I hired a company in So Fla to remodel my kitchen. I had them put in granite countertops and windowsills, glass backsplash, finish existing travertine under a now removed window seat and in the bathroom and - thermofoil cabinets. We spent about $10K with this company. I originally wanted wood, and was willing to pay for it, upon speaking with the contractor. We are military and knew we'd have to move in 4 years, turned out to be 2. Knowing it would then be a rental property, he urged us to consider thermofoil. He said it was cheaper and very easy to maintain. Thermofoil was in the existing kitchen and was completely falling off, but he assured us that the thermofoil of today was much better and that was a very poor install and low grade material. We went with the thermofoil.

Less than a year later, we noticed some peeling above where the coffee maker was located. We'd only had the coffee maker for 3 months, prior to that we had used instant coffee for years. It was located in the corner, under the cabinets, and the steam came out of the back of the unit, so the steam had to travel diagonally under the cabinet to melt a small section of the light rail. We also started to notice a slight peeling above the toaster oven. I know I should have called then, but did not. We stopped using the coffee maker and went back to instant and began to pull out the toaster oven when we needed to use it. That summer we got orders and got our house rented. An older couple, no kids, who travel 6 months of the year. They had thermofoil in their own home (military as well, owned their home for 20 years but theirs was a rental property also) and were familiar with it. They noticed the slight peeling and using a bit of glue and a clamp fixed ours - though they had never had to do that on their own cabinets. A year into their tenancy they called to inform me that more places were peeling. Around the microwave - 2 doors. Around the stove, 2 doors and 2 drawers. Also, above their toaster oven and coffee maker. I contacted the company who came out to take a look at it. They're quoting us with a $650 fix - waiving the installation fees. We paid $3550 for the cabinets alone. After receiving the estimate, I was not happy. It was accusatory, stating that someone had used the broiler or self cleaning oven feature without opening the doors and drawers during use. At the time of the kitchen remodel, I put in a brand new stove, clean. My tenants assured me they did not use those features, and I know I never did. In South Florida, grilling season is year round, and it is hot. Broiling and self cleaning are hot - so is So. Fla. The company never said anything about opening doors and drawers in order to run those features even if I did choose to. Also, that doesn't explain peeling around the microwave, and who doesn't have a coffee maker and toaster oven on the counter tops? Where else would I put those appliances? I complained to the company, and she is a real piece of work. Took over a month to reply to repeated emails. Acknowledged that there should have been a heat shield in place around the oven. But refuses to stand behind the product as defective or installed incorrectly.

I'm here to ask, what is my recourse? I'm in another state, making small claims difficult. I can find no warranty. I've got all of my paperwork, but can't find anything that suggests a warranty or that I cannot use the broil/self cleaning oven feature, coffee maker, toaster oven or microwave. I know I am very unprepared, and am kicking myself for being in this position. I want to file a complaint through the BBB, they have had one other which was resolved and have been part of BBB since 2009 with an A+ rating. I need to figure out what I want. Them to fix it for free? I'm afraid it will be a bandaid. It may very likely happen again in less than two years. I can put it in the lease for new tenants, the "rules" for thermofoil, but what if they say that they never used those features and it peeled anyway? Or, have them credit me the price of the thermofoil and I'll pay the difference to upgrade to wood. Any suggestions would be much appreciated, my current tenants are moving out this summer and I've already lined up new ones. Thanks, Christy