AG files suit against pellet company

Enfield (WTNH) - A Count on 8 investigation has Connecticut's attorney general taking action. A pellet company, out of Enfield, is now facing a lawsuit after customers contacted News Channel 8, complaining they were being left out in the cold.

Since News Channel 8 first reported on this situation in October, the number of customers filing complaints has grown by quite a bit. Enough people have come forward that Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is going to court.

"To all of our customers, we apologize for the situation we've been forced into," New England Pellet said.

As if there wasn't enough heat on New England Pellet already from angry customers, continually calling to demand delivery of wood pellets they've already paid for, today it got even hotter. Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced he's filing suit against the company and its owners.

"The company violated its trust to consumers as well as its legal duties," Attorney General Blumenthal said. They contracted "to provide wood pellets that it knew it could not provide to consumers leaving them out in the cold."

The problems began in October when customers began calling News Channel 8 telling us they laid out, in some cases, thousands of dollars for pellets for their wood pellet burning stoves but didn't receive the deliveries.

Since then, the number of customers filing similar complaints has risen to at least 26.

"We want remedies as soon as possible because the coldest months are staring consumers in the face and we believe they deserve full restitution," Attorney General Blumenthal said.

News Channel 8 tried contacting the company today for its response to the attorney general's suit but got the same message consumers get when they call. "We are working with the attorney and our own supplier to resolve this matter to everyone's satisfaction."

We know what happened but because the company isn't answering questions we don't know why the company didn't contract for enough pellets to fill its orders.