Lowe's appliance rant

[Chris Rose]

We bought an LG 2 in 1 washer/dryer unit for an apartment that we leased last Friday. the appliance was on the clearance aisle and marked down several hundred dollars. When I asked the salesperson why it was on clearance, she said it was because the appliance was special ordered for an rv and when it didn't fit, it was returned and put on clearance sale to move quickly. When the appliance was delivered Saturday, the delivery men asked me if I had looked at the washer/dryer before I bought it. I said that I hadn't given it a full inspection, but seen that it was still partially in its original box. They told me that if they had bought the unit and seen what was wrong with it, they would refuse to accept it. They showed me that the unit had been damaged by having the sheet metal bent in against the drum and said that it had come into the store that way and had been placed on the floor as clearance to get rid of it instead of returning to the manufacturer for credit. I took there advice and sent the unit back and paid for their lunch for showing me the damage.

I had leased the apartment for an additional $25 per month to furnish the appliance for my tenants. Now I have a family with no washer/dryer who have paid extra for the convenience and no other option at this time for a reasonable accommodation. I did refund my tenants $50, $25 because they don't have a washer/dryer to use plus another $25 just for their inconvenience. I went to Lowe's this afternoon to see what they were going to do to resolve the issue. Essentially I was told, "well, you bought it on clearance, it's a special order appliance, we'll refund what you paid and sell you brand new washer/dryer at full retail price! I'm so frustrated with this store. I know that buyer should always beware, but I expect a retail home improvement store to exercise a bit more of an ethical practice than this, or am I wrong?