Gansevoort couple out $6,000 after business transaction gone wrong

Family waits almost two years for a refund on gas stove

Gansevoort couple waits almost two years for a refund on gas stove.

A simple business transaction gone completely wrong has a Gansevoort couple waiting for a refund of $6,000. However, they’ve been waiting for two years. There’s still no sign they’ll get their thousands of dollars back.

Bob and Susan Fucinato moved back to Gansevoort after living in St. Augustine, Florida for several years.
Their home needed some fixing up. At the top of their list: a new gas stove as a secondary hearting source to replace this one.

To beat the winter rush, the Fucinatos started shopping in April 2023 and wanted to have gas stove installed by summer.

They went to the Cozy Cabin in Warrensburg and found exactly what they were looking for: a Vermont Castings gas stove.

The Fucinatos said they were told to pay the full amount of $6,009 up front, and they did.
Next, the Fucinatos needed to get the Vermont Castings installed – and that is where the problem began.

They never received a final installation date, and the installers didn’t work for the company. They were contracted out. This meant installation was going to be another hefty cost for the Fucinatos.

The Fucinatos called an installer they were recommended. After four phone calls and several weeks, the installer finally replied and said he was too busy. He said if came to look at it, it would cost a couple of hundred bucks.

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He called the next one. That installer came to the home at no cost, but the time frame to put in the Vermont Castings was well after what they requested. That’s when the Fucinatos went back to Cozy Cabin.

On the sales order, it does say no refunds. The Fucinatos tried calling for weeks and even sent a certified letter to Cozy Cabin explaining why they should get a refund. They got no responses.

That changed in August 2023. Cozy Cabin wrote a letter to the Fucinatos apologizing they could not find an installer and will make an exception to the no-refund rule.

The order would be canceled for a 15% restocking fee – taken out of their $6,000 order. They were not satisfied with that response.

The Fucinatos never got their Vermont Castings gas stove because they could not find a suitable installer, and Cozy Cabin does not deliver any products.

Susan Fucinato then decided to file a complaint with the Attorney General’s Office.

They investigated and reached out to Cozy Cabin, who stood their ground and stated they’re still waiting for Bob Fucinato to pick up the furnace.

As a last-ditch effort, the Fucinatos spoke with an attorney who gave them advice to just go with the restocking fee.

The Fucinatos wrote to Cozy Cabin in July 2024, agreeing to the restocking fee. They haven’t heard a peep since, and haven’t received any of their money back.

13Investigates’ Tessa Bentulan went to the Cozy Cabin store and spoke with one of the owners. He did not agree to an interview but did say the Fucinato’s will not be getting their money back because they responded too late.

Hear their advice for others by watching the video of Tessa Bentulans story.