JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Two military families in St. Johns County thought they were getting the outdoor kitchens of their dreams, but they say it all turned into a nightmare.
After paying thousands of dollars, one family hasn't received their kitchen, while the other family says theirs doesn't work. The company says it's not their fault and is blaming the customers and manufacturer.
Jason White has been waiting almost a year for his custom-built outdoor kitchen. He turned to the Ask Anthony team for help.
"They told me 12 - 16 weeks," Jason White told Anthony Austin.
He signed a contract with Premier Outdoor USA on Philips Highway in Jacksonville in May of 2023.
"We recently had a Super Bowl party and I was expecting my grill by then. For Thanksgiving, I was expecting my grill by then...nothing," White said.
White paid about 70 percent of the nearly $13,000 purchase price in May. He says four months went by and he hadn't heard anything from the company.
So, he started asking questions and couldn't get any clear answers.
"I was told that by January I should have my grill good to go. Every component working well and still to this day...nothing," White added.
This is not the first time the Ask Anthony team has received a complaint about Premier Outdoor USA. In October, Patricia Wells contacted Anthony Austin about the problems with her $18,000 outdoor kitchen.
Wells purchased the kitchen in July. She says it has cracks and broken tiles, non-functioning grill and burner lights, and the interior was damaged during delivery.
"All of this is cracked underneath and parts are missing," Patricia Wells explained as she showed Anthony the damage.
Wells said she was told the kitchen grill could be converted to natural gas and that wasn't the case. She said Premier Outdoor fixed some of the problems, but not all. Wells called the company and told them to come pick it up. But, it's still in her backyard.
She went to her bank with evidence that she didn't get what she paid for and the bank reversed the charges. Recently, she received a letter from the company's attorney accusing of her fraud and theft.
Anthony Austin called and texted Shaun Jackrel, who is the operation director and chief financial officer for Premier Outdoor USA. He said his company wasn't at fault for these customers issues.
The next day, I received a letter from the company's attorney accusing me of preparing a "misleading and untruthful" story. That letter goes on to say :
"Mr. White owes Premier Outdoor an outstanding balance. Albeit, despite the outstanding balance, Premier Outdoor consistently communicated with Mr. White on the status of his order, continued to work through completion of the order, and shall continue to do so. Mr. White ordered an outdoor kitchen from Premier Outdoor with a custom concrete countertop. Upon receiving the custom top from the manufacturer, Premier Outdoor made the decision the custom concrete top was subpar."
White recently went to Premier and took pictures of his outdoor kitchen. He showed Anthony a crack in the concrete countertop. He said it doesn't appear the kitchen is near completion and that's why he hasn't paid the rest of the balance.
The contract says all payments must be paid one week prior to delivery.
White has been waiting almost a year for a product he was told would take 12 to 16 weeks to complete. It's even in writing on this contract. But, there's something unusual about the contract.
It appears the company used a template for a car purchase. It says "vehicle price" next to White's charges for his outdoor kitchen.
"At this point and time, I don't want to deal with Premier Outdoor USA anymore. I would just like a refund," White said.
Premier Outdoor USA currently has an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau. According to the BBB, the reason for that rating is 41 complaints filed against the business and four complaints filed against the business that weren't resolved or received no response.
We also asked the company's attorneys for a response to Patricia Wells' claims. But, we did not receive a response by the time this story was published.