Colorado Prime

500 Bi County Blvd, Suite 400, Farmingdale, NY

Ruben of Saint Marys GA (12/27/07)
I once had an account with Colorado Prime back in 1996. The account was closed sometime during 1999. Colorado Prime billed me from 1999 to 2003 unknowingly. I'm currently retired Navy and work on a Military Installation, during my 5 year backgroun Investigation Concord Capital showed up on my Credit report with a judgement around 10,000 dollars. I can assure you that my family did not benefit from 10,000 dollars worth of Colorado Prime products. I have contacted Concord Capital and Colorado Prime for clearification of this matter. To this date no knows or seems to care to contact me. I will pay what I owe, I just dont feel like it should be 10000.

I'm 70% service connected disabled, my current employment is lending on the outcome of this matter.

Kenneth of Wilmington DE (12/01/07)
The food is overpriced.  The pots and pans are really nice until they start sticking. They are warrantied against sticking, but what a joke for $2500.00 pan set. I paid off the account and never missed a payment, yet it is on my credit as derogatory credit. Now I cannot contact anyone.

I have damaged credit when I never missed a payment. They were disappointed when I cancelled any further deliveries.

Eric of Dana Point CA (06/23/04)
We were referred by a friend (this is how you get your promo products and lower pricing from Colorado Prime) and made an appointment with a salesman. After an endless sales pitch wherein we were assured that a freezer was included in the cost of the food, we signed up and paid a deposit.

Shortly after, we received the food, the freezer and then two bills in the mail...an installment payment for the food and one for the freezer. We paid the bill for the food and contested the one for the freezer. Colorado Prime insisted we needed to speak to their billing company Concord Financial. Concord Financial insisted the problem was between us and Colorado Prime.

After numerous conversations and no resolution, I decided that my choices were to go get a lawyer or let the $2,539.00 go to collections. Now I find myself in a situation where I am refinancing, two days from funding, and the underwriters are insisting that any charge off on my credit over $2,500.00 must be paid in order to fund the loan.

So here I sit trying to decide whether to donate $2,539.00 to a crook or tell my mortgage broker to pound sand. Either way, I lose in a big way.

My credit is trashed and I am left in a position wherein I need to give up on a loan that has been in the works for the last month or give in to a fraud and lose $2,539.00

John of Morgan NJ (9/4/03):
Recently we received what will be our last delivery of food. From the very beginning we were treated poorly! We called to set up a re-order visit and a time was set. Both my wife and I rearranged our schedules to be home at the designated time. Well the time came and went and nobody showed up. After a while we called to find out where the sales person was and only then were we told that the New Jersey office had been closed and we would have to do a reorder over the phone.

So we again set up a time for the Phone Re-order. The time came and went with no phone call. We called again to find out what happened, and got no answers, only that the person should have phoned us and they would look into it. So we set up another time to re-order. Finally some one called and we were able to place our order. When we were finished our order, we tried to set up a Saturday delivery date (since we both work) and we were informed that you also no longer deliver to New Jersey. The sails person explained that the food would come via Fed Ex.

The salesperson explained that we would not have to be home to received the order because the special boxes would keep the food frozen for up to 24 hours. We reluctantly agreed but were disappointed since the driver used to pack the freezer for us. So now you have raised your prices on us but drastically cut back your service. Anyway a couple of days later we received a phone call telling us that the food would be delivered via Fed Ex on a specific date and specifically said we would not have to be home to accept the delivery. Well the food came on the specified date, however it was shipped UPS. UPS has a policy that they will NOT leave more than 5 boxes without a signature. Luckily a neighbor called my wife at work and she had to drive home to accept the delivery.

When I got home 3 hours later and went to start moving the food to the freezer, I found that much of the food had already started to defrost. So much for 24 hours.

Juanita of Leavenworth KS (8/25/03):
Lisa came to our house to give her sales pitch. It sounded fine but her "adding" is very screwy and on every sheet, different. We did like the military savings of 60% (oh please) and decided to try it out. She then proceeded to tell us about a new freezer but we already had one so declined. Then she showed us all the other "great" products...on paper. I asked her if I could see something in person because for the price of those pots and pans I wanted to be sure. Well she hemmed and hawed about it and said she left it at home because it was so wonderful that she used it all the time.

I asked her if I didn't like the pots and pans would I be able to return them and she told me "of course". So even though it cost us almost $2.500.00, we agreed to try them.

Our food never arrived for close to 3 weeks, our pots and pans were on back order for 4 to 6 weeks. Well we finally got everything! The pots and pans, oh my goodness they were beautiful, but lift them, noway. They were so heavy just the smallest pan was hard to manage on the stove. I love to cook and am very able in the kitchen. I was very upset that this is not what I expected. I called the company 3 days later, (sorry I got busy) anyway they told me there was nothing I could do that I had used the product and the product was now considered "used".

Anyway I asked to speak to the manager, who the way was not in, for three weeks he was not in and finally we did get him on the phone and explained that no one would pick up the boxes. In the meantime we had been in contact with Concord Financial who continued to bill us. We dealt with this for 2 months then one evening we had a new rep come to our house, I let him have it but good. We asked him to take the huge boxes of pots and pans with him as his boss did tell us as soon as he could get someone out to our area he would do just that. Well he was all for it until my husband wanted him to sign a piece of paper we had drawn up giving the date and time and who it was who was picking up our boxes. But he did it and took the two huge boxes with him.

The company would not admit that anyone had picked up the pots and pans and kept ignoring our calls. A month later when I was still getting billed no one would help us and so our credit was suffering. We finally went to JAG and they helped us so much, we finally got a letter of apology and told that if we ever wanted to buy from them again that they would be more than happy to keep us as customers ... like that would ever happen again.

This all Started in Feb. of 2002, we thought we had it cleared up with JAG by the end of that summer. In November of 2002 we went to purchase a new truck and we were told our credit was poor and that we had a very large outstanding bill. Of course we didn't even have to ask, it was Concord Financial. From Feb to November they continued to show on our credit report that we were not paying our bill. Not only that but how would we have even known, they didn't even send us statements. Our lawyer took care of it. August 2003 it is now time to buy our first home with a VA loan. We can't. Guess why? Concord Finacial is showing up again!

Sherry of Savage MN (7/31/03):
After being told that this was a wholesale meat service and that the price "eliminated the middleman" I discovered that I was being charged over $10.00 a pound. My order was only of a few steaks, hamburger, roasts and some chicken. This was at 45% off their cost (or so I was told). I will admit that the food is good, but dealing with this company and their misleading tactics is frustrating and costly.

I called and cancelled the order within 2 days and hopefully that is the end of it. I was told that this is not a wholesale dealership but a service. Well, at $10.00 a pound for hamburger, they can "service" someone else.

Richard of Pembroke Pines FL writes (4/13/02):
The sales rep told me I could eat quality meat everyday for $295 per month with a 3 yr contract and I would receive a barbecue grill, also Italian pots and an upright freezer and I have 3 business days to cancel if not satisfied. I would get $100.00 cash if I refer someone and if they sign up.

I signed up on 12/22/01, I did not receive the appliances until 12/28/01 and my first food order was not until January 12, 2002 so i did not have a chance to cancel within 3 business days. My first order was not complete so I ran out of food within 30 days. I called sales rep and customer service to notify, they said they will send me an adjustment of food which should last 6 mos. On March 9th 2002, I received the food order which lasted 2 more weeks, I have not received another shipment of food.

I referred a customer and they signed up.I did not receive $100 cash.

I signed a contract for 3 yrs and when I received my first bill I noticed there was interest accumalating. When I called customer service they told me it was a 5-yr contract. I live in Broward where the sales tax is 6 percent. I was charged N.Y sales tax of 7 percent.

We were told the appliances were free but in fact we were forced to puchase them for $6,991 at an interest rate of 18%.

Cheryl of Sterling VA (3/18/02):
Isable came to the house with the sales information. My husband and I were going to share the cost of the meat with my older son. It sounded like a great idea; we met them at the home and garden show at the Expo center a week prior. She said we saved so much money on all food, but we decided we only wanted the meat. She discussed the meat, made some burgers stating that they stayed almost the exact size (after cooking) that they were prior to cooking. We did not get to see them in the pan when they had been fully cooked. She cut them up into bite-sized pieces.

Then she discussed the freezer -- TOP OF THE LINE was the exact discription. I have never seen a TOP OF THE LINE freezer that was not frost-free. I have a freezer, not frost-free, and would NEVER buy one that is not frost free EVER again. We agreed to the freezer, unaware it was manual defrost. A few days later, my older son was here for the delivery of the Whirlpool freezer. The freezer is dented, has dings on the front of it, and NOT frost free.

I called the 1-800 number asking to have the freezer have the door fixed and that, more importantly, it be replaced with a frost-free one. I was willing to refigure our contract to agree to an adjustment in cost in obtaining a frost free freezer. Again, I stated the door was damaged and needed replaced. I was told we were stuck with the freezer. The man said, "I wouln't say the word "stuck" but you can not have it returned or replaced". I told the man, then, I will not have any meat delivered. I will call and have the meat cancelled (the saleslady said we could cancel at any time) and they could come and get the freezer.

He said that was not how they did business. He stated he would "red flag" our order so that someone else would look over the problem but that they "had a policy" to not take back freezers for ANY reason! I told him there was a 3 day limitation on sales "lemon law" and returning items we were not happy with. The man stated the 3-day return was "3 days prior to the delivery of the freezer" so therefore we were not permitted to have the freezer returned. He said once it was in our house, that was that, it was ours. No returns!

My husband called Colorado Prime Meats as they told us 100 percent LIFE TIME warrenty on the freezer. "Tara" told my husband ALL their freezers are manual defrost, "It is the best way to have meats frozen" vice frost-free! Tara repeated to my husband that they do NOT take freezers back. She also stated that the door was not fixable, replaceable, etc. We had to just accept the fact it is damaged. Tara stated the warranty they gave us does NOT cover the door...even though it is a brand new door/brand new freezer! It came to us damaged!

I now have two freezers in my home in the middle of my small townhouse kitchen. One is very large and dented, brand new, unreturnable, so they say, and unusable to our family. Concord Financial Service, Inc of Farmingdale NY sent us a statement F4211492. We owe $49 a month ... first payment due 5 April. The charges are $999.00 for the freezer "G" Whirlpool, sales tax of $62.91 and yes, a service policy of $399.00 for something they will NOT fix! I was told by Isabel that we did not need Whilrpool warranty as Colorado Prime's warrenty was far superior. Superior enough to keep it from being fixed or replaced?

Brenda of Deerfield NH writes (3/15/02):
My husband and I signed up for the food service with the understanding that it can always be cancelled if for any reason you do not wish to continue. This portion was not a problem for the most part except that the prices they promised were doubled by processing fees so we therefore cancelled the program. That and the fact that the products were not of the quality they were represented to be.

The real problem occurred when the sales manager tried to talk us into buying a Ducan gas grill for $3600. We were hesitant and told him that we wanted to shop around. He said if we signed the contract and found another grill like this at a cheaper price or were not happy with the grill, that we could cancel at any time. I made him write right on the contact that it COULD BE CANCELLED with no time limits or anything.

I have since found out that Mr. S tried to "white out" the "can be cancelled" amendment on my contract and that he has been fired from the company, however, the company now tells me there is nothing they can do about it and have not come to pick up the grill. I did find out today (3/15/02) from Concord Financial through whom they do their financing, that my account has been put on hold for the moment. I want the grill picked up by them, I want the money refunded I have paid on the grill, and I do not want my credit damaged because of this whole ordeal.

Deborah of Lowell MA (2/27/02):
I signed up for Colorado Prime's service. I paid in full. The sales rep had me make the check out to First Citizens Bank. I started receiving bills from Concord Financial Services. I confronted the sales rep. who admitted to depositing the check in his own account and turning in the credit application with my information on it. (I had signed this application only because I was told it was part of signing up for the service).

I called the Colorado Prime office and was told by John's manager, Bruce, that what John had done was wrong and that he would be dealt with and the problem taken care of. He said that I would not be responsible for the bill. I called Bruce after several days and he informed me that John would continue to make payments on the account that he had illegally opened in my name. I told him that this was unacceptable and that I wanted the account paid in full immediately. I asked Bruce who his supervisor was and he refused to answer.

American Express called and said they are lowering my credit rating due to the income to debt ratio. All of this aggravation for paying in full.

Deborah should contact the police. If what she says is accurate, John's action could constitute theft.

Eveline of Winter Springs FL (1/30/02):
I have ordered from this company before. Less than one year later a salesman came to my house to fill out another order sheet. I decided not to buy any further meats from the company when they called because I still had some meat left. I was called by the company three times in which I stated thank you but no thank you.

On the fourth call a woman called with a good personality and stated that she did not want to sell me anything but she was calling to find out why I no longer wanted to purchase from Colorado Prime. I told her that I lived in Florida and the electricity goes out frequently and I was nervous about the meat going bad. She assured me that the meat would be replaced. We had a long conversation in which we discussed the weather and the upcoming holidays. She was from up north because it was cold where she was. I believe her name was Joyce.

I also told her that I received way too many products and that I didn't need that much food. She again assured me that it would not be a problem. I received another phone call from a man to give me a 35% discount and a smaller order. The food was delivered. I was billed $530.00 for 25 pieces of meat, 12 of which is hamburger meat. I was not at home at the time of delivery and did not sign. Two weeks later my electricity goes out and the meat spoils. I call the company and I am told that I did not have insurance so the meat is not covered.

Allen of Mount Holly, NC writes (12/21/01):
The salesman came to our home to tell us about the company and what services they offered. We went through a presentation the sounded great and we were promised prices that were better that supermarket prices. Mr. Flynn told us that the meat they offered was used in places like Outback Steak House and other comparable restuarants.

He also told us that the food was vaccuum packed and could be thawed in water in about 10 minutes if we ever forgot to set something out for dinner. This sounded great and very convenient for us and Mr. Flynn then worked up a food order for our family of 4 that would last us 6 months. We knew that our freezer would not hold that much and Mr. Flynn said that they offered a commercial freezer and that if we purchased the freezer they would give us a 40% discount on the food. It all added up nicely with his fuzzy way of figuring.

We specifically asked the salesman at that time if the freezer was a frost-free freezer and he assured us that it was. When the freezer came, we refused it because it was not a frost free like we wanted. This put up a red flag and my husband called customer service. We wanted to cancel the entire order and the lady (Diane) assured us that we would love their product and went through another high pressured sales pitch. She promised us the 40% discount if we would just take the food and try it. She also told us that if there was any problem or if we were not satisfied that we could return the food.

Well, we are not satisified! We were told by Mr. Flynn that the price list he gave us did not reflect their real prices - that we would not be paying anywhere near what was on that sheet - that he was required by law to give us the sheet but not to pay it any attention because we were definately not going to pay that much for our food. Well, it is exactly that much!! Now we are trying to deal with their "customer service" and getting no where.

Jerome of Los Angeles writes:
On March 14, 2000, my wife and I were visited in our home by Steve Johnson, a salesperson form Colorado Prime Food Company. During the sales presentation, Steve told us the features and benefits of buying food through Colorado Prime and he quoted my wife and me extremely competitive prices on the food items. As a matter of fact, we presented sale flyers from our local supermarkets and to an item, Steve's prices were better than the flyer prices.

At that time Steve wrote a food order to be delivered to our home. This food order consisting of primarily meats and some grocery items was written to last my wife and me for eight months. Because of the amount of food, our freezer could not accommodate the food so the order was split into two deliveries. The order totaled $1438.39 and at that time we gave Steve a $199.00 deposit.

During the sales presentation, Steve attempted to sell us a $2,200 industrial freezer. He said that by purchasing the freezer, the entire eight months of food could be delivered at one time, the food would be preserved better in this particular freezer, and we would receive the maximum discount on our food order. We declined the freezer offer and told Steve that we would make do with our side-by-side freezer, which Steve then took a look at.

A couple of months passed before we took our first delivery of food. This gave us time to eat the food that we had purchased from the supermarket prior to ordering from Colorado Prime. When the delivery person came to our home with the five big boxes of meat and groceries, he looked at the several empty shelves in our side-by-side and told me that this wasn't going to work. There was way too much food and not enough room in the freezer. The delivery person suggested that he not deliver any food at that time and I contact Colorado Prime and scale back the order. I agreed and he took back all of the food.

This is where the real problems start. I called my sales rep (Steve) and informed him of the problem with the large delivery. I requested that the order be split into three or four orders to accommodate my side-by-side. I was told that it is very uncommon to split an order into three or four orders. At that time I was transferred to a manager named Tony Assali.

Mr. Assali's immediate solution was to lead with the hard sales pitch for the freezer; he went to great lengths to make me feel stupid for not purchasing the $2,200 freezer that would alleviate this split-order problem. After I made it clear that I was not going to purchase the freezer, he Ok'd the order to be delivered in three different shipments. I then called the customer service department and split the order, they would only allow me to split it three ways.

The first order was delivered on July 26, 2000. The delivery person stuffed as much food as he could in my side-by-side. As empty as my freezer was, still not all of the food fit. The delivery person took with him all of the extra food. Shortly after the first delivery, I received a bill for $529.38 from Concord Financial (Colorado Prime's finance company). This amount reflected the price of over half of the food order (less my $199.00 deposit) when I had received less than a third of the product.

On August 30th I contacted Concord Financial to discuss the bill and they informed me that they were only the billing company and any disputes would have to be settled with Colorado Prime. That same day I called Colorado Prime and spoke with Anni Celavro who identified herself as a Manager. I asked that I be billed for only the food that I received and I also requested a price list for the food. Ms. Celavro told me that I bought the food without seeing a price list so I was not going to get one now. She also informed me that California is not a "price per pound state" so Colorado Prime didn't have to show me a price list. To this day, nobody at Colorado Prime will show me a price list.

Ms. Celavro then said there was nothing she could do to help me. At that point I contacted the Sales Manager in the Los Angeles office, Mr. Assali. After I explained my problem with paying for food that I had not received, his response was, you owe us the money and now you have to pay, he then said there was nothing that he could do. At that point, I cancelled all pending orders with Colorado Prime.

After explaining the situation to Concord Financial, a Manager in Colorado Prime's Corporate office and a Manager in the Los Angeles office, I was stuck with less than $100 worth of food from Colorado Prime, a bill of $529.38 and absolutely no one to turn to. To make matters worse Concord Financial was now calling my home on a weekly basis wanting a payment. I informed them of my unpleasant dilemma but the calls and letters kept coming.

In a last ditch effort, I called Steve Johnson my initial Sales Rep to see if he would help me. He told me that he thought the matter had been solved a long time ago. After I gave him the precise details of my case including the small amount of food delivered and the amount of the bill, he was appalled and extremely apologetic. Steve could not believe this situation. He told me that he was going to bypass his manager (Mr. Assali) and go directly to the Regional Manager to solve my problem. Some time passed and I didn't hear from Steve or a Regional Manager, however at some point I must have been credited $72.69 because my balance had been decreased by that amount. I then received a letter and a phone call from Concord Financial stating if I did not make a payment, I was going to be reported to the credit bureau. Under the threat of blemishing my impeccable credit, I made a payment of $257.69 and I am now disputing that charge.

We have spent a great deal of time on the phone following up with many different people over the last few months. And to no avail; the situation has not been taken care. We are blatantly being taken advantage of. To date we have paid over $450.00 for approximately what I estimate as less than $100.00 in food that we actually received. We are turning to you to help assist us in obtaining a refund for the food that we have never received and have been forced to pay for through threat of damaging our credit.

The following is a list of the items that I received from Colorado Prime and have been charged $456.69.

• 1-12oz pk Top Sirloin Filets
• 3-1 lb pks Ground Beef Patties
• 2-2 lb pks Ground Beef Bulk
• 4-1 lb pks Chicken Breast
• 1-2 lb pk Pre-Roasted Turkey Breast
• 1-1b pk Brown N' Serve Pork Chops
• 1-1lb, 8oz Center Cut Pork Chops
• 1-3lb Tray Baked Ziti
• 1-1lb, 14oz box Jumbo Stuffed (cheese) Shells
• 1-2lb, 10oz Chicken Breast Kiev
• 1-1lb pk Ground Turkey
• 2-1lb pks Cat Fish Filets
• 10 oz bottle Ranch Dressing
• 1 Box Stovetop Stuffing
• 1 Lysol Toilet Bowl Cleaner
• 4 12oz Minute Made O. J.
• 2 8oz packs Cut Green Beans