Sherman Industry Inc.

Review: I bought a geothermal solution with the company in question on July **/2013. The contract says the solution would be installed and ready by Sept ** /13. As of today, June */14 they haven't completed the work. The contract has a note saying: "Time of essence - [redacted] has no heat must be complete by September"

I bought the geothermal because my burner broke during the summer and hence I told the company I needed the geothermal working by the Fall (2013) at the latest. They kept promising they were going to take care and didn't deliver.

By mid-October when a cold front hit and I called to complain, they brought electric area heaters as a temporary solution. That didn't help to warm the house, just small rooms so they brought 'temporarily' an old oil burner they had removed from a customer. The burner was liking and was meant to be there only weeks at the most.

It lasted all winter, with both my electric (area heaters) and oil bills skyrocketing.

In early December they got the permits to do the work and started.

The implementation of geothermal solution is done by different crews that perform different work. They don't coordinate and / or don't have enough personnel and after a step they go mum and only after several calls and complaints they move on to do something else.

By the end of May some part of the geothermal solution finally started working and they removed the old oil burner.

Currently, the 3rd zone of the geothermal is still not working, they haven't removed the oil tank, they haven't fixed the walls and ceilings damaged during the duct installation, they haven't fixed outdoor elements broken during the installation (like a path, gutters and a faucet), they haven't fixed electric wires moved during the duct installation, they haven't fixed the garage opener damaged during the installation, they haven't removed trash and I don't have the final permit from the town for the work done.

It has been weeks since the last time the last crew came to do something in the house. Every time I call the office they tell me they will return my call but they don't.

Two days ago I said I wasn't hanging until I spoke to someone and the [redacted] got me to someone that told me to send him the list of issues pending via email. He didn't know what they had done at my house or what was pending.

I sent the list to the email he provided and haven't heard back.Desired Settlement: Finish the job as soon as possible.

Significant reduction in the last payment that is to be delivered upon completion of the work: Sherman Industry Inc. should pay for all the oil I paid for in the winter. The oil tank was full and a lot of oil was needed in part due to the winter but a significant part because the liking and highly inefficient oil burner that was installed.

An additional reduction also in compensation for the inconveniences caused, including having to send my elderly parents at one point to my sister's house due to the cold in the house and thus having to take time off from work to take care of son, having a liking oil burner with its respective odor and risks and instead of reducing the electric + oil cost , the increase in the electric and oil bills among others.

Review: I ,[redacted], am filing a complaint against SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. [redacted]. One year ago I signed a contract with this company to install a GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM. This complaint has come about largely due to the fact that the principals ([redacted].; [redacted].; [redacted]) of SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. have stopped communicating with me and more importantly, I have recently learned that the installation of a GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM is illegal in the town in which I live, [redacted].

I signed two contracts with [redacted] (sales representative for SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC.) at my home on 5.**.2013 for the installation of a GEOTHERMAL SYSTEM and other related work for $52,970. I also signed a contract for a stand by generator for $18,000.00, making my total deposit $23,400.00. The contract for the stand by generator for $18,000.00 was mutually cancelled on 8.**.2013 with the understanding that the deposit for the generator would be put toward the Geothermal system start-up deposit.

The work was to start approximately 8.**.13 and finish approximately 9.**.2013 as stated on both contracts. I called SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. a week after the start-up date and was told the work would start in a few weeks. I continued to call every other week and got the same answer. On 10.**.2013 [redacted] and his [redacted] came to my home and did a walk through. At that time [redacted] told me that they would start the next day. During the walk through I asked for copies of the work permits. He told me that his company does not need permits for this work because they are licensed by New York State to install Geothermal which is legally permitted anywhere in the county of Nassau and its towns. To further reassure me, [redacted] told me they just finished installing a ** geothermal exchange wells geothermal system at a strip mall on [redacted] in the [redacted] in the [redacted]. I also remembered that in early September, 2013 I had observed SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC installing a geothermal system at two other residences near my home in [redacted] which is in the [redacted].

Having been reassured, I agreed that the work should start the following day 10.**.2013. When no one showed up on that date I started calling SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. On 2.**.2014, I gave SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. $11,400.00 which was the balance of the start-up deposit. At this point I had given SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. a total of $34,800.00 as per the contract. The drilling for the project started on that day.

Approximately three weeks later on 02.**.2014, at the point of connecting the four exchange wells, a T.O.B code enforcer issued me a Notice of Violation at my residence. The notice stated that all work must stop until permits are filed for. I immediately called [redacted] who told me their lawyer would contact the T.O.B. Building Division and work would continue in a few days. Over the course of the next two months I continued calling SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. and was told they were actively talking and meeting with T.O.B. Building Division Commissioner and Deputy Commissioner.

On 4.**.2014 I decided to call T.O.B Building Division. I spoke to [redacted] the Deputy Commissioner who told me the T.O.B. does not allow Geothermal Systems. He also said he had not had any communication this year with anybody from SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. I immediately called SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. and I spoke to their [redacted]. I relayed to her what the Deputy Commissioner had said and stressed the importance of speaking with someone. [redacted] said she would immediately contact [redacted] and he would call me back the same day. No one from SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC. has called me since that day despite my numerous attempts to speak with the powers that be. I finally stopped calling them on 5.**.2014

At this point I have: four two hundred foot deep wells with the connected plumbing going through the foundation into the den of my home with the exposed plumbing showing and going nowhere; no front lawn; landscaping that is damaged and its retaining wall sagging.

At this point SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC has $34,800.00 of our money given to them in good faith.

I want:

all of our $34,800.00 given back to me AND the escrow interest.

my residence to be restored to the condition it was in before SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC started the project.Desired Settlement: I want:

all of our $34,800.00 given back to me AND the escrow interest.

my residence to be restored to the condition it was in before SHERMAN INDUSTRY, INC started the project.

Review: We are a Hurricane Sandy Victim and had to knock our house down because of an oil spill as a result of the flood. In planning our new home, we decided to go with geothermal heating and cooling. We contracted with Sherman Industries in April of 2013, and gave them a $19,000 deposit. At that time we knew it would still be a while before our permits would allow us to start building. After many delays because of our own permit process, combined with the weather, we were finally ready for them to begin work in March of 2014. After numerous calls and emails trying to get them in, they finally started working here on May [redacted]. At this point we gave them another $19,000 of our money. Drilling and some ductwork was completed on May [redacted], at which point we gave them another $9,000. This is when all of the work stopped. They still need to finish a lot of work outside, and they also need to supply the air handler so that the duct work can be completed. I have made numerous calls and attempts to get them to finish the job but there is always just one excuse after another. It is now 4 weeks that have gone by and we have been staring at our half completed home waiting for them to finish so that we can start with insulation and sheetrock. To make matter worse, we are currently living in a trailer on our front lawn, and they are well aware of our situation. [redacted] tells us that he is doing nothing but making us a priority, however, I see a major lack of communication, and what I feel at this point is outright deceit.Desired Settlement: We need them to stop making excuses and finish the job now... My family cannot afford to live like this anymore.

Consumer

Response:

At this time, I have not been contacted by Sherman Industry Inc. regarding complaint ID [redacted].

Since I submitted this complaint, the business has filed for chapter 11 reorganization, and they have had their licenses pulled by consumer affairs. They have $47,000 of our money and I am not expecting them to be finishing our job. We are in the process of hiring another company to finish it for us, and are filing claims with consumer affairs as well as the Nassau County DAs office. Of course we will fight for what they owe us in money, but what they have cost us in time is immeasurable.

Sincerely,