.

Carole Jones of Clementon, New Jersey bought a heater from Home Depot and says within weeks it stopped working.

Jones says when she called Home Depot, she was told to contact the company's third-party vendor who did the installation.

"And then two weeks later, it would break again. And it just kept on breaking and breaking and nobody knew what was the problem," Jones said.

Jones says she called Home Depot, wrote letters, and sent faxes.

"And I was getting nowhere, absolutely nowhere until I called you guys," Jones said.

After the Troubleshooters got involved, Home Depot gave Jones a brand new heater.

"And you accomplished in two weeks what I couldn't do in two years," Jones told Action News.

The Troubleshooters hear that a lot.

After Call for Action volunteer Raymond helped Wayne Fletcher of Ridley Park, Pa., Fletcher said, "He did in two weeks what I couldn't do in two years."

Fletcher had a dishwasher that wouldn't stay closed.

He bought the dishwasher from Home Depot and paid for installation.

"When we first got it, you had to hold the door closed for a couple of seconds," Fletcher said.

Fletcher says within two years, seconds turned into three or four minutes.

After a number of repair attempts, Fletcher says he was informed it was an installation problem so he called Home Depot again.

"Well, [they said] we don't do warranty install issues and they just wouldn't fix it and they wouldn't honor their warranty," Fletcher said.

So Fletcher contacted the Troubleshooters and was helped by Raymond.

"He made a couple phone calls and in two weeks, I had a check," Fletcher said.

It was for a full refund, $770, so Fletcher could buy a brand new dishwasher.

"Thank you so much, Raymond. You are a great guy," Fletcher said.

Here's what you may not realize when you buy something from Home Depot:

Most installers and repair technicians it uses are third-party vendors.

Home Depot says Jones' heater kept breaking down because of a problem during the initial installation.

Home Depot says it is no longer working with that vendor and, "We hold our third-party service providers to the highest standards, so this delay shouldn't have occurred. We apologize to Ms. Jones for the inconvenience and appreciate the opportunity to make it right."

As for Fletcher's dishwasher?

Home Depot says, "We're very sorry for the inconvenience. We were surprised to hear that our vendors didn't resolve this issue for Mr. Fletcher and we're glad we could step in and make it right."

If you need help from the Troubleshooters, click here, call 1-866-978-4232 or tweet me or reach out on Facebook.