Turn to Tara: Customers claim elusive SD Truck Springs ripped them off
SD Truck Springs based in Ronkonkoma, Long Island is facing lawsuits and a potential state investigation.
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A Connecticut man 'Turned To Tara' with claims that he was ripped off by a Long Island supplier company.
"I found them online," says property manager Ryan Lowe. "I had seen a bunch of good reviews...I always try and follow up on if this a legit company."
Lowe says he thought he did everything right when picking a company to order a new set of shocks for his commercial work truck, but after weeks went by with no deliveries from SD Truck Springs, he got nervous.
"It took a few days to get through to them. Eventually, somebody picked up and guaranteed that my order would be ready soon," he says. "I started emailing almost daily, and then gave them a call again and again. And nothing went through."
MORE: Got a problem? You should Turn To Tara. Here's how.
Lowe says he is still waiting for his order or a refund for his $361 purchase - six months later.
His story is not unique. Our senior reporter Tara Rosenblum began to investigate his claims, only to discover there were hundreds of other possible victims across the tri-state and the rest of the nation.
Brian Rauer, of the Better Business Bureau, says the consumer organization received 379 complaints in the past 12 months from customers who claim SD Truck Springs has stopped fulfilling online purchases, costing anywhere from several hundred to thousands of dollars.
The Better Business Bureau also allege refunds and return phone calls have been hard to come by.
News 12 tried to contact SD Truck Springs as well by writing and calling, but hit the same roadblocks.
The Turn To Tara team took a drive out to the company's last known address in Ronkonkoma, but no one answered the door, and there were no employees to be found.
The company’s website, however, still appears to be accepting online orders.
News 12 also discovered two lawsuits pending against SD Truck Springs. One of them was filed by Kalamata Capitol for $188,270 back in July. Another dates back to March from Firestone Industrial Products, the world's leading supplier of air springs. It claimed SD Truck Springs failed to pay the bill on $645,000 worth of products.
New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed her office has received complaints and is also investigating.
Consumers should always look for customer service information on the site - and actually check it out, Rauer says.
Consumers should always look for customer service information on the site - and actually check it out.
New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board also told the Turn To Tara team it issued a stop-work order to the company earlier this month after SD Truck Springs failed to provide proof of workers compensation coverage.
