Lowe’s window install looks like `preschool project,’ homeowners say. It’s not fixed a year later.

New windows are a big investment.

That’s why when it was time to replace the windows in their Secaucus home, Lynn and Edward Kaufman decided to go with a company that did right by them before.

“We decided on Lowe’s as we had both a rear door and storm door installed by them in the past and they did a wonderful job,” Edward Kaufman said. “And at the time, they were offering 24 months no-interest financing.”

But now, more than a year after they purchased the windows, the couple is anything but satisfied with the project at their home.

“Besides the windows being garbage, the install was terrible, my inside molding is destroyed and the corking that was used looks like a preschool project,” he said.

The couple purchased the 12 windows from Lowe’s in Rutherford in July 2022, and they were installed by a contractor supplied by the store on Halloween, Oct. 31, 2022, they said.

They noticed the problems during the installation and they complained to the contractor, they said. The contractor called Lowe’s, explained the issues and said all new windows would be ordered, they said they were told.

The weeks and months passed, and by December, the couple still hadn’t heard back about replacements, they said. So they started calling and leaving messages with Lowe’s for someone to call them back with an update.

“In December I was repeatedly told I would get a return call, and nobody ever returned my calls,” Kaufman said.

In January, he started to call Lowe’s corporate offices. The messages he left there went unanswered, he said.

Next, he filed a complaint with the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, and that got him a call back from Lowe’s executive customer relations team, he said.

“She told us she would be our contact and will get this resolved,” Kaufmas said. “After a few calls and her talking in circles, the only outcome she offered was to have the same installer come back and fix his mess and we will not agree to that.”

In May, they tried a letter from an attorney, but Lowe’s didn’t make any offers to resolve the issues, Kaufman said.

We asked Lowe’s about the case, but it said it does not comment on pending litigation.

But the couple hasn’t filed a lawsuit.

We tried to reach the installer, who at the time of the job had a valid Home Improvement Contractor (HIC) registration with the state. His registration has since expired, and he didn’t return our calls. We’re not naming him here because he was working as a subcontractor for Lowe’s, which is the entity that received payment from the homeowners and is ultimately responsible for correcting any issues with the job.

“At this point, the only correct outcome would be to void the sale and refund the money we paid so far, and also refund the balance due to the bank so we can go elsewhere for windows,” Edward Kaufman said, noting that despite their dissatisfaction, the couple keeps making payments — $1,200 so far — for the windows.

“Our house is everything to us,” Lynn Kaufman said. “For 23 years, it has been the cutest and most well-maintained home. We always have neighbors and friends and random people walking by and commenting how great the house always looks, and for the last 10 months we have had to look at these garbage windows and mess Lowe’s left us with.”

“The only thing we are guilty of is wanting new windows,” she said.

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Karin Price Mueller may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter at @KPMueller.