JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The State Attorney General's Office is actively investigating a Jacksonville company accused of bad business practices.
In April, the Ask Anthony team started looking into complaints about Premier Outdoor USA. Customers say they paid thousands of dollars for outdoor kitchens and other products they can't use or never received.
Premier continues to place blame on the customers and the manufacturer.
"We wanted a nice, beautiful place to cook for our kids and to entertain," Rick Baer said.
Rick Baer was looking forward to using his brand-new outdoor kitchen this summer. But, the St. Johns County Navy veteran was left with what he describes as an unfinished mess after paying $35,000.
He purchased the outdoor kitchen from Premier Outdoor USA on Philips highway more than year ago.
"The appliances, their own appliances that they had on site, don't fit in the holes they made," Baer explained.
Baer wishes he was flipping burgers on his new grill, but it's sitting on the floor.
"It's driving me insane. I've lost a lot of sleep over it. My wife is extremely upset," Baer added.
When the Ask Anthony team started researching customer complaints against Premier Outdoor USA this month, we discovered the Jacksonville company had an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau and 41 complaints. After our story aired, the business started responding to complaints and now has a "B" rating with 39 complaints filed and one not resolved.
Shaun Jackrel is the man in charge of the company. Jackrel was listed on Premier's website as the operation director and chief financial officer. After our reporting, all of his information disappeared from Premier's website and a "404" error message popped up.
Recently, Premier's website said it was transforming into Outdoor Dream Company with new management and leadership. Anthony asked Jackrel's attorneys if the business was changing names to escape negative reviews. He received a response that said:
"Premier Outdoor USA LLC and Outdoor Dreams Company are separate entities as evidenced by the separate Articles of Organization filed on behalf of each entity, with the State of Florida. Outdoor Dreams Company is not an alter ego of Premier Outdoor USA LLC."
In state documents, Jackrel is listed as vice president for the new company. After the Ask Anthony team started asking questions about the name change, the wording about "Outdoor Dream Company" suddenly disappeared from Premier's website.
Amber Bird was a manager, under Shaun Jackrel, at Jaguar Power Sports. The business sold ATVs and dirt bikes in Jacksonville. Jackrel was the owner.
Bird said she quit due to the work environment.
"Toxic. Very toxic," Amber Bird explained.
According to a recent lawsuit, Jackrel sold the company in February of 2023. The new owners are suing Jackrel, alleging he was untruthful during the sale.
For example, in the lawsuit, the new owner says Jackrel said JPS had a good relationship with customers. But, the lawsuit says they discovered JPS sold inferior products, did not honor warranties, and was the subject of numerous consumer complaints and legal problems.
In response, Jackrel said he did not make any intentional misrepresentations and is not liable for the plaintiff's "poor business practices or business management."
"We were ignored. If anybody did call and you had to transfer a call to him (Jackrel)...tell them I'm out of the country. I'm not here," Bird said about Jackrel's response.
The lawsuit goes on to say that Jackrel was not truthful about the company's financial records. According to the lawsuit, the new owner was told the company's cashflow in 2022 was $913,000. But, according to bank records, was actually negative $60,000.
"As a manager on his staff, I saw the things he did. The vendors he didn't pay. A lot of times we weren't able to get certain products by a certain time because of unpaid bills," Bird said.
The complaints against Jackrel's businesses are mounting. In fact, a former customer started a website devoted to negative reviews and is asking other customers to send in their experiences for a possible class-action lawsuit.
Rick Baer is now considering legal action of his own.
"The perfect resolution? Take it back and give me my money," Baer said.
Anthony Austin sent questions to Jackrel's attorneys about the customer complaints, accusations of former employees, and the current lawsuit filed against Jackrel. He did not receive a response when this story was published.
A spokesperson with the State Attorney General's office confirmed the consumer protection division is actively investigating Premier Outdoor USA.