'Felt like I was robbed:' Raleigh contractor owed $7,000 says he got refund runaround

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- Most businesses require a receipt if you want to return or refund, but one Raleigh contractor said he had all the right paperwork and still got what he calls a runaround.

Robert Lecei had several pages of invoices from Lowe's Home Improvement showing he bought about $20,000 worth of materials for construction jobs.

He said over time some of those jobs changed or were canceled. Lecei went to Lowe's and told them he didn't need the remainder of the materials delivered and wanted a refund.

"I brought in not only just the print out of what was delivered and what wasn't, but I also brought the original receipt," Lecei said. "Their answer was 'well that's all great but we have no recollection of the transaction. I felt like I was robbed.'"

Lecei reached out to the Troubleshooter team and we got in touch with Lowe's.

After some research, the store was able to get the issue resolved and Lowe's sent Lecei a check for $7,400 to cover the price of the materials he paid for, but never received.

A store spokesperson said part of the reason for the confusion was that Lecei bought the materials in 2016 and 2017 and the amount of time between the initial purchase and the refund request meant it took more time to validate the information.

Lowe's also apologized for the delays.