Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is alerting consumers to Under Budget Cabinets (UBC), a Tucson-based cabinetry company that has chalked up numerous complaints alleging the business failed to make good on several customer orders.

BBB has received 17 complaints against the company in 2010- two have been left unanswered, and seven complaints are still pending. Although UBC has resolved the majority of their complaints, a pattern has emerged in complaint content.

In the complaints consumers tell the same story: UBC billed them for thousands of dollars worth of cabinets, but when the installation date came around UBC claimed the cabinets were not ready, and in many cases consumers say UBC had not even placed orders for cabinets that had been paid for months in advance.

“They won’t answer or return my calls,” said Karole Holodynski, who told BBB that despite paying UBC more than $4,000 in October,the cabinets still haven’t been installed in her Tucson home.

“It’s like my life is on hold,” she said. “I don’t know what to do; I just want them to give me my money back.”

According to complaints, the difficulty Holodynski experienced when she tried contacting UBC about the status of her order is not uncommon. Multiple consumers tell BBB their phone calls were not returned or they were told the person they needed to speak with was unavailable.

“It was very difficult to reach them by phone,” said Gaylon Rettammel, a Tucson consumer who paid over $1,300 for three bathroom cabinets that he says were never delivered.

“I called back, I’m sure, 10 times,” he said. “I was always told they were either unavailable or in a meeting with a customer.”

Rettammel said that his cabinets were scheduled to be installed four to six weeks after he placed the order, but after waiting four months he was forced to have Visa reverse the charge on his credit card.

“I would have liked to have had the cabinets,” he said, “but I feel very fortunate to have gotten my money back.”

On April 2, UBC Owner Will Rodriguez met with BBB to discuss the complaints UBC had received to that date. At the meeting Rodriguez told BBB the problems the company was having in delivering and installing their customers’ orders was due to an internal personnel issue that had recently been resolved.

Since that meeting BBB has continued to receive complaints from consumers who say they have not received the cabinets they ordered.

On May 11, BBB learned that UBC’s Registrar of Contractors (ROC) License was suspended on March 29, or four days before BBB met with the company. At the time of the meeting UBC did not disclose to BBB that their ROC license was suspended. The Registrar of Contractors is also reporting that UBC has five open complaints against their suspended license.

Consumers who have had a similar experience with the company can file a complaint with BBB at www.tucson.bbb.org; with the Arizona Attorney General at www.azag.gov and the ROC at www.azroc.gov.

This Mother’s Day, Better Business Bureau of Southern Arizona is warning consumers to be on the lookout for unscrupulous florists called “petal pushers,” placing bogus listings online, and in local phone directories.

If a consumer mistakenly calls a petal pusher, they’re transferred to an out-of-area telemarketer who takes the consumer’s order and forwards it to a local florist, while keeping a cut of the sale for themselves.

In past years, consumers have told BBB that their flower arrangement was either never delivered, or the wrong arrangement was delivered. In some cases consumers say that their credit card was charged more than they authorized.

The best way for consumers to avoid petal pushers is to order directly from a local florist or nursery, this way consumers can ensure that they’re getting what they ordered.

“If you’re ordering locally you know you have some recourse if your order isn’t up to your standards,” said Tony Sarah, Manager of Magic Garden Nursery and Landscape.

Sarah said another option for consumers looking to do something special for Mother’s Day is to visit a local florist or nursery in person.

“When you come in you can pick out a live plant,” he said. “That way you know what you’re getting, and there won’t be any unpleasant surprises.”

Here are some additional tips from BBB to help consumers steer clear of petal pushers:

• Ask family and friends for referrals to a florist or nursery they have used.
• Check to see if a florist is a BBB Accredited Businesses at www.tucson.bbb.org.
• If you find a florist or nursery from the phone book, look for a listing that includes a local address. When you call, ask for the directions to the store – if they hesitate or refuse, hang up.
• You can also ask for a guarantee. Most professional florists should have one.

For more tips, go to www.tucson.bbb.org or call (520)888-5353.

Eight months after Better Business Bureau (BBB) first warned consumers about the questionable operations of a Missouri office supply company, BBB says the company appears to be continuing to deceive businesses across the nation.

In recent weeks, complaints have accelerated against SVT, Inc., based in Columbia, Mo. BBB logged 17 complaints about SVT in November. At least one Southern Arizona consumer has filed a complaint against SVT.

Businesses most often complained that company salespeople lied about knowing top company officers in an effort to make sales. Others said SVT salespeople erroneously told businesses that SVT was relocating and that it was liquidating supplies at significant savings.  The businesses also complained that SVT overcharged them for supplies and shipped far more products than were ordered.

An employee of a Utah boat parts and accessories business said SVT billed his company more than $5,600 for supplies estimated to be worth about $250.

Kim States, BBB President, called the sales methods used by SVT marketers “seriously misleading and completely unethical.

“Based on the complaints we are seeing, anyone receiving a telemarketing call from SVT should hang up immediately and warn others with their business to do the same,” States said.

On March 26, BBB issued an alert describing similar tactics used by SVT phone solicitors.  At that time, Michael O’Keefe, who described himself as an owner of the company, said the complaints to BBB represented only a tiny fraction of SVT’s 11,500 customers.  He said most complaints were a result of communication problems between customers and SVT salespeople.  “We had to let some people go when we had problems,” O’Keefe said then.
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