Spartan Safe ... who else lost money?

[tinyhatmodel]

Some of you probably know, but maybe some of you do not. Spartan Safe appears to be closed for good. I apologize if this is a dupe ( my search didn't return any results). I haven't been able to find a lot of info on the situation but figured If anyone else was impacted we could group it all together.

I am not really optimistic there will be any refunds and I am beyond livid. I'm pretty upset at myself as well.

I ordered a safe back in march 2022 at the Murfreesboro location. was told 2-3 month lead time. Not unusual so I paid for the safe and moved on with life. I went by the store in person to check on the status probably every other month up until November. It wasn't until early October I was told the safe was finally manufactured (he looked up the info on his computer and told me this) and should be on the shipping truck soon. Great news right?

At this point is has been many months and was tired of this, and honestly wanted to get a refund. So late October I went in and checked on it. I was told the safe was set to be delivered to Murfreesboro within the week. Alright, I can wait one more week I told myself. 1 week goes by and no calls. I couldn't get back over to their store that week so it was on November 17 I finally went back to be done and get a refund no matter what I was told. This was the day I found the store was closed and the had a sign taped to the window saying go to their website. 

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Turns out Liberty safes cancelled their partnership and that must have been the final straw for spartan. Ive submitted their refund request, but 7 days later received another email saying someone would reach out within 10-15 business days. We are at 10 business days from that email (not counting thanksgiving & friday) and still no response.

On November 17 I called liberty because they offered to speak to those impacted by this situation. They were able to find my order and it turns out my safe was manufactured in May 2022! Spartan never paid them to release the safe for shipment. So my safe was sold long ago. Yet Spartan lied to my face saying it hadn't been built yet for months. And then lied again when they said it was getting ready to ship. My safe was long gone when they told me those lies.

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So here we are. Unfortunately I paid 1K in cash and the rest on my credit card. Which is where i royally screwed up. I should have just put it all on the card... Learn from my mistakes guys. My credit card company said to wait until the 10-15 days has passed before they begin the charge back process. So I will get a portion of this back, but not my cash. Hate it when you learn a hard lesson. I'm sure others are even more worse off because my safe wasn't even one of the expensive ones.

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TLDR: spartan safe took orders and money in store and never paid Liberty Safe for them. Liberty never releases safes and terminates their partnership. Spartan closes in the middle of the night. Customers are SOL. 

Any of yall tied up in this crapstorm?

[Darrell]

Sorry that happened to you. There are SO many thieves in the world!

[DO-TN]

Man that sucks! One more point for my "cash and carry" beliefs.

[RED333]

In this day and time of the interwed when you buy stuff, pay, then wait for the stuff.  I am not surprised more of this does not go on. I was, at one time, a "cash and carry" like DO-TN posted. However the brick and mortar stores are just not keeping stock like it was years ago.

Sorry this happened to you tinyhatmodel.

[pop pop]

I just purchased a metal RV cover from the outlet in Lavergne, Old Hickory Steel. They said I could pay up front or in installments. I chose installments. Had to pay 1600.00 down to make the order. When the company in Murfreesboro called had to caught up another 4200. Refused to pay it all. They called last week and installed the building 24' wide by 36' long. Had to caught up the remaining on completion day. 

I "Never" pay for anything in advance. Down Payment is OK to let them know your serious. I even felt uneasy paying my second payment, but was forced too. All went well with my purchase. Sorry you lost your money. Hard pill to swallow. 

[FUJIMO]

I recall reading this story or one eerily similar about Spartan. Could have sworn it was on this site, maybe not. It's unfortunate that these are times we here we are. As the above posts reflect each person has to do what they think is best and hope for the best outcome. Some lessons are harder (and more costly) sometimes.

[tinyhatmodel]

Glad none of you are tied up in this. But if yall know anyone who ordered a safe, might want to ask them if it was spartan and give them a heads up. I'm sure there are so many people who ordered months ago and don't even know whats going on.

If its cash and I can carry it away, its always the first choice! But the whole reason I used credit cards is to front someone else's money and have that protection. I don't know what I was thinking,.. Unfortunately now I am going to default to the idea no business is trustworthy anymore...

If I have any updates or hear anything, Ill continue to post them.

 

@pop pop Spartan wouldn't order you a safe unless you paid in full. Unfortunately all the lead times for this particular safe were about the same everywhere I looked. And they were offering free delivery so that kinda made it worth it to me. For sure though, I agree with you, I'm done with pay in full up front.

@FUJIMO Yeah, I've seen maybe 2 other threads on other forums (one on arfcom, and a deer forum). Other than that, not many people have been made aware.

Edited December 11, 2022 by tinyhatmodel
typo

[eRay]

I came close. Went to Sparton last month to order a Liberty but did not order it when I was told it would be a 4 to 6 month wait. After hearing this I just went to Tractor Supply and picked up a Liberty there.

[Slasher]

I ordered one with them back in October. They were doing a two year interest free loan with a bank so that's what I signed up for. There have only been two payment taken but now I have to call the bank to see what can be done to stop the loan.

I saw where Spartan had a refund webpage but seeing that I didn't put any money down up front I get the no need to sign up for the refund.

[E4 No More]

On 12/11/2022 at 7:04 AM, RED333 said:

In this day and time of the interwed when you buy stuff, pay, then wait for the stuff.  I am not surprised more of this does not go on. I was, at one time, a "cash and carry" like DO-TN posted. However the brick and mortar stores are just not keeping stock like it was years ago.

Sorry this happened to you tinyhatmodel.

What's an "interwed"?

[E4 No More]

I would contact a lawyer AND the police. Since they took your money under false pretenses and never paid the manufacturer then that's theft through fraud.

[FUJIMO]

2 hours ago, E4 No More said:

What's an "interwed"?

I thought that was most Kentucky or Alabama weddings ?

[RED333]

10 hours ago, E4 No More said:

What's an "interwed"?

That is what happens with phat fingers!

[rugerla1]

Sorry to hear you’re going through this. Sadly there are probably many others with the same issue. I truly hope you get taken care of on this or at least aren’t out much. 
As with most situations like this one, the issue was known long before the “had to close”. 

[tinyhatmodel]

@E4 No More If i had more money invested in it, then I'd probably involve a lawyer. If a group lawsuit comes of this, id probably participate. Not sure the local police will care and I don't see them going after a defunct company whos headquarters are out of state. Just a poor situation sadly.

 

@SlasherI would probably still fill that form out and upload whatever docs you have. If you paid them anything, you should at least try. Be glad you were only 2 payments in. But that still sucks either way. Let me know if you hear anything!

[tinyhatmodel]

Interesting... Someone who worked for the company finally spoke. Found on spartans facebook review page.

 

[MacGyver]

I’d encourage you to file a complaint with the FTC. 

[tinyhatmodel]

@MacGyver Just finished filing a complaint. Didn’t think to do that. Though I don’t know if it will do much :(

[MacGyver]

The FTC actually has more room to act than about any group out there.  Filing the complaint that lets them see the documentation of this company acting in bad faith over a period of time is important. 

Companies go out of business all the time.  Continuing to take orders after you're effectively out of business is frowned upon.

The resolution won't be quick - FTC cases go on for years. The money in this case is likely already gone for good.  But, they can hold the management team accountable.

[Stromtrooper77]

@tinyhatmodel My story is literally the same as yours, as are many from what I can tell. I even ordered mine in March. I did use a credit card though and am trying to get the charge back. I have not thought of reporting to the FTC, but I’m going to, good idea. Other wise I have heard nothing from them. 
 

I agree we need to group together and share knowledge and stories, even if that’s to give lawyers an idea of the scale. I have been contacting law firms that do class action cases, but no luck yet. Actually talked to a consultant at Morgan and Morgan, but they declined the case. 

[E4 No More]

On 12/12/2022 at 9:44 PM, tinyhatmodel said:

@E4 No More Not sure the local police will care and I don't see them going after a defunct company whos headquarters are out of state. Just a poor situation sadly.

Having been a police officer - although, not in this state - I haven't seen any detective or prosecutor in a smaller jurisdiction that didn't act on an easy case to clear so that it padded their numbers.

[bersaguy]

If it were me I would have filed Felony Fraud and Felony Breach of trust charges against the exec's of the company. That way the District Attorney of that small town can reach out to the DA in the city or town where the home office is located and ask for his help in the case.....JMHO

[tinyhatmodel]

@Stromtrooper77 I'm sorry you're in the same boat. It truly sucks. Did you get any email responses yet after submitting the 'refund request'?  Im reading all sorts of conflicting information about legal options. There may be no obvious (provable) criminal intent and it will simply be a civil matter. But they aren't local so I imagine you'd have to go to the local court in kennersville north carolina. It really sucks because this will assuredly cost more in time and lawyer fees than what I am currently out. I bet Spartan realizes this and until we get a confirmed large group of wronged customers to after them, I imagine it will be a lost cause.

Keep us posted if you hear of anything.

 

@bersaguyI don't see how you could prove any actual criminal intent. Not from my end at least. At this point since the business hasn't filed bankruptcy (that I can find), we are dealing with a business who hasn't delivered a product. They have "taken action" to get refunds back, but its not looking great. From that perspective it seems like they're doing everything they have to do. Probably just giving them enough time to cover themselves and get out of this without a trace and leave us all empty handed. 

 

@E4 No MoreThe question is, is this even criminal? Its just a  business that hasn't delivered at this point. That's typically between the two parties and outside of law enforcement is it not? Maybe I'm wrong?

[tinyhatmodel]

Ive kept an eye on a reddit thead here:

 

Some recent posts:

 

 

 

I cannot find any bankruptcy info online anywhere so that claim is unverifiable. But I could be searching incorrectly for it. Also I don't know if spartan is actually processing any refunds per the other comment. I personally sent an email to the contact at Liberty Safes who I spoke with the day I found out about all of this. Ill let y'all know what she says (if anything).

[crc4]

Just curious. How long had Spartan been in business? Did anyone do their due diligence in checking out the company before putting money down?

Investors thought Bernie Madoff was a really great guy so there was no reason to check him out.

Sorry for your loss.  I understand how frustrating it can be when you've been hoodwinked.  

As to the police getting involved, I wouldn't count on it. Cases like this are far too paper heavy, require specialized  attorneys for a paper chase that the local DA doesn't have on staff, and there are violent crimes that will always take precedence over incidents like this. 

Then, if and when someone is charged, the money is long gone. Unless you agree to pay a lawyer a huge retainer up front, no lawyer will do it for a backend fee.

That doesn't mean you might not get some justice, but at what price? Sometimes you have to let it go, learn, and don't eat yourself up for days, months, and years.

Good luck whatever you do.

PS. I did some looking around. Much of their website is still available. Print out (pdf) of everything you can find on their sites. Check out other places too like the Better Business Bureau (In Arizona they got a D) Facebook pages, anything that may show fraudulent advertising and attempts to deceive.

Edited December 15, 2022 by crc4