ComplaintsforWood Heat, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  01/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The parent company Wood Heat LLC is in PA but we ordered a *********** wood stove at their Flemington, NJ showroom on 02/16/2022 from Mr. S*****. On 9/15/22 and he informed us that the stove would not be available until "maybe" early 2023. He suggested an in stock ***** stove which was $1,280 more, but was supposedly a better MFR / customer service. We purchased it on 10/01/22 and it was installed 10/14. We broke it in per MFR recommendations and used it on Sun. 10/16. The door handle was extremely hard to operate. Wood Heat is closed Sun-Mon so we called them on Tuesday morning. They suggested that I "bend" a latch but they eventually to attempt repairs came 3 times over 3 months; replaced the latch, then handle, then added washers as spacers. Nothing has totally corrected this issue. They had us call the MFR rep who told us that the problem would go away with use and was unwilling to stop by and experience the issue first hand. Repeated calls and emails regarding this issue are mostly ignored or replied to weeks later if at all. On 12/16, we noticed that the pieces of the welding that hold the stove together were coming off. I called Mr. S*****, and then email him photos. We never heard back so we called on 12/17, and he said he would contact the MFR about this issue as well. After waiting for a response for over two weeks, we stopped by the showroom and brought the broken weld pieces to show him and asked what was happening on 01/06/23. Mr. S***** said he sent the photo to the MFR ( Jotul ) and asked if the MFR's rep contacted us. We had not heard from them. He took additional photos of the weld, said he would contact the MFR again and would call us "either way" on 01/10, but that he had done everything he could do and that the rest was up to us to deal directly with the MFR. We have not heard anything from anyone. This is a "lemon law" worthy item. As an authorized dealer, Wood Heat has replace this, we should not have to deal with the MFR.

  Business response

  01/27/2023

  **** had been making threats of making trouble if he does not get his way from the start. He wants his stove door to close with less force that it currently does to make it easier for his wife who has trouble with closing, he says.  However Wood Heat and the manufacturer, have reviewed and said door is operating within the tolerances of the design.  Wood Heat's store manager even replaced the entire handle mechanism to try to appease him. Door gaskets wear over time so **** door will close with less force as he uses the stove; too loose is a concern as this would allow air leakage  If something was defective we would have fixed it.  Any redesign from the manufacturer is unlikely since this model has been their best selling product for years, and ****'s complaint has not been heard from others.  We will continue to review as the gasket wears in. 

  Customer response

  02/02/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  We have been very reasonable and patient in requesting a repair for almost four months.
  
  Is it a threat to mention our intention to report a business that has consistently ignored our concerns to the BBB and Attorney General?  We don't think so.
  
  Wood Heat's defensive reply is indicative of their unwilllingness to take reponsability for the problem and instead blame the customer.
  
  Both my wife and I have to "pound" on the handle to close the front door.
  
  The stove has two doors and the side door opens and closes perfectly.
  
  Our neighbor has the same exact stove purchased from Wood Heat.  His front door opens with one finger. He was shocked at how hard ours was to open and close.
  
  I asked if his was "hard" like that when new - he said "no, it was NEVER like that" and neither was a floor sample in Wood Heat's showroom.  
  
  Even the Wood Heat salesman saw the problem prompting him to try to repair it 3 times and sending a person to videotape the problem to show the factory.  
  
  Beside the salesman, no qualified technician has ever come here so we don't know how any "tolerances" have been assessed. 
  
  Further, no response to the welds coming apart ( as indicated in photos ) have been received since we advised them of this matter in mid December. 16, 2022

  Would Heat said they would contact the factory regarding this matter and let us know if it was safe to operate the stove with this problem. 

  We stopped in AGAIN on Jan. 6, 2023 to show the salesman the pieces of metal welds and he promised to get back to us by Jan. 10 but we never heard back from them.
  
  Despite Wood Heat's reaponse, there ARE problems and they REFURSE TO FIX them.
  

  Regards,

  **** ********

• Initial Complaint

  01/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Wood heat sold me a pellet stove on approx. November 16, 2021, stove was in stock, wood heat could not install until mid to late January. Found an installer, great job, 44 days later stove stopped working, did everything on trouble shooting page,to no avail, called wood heat and was informed by ***** no one could be there to assess the problem until January 27 th at the earliest, How can someone sell a product that cannot be serviced for almost a month later. Also the owner ************************* stated that there is nothing he can do to help us & to get on the list because youre a new customer. I am retired law enforcement & have never dealt with such rude unprofessional people in all my 25 years. Stove is useless until someone can come look at & repair it. Thank you for your time in addressing this matter.

  Business response

  02/02/2022

  Customer demanded service for service on 1/7.  We ordered part and completed service on 1/27.  He was given priority - as we are backlogged six weeks due to overwhelming demand.  

  That should have been the end of the story.  Unfortunately it got very ugly.  ***** *****'s behavior was mean, rude, and disrespectful.  Our salesman went out of his way to explain to ****** ******* how he could get his stove working until we could service.  Instead of being grateful, he spewed foul language at salespeople, in the presence of other customers. He was threatening so much so they were about to call the police in fear that he was going to assault my salespeople.   He returned the next day to spew more foul language upsetting staff and customers.   He also  picketed the business from the street, waving a pizza box with some unreadable words scratched on the unprinted side of the box.  I think that sums up what kind of person ******** ******** is.  After all this, Wood Heat still went out and serviced his stove under manufacturer warranty - no cost to *****.  We also discovered stove was working when we arrived, as the failed switch was bypassed the way our salesman has suggested. 

  I am proud of the behavior of my staff to overcome ******'s actions and continue to provide great service.

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