Woodman's Forge Fireplace - Sanbornville, NH

Argie's Wife · 04-14-2009, 01:09 PM

Anyone here have dealings with this company?

I'm asking about this because my mother bought a pellet stove from them less than a year ago. It stopped working in Feb/Mar of this year and she's still waiting to get it repaired. She had to pay $65 upfront to get a service tech to come to her house and has now waited over a month for service. (There's not even a date scheduled yet for service and she's forked out the money!) She is heating her house with oil but prefers the pellet stove. She says she was told that if a warranted part is replaced that she will still have to pay for the new part but will eventually be reimbursed if the stove maker declares the part was defected and meets the criteria for replacement.

Does this sound normal or average for this sort of thing?

Thanks!

Mat · 04-14-2009, 04:07 PM

IMO. Its not normal to take money for services that have not been rendered and not provide a date as to when one might expect the service. That doesn't sound right to me anyway. It seems to me someone needs to speak to a member of management level and inquire when they are planing to service the product they sold. Their website claims to offer expertise on all the products the sell. They also claim to be a division of another company. I'd try pushing a little bit in a nice but firm manner and see if they respond.

ArborTech · 04-15-2009, 05:25 AM

I had a similar dealing with this company. I had a part break on my Vermont castings woodstove. Not only was in outrageously expensive, but I paid up front and waited over four months to get the part. This was a simple piece of sheet metal that acted as a draft for my stove, and I mean simple.

By the time they called me to come get the part (which they would not ship to my house?) the heating season was basically over. Good luck to your mother.

Argie's Wife · 04-15-2009, 11:18 AM

Arbor Tech - I'm sorry to hear this. I had found some negative reviews online but one set of comments seemed to be written by the same disgruntled customer and then placed on several websites. I'm not one to trash a business but my concern is more about my mother's comfort. This is becoming a worrisome ordeal for her and I feel these business practices are unfair.

Argie's Wife · 04-19-2009, 06:27 PM

Update: My mother called the vendor to complain about the wait time, etc. and they apologized and responded by scheduling a day next week (I think?) that they will come out to complete the repair. She seems satisfied with the results so far - and like the ol' saying goes, "when mamma's happy - everyone is happy!"

dpg · 04-19-2009, 07:46 PM

Did your mother call the store or the stove mfg? In this type of case if you call the store and tell them you want the name of the areas rep (for the company that is.) If they tell you there isn't one ask for a contact name and number to lodge a complaint with the mfg. This usually makes them nervous as they do not want the company they represent hearing bad things about one of their outlets. I did this with a car (chrysler) they had a part on order for weeks and weeks with no end in sight. I finally called the dealer and asked for the ("Massachusetts Rep.") they were very uneasy but gave me a name and number (as I insisted and would not hang up without it.) Literally that afternoon the OWNER of the dealership called me to see what was going on. Needless to say within days he got my car repaired...He all but begged me not to call the number his service guy gave me and I called it anyways, AFTER my car was fixed.

Seeker · 04-25-2009, 09:33 AM

I've known the owners for years and bought a couple Jotul propane stoves from them. Never again. Shortly after I purchased a large unit to replace a smaller unit (my main source of heat) it stopped working. Their tech at the time came out and diagnosed the problem but the owners would not order the part until I paid upfront. Then they said it had to go back to the mfgr to get their approval. This was a brand new stove! Their customer service is non-existant. I was on the phone with them daily trying to get them off their butts and to get my stove working. Finally got my money for the part back. Too many other good businesses around.

Argie's Wife · 04-27-2009, 07:04 AM

DPG - she called the seller (store) to complain.

She later told me that her complaint was met with "attitude" (you don't give my mother "attitude" - she will mess you up!) but said the owner chilled out after they got talking. She seems to think that there's no one in the area who will work on the stove if these people don't service it. I find it hard to believe they're the only game in town..

However, things are in the works and I'll let it go on until she says she's unhappy again. She's actually upset enough to call the BBB on them if this isn't resolved soon because of this - which is very unlike her. I think the appointment is this week for it (watch it be the day that's going to be like 85 degrees!)

dpg · 04-28-2009, 11:00 AM

My parents have this brand stove (I think, it sounds familiar.) They have also had problems, it's a vent-less gas stove (do they make vent-less models) if they do that's the one. On occasion you could detect the odor of gas in the room - not a good thing. I believe my father went round and round with the store about this problem. I was in a Vermont Castings store down here in Mass this past winter and got talking to them. They strongly do not recommend something that is not vented the guy went into explaining how you can get mold issues in the room (went way over my head.)

swnoel · 04-28-2009, 08:15 PM

Sounds like she would have better off installing a more efficient oil unit, rather than putting in a pellet stove.

I know that when oil prices spiked people panicked and did some foolish things, costing themselves hundreds .

Argie's Wife · 04-28-2009, 10:16 PM

I think she wanted the warmth of the pellet stove without the fuss and mess of a wood stove, to be honest. I think oil prices were a secondary driver to her decision. She's one of those "always cold" people (and so am I! Once October hits, I'm in 3 layers of fleece and wool!)

Hers is a vented stove - I'm not going to pretend I know what's going on with it or why it's not working - I leave that up to the experts.

04-14-2009, 01:09 PM	#1
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	Woodman's Forge Fireplace - Sanbornville, NH Anyone here have dealings with this company? I'm asking about this because my mother bought a pellet stove from them less than a year ago. It stopped working in Feb/Mar of this year and she's still waiting to get it repaired. She had to pay $65 upfront to get a service tech to come to her house and has now waited over a month for service. (There's not even a date scheduled yet for service and she's forked out the money!) She is heating her house with oil but prefers the pellet stove. She says she was told that if a warranted part is replaced that she will still have to pay for the new part but will eventually be reimbursed if the stove maker declares the part was defected and meets the criteria for replacement. Does this sound normal or average for this sort of thing? Thanks!

04-15-2009, 05:25 AM	#3
ArborTech Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Gilmanton, NH Posts: 53 Thanks: 8 Thanked 35 Times in 11 Posts	Waiting.....and waiting.....and waiting I had a similar dealing with this company. I had a part break on my Vermont castings woodstove. Not only was in outrageously expensive, but I paid up front and waited over four months to get the part. This was a simple piece of sheet metal that acted as a draft for my stove, and I mean simple. By the time they called me to come get the part (which they would not ship to my house?) the heating season was basically over. Good luck to your mother.

04-14-2009, 04:07 PM	#2
Mat Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Ma and Alton Bay Posts: 42 Thanks: 2 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	IMO. Its not normal to take money for services that have not been rendered and not provide a date as to when one might expect the service. That doesn't sound right to me anyway. It seems to me someone needs to speak to a member of management level and inquire when they are planing to service the product they sold. Their website claims to offer expertise on all the products the sell. They also claim to be a division of another company. I'd try pushing a little bit in a nice but firm manner and see if they respond.

04-15-2009, 11:18 AM	#4
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	Arbor Tech - I'm sorry to hear this. I had found some negative reviews online but one set of comments seemed to be written by the same disgruntled customer and then placed on several websites. I'm not one to trash a business but my concern is more about my mother's comfort. This is becoming a worrisome ordeal for her and I feel these business practices are unfair.

04-19-2009, 06:27 PM	#5
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	Update: My mother called the vendor to complain about the wait time, etc. and they apologized and responded by scheduling a day next week (I think?) that they will come out to complete the repair. She seems satisfied with the results so far - and like the ol' saying goes, "when mamma's happy - everyone is happy!"

04-19-2009, 07:46 PM	#6
dpg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 2,560 Thanks: 149 Thanked 229 Times in 166 Posts	Did your mother call the store or the stove mfg? In this type of case if you call the store and tell them you want the name of the areas rep (for the company that is.) If they tell you there isn't one ask for a contact name and number to lodge a complaint with the mfg. This usually makes them nervous as they do not want the company they represent hearing bad things about one of their outlets. I did this with a car (chrysler) they had a part on order for weeks and weeks with no end in sight. I finally called the dealer and asked for the ("Massachusetts Rep.") they were very uneasy but gave me a name and number (as I insisted and would not hang up without it.) Literally that afternoon the OWNER of the dealership called me to see what was going on. Needless to say within days he got my car repaired...He all but begged me not to call the number his service guy gave me and I called it anyways, AFTER my car was fixed.

04-25-2009, 09:33 AM	#7
Seeker Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Effingham Posts: 408 Thanks: 37 Thanked 19 Times in 15 Posts	I've known the owners for years and bought a couple Jotul propane stoves from them. Never again. Shortly after I purchased a large unit to replace a smaller unit (my main source of heat) it stopped working. Their tech at the time came out and diagnosed the problem but the owners would not order the part until I paid upfront. Then they said it had to go back to the mfgr to get their approval. This was a brand new stove! Their customer service is non-existant. I was on the phone with them daily trying to get them off their butts and to get my stove working. Finally got my money for the part back. Too many other good businesses around.

04-27-2009, 07:04 AM	#8
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	DPG - she called the seller (store) to complain. She later told me that her complaint was met with "attitude" (you don't give my mother "attitude" - she will mess you up!) but said the owner chilled out after they got talking. She seems to think that there's no one in the area who will work on the stove if these people don't service it. I find it hard to believe they're the only game in town.. However, things are in the works and I'll let it go on until she says she's unhappy again. She's actually upset enough to call the BBB on them if this isn't resolved soon because of this - which is very unlike her. I think the appointment is this week for it (watch it be the day that's going to be like 85 degrees!)

04-28-2009, 11:00 AM	#9
dpg Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 2,560 Thanks: 149 Thanked 229 Times in 166 Posts	My parents have this brand stove (I think, it sounds familiar.) They have also had problems, it's a vent-less gas stove (do they make vent-less models) if they do that's the one. On occasion you could detect the odor of gas in the room - not a good thing. I believe my father went round and round with the store about this problem. I was in a Vermont Castings store down here in Mass this past winter and got talking to them. They strongly do not recommend something that is not vented the guy went into explaining how you can get mold issues in the room (went way over my head.)

04-28-2009, 08:15 PM	#10
swnoel Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 527 Thanks: 83 Thanked 194 Times in 118 Posts	Sounds like she would have better off installing a more efficient oil unit, rather than putting in a pellet stove. I know that when oil prices spiked people panicked and did some foolish things, costing themselves hundreds .

04-28-2009, 10:16 PM	#11
Argie's Wife Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Alton Posts: 1,908 Blog Entries: 1 Thanks: 533 Thanked 579 Times in 260 Posts	I think she wanted the warmth of the pellet stove without the fuss and mess of a wood stove, to be honest. I think oil prices were a secondary driver to her decision. She's one of those "always cold" people (and so am I! Once October hits, I'm in 3 layers of fleece and wool!) Hers is a vented stove - I'm not going to pretend I know what's going on with it or why it's not working - I leave that up to the experts.