MT AIRY, N.C. — Morgan Gerstenlauer is what we often refer to as a “go-getter”, a person almost always busy. Gerstenlauer and her husband work full-time and come home every night to more work, “This is our livelihood, taking care of the animals,” said Gerstenlauer.
The couple have a farm in Connecticut and it means working a lot of late-night hours taking care of the sheep, cows and other animals, “We love it,” said Gerstenlauer.
This Summer the family went all in on the farm lifestyle and decided it needed a barn to keep the animals warm in the harsh Winter months, “New England Winters are brutal,” said Gerstenlauer.
The family hired a custom builder out of North Carolina. American Custom Carports was going to transport the necessary materials to Connecticut in September of early October and construct the barn, “In September we decided to send them a deposit for $1,890 to transport the building up to the property,” said Gesrtenlauer.
In November the Gesrtenlauer’s had still not received the barn so they contacted WFMY News 2 to see if we could help, “They were so difficult to get in touch with,” said Gerstenlauer.
We were able to reach someone with the company and were told “some unforeseen circumstances” contributed to the delay. The person we spoke with said other jobs in the area fell through and it wasn’t financially feasible to send a crew up to New England for just the Gerstenlauer job.
When asked about the deposit, the person told us they would refund the money.
That was more than a month ago and the Gersenlauer’s tell us they have yet to receive their deposit check, “All they do is lie and mislead you,” said Gerstenlauer.
We have tried to reach American Custom Carports more than a dozen times, leaving multiple messages but have not heard back. Earlier this week we went to Mt. Airy only to learn the company has moved from the address on the contract.
A search online uncovered an F rating with the Better Business Bureau and several complaints on their Facebook page.
At this point it’s unclear if the company is still in business or if the Gerstenlauer’s will ever get their deposit back.
The family has been able to contract with a builder in the Connecticut area to build a barn in time for the Winter.
We will continue to follow this story and try and reach someone with American Custom Carports.
Please check WFMY News 2 and 2 Wants To Know for updates.