RJ's pissing off a lawyer with time on his hands...bad idea

[Austin519]

Hey everyone,
So I'm new to the forum, having just discovered it as I was having trouble getting in touch with anyone at Kamado. My story is the same as many on here: I ordered a #9 grill back in April (it would have been sooner had I actually been able to get ahold of Richelle, back when she was answering the phone), and put down my sizeable ($600+) deposit. I then paid in full ($450) for an upgrade for Red Venetian tile in June, and was promised (before I paid for the upgrade) that the tile was already ordered and out in Asia, and the grill was being built. I was originally promised a deliver date of July 4. I began having an even harder time getting in touch with Kamado after that. Richelle would not call me back, would rarely email me back, and no one ever picked up the phone. At some point they switched her out for "Tony", who at first answered my calls. That lasted a week, and then he became as bad as Richelle, until this past month or so when no one has been answering calls or emails.

So it's going on two months since I was promised the delivery of the grill, and no grill. Not even no grill; no return calls, no emails, and no one answering the Kamado number. I've already missed out on most of the summer enjoyment of the grill, and I've lost faith in the company. Plus, they breached their agreement, so I want my money back and am entitled to it. After reading this forum, I see that Richard does not often give refunds, even when he's breached his contract and is legally required to.

Luckily for me, I'm a litigation attorney out here in Texas. When I emailed Kamado to cancel my order, I let Richard know that and explained to him the legal remedies at my disposal if he did not comply with my request. And between the very strong consumer protection laws here in Texas and my frustration with Kamado for treating me so poorly, I will take this all the way to Federal court if need be. In my email to him earlier this week, I gave him until Friday (tomorrow) at 5 PM CST to confirm that he would be refunding my full deposit, and until the following Friday at 5 PM CST to have the check in my hand.

Lo and behold, that email got his attention and he emailed me back to tell me that my grill had been built but was waiting to be shipped back. Even assuming that was true, that would mean another 2 weeks to receive it at my house. Completely unacceptable. He also offered to divert one of his grills from another order to me (different color, different accessories). Also unacceptable. So I declined both and haven't heard back from him yet. I will let you guys know what happens.

If he does not refund my money, I may be interested in instituting a class action lawsuit against him, from the looks of the forum I'll have plenty of interested plaintiffs. I will keep you guys updated...

Austin

[fishtail-99]

I think many wish you would take care of him legally regardless of whether or not he gives you his money back. I don't suppose you would be willing to help Tony Oliver get his $40,000 back? Just a thought...

[Austin519]

fishtail-99:
I'm sure that's true. I'm going to wait and see what he does tomorrow first, and then if he refunds me by next Friday, and then we'll decide where to go from there. I haven't read Tony's story yet, but I'm in a unique position being in Texas because of our laws):

Public Remedies
The DTPA provides both public and private remedies for violations. Public remedies are those enforced by the Consumer Protection Division of the Texas Attorney General's Office. Public remedies include temporary restraining orders, temporary or permanent injunctions, and monetary penalties of up to $2,000 per violation but not to exceed a total of $10,000. The courts are further authorized to enter orders or judgments necessary to compensate identifiable persons for actual damages caused by their wrongful acts. In the event the person ordered to make restitution fails to do so within three months from the date of the order, the court may appoint a receiver or take possession of the assets of the person violating the order. Anyone found guilty of violating an injunction shall forfeit and pay to the state a civil penalty of not more than $10,000 per violation, not to exceed $50,000.

I'll read up on Tony's story.

Austin

[tcoliver]

Damn, I wish GA had those regulations. If you have any questions about my story shoot me a PM and I will give you my phone number. I'd love to go after RJ again. I even have the paperwork from the first tme I tried to get to him, problem was he was running from his creditors and customers and me. He was in Mexico at the time. I always thought there should be something criminal about selling bogus stock certificates (Thats only part of the story). Let me know if you think there is any recourse for me. Thanks.

[outlaw99]

Keep us posted indeed. I'm owed money as well

[Chirogyro]

Hey, Austin:

Would you be willing to help out a fellow Texan by name-dropping to Richard and telling him that I'd like my order fixed, too?

-Michael in Seabrook, TX
_________________
--
-Chiro

[curly]

[kristamat]

Austin - I'm a lowly ol' corporate paralegal in Houston but if there's anything I can do to help you chase our boy to federal court I will, or I'll ask my litigation paralegal friends to help me work with you. I'm only out $409 but I'm pissed. It's just a shame that honest people like those of us on this forum have to deal with an entire family that is dishonest over a BBQ cooker. I applaud your efforts, and I really hope you are successful in your efforts to go after RJ and his partners in crime.

I searched Kamado on Facebook last night. They're on it, complete with happy happy people gushing over their K's but guess what. You can't write a message on their wall - it's "unavailable". I guess they don't want their FB page to look like this forum.

~k.

[fishtail-99]

And just guess who might have posted that sh*t..... Real customers? Ha ha ha. Take a careful look at all their friends. Two of them look legit. The rest are all young attracitive women from Las Vegas, Sacramento, USC Chico, etc. They are obviously all "girlfriends" of Laura, Richelle and Tara, begged to become friends of Kamado. What BS....

[curly]

[kristamat]

I tried that becoming a fan thing. No such luck but if it works for you then I'd love to see you post something about how these folks are ripping people off all over the place.

I'm glad Austin519's talking about going after him. I sure wouldn't want to be in the crosshairs of a pissed off Texas lawyer with time on his hands. No sirree, I wouldn't.

~k.

[Chirogyro]

I just created a Kamado Fraud page... I also just posted on the Kamado wall...

I wonder what would happen if everyone posted their stories on the wall..

-Michael in Seabrook
_________________
--
-Chiro

[dray]

Richelle is twittering
http://twitter.com/kamadobarbecue

[fishtail-99]

It looks like they are conceding that their forum is now a miserable failure and are looking to give the appearance of a healthy business by posting their nonsense in places where you can't have customers post or respond. Pathetic, really.

[kristamat]

Last night on the KCo Facebook wall I posted this forum's website and a comment to check it out to see why you shouldn't buy anything from them. I can't check FB at work but when I get home I'll have to look to see if my post is still there or not. I was ripped off but it sure is nice to think that others may not be if they're a little more diligent in their research about KCo than I was.

~k.