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Lawsuits against Bob's Containers
An Austin-based company is under fire and is accused of taking money and not fulfilling orders worth tens of thousands of dollars. Court records show more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed against them. The company's assets have since been purchased by another company, who say the legal issues are tied to the former ownership.
AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin-based company is under fire and is accused of taking money and not fulfilling orders worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Court records show more than a dozen lawsuits have been filed against them.
People in three different states shared their stories with FOX 7 Austin. They all had similar interactions with the company.
Julian Friel's story
Local perspective:
Julian Friel, from Houston; Steven Macias, from Tulare, California; and Cheyenne and Samuel Koenig, from Portland, Oregon, have all placed orders with Bob's Containers. They say they were drawn to it because it looked like a well-regarded business online.
Friel says in March, he placed a $41,000 deposit for a feasibility study for his Airbnb to see if one of the company's containers would work in his space.
"After that, there was little to no communication from Robert Balderas or Bob's Containers, or any of his project managers," he said.
Eventually, the company told him he would receive bi-weekly updates. He didn't get any updates. He says he requested a refund, and by September, there was still no word from Bob's Containers.
"I've been blocked from all communication, and I have had the property management software that was used to create the blueprints, if you will, canceled. It was canceled even prior to me saying that I wanted to cancel the project and request a refund," he said.
Steven Macias' story
Local perspective:
Steven Macias says he purchased a container that was ready to ship. He's designing a beer garden in Tulare, California.
"Once July came around, I start calling. 'Hey, I got to organize a crane. I got to receive this thing. I got to get ready to get this thing and put it on a pad. I got to get a foundation board. I need to know the details of when we're going to get this thing shipped here. They go dark for me," he said.
He says he sent Bob's Containers $38,000 for the container and $1,500 for shipping.
"I'm having to figure that this is a complete loss," he said.
Cheyenne and Samuel Koenig's story
Local perspective:
Cheyenne and Samuel Koenig live in Portland, Oregon. They are building a community space for their coffee shop. They say they sent Bob's Containers about $30,000 total and heard nothing after that.
"They were really kind of bugging me like, 'okay, well, as soon as you send it, we'll get it started,' and I sent it. Then I asked three or four different times, 'did you get it? Did you receive my wire? Anybody? Hello?' Nothing, absolutely nothing," Cheyenne said.
The Koenigs say they sent a demand letter through their attorney for their money back or for delivery of the product. Then they started searching online and found other Bob's Containers customers who had experienced something similar.
"It seems like this is repetitive, this is practiced, right? This is not unique to us," Samuel said.
Owner of Bob's Containers responds
Local perspective:
Court records show at least a dozen lawsuits filed against Bob's Containers in Texas.
Robert Balderas, the owner of Bob's Containers, spoke directly to FOX 7 Austin.
"It's nothing that we're proud of. We've grown really fast and took on a lot of projects," he said.
He says there are different factors that went into the delays some of his customers have reported.
"We have some support issues and there are at least four, to be honest, where something happened. It could be a permitting delay, a labor issue, a design change, and we fall behind," Balderas said.
Balderas says if someone wants to cancel, there's a process for it in the agreement they signed. The company has opened a bigger facility, hired more people, and is having representatives communicate better.
"We're just trying to do what's right. You know, we're going to build it and make up for being delayed, or we're going to work towards a refund, but we just have to go through the appropriate process," Balderas said. "[The lawsuits] surprised me, and honestly hurt, but it's interesting that they go litigious when we have what's it called a like a refund agreement."
He says he hopes to regain people's trust and says customers should expect some communication soon if they want a refund or to move forward with their projects.
"I understand that these people believed in me at first, something happened, and I wish I could regain that," he said. "It just takes time now, because it's a litigious thing."
What's next:
We asked the customers if they went through the refund process Balderas mentioned.
Macias says Balderas told him a refund form was sent, but Macias never received it. He heard nothing after telling Balderas that.
Friel and the Koenigs say their sales contracts do not outline a refund process and heard nothing after trying to get their money back.
Mitch Flax, managing partner of NAM Container Systems LLC, says NAM purchased the assets of Bob's Containers in September. He is the majority owner of the new Bob's Containers. He says the legal issues and refund obligations are strictly tied to the previous ownership. They're trying to make things right for customers.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin's Angela Shen