Avoid

Creekside Cabinet & Design in Silverdale, WA

BUYER BEWARE!

This is a website for consumers who have been harmed by Creekside Cabinet & Design in Silverdale, Washington, doing business as “Creekside Cabinet”, its owner, Brad Moore as well as Michelle Burgess Design.

Disclaimer: This is not the official website for Creekside Cabinet & Design or Michelle Burgess Design. This is a website for collecting and sharing consumer complaints about Creekside Cabinet & Design, its owner, Brad Moore, and Michelle Burgess Design, and for recommending resources to those who have been harmed by them. I am am not affiliated with Creekside Cabinet & Design or Michelle Burgess Design.

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My Story

My name is Daniel Suchman. I am a former customer of Creekside Cabinet & Design, Inc. (“Creekside”). I am also a retired lawyer. I seldom write business reviews, and when I do they are generally positive. However, I am writing this review, and I created this website, in the hope that they will save you from a painful and expensive experience like the one that I had with Creekside, its owner, Brad Moore and designer Michelle Burgess (doing business as Michelle Burgess Design).

In the Fall of 2021, I starting planning to remodel my kitchen. I chose Creekside to supply cabinets based solely on the recommendation of my designer, Michelle Burgess. Since I was paying Ms. Burgess $130/hour for her services, I mistakenly believed that she had my best interests at heart. Unknown to me, Creekside and Ms. Burgess had agreed that Creekside would pay Ms. Burgess a kickback of more than $1,300 for inducing me to sign a contract with Creekside. I only discovered this arrangement long after signing a contract with Creekside and paying to Creekside a large, non-refundable deposit.

The first thing to know about Creekside, which I did not discover until it was too late, is that Creekside does not even make, deliver or install cabinets. And their “free design services” are a joke; they just did whatever my paid designer told them to do, and they still made obvious mistakes that I had to find and correct myself. All Creekside does is take cabinet orders and forward them to a company called Columbia which does all of the work. Columbia charges Creekside less than half of what Creekside charges you. Next Creekside charges you for another company to deliver the cabinets to you. Then, finally, it’s up to you to figure out how to get the cabinets installed.

That’s right, Creekside does essentially nothing. Yet they pay kickbacks to your designer; they grossly mark up the price of your cabinets (in my case, by more than twice what Creekside was paying to Columbia); they charge you a substantial delivery fee; and they provide no useful services. Worse, Creekside requires you to pay a non-refundable 50% deposit up front. Once Creekside has your money they will not allow you to cancel your order at any time or for any reason. This is true even if construction of your cabinets is months away, and even if neither Creekside nor Columbia has yet lifted a finger or spent a penny toward building the cabinets. In my case, Creekside kept and refused to return to me over $12,600 (almost all of which went to Creekside, not to Columbia) when I was forced to cancel an order more then 3 months before the cabinets were even scheduled to be built or delivered. The reason for my cancellation was that neither Creekside nor I could find a qualified finish carpenter or other contractor willing and able to install the cabinets. I was therefore forced to choose between demolishing my kitchen and accepting delivery of cabinets that I could not have installed, or trying to cancel my contract with Creekside and seek a refund of my deposit. I chose to cancel. However, Creekside refused to return my deposit. In effect, Creekside told me that if I wanted my money back I would have to sue them.

On August 15, 2022, after several unsuccessful attempts to resolve this situation with Creekside amicably, I filed a complaint against Creekside, its owner, Brad Moore, and designer Michelle Burgess with the Washington State Office of the Attorney General under the Consumer Protection Act (RCW Chapter 19.86). You can view the entire complaint here. To date, Creekside is still holding, and has refused to return to me, more than $12,600 of my deposit. In addition to the complaint that I filed with the Attorney General’s office, I am also contemplating a private lawsuit against Creekside.

If you want to avoid this painful and expensive experience, I have a few pieces of advice to offer: (1) Don’t do business with Creekside Cabinet & Design or its owner, Brad Moore, (2) If possible, find and use a cabinet company that makes and installs its own cabinets, (3) If you must use a cabinet retailer that does not make its own cabinets, then ask them who does make the cabinets and how much is their mark-up (up to 20% might be reasonable, depending upon what other services the retailer offers), (4) If the company does not install its own cabinets (as it should), make sure that you have a signed installation contract with an installer vetted and approved by the retailer or cabinet maker in place BEFORE you order or pay a deposit toward your purchase of the cabinets, and finally (5) Don’t trust designers (like Michelle Burgess) to have your best interests at heart— I’ve consistently found that their loyalties are to the contractors and suppliers who pay repeated kickback to them, and not to you, the designer’s “client” (who the designer might not see or work with again once your project finished).

What others are saying about Creekside:

Below is a small sample of the negative reviews that have been posted online about Creekside Cabinet & Design. Bear in mind that Google, Facebook and construction industry websites such as Houzz either won’t post negative reviews, or will allow merchants to remove them, even if the reviews do not violate any published rules or policies. I know this because some of mine have been blocked or removed. The reason these sites allow merchants to block or remove reviews is simple: merchants pay advertising fees to these companies, so these companies must do as the merchants ask or risk losing advertising revenue. Yelp reviews, on the other hand, seem to be more difficult for merchants to remove (unless the merchant is a paid Yelp advertiser).

Review of Cabinet Companies Kitsap County

Share Your Story about Creekside on this Website

Unlike websites and review services that are beholden to the companies being reviewed, this website will publish the unvarnished truth. If you have been harmed or had an unpleasant experience with Creekside Cabinet & Design, or its owner Brad Moore, whether as a customer or as an employee, please share your experience with me at badcabinets@gmail.com. If your story seems legitimate and is consistent with the purposes of this website, I will share it on this site. I reserve the right to edit your story for clarity, brevity, and to remove profanity. However, I will not alter the substance of your story without your permission.

Write Reviews about Creekside

Use the power of the internet to let others know about your negative experiences with Creekside Cabinet & Design or its owner, Brad Moore. You can leave a Yelp review here, a Google review here, a Facebook review here, or a Better Business Bureau review here. However, as discussed above, Creekside might be able to remove some of these reviews. Yelp is probably your best bet for posting a negative review that Creekside can’t easily remove.

File a Washington Consumer Protection Act Complaint

Washington’s Consumer Protection Act prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of trade or commerce (RCW 19.86.020). As I’ve mentioned, I have already filed a Consumer Protection Act complaint against Creekside Cabinet & Design and its owner, Brad Moore with the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. You can view the entire complaint here. You too can file a Consumer Protection Act complaint. It’s easy and it’s free. Just click on this link to be taken to the Attorney General’s online complaint page. Note that Consumer Protection Act complaints are public records.

If enough people file complaints about Creekside to establish Creekside’s “pattern or practice” of violations, then the Attorney General’s office might very well file its own lawsuit against Creekside. If this happens, you can use the court’s findings in the Attorney General’s lawsuit to support your own lawsuit against Creekside (RCW 19.86.130).

Consider Joining Me in a Lawsuit Against Creekside and its owner, Brad Moore.

In addition to enforcement by the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, the Consumer Protection Act allows consumers to file private lawsuits against a business that commits unfair or deceptive acts or practices in the conduct of trade or commerce (RCW 19.86.090). In a private lawsuit, a plaintiff can recover up to three times the amount taken from them by the offending business, as well as the plaintiff’s court costs and reasonable attorney fees.

I am currently contemplating a multi-plaintiff lawsuit (or class action) against Creekside and Moore under the Washington Consumer Protection Act. If you too have been harmed by Creekside as a result of their unfair or deceptive business practices, and would like to file or join in a lawsuit to recover money that Creekside has taken from you, or if you would simply like to serve as a witness in such a lawsuit, please contact me at the email below.

Updates…

June 19, 2023

I recently discovered that Brad Moore has stepped down as president of Creekside. On the company’s website he is now listed merely as “founder”. But I have no doubt that company remains under his unscrupulous influence. At the same time, Michelle Burgess Design has shut its doors and shut down its website. It appears that Michelle Burgess might now be working under the name MB Architectural Design & Consulting, although she has removed all references to her own name or prior business from the website for this new venture. Buyer beware of both Creekside Cabinet and Michelle Burgess. Neither deserves your trust or your business.

October 22, 2022

Still no denials from Creekside, Brad Moore or Michelle Burgess. Meanwhile, this website continues to climb in the search results rankings. And numerous Yelp users have indicated that they have found this website to be helpful to them.

September 27, 2022

Creekside, Brad Moore and Michelle Burgess all continue to stonewall. To date, none of them has formally or publicly denied ANY of the allegations contained in Consumer Protection Act complaint filed against them more than a month ago. Nor have any of them responded to any of the unfavorable reviews about them that I have posted online. I think it’s reasonable to conclude that the reason for their failure to deny is that they can not truthfully do so, and that their stonewalling is tantamount to an admission of the facts stated in the complaint and in the reviews.

September 5, 2022

I want to express my thanks for the huge amount of support that I have received from the public since I created this website, including numerous comments on my Facebook posts, private email messages, and more than 650 unique visitors to this site in its first 10 days alone! This is how consumer protection is supposed to work, through word-of-mouth and internet posts among people who are looking out for one another so as not to become victims of an unscrupulous business. Please continue to spread the word, especially by sharing and linking to this website. Thank you all!

August 24, 2022

Today Creekside's lawyer threatened to sue me for defamation. Hmm. I guess the word about Creekside is getting out, and the truth hurts!

I’m not worried about Creekside’s hollow threats. And you shouldn’t be either. Here are some of the reasons why:

1. Truth, no matter how unflattering, is a complete defense in a defamation case. And the plaintiff in such a case bears the burden of proving that any allegedly defamatory statements are false. I have said nothing false about Creekside, and Creekside cannot prove otherwise.

2. Unfavorable online reviews are protected speech under the Consumer Review Fairness Act of 2016. Creekside’s attempt to intimidate me into changing or removing unfavorable online reviews is a violation of that act could result in substantial fines and other penalties being imposed against Creekside.

3. My Consumer Protection Act complaint against Creekside, filed with the Washington State Office of the Attorney General, is protected speech under Washington’s anti-SLAPP law, RCW 4.24.510. An attempt by Creekside to silence me in derogation of that law would not only fail but would subject Creekside to paying my court costs and attorney fees.

4. There is no basis on which Creekside (or any other defamation plaintiff) can recover attorney fees in a defamation action. So, Creekside would have to pay a ton of attorney fees regardless of the outcome of the case.

5. I have a substantial amount of insurance coverage against claims of alleged defamation. And if you have a homeowner’s insurance policy and/or an umbrella policy, you probably do too. So, if despite all of the above contraindications, Creekside decides to sue me for defamation, I will simply hand the matter over to my insurance carrier. Creekside can then spend their time and money doing battle with my insurance defense counsel, who will be paid not by me, but by the very deep pockets of my insurance company.

Obligatory disclaimer: I am retired from the practice of law. None of the foregoing should be construed as legal advice. If you have questions about your specific facts or legal rights, please consult an attorney who is licensed to practice law in the state in which you reside.