Attorney general sues Trumbull County builder

WARREN, Ohio (WKBN) — A shed builder in Trumbull County has been on Attorney General David Yost’s radar since early 2024, when his office began receiving complaints about the company.

It was in February that Yost decided the complaints against Timber Creek Structures were getting out of hand and he needed to take a closer look at what was going on. Yost said customers complained that Timber Creek failed to deliver promptly, failed to issue full refunds, consistently failed to answer their phones, charged excessive restocking fees and failed to provide a adequate customer service, in violation of the Consumer Sales Practices Act, according to the filing.

At that time, Timber Creek entered into a voluntary agreement to cease any practices violating the Consumer Sales Practices Act and pay the Attorney General’s Office’s $15,000 investigative fee. But since then, Yost says his office has received more than 100 additional complaints.

Yost filed a lawsuit against Timber Creek Structures in Trumbull County Common Pleas Court on Wednesday. Records show the agent or business owner as Timothy Dotson with an address in Girard. The business location is listed in Warren, according to the Better Business Bureau.

Customers said that when Timber Creek failed to deliver the sheds and a refund was requested, it was not issued promptly and only partial refunds were issued, with Timber Creek charging a refund fee. restocking or a liquidated damages clause. They also said Timber Creek dodged their phone calls and consistently failed to deliver sheds as promised, forcing customers to take days off work for failed deliveries.

In addition to accusations of undelivered services and products, Yost also alleges that Timber Creek’s contracts are unfair, deceptive and one-sided.

Yost alleges six violations in the lawsuit:

Yost is requesting a full investigation into Timber Creek’s finances at his expense and demands that they immediately stop any alleged violations and immediately refund customers all money owed. Yost is also seeking a fine of $25,000 for each of the six counts, totaling $150,000 plus court costs.

WKBN 27 First News contacted Timber Creek Structures and left a message with the owner/manager. As of the date of this report, we have not received a response.

The Better Business Bureau shows Timber Creek Structures has an “F” rating with 241 customer complaints, 78 of which are “closed.” BBB has also included the following alert regarding Timber Creek structures:

BBB files indicate that this company is experiencing a number of complaints. Consumers who had placed their order and paid in full for their order either did not receive their order at all or did not receive it on time. BBB submitted a written request on February 21, 2024 to the company encouraging it to address the complaint issue. We are awaiting the company’s response. As of today, April 3, 2024, BBB has not received any response.

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Timber Creek Structures has been in business since 2019.

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