Where do I start…
Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - They paid cash for firewood, but customers of an Oswego County logger got just half of what they ordered.
The owner has been feeding them excuses for months, and he's still not delivering on refunds or wood that's owed.
After seeing an ad in the Pennysaver, Martin Sujkowski called and ordered 20 face cords of wood from Fairdale Logging in Oswego County. The wood was dropped off in a pile; the owner took his money. It wasn't until Martin got around to stacking it, that he realized there was something wrong.
“It turned out to be about 10 face cords, so I called him and he says ‘yes, I shorted you because we have this new digital system that was installed and it miscalculated, or whatever, yes you got shorted, I'll deliver the wood,’” Sujkowski says.
That was nearly eight months ago; Martin still doesn't have the other half of his order, or a refund. Scott Fonte has a similar story.
“I didn't know -- it was just in a pile -- what it was supposed to look like, so he left… I tried to burn a couple pieces, it just smoldered and turned black…I came out here and stacked it and realized it was exactly 1/2 short,” says Fonte.
Fonte called County Weights and Measures to confirm his shortage. The stack is also soft wood, not seasoned hardwood like he ordered.
Brodie Weaver, the owner of the logging company, claims his business has just gotten so big because more people are buying wood stoves that he's having a hard time keeping up -- an excuse Martin and Scott say they've heard dozens of times.
Martin won a small claims judgment against Weaver, but he's still got nothing to show for it.
Weaver has a handful of other outstanding judgments against him. I spoke with him at length and he said when business got busy, he made some careless mistakes, and he needs a little time to get things straightened out.
After our discussion, he showed up at Fonte’s house with some of the wood he owed him -- but not all of it.
We've heard from a few other people with complaints against this logger; they all say they heard about him through Craigslist.