Customers of a Bronx business say the retailer took their money and delivered nothing in return. NY1's Susan Jhun has this follow up report.
“We gave $17,000 and we have nothing to show for it,” said Marguerite Sobieszczanski.
Except an empty kitchen. That's after Marguerite Sobieszczanski ordered cabinets, counter tops and an island from Tarallo Distributors in the Bronx. The homeowner paid a deposit which was half of the $30,000 total back in November of last year.
“They said it would take about 12 to 15 weeks,” Sobieszczanski said.
Now eight months later, Sobieszczanski says she has no kitchen and no word from Tarallo.
That is the same story we heard from these homeowners. Back in June, we told you about the Clarks who have waited two years for custom made kitchen cabinets for which they paid Tarallo a $14,000 deposit.
“Two years wasted and without that money we couldn't proceed,” said John Clark.
At the time, we called Tarallo and a manager told us delays were due to problems with the manufacturer. After much back and forth, the manager finally agreed to give the Clarks a full refund. That was over a month ago and the Clarks have received nothing but promises since.
We contacted Tarallo and this time they didn't respond to us but they contacted the Clarks telling them the check would be in the mail.
Clark says he is not holding his breath. In the meantime, we've heard from more customers of Tarallo who have paid deposits and received nothing. The Better Business Bureau currently has an F rating for Tarallo. We reached out to the Attorney General's Office but haven't heard back. We also contacted the Department of Consumer Affairs which encourages consumers to file complaints with the agency.
“I wish I had time to stand outside their store with a sign and just say don't come in here. It's horrifying to me that they're still there and they're doing business,” said Sobieszczanski.
We will keep you updated.