ALLEGAN, Mich. (WOOD) — Reverend Jeremiah Johnson and his wife Jean have served the faithful at St. John Church of God in Christ for decades.
They’re a trusting couple. So when Jean Johnson hired a company she found in the local advertiser to take down some trees next to the church, she trusted the answer she got to one very important question.
“I asked them from the very beginning,” she said. “‘Are you insured and liable?’ And they said ‘yes we are.’”
Johnson said the company told her it would be responsible if a tree fell on the church or either of its pole barns.
The Johnson’s said Double J Logging in Barry County agreed to cut down the trees and pay them $300 for the wood.
But on the day the trees came down, there was a mishap. Instead of falling into open space on church grounds, one fell on the back corner of the church.
It caused over $5,000 in damage to the building’s roof.
Two months after the incident, there haven’t been any repairs made and representatives from the company haven’t been found.
Jean Johnson said their insurance company, a claims adjuster and the Better Business Bureau have all tried to get in contact with the logging company, all of which weren’t answered.
A Double J Logging employee gave the Johnson’s a business card, only including his first name, Jerame.
24 Hour News 8 attempted to contact three different numbers connected to Jerame and the company.
Each number was disconnected.
An Orangeville address connected to the company turned out to be the location of a Barry County sand pit.
The Johnson’s contacted the Better Business Bureau, which now has listed Double J Logging with a D+ rating.
Now, the couple isn’t sure what they will do next.
They can file a claim with their own insurance company, but are concerned it will cost the church more in the end.
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