GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Residents across the greater Grand Rapids area said they are out upwards of $10,000 after a local branch of a generator company canceled their orders with no warning.
Generator Supercenter of Grand Rapids, located on southeast Plainfield Drive, handled the purchasing and installation of generators for West Michigan.
However, in February, Nicholas Juhle, an Ada resident, paid $11,440—a 50% down payment—for a generator contracted to be installed on April 24.
The day before installation was supposed to be completed, he received a voicemail from Generator Supercenter telling him that they will not be able to complete the job. They said the electricians were confident they would be able to complete the job were it not for "issues with certain situations."
The representative told Juhle in the call his deposit would be refunded. Juhle is still waiting for that to happen.
"The way they've handled it thus far, it just feels like I've been I've been robbed," Juhle said.
Following the call, Juhle reached out to his salesperson, only to be informed that he no longer works with the company. He said the representative stated there are over 100 people in the same situation as him.
"One hundred examples of people just like me who either gave deposits or had part of their work done, but it wasn't complete yet," Juhle said. "It's unfair to me and the other 99 or so people who are in this situation to be put through this stress, to have money that we put down in good faith, to have some work done and to have it not be done and not returned. "
Stephen Karloski of Rockford is one of those people.
Karloski had a contract to have the generator installed on May 2, paying a down payment of $2,500 in February.
But Karloski said when the day came, no one showed up to his house, and no one called.
"I told the person in Wisconsin and in Texas that I wanted my money back," Karlowski said.
Since then, Karloski said he has tried to get in touch with the corporate office, but no one has called him back.
"I felt like they were avoiding me and they didn't want to have anything to do with me," Karlowski said. "Their mission statement is to joyfully provide comfort and peace of mind for our customers, and that's, there's no peace of mind when they don't communicate."
In the time following the missed installations, Juhle and Karlowski both said they have contacted everyone they can to try to get their money back.
According to Juhle, he was told the local branch of Generator Supercenter was taken over by the corporate office in mid-February.
13 ON YOUR SIDE visited the store location on Wednesday to find it empty—with owners in surrounding stores saying the Generator Supercenter moved out in mid-March.
Both findings are reflected on the Grand Rapids location's website, saying "the independently owned and operated Generator Supercenter locations in Detroit and Grand Rapids have closed."
"We are actively working with our legal team to reopen these locations as corporate-owned stores, dedicated to providing you with the superior service you expect from Generator Supercenter," the website said.
Since the cancelations, both Juhle and Karlowski said communication has been slim. The partner in charge of transition yet to respond to any emails.
13 ON YOUR SIDE reached out to the Generator Supercenter's corporate office in Texas but have not heard a response yet.
If you are an existing customer of the Detroit or Grand Rapids locations, Generator Supercenter is asking you to fill out a form to discuss "discuss the options available to you during this transition."
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