Lowe's Home Improvement Lowe's does NOT stand behind what they sell... They take your money, then you are on your own! Woodbridge Virginia

I bought a Char-Broil Gas Grill, new in the box in December, 2006 from Lowe's. Being that it was Winter, and I needed help in assembling the grill, I left it in my garage until Spring. I'll file on Char-broil as well, since tyhey are the source of the problem.

In March of 2007, I decided to assemble my new grill. STILL in the box, still in my garage. I took all the parts out, and laid them out to assemble. Turns out I was missing a part, but that is not the problem.

I put the firebox together and assembled the base. I had my daughter, home from college, help me put the firebox on the base. It was then we discovered that the sides of the firebox were BOTH bent and out of plumb, so the box did not fit on the base. I forced them to fit, and thought that was that. But NO.... Remember this was new, in a BOX with no apparent damage, and all the packing material was accounted for, and the parts were packaged securely in the box.

Anyway, I assembled the lid, and found out that the lid did not close flush, because the firebox was so off-kilter. The warming rack they give you would not fit under the lid. which wouldn't close properly because the firebox was off-kilter. I decided to see if this grill would work in any way shape or form, so I finished the assembly and hooked up the lp tank to the hose assembly. I fired up the grill and got only a small flame out of the burners. I checked the troubleshooting guide and saw that the problem could be operator error, so I followed their instruction on how to turn the know the correct way and speed, and got the same result. I tried it again, and again, never got anything but a small flame. I closed the lid, as well as possible, and left the burners burning. After 4 hours, it only got to 250-degrees! FOUR HOURS.

I called Lowe's during this ordeal, and was told that unless I had the receipt (I didn't, it was a gift from my mother and she didn't keep the receipt) I was on my own, and should call Char-Broil. I spoke with the Store Manager whose name I don't recall (Dennis, I think?) and he told me the same thing: "There is nothing I can do for you" I asked "Nothing you CAN do or nothing you WILL do?" "Both" came the reply. Thanks, guys!

I called Char-Broil, and they were somewhat more helpful, but CHARGED me for the shipping for the damaged parts, which apparently were damaged by THEIR people before shipping. As I went along replacing parts and found I needed more parts. Char-broil DID send more parts, and I was able to replace the original parts--except that I am missing the heat shield, and the lid is still not closing correctly. It is now more than a year later, and I have a grill, thanks to Lowe's and Char-Broil, that is gathering dust in my garage. I can't use it, and I REALLY want to! My trusty-dusty Webber Charcoal Grill is on it's last legs (I grill all the time...)

I sent a letter, registered mail, to the President and CEO of Charbroil and did not receive the courtesy of an acknowledgement/ response. Watch for my Char-Broil saga in the complaint I'll file on them next.

Steve
Woodbridge, Virginia
U.S.A.