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Local home improvement company leaves customers “high and dry,” BBB says
BBB, Ohio AG receive dozens of calls over abrupt closure of Energy Wise Home Improvements
YOUNGSTOWN
The local chapter of the Better Business Bureau said a local contractor is leaving customers “high and dry” with its abrupt closure this week.
Melissa Ames, vice president of BBB Services, estimated the agency has received at least two dozen calls about Energy Wise Home Improvements, which is based on Youngstown-Poland Road.
“It seems like they have just packed up completely and truly left a lot of consumers high and dry,” Ames said. “I really have never seen anything of this magnitude.”
The closure also caught the attention of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine, who said in a statement Tuesday: “We are very concerned about what we’re hearing from consumers. As we gather information, we encourage affected consumers to contact the Ohio Attorney General’s Office.”
DeWine’s office reported receiving 40 complaints about Energy Wise since Sunday.
Among the customers affected by the business closure is Barb Dellesky of Youngstown, who paid Energy Wise about $14,000 for a kitchen-remodel project. Dellesky said her project is nearly complete, but she was concerned about other customers whose jobs might be in earlier stages.
Dellesky said she hired Energy Wise more than a year ago and recently had some issues she wanted to raise with the company. She said she tried to call Monday, but no one answered. Later that day, she received a letter notifying her the company was going out of business, she said.
Ames said numerous other people called the BBB to report receiving such a letter.
A call placed Monday to Energy Wise was not answered, and no answering service was available. A call Tuesday did not go through.
Ames said her agency’s attempts to reach the business owner also have not been successful thus far.
As far as any recourse for customers, Ames recommended a few steps they should take.
She said customers who are financing a project should contact the institution through which they received financing and explain the situation.
She also recommended customers impacted by the closure file a written complaint with the BBB and with the Ohio Attorney General’s office.
To file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau, visit www.bbb.org. File a consumer complaint with the AG at www.OhioProtects.org or by calling 800-282-0515.
Ames said the BBB also is recommending in this case that Energy Wise customers file police reports with the law-enforcement agencies in the community where the work was being done.
The BBB so far has received complaints from customers in Mahoning, Trumbull and Columbiana counties, as well as at least one customer in Pennsylvania, Ames said.
DeWine’s office said some complaints came from those areas, as well as Stark and Portage counties.
“We’re going to be seeing this for awhile,” Ames said.