MOUNTAIN GROVE, Mo. — A southwestern Missouri rustic furniture company who accumulated over 1,600 negative reviews and customers complaints with the Better Business Bureau shuttered last month.
Thursday, the BBB reported Rough Country Rustic Furniture suspended their operations July 24 following hundreds of complaints dating back to 2017. Last December, 5 On Your Side first reported the longrunning issues with the F-rated business through the BBB, which produced hand-crafted gun concealment furniture and various home decor.
Customers who placed orders with Rustic Country Furniture complained their furniture pieces either never arrived or would be delivered with incomplete with parts "missing and on backorder." In one instance, a woman from Houston, Mo., complained about her $1,600 order on the company's Facebook page, only for her comments to be deleted and ignored.
In May, the 5 On Your Side I-Team dug deeper into the hole of Rustic Country Furniture, and we found they had pocketed over $500,000 for orders that had yet to have been shipped. Still, the company told the I-Team they had successfully resolved 400 complaints, saying in part, "We were hoping to devote some time to those complaints, but instead, we have been focusing on complaints with the MO AGs office as they are a government agency rather than a private company like the BBB."
Just one week after the business ended operations due to pressure from the BBB, Attorney General Josh Hawley filed a lawsuit against owners Joseph Victor Ross, and his wife, Ashley Nicole Dillard. The couple also owned another company, Rustic Concealment Solutions, LLC. That company was also included in the lawsuit.
Hawley's lawsuit alleged both companies used "deceptive and unfair business practices in connection with the online sale of furniture and home decor," the BBB said in a press release. They added their secondary company, Rustic Concealment Solutions operated "as an alter ego of Rough Country" which were believed to "assist in their deceptive practices."
Rough Country Rustic Furniture's website is still active as of August, however, a message has been posted on the front page that reads: "We are currently not accepting new orders, thank you for visiting our website."
