FIRED UP OVER ALPINE STOVE
The Mono County District Attorney’s Office is investigating Alpine Stove—a local hearth business claiming over 35 years of experience in solid fuel and gas warm-air heating service and products— for suspected fraudulent practices.
According to Mono County Chief Investigator, Chris Callinan, “Consumers have alleged Alpine Stove has taken deposits for stoves that were never delivered, and no refunds have been issued.”
To date, Callinan’s office has already been in contact with approximately a dozen consumers who have lodged complaints of financial loss as a result of engaging with the business.
One of these customers is Greta Campbell, who says that the stove she ordered on August 3, 2023, still has yet to arrive.
Campbell shared her ordeal with The Sheet, stating that she had originally received a quote from Alpine Stove owner, Alex Solorio, for over $9,000 to replace her old stove with a Regency pellet stove.
“Chris Morrison from Alpine Stove typed up the estimate and requested a 50% deposit,” said Campbell. “We complied. Both Alex and Chris said it could take up to 3-4 months to get the stove, coming from Canada.”
Campbell’s initial interactions were promising. However, weeks turned into months with no updates on her order.
“After we initiated the purchase, we waited. I called about 10 weeks later for a status. Chris said he heard nothing. The stove hadn’t shipped. I called again probably a month or so later. Chris said it still hadn’t shipped. He said the supply chain had slowed down production in Canada.”
Repeated attempts to get answers led to more frustration.
“The next time I called (he never called me), he tried to talk me into switching my order to an Environ stove. He said Environ is manufactured by the same company that makes Regency, and said they could deliver sooner but couldn’t give a firm answer on when that might be. He said Environ is a similar stove, like a knockoff, but wouldn’t charge us anymore (really) if we wanted to change,” said Campbell.
Campbell’s daughter visited the store in person last spring, but was told that Morrison was having family trouble and was not working. Then, Campbell began noticing similar complaints on Yelp and Google, confirming her suspicion that the stove was never ordered.
“I have contacted them multiple times recently to cancel but have gotten no response. Then I get a call from Chris Callinan of Mono County DA investigating,” she said.
Kelly L, another dissatisfied customer (who requested that her last name not be included) shared a similar experience to Campbell.
She placed an order in December 2023, paying a 50% deposit of $8,770 in the promise that her new appliance would arrive in April for installation. However, in the months that followed, her interactions with Alpine Stove were also marred by inconsistent communication and false promises.
Despite paying the hefty deposit up front, Kelly was left in the dark about the status of her December order.
And much like Campbell, she “started doing some investigating…you know, checking Yelp, checking Google, because they weren’t calling me back.”
There was Kirk W. from Crowley Lake, who, at 20 weeks past his stove’s expected arrival, requested a refund. He was promised that an “accountant” would reach out regarding reimbursement, though he received no contact.
Kyle F. from Manhattan Beach said that 6 months after having paid his 50% deposit, he could not reach the company by phone despite leaving multiple messages. He described working with Alpine Stove as a “black hole.”
Sarah T. of San Francisco said that the delays for her order were justified by “a family emergency, a flood, or the phone lines were down.” She said she called Regency, the manufacturer of the pellet insert she had purchased, who’s representative claimed that Alpine Stove was no longer a dealer.
“I actually called the company that was supposed to have the order for me in Canada, and I was told by that company that they’ve never had an order from Alpine Stove. Ever,” Kelly said.
Kelly told The Sheet that, because she paid for the deposit through American Express, she has since fully recouped her losses to the credit of fraud protection benefits.
But, says Kelly, the ordeal has been a violation of her trust as a consumer.
“I wanted to give my business to a local business,” said Kelly. “I mean, we’re trusting consumers. Probably a little too trusting. [Alpine Stove] shot themselves in the foot by doing this in a small town.”
Alpine Stove was not reachable by phone. A visit to their storefront on Laurel Mountain Road revealed a storefront, shuttered, though online, Alpine Stove claims open business hours and a location in Mammoth Lakes.
Consumers can file a complaint with the California Attorney Generals office at https://oag.ca.gov/contact/consumer-complaint-against-business-or-company or, if they believe the business has committed a crime, they can contact their local law enforcement agency or District Attorney’s Office.
The Mono County District Attorney’s Office requests that anyone who believes they have been affected by Alpine Stove and Fireplace contacts Chief Investigation Chris Callinan at 760-932-5553 or ccallinan@mono.ca.gov. The office would also like to encourage anyone seeking contracting services to check the contractor’s license status at https://www.cslb.ca.gov/OnlineServices/CheckLicenseII/CheckLicense.aspx.
