Your Country's Choice

Your Country's Choice Scott Greene, Rick Stewart, Ricky Lee Stewart, Jimmy Simpson, Country Choice, Stampede Meats, American Gold Label Food Distribut

13th of Dec, 2010 by User423229

The product was misrepresented and my money taken- "theft by deception" as defined by Ohio Criminal Code. The assurance of a "fast and hassle-free return" has obviously not been the case. Your Country's Choice (Scott Greene-route manager, salesperson and Rick Stewart-owner) will not answer or return my calls or emails after promising to do so within the hour (once they got to work, spoke with their boss etc). They have also failed to sign for the cancellation letter I sent certified via USPS or pick it up at the post office even after two notices of attempt to deliver had been left. They sell the meats by the number of steaks and never provide the price per pound (as required by Ohio law) nor did they provide me with cancellation forms and information (as required by Ohio law). They are currently under investigation by multiple local, state and private regulatory agencies, departments and companies. A full account follows. On Thursday December 9th, 2010 around 5:30pm a salesman knocked on our door saying that his company (Your Country's Choice) had come to an apartment in our complex to make a delivery and had extra meat. He said his boss told him to knock on other people's doors and see if anyone would be interested in purchasing it at a discounted rate since they couldn't take it back to Columbus and needed to sell it. I was later told that it's standard practice to bring extra cases of meat and offer them at reduced prices to neighbors in order to attract new customers. I asked where the meat came from and how it was raised; unable to answer he said he would get his boss and be back in a few minutes. About 5 minutes later a red minivan pulled up with the salesman, another older man and a woman. I invited the two men inside with their cases of meat. The cases contained about 6 narrow boxes each with about 4-6 steaks individually vacuum packed and frozen. The Route Manager identified himself as Scott Greene and began to show me the chicken. The first pack was breaded, the second seasoned and I immediately told him I was not interested because I know that the meat would have had chemicals, seasoning and additives added. He then proceeded to open the case of steak boxes, open each individual box and display them so all the steaks were visible. He named each steak and talked about how to cook it. From the moment he introduced himself to the very end (45 minutes later) when I handed over $300 cash, I asked him repeatedly (more than I can remember!) if the cattle were raised with hormones, antibiotics or steroids, and if the steaks themselves contained any chemicals, MSG, preservatives, additives or broth. Every single time he assured me that they did not. He pointed out that the steaks were not packaged with pads to absorb broth (like the ones in the grocery stores) and that they were never injected with anything of the sort. He even said that he was allergic to MSG and since he eats the meats without any problem he can tell me for sure that the meat is all natural and of the highest quality. I was not satisfied and asked for proof, documentation, the name of the farm that the meat came from- in addition to the price per pound (he was selling it by the steak- which i found out later is illegal). He said he didn't have any documentation, or know the information, but if I made the purchase that night I could call his boss in the morning and if I was not totally satisfied they would send a truck right back out the very next day to pick the meat up and refund my full purchase price. I asked if there would be any fees associated with the return and he assured me there would not be. He gave me his full name and cell-phone number and said "If I was lying to you, would I give you my information? You can call the number right now and you'll see that it's my cell phone. If you have any problems at all, you just give me a call and I'll take care of it." Needless to say, we purchased two cases for $300 cash (down from $379- Scott said he would get a $250 bonus for being the first truck back and that's why he could give me such a good deal) which would have been a steal if the meat had been raised and processed as we were told. It wasn't until we began to pack it away that we noticed labels on the boxes that hadn't been visible the way the steaks had been displayed. Not only were the weights directly identified for each box but the ingredients were clearly listed and included "dextrose, sodium phosphates, hydrolized corn and soy protein, sodium erythorbate and sodium nitrite". Upon further investigation, I traced the meat back through the processor and distributor to find out that the cattle were raised in mainstream industrial feed lots on grain and with the use of antibiotics, steroids and hormones. I was able to get a hold of Scott at 9am the next morning, but having woke him up he asked if he could call me back in a few minutes. His boss returned my multiple calls about 5 minutes later but said he wasn't at the office and would call me within the hour once he got there. An hour and a half later I hadn't heard back from Scott, so i called again and he said he had lost my number but he was pulling up to work now and would talk to his boss and get back to me within 35-40 minutes. I never heard from either of them for the rest of the day despite numerous more phone calls. I spent the rest of the day phoning regulatory local, state and federal government agencies. Door to door sales people are required to abide by the "Cooling Off Rule" which means they are required to tell you about your three days you have to cancel for a full refund, and also provide you with two cancellation forms- neither of which they did for me. I typed up my own formal cancellation letter and mailed it the same day (Friday 10th) certified. USPS tried to deliver the letter Saturday morning and Monday morning but according to the tracking it was never signed for an notices were left. One manager of the Ohio Environment Health Department (responsible for issuing their "mobile food retail license") said he knew of the company and that the best word to describe them was "slimy". I have also emailed the company and attempted to call them multiple times each day. I have heard nothing. Please feel free to get in touch with me through this site if you have any questions at all about the Company, the meat or the regulatory agencies that I've been in touch with.

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