Plow business pulls snow job on customers

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Did a local snow plow driver break a promise to help customers?

Doris Jones paid a contractor $350 to clear the snow from her driveway for the season, closing the deal over the phone.

"And so I had three estimates, and I chose Terry Jarvis, and spoke to a man who said he was Terry Jarvis on the phone," she explained.

But when the snow came, Jarvis was a no-show and a neighbor shoveled Jones' driveway by hand. She called Jarvis, and a female identifying herself as Jarvis' wife answered. Jones says the woman told her, "One of our trucks broke down. The other truck, something happened to the brakes. The third truck, I'm not sure but something else. That is exactly what she said."

She says she has since learned that Terry Jarvis is a woman. Cheektowaga dentist Michael Rosenberg paid Jarvis $1,400 to plow his parking lot for this winter and when the snow fell, he says "Saw it wasn't plowed, contacted them, and all I got was an answering machine."

Dr. Rosenberg then learned Jarvis's business address is a house on Kensington Avenue in Buffalo, which neighbors tell News 4 is vacant.

He said, "No one lives at that home, as far as I can tell. They have not answered any of the phone calls, and their answering machine is full. It won't take any more messages."

Dr. Rosenberg now has reason to suspect Terry Jarvis is somehow linked to another business called Hennessy's Snow and Mow. The Better Business Bureau is already getting swamped with calls.

Peggy Penders of the BBB said, "The complaints have just begun to be delivered to the Better Business Bureau, just within the last couple of days."

Most of the complaints coming in are from consumers who hired Jarvis or Hennessy over the phone, sight unseen. The Better Business Bureau advises: know who is getting your money.

"Talk to the person, meet the person, have them look at your property. Ask a lot of questions: Are they responsible for any damage that might happen to your property in the course of the season, or are you responsible?" advised Penders.

The Better Business Bureau has tips on for avoiding getting ripped off when you hire a snowplow contractor. But if you were ripped off, you can file a complaint by calling the New York Attorney General's Consumer Hotline at 853-8404.