New Pellet Co in Fitchburg, MA $225/ton for one day

[mnkywrnch]

I'm STILL waiting for 2 tons.

I haven't seen any metal or rocks in any of the bags, and I'm about 40 bags burned.

If I don't receive delivery today I will get the refund, contact the Better Business Bureau and then purchase the other 2 tons I need from somewhere else.
I'm considering filing a small claims case against them for the difference between the price of their pellets and what pellets will cost me today, in addition to having to pay another delivery fee on top of what I paid them. I'm pretty frickin' annoyed at how they have treated me and the constant lies.

How annoying is it to get the refund from them? Are they always there at the shop? I've been there before as that's where I purchased them.

ps. Does Home Depot deliver?

I believe the batch you got wasn't as poor of quality as they are now.Home depot doesn't deliver but you could rent one of there trucks and use that.They are getting real tuff about giving refunds, they told my friend they would not give him a refund,he said then I will be heading over to the court house to file a claim,that worked he got his money back.FWIW there also adding corn to there pellets which to me isn't a big deal to me as my venting is multifuel,but I'm just wondering what that could do to regular pellet vent.Get your money back now before they decide to give you 2 tons of crap, if they say they won't threaten to file a claim.

Ha... I've already told them that I'm ready to do that last week. I did notice a single corn kernal in one bad last weekend. I too have a multi fuel stove so I'm not concerned.

Well crap, now I'm hoping I don't receive my shipment... and now I need to find out a way to get a refund.

I thought someone said Home Depot's pellets were of poor quality; and how much can you fit in/on 1 truck?[/quote
Deoends on which brands they have it's really hit or miss,also depends on the size of the truck I would think they could haul atleast one ton.You could have a multifuel stove without the multifel venting,corn is very corrosive and will eat regular pellet vent pretty quickly.You could also check quality masonary in leominster I believe they have spruce pointe which are a good pellet they deliver.

 

[mrbean1025]

As far as the reason for the refund you may be able to argue that you purchased "premium wood pellets" as advertised and not pellets with corn.

 

[mnkywrnch]

As far as the reason for the refund you may be able to argue that you purchased "premium wood pellets" as advertised and not pellets with corn.

Good point PDK9,but I would add to that nails,plastic,rocks,dirt or whatever else they could find to throw in.

 

[ducker]

You could also check quality masonary in leominster I believe they have spruce pointe which are a good pellet they deliver.

That was on my list of places to call.. I'll most likely go with Pro-Tech Energy in Acton - and get some New England Wood Pellets at $239.
They want $279 per ton for the Spruce Point, and $50 delivery for 1-3 tons. (in town)
as well as Inferno for $239 per ton which they said were not as good, and for pickup only.

 

[rcarr10525]

I got 5 bags of their pellets at the grand opening sale in Mason NH. in Sept. I thought the pellets were really good quality. The ton I got in Oct were not the same pellet. There is no way they could have been. Maybe they bought someone elses pellets and bagged them in their own bags for the Sept Grand Opening or maybe that is what I received on my ton in Oct. Maybe they bought some cheap pellets from who knows where to just be able to bag them and deliver them till they worked out their pellet machine problems. Oct is when all of the problems started and they started blowing people off and lying to them. I don't know if Home Depot delivers we picked them up ourselves. I had the convience of having a truck to do it myself. If the pellets from Home Depot are hit or miss for Quality then I must have gotton a good batch. No problems with damaged or wet pellets. Paid $247. ton best price at the time. I googled Creative Biomass last week and noticed that someone had tried to contact Sentinal & Enterprise to see if they should look into the company, check to see if they are filing bankruptcy ect. I don't get that newspaper so I don't know if a article has been done on them.

 

[mnkywrnch]

You could also check quality masonary in leominster I believe they have spruce pointe which are a good pellet they deliver.

That was on my list of places to call.. I'll most likely go with Pro-Tech Energy in Acton - and get some New England Wood Pellets at $239.
They want $279 per ton for the Spruce Point, and $50 delivery for 1-3 tons. (in town)
as well as Inferno for $239 per ton which they said were not as good, and for pickup only.

$239 for newp is a very good price,I just got a ton of spruce pointe from spuria's for $255 which I thought was good and from what I hear stay away from the inferno pellets.Hope everything works out for everyone still waiting on the garbage they call "premium pellets".I find it strange they call there pellets the perfect pellet the only thing there good for is cat litter.

 

[mnkywrnch]

I got 5 bags of their pellets at the grand opening sale in Mason NH. in Sept. I thought the pellets were really good quality. The ton I got in Oct were not the same pellet. There is no way they could have been. Maybe they bought someone elses pellets and bagged them in their own bags for the Sept Grand Opening or maybe that is what I received on my ton in Oct. Maybe they bought some cheap pellets from who knows where to just be able to bag them and deliver them till they worked out their pellet machine problems. Oct is when all of the problems started and they started blowing people off and lying to them. I don't know if Home Depot delivers we picked them up ourselves. I had the convience of having a truck to do it myself. If the pellets from Home Depot are hit or miss for Quality then I must have gotton a good batch. No problems with damaged or wet pellets. Paid $247. ton best price at the time. I googled Creative Biomass last week and noticed that someone had tried to contact Sentinal & Enterprise to see if they should look into the company, check to see if they are filing bankruptcy ect. I don't get that newspaper so I don't know if a article has been done on them.

IMO the big box stores are always hit or miss with quality,you really need to see what your getting or you might end up with some real crap.I've got good and bad from both lowes and home depot.

 

[rleshane]

After months of delays trying to get my order filled, I finally canceled my order a couple months ago.

A couple weeks ago my sister tried to cancel her order after similar delays and they refused! She promptly disputed the charge with her credit card company, so at least she has them to protect her. I see on their website that they were kind enough to raise the price from $249 to $269 per ton. Apparently robbing $249 per ton just wasn't enough? Would love for the Sentinel to investigate and print a story. They have certainly lost future business from my sister and I, but I would be shocked if they are even in business by spring. It's too bad, I was really excited about them coming to town.

If you haven't canceled your order yet, I highly recommend going through the formality of requesting a refund and if/when they refuse, dispute it with your credit card company (if hopefully you paid by cc) to get a prompt credit on your card.

I ordered 4 tons of http://www.woodpellets.com/productdetail.aspx?zip=01420&brand=GRL5 for about the same price and have been very happy with them.

 

[ducker]

After months of delays trying to get my order filled, I finally canceled my order a couple months ago.

A couple weeks ago my sister tried to cancel her order after similar delays and they refused! She promptly disputed the charge with her credit card company, so at least she has them to protect her. I see on their website that they were kind enough to raise the price from $249 to $269 per ton. Apparently robbing $249 per ton just wasn't enough? Would love for the Sentinel to investigate and print a story. They have certainly lost future business from my sister and I, but I would be shocked if they are even in business by spring. It's too bad, I was really excited about them coming to town.

If you haven't canceled your order yet, I highly recommend going through the formality of requesting a refund and if/when they refuse, dispute it with your credit card company (if hopefully you paid by cc) to get a prompt credit on your card.

I ordered 4 tons of http://www.woodpellets.com/productdetail.aspx?zip=01420&brand=GRL5 for about the same price and have been very happy with them.

My delivery scheduled for today has not happened. I contacted them and they just refused to refund me... told me I would get them by the end of the week.. I laughed at them. They don't care if I file a small claims case, or contact the better business bureau. They said I would get my pellets by the end of the week unless they receive notification of canceling of the order, but they will not be issuing any refunds at all; but rather people will receive their product.

Again, I'm on the phone with my credit card company. I hope they are able to protect me and take the money out of their account, as they do not deserve any money.

 

[lkrochette1013]

I feel bad for the people that are still dealing with them. I did get my money refunded, but I do feel I should have also recieved the interest for the time they had my money. I did purchase NEWP at $260. a ton which I could have gotten cheaper if I would had purchased them when I purchased these. My neighbor won a ton at the grand opening ing September in Mason, He still has not received them and has been told he will not get them until everyone who paid for them, have there orders filled first. I do beleive it is illegal to offer a prize and not give it at the time the winner is announced. My neighbor doesn't believe he will ever see that ton of pellets. He might be happier when I tell him they are junk!

 

[ducker]

I hate reading stuff like this. It's not good for the industry, it's certainly not good for the company and this just isn't how a company should be running their business. With all that went wrong last year with a certain company taking money and then not delivering, ALL pellet companies should be aware that the public has a right to be on guard. If a company told me that I could cancel, but couldn't get a refund, I would make such a stink about that, they would hope they never hear my name again. I would go to the newspaper, TV station and tell anybody who cared to listen to me what they did.

I don't know these people and have no idea if they have a good product or not. I do know they give the industry a bad rap when they pull crap like this. It's one thing to put out a bad product, but it something else to jerk somebody around with their money or time.. A bad product can sometimes be fixed, but time is gone and you just don't screw with people's money.

Hopefully they will get their act together soon, or this is a surefire way to help your company go out of business quick.

I was going to send them a letter... and then hesitated...


I may still reach out to different media outlets with this information, I do not know.

The disputed charge has been done with the credit card company. So that's done... I told the credit card company I want to dispute 50% of the total price as I received only half of my order. I also told them I do not want the product at all, as I do not believe they are sincere or honorable, and will simply lie more.

 

[mnkywrnch]

Good for you ducker I really hope it works out for you.Unless I'm mistaken it's against the law to refuse a refund on undeliverd product.

 

[Gweeper64]

Wow.... just wow.... I'm almost sorry I asked. I feel for all you folks who got stuck. To me, it sounds like these people are not only inexperienced with making pellets, but probably with running a business in general.
Hey Ducker, if you go through with that letter, sending a Cc to the Worcester County DA's office might be in order. I agree with BTU that this really does not help the industry. It is the last thing that reputable mills, distributors and dealers need.

 

[ducker]

I'm on the fence with the letter.. I don't want to have to bother actually mailing a hard copy of the letter to the DA's office, seems like such a pain... but at the same time I wouldn't mind informing them that this is going on in their jurisdiction.

 

[ducker]

I'm on the fence with the letter.. I don't want to have to bother actually mailing a hard copy of the letter to the DA's office, seems like such a pain... but at the same time I wouldn't mind informing them that this is going on in their jurisdiction.

Then grow some stones and mail the letter. You are getting screwed, but then want to wimp out cause it might make you feel uncomfortable. Either do something positive to stop this garbage or let them (meaning the next time) walk all over you...Sorry to be so blunt, but I just hate it, when someone bitches about something, but then won't step up to stop it...

Na I hear you. Uncomfortable? Please, I was totally bullshit when I talked with them on the phone today. As far as I know at this time they know of this forum and this threads existence, and still they don't care...

There does appear to be an email address for someone who is a spoke person for the DA's office which I can send the note to. I'm going to go that route. I've already sent in some information to: (broken link removed to http://necir-bu.org/wp/) which is affiliated with NECN - the company who did the first story back in June of this year about how great this company is for Fitchburg, MA.

<insert long pause while I pulled together the email, and who I wanted to send it to>

So, I have decided not to contact their business, because honestly, I don't really care about them one bit (as they didn't show me an ounce of respect) So I have retooled the letter and sent it to the DA office, and a couple of publications in the area. I urge people who have had issues with them in the past or still on going to please do the same.

--- See below:

Subject: Creative Biomass of Fitchburg MA, regarding practices taking advantage of comsumers
Good day,
I am taking this time to inform you that this business has been taking advantage of consumers who have been purchasing their product since June of this year.

I have given their business the benefit of the doubt time and time again. I was offered on many occasions the choice to have a refund of my order (in full or partial), but I refused. Today was the last straw; and now when I requested a refund for a product I purchased 6 months ago, I was told that they are not allowing them anymore.

I am the proud father of a family of 4, I have an infant, toddler, and wife at home who rely on the heat from our pellet stove. I do not have the luxury to come by to accept "free pellets" as I was informed by the Office Manager Melissa today that I could do. Based on where I work this is not possible. Nor do I have the luxury to wait to see if and when I will be receiving my pellets from your company.

I have been told an assortment of different situations/stories from their employees - Brenda (Office assistant?) , Melissa (Office Manager), and Richard (Accountant?). Virtually anything to keep me from wanting a refund back in the Fall, so that I would just agree to yet another date in the future for my delivery. When I purchased these pellets back in June I was told End of July/August would be the time frame in which I would receive my pellets, this was not the case. After my wife spoke with the Office assistant and informed her that we are expecting a baby in October and we need these pellets we finally received half of our order at the end of September. At this time we were told we would get the second half of the order in the middle of October. That never happened, nor did the other 10 or so times in which I my delivery was rescheduled.

The constant lies and deception for which this company has been practicing for the past 5 months, has left me no other option then to contact my credit card company to dispute the charge on my credit card. I know I am not alone in this situation, as a great many other consumers showed up on a Saturday back in June to show your company support and an interest free loan via a purchase of product that has still not been delivered. Many of them have bailed out of their purchase back in August and September; and received refunds. Some have taken other steps either through the BBB and/or their Credit card company.

They have also since opened a brick and mortar store - State Line Stove Shop, in Mason, NH - for which they had an open house on Sept. 26th. Again, taking additional orders for pellets, after there were still people who ordered months prior, who still have not received product.


A very interesting story can be reviewed by following the discussions and experiences by many different people in this discussion here:
https://www.hearth.com/talk/threads/38296/

I do not know what type of forces you were up against in starting this business and I truly hoped it would be successful, but I am at the point where my kindness has come to and end, and I feel I should share my situation with others so that no one else is fooled by the notion that they will receive product in a timely manner; as I know you are still accepting sales, when you're still unable to deliver product for orders placed 6 months ago.


Sincerely,
*****
Purchase date 6/13/09


cc: Worcester County District Attorney's Office, Community News@ Sentinel and Enterprise, Telegram and Gazette

 

[lkrochette1013]

Good for you ducker!! I had tried to get Help Me Hank from channel 7, to do something back in September, but never heard from them. Creative Biomass just isn't getting the fact that they have lied to all their future customers and no one is going to trust them in the future, NO CUSTOMERS, NO BUSINESS! They not even trying to make it right with any of the customers they have just left hanging.

 

[moe green]

I pick up 1/2 ton yesterday,they are burning good so far.I will burn about 7 bags before cleaning stove.They said I can have ton but I only took 1/2 . ton, I will pick the rest couple of weeks I hope this helps.

 

[rleshane]

Well, at least the BBB has given them a fair grade. "F"

(broken link removed to http://www.bbb.org/central-western-massachusetts/business-reviews/stoves-wood-coal-etc/creative-biomass-in-fitchburg-ma-255264#ratingdetails)

Stick a fork in 'em boys, they're dun. If you live near the airport, keep an eye out for Shawn and Kevin. I expect they will be boarding a one way flight to Aruba any minute...

Oh, and mnkywrnch's avitar pic is right, if you paid by cc, don't panic. Just dispute the charge with your cc company. If you paid by cash or check.... well.... now is the perfect time to panic.

 

[ducker]

I pick up 1/2 ton yesterday,they are burning good so far.I will burn about 7 bags before cleaning stove.They said I can have ton but I only took 1/2 . ton, I will pick the rest couple of weeks I hope this helps.

I've burned about 40 bags thus far.

Just yesterday I decided to get a 5gal bucket to at least visually inspect my pellets before tossing them in to my stove. As I was pouring them in to the bucket I noticed a large dark chunk about the size of a quarter flow out of the bag.

I picked it out. I have no idea what it is... it looks kinda like bark, but it's harder then bark; it is a bit brittle, it appears that it may be metal, although I'm not 100% sure. Needless to say I placed it aside for now. I have no idea what would have happened if this went in to my stove.

I've been burning ONLY their pellets, and I was pouring these in to a separate bucket, so I know for a fact it came out of this bag... but geesh... this goes right along with the notion of mixed junk coming out of the bags.

Well, at least the BBB has given them a fair grade. "F"

so true... I was going to post something there as well, but I don't really want the BBB to assist me resolving this anymore. As I went the credit card company to deal with their lies; and as I think I can't put in a complaint if it has already been "delt with" I didn't move forward with the BBB.

 

[rcarr10525]

I pick up 1/2 ton yesterday,they are burning good so far.I will burn about 7 bags before cleaning stove.They said I can have ton but I only took 1/2 . ton, I will pick the rest couple of weeks I hope this helps.

You picked up the 1/2 ton yesterday. How could you have possibly burned enough since yesterday to judge the quality. I burn at least 4 bags before I decide what the quality is. You are lucky to have gotton 1/2 from them. I had asked many times to pick some up and they did not have any. Should that 1/2 ton gone to ducker who got cancelled yesterday.

 

[ducker]

I pick up 1/2 ton yesterday,they are burning good so far.I will burn about 7 bags before cleaning stove.They said I can have ton but I only took 1/2 . ton, I will pick the rest couple of weeks I hope this helps.

You picked up the 1/2 ton yesterday. How could you have possibly burned enough since yesterday to judge the quality. I burn at least 4 bags before I decide what the quality is. You are lucky to have gotton 1/2 from them. I had asked many times to pick some up and they did not have any. Should that 1/2 ton gone to ducker who got cancelled yesterday.

lol... they said there were a bunch of people before me who were slated to receive pellets prior to even me getting them, and that they were in the process of calling/contacting those people that there will be a delay (lol... they told me that each time I called them, I never once ever received a call from them the day or, or the day prior to delivery informing me of any delay/rescheduled time)

So they will gladly sell a 1/2 ton of pellets to someone that will pick it up, and continue to string along their other customers. It pretty much says they are out of capital, and they will take any additional capital they can get now (ie. an instant sale) while stringing along those people who have given them an interest free loan, as those people are the suckers now :/

 

[rleshane]

I've go it! I had thought this company was doomed, but I just thought of a way they may be able to survive. They should change their name from Creative Biomass to Creative Accounting. It's a nice honest name, and no one can argue it describes them well! If that doesn't work, they could consider hiring some new talent from AIG management.

 

[rcarr10525]

I pick up 1/2 ton yesterday,they are burning good so far.I will burn about 7 bags before cleaning stove.They said I can have ton but I only took 1/2 . ton, I will pick the rest couple of weeks I hope this helps.

You picked up the 1/2 ton yesterday. How could you have possibly burned enough since yesterday to judge the quality. I burn at least 4 bags before I decide what the quality is. You are lucky to have gotton 1/2 from them. I had asked many times to pick some up and they did not have any. Should that 1/2 ton gone to ducker who got cancelled yesterday.

lol... they said there were a bunch of people before me who were slated to receive pellets prior to even me getting them, and that they were in the process of calling/contacting those people that there will be a delay (lol... they told me that each time I called them, I never once ever received a call from them the day or, or the day prior to delivery informing me of any delay/rescheduled time)

So they will gladly sell a 1/2 ton of pellets to someone that will pick it up, and continue to string along their other customers. It pretty much says they are out of capital, and they will take any additional capital they can get now (ie. an instant sale) while stringing along those people who have given them an interest free loan, as those people are the suckers now :/

Seems to me that bundle is the only one to have a positive comment in all of this. All of us struggled to get our pellets from them these last few months and this person just picks up 1/2 ton no problem (could have taken a full ton). I wonder if this person is from Creative Biomass trying to change the attitude in this forum.

 

[orangecrushcj7]

My wife called Creative Biomass back in November to schedule a pick of the ton of pellets that we ordered. She asked for Saturday the 21st but was told that was already booked with pickups and that the 28th was available. So she scheduled the pick up for Saturday the 28th and was told come anytime after 10am. I showed up at 10:30 and the place was a ghost town. NO ONE was there!! I made a special trip out there for nothing. We both called that day and left not so happy messages on the voicemail. We did not receive a call back, however the following Tuesday my wife called and spoke to someone. The woman apologized and said "With the holiday, things were kind of screwy" and then asked my wife when she wanted to schedule the pick up. My wife said "No, no, you will deliver our pellets free of charge." The woman agreed but said that they wouldn't get to us until the 16th of Decemeber. The 16th of December is today and there are still no pellets in my driveway. With the reviews of how the pellets have been burning and the complete lack of customer service, I think we will be calling our credit card company for a refund, I just wish we could get the interest back that we've been paying on that balance too.

 

[Jan99]

My wife called Creative Biomass back in November to schedule a pick of the ton of pellets that we ordered. She asked for Saturday the 21st but was told that was already booked with pickups and that the 28th was available. So she scheduled the pick up for Saturday the 28th and was told come anytime after 10am. I showed up at 10:30 and the place was a ghost town. NO ONE was there!! I made a special trip out there for nothing. We both called that day and left not so happy messages on the voicemail. We did not receive a call back, however the following Tuesday my wife called and spoke to someone. The woman apologized and said "With the holiday, things were kind of screwy" and then asked my wife when she wanted to schedule the pick up. My wife said "No, no, you will deliver our pellets free of charge." The woman agreed but said that they wouldn't get to us until the 16th of Decemeber. The 16th of December is today and there are still no pellets in my driveway. With the reviews of how the pellets have been burning and the complete lack of customer service, I think we will be calling our credit card company for a refund, I just wish we could get the interest back that we've been paying on that balance too.

Not to hijack or anything but I just checked out my oil guys' pellets in Barre. They have O'Malleys at $274/ton delivered. (They also have Inferno's I think). It's WR Bentley Oil.

Also, Hardwick Farmer's Coop has Barefoots at $289/ton, not including delivery, but they're having special rate this month on deliveries. Just FYI...I've begun the pellet search