'Chamblee's Rose Nursery' comments & questions

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Chamblee's Rose Nursery

My HMF:

☐ POST COMMENT

Discussion id : 146-273 most recent 2 NOV 23 SHOW ALL

Initial post 26 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

MY REVEIW POSTED 6/26/23 ON YELP: I ordered 5 roses from Chamblee's on 5/20/23 for a total of $163, which was immediately debited from my bank account. When there was no sign of the roses on 6/6/23, I began to email and call--NO RESPONSE. I got suspicious and read all the recent Yelp reviews, and realized I'd also been scammed. I sent a threatening email to them demanding a refund, and hard copy letters by certified mail to the two addresses on the website. USPS tracking states the letters are undeliverable, ie the addresses that Chamblee's has on their website are fakes. The company responded after my threatening email that they would do an immediate refund, but that was 12 days ago and NOTHING. Today I filed a claim with the BBB (Better Business Bureau), I advise others to do the same. I will also follow up with a complaint at the Federal Trade Commission Office of Consumer Affairs and the TX Attorney General's office. Chamblee's needs to have their website taken down so they don't continue to defraud unsuspecting folks. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ORDER FROM THESE PEOPLE. PS: The profile of the nursery on Yelp is the OLD profile from when founder Mark Chamblee ran the nursery. The people running it now are using it as a front so that they look respectable. Poor Mr. Chamblee would have a fit if he knew how his formerly honorable nursery was being operated these days!

Reply #1 of 19 posted 27 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

Lee H.

I tried to check out the Chamblee website, and Safari gave me several warning messages, attached. I wonder if their website has been hijacked, or...something. Did you ever talk to anybody by phone?	REPLY

Reply #2 of 19 posted 27 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Wow, Lee, that's really interesting about the website warnings on Safari. Agreed that they are not to be trusted! My Firefox or Brave browsers are not showing any such warnings, FYI, I just checked. But maybe Safari knows something we don't know? What I DO know is that this is now a scam business, having experienced it firsthand. I wanted to get the word out online to the rose community so that they don't suffer the same fraud that I and others experienced. The Rose community is a wholesome, safe space (normally), so what Chamblee's is doing feels like a violation. And no, I never did get anyone on the phone. They do not answer the phone, it just goes to voice mail or says that the mailbox is full. Their phone must be blowing up with all the people who are not receiving the roses they have ordered.

Reply #3 of 19 posted 27 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

jedmar

Reply #4 of 19 posted 27 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Reply #5 of 19 posted 27 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

jedmar

It means that Chamblees will not be shown as a supplier. The fraud information and allegations need to be sorted out. In their Facebook account, a post dated June 17 says:
"We just wanted to share a quick update and let everyone know we are still working through orders. We are a few weeks behind schedule due to some unfortunate circumstances, but we will get caught up here soon. Your support has made this a very busy season for us, and we are extremely grateful for each and every one of you.
Again, if you are still waiting on an order, or a response to communications please message us on here so we can get you taken care of asap. We are working overtime to get everyone’s questions answered as quickly as possible."

Reply #6 of 19 posted 29 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Thank you Jedmar. I am glad that Chamblee's will no longer be listed as a supplier until things are sorted out. I personally believe that they will not be able to turn things around, given what has been going on. I also believe the disclaimer verbiage they have now posted on their site is just a front to string people along. This is the THIRD ownership of Chamblee's; the second ownership was honorable, as was of course the original. However this third ownership is an unmitigated disaster. I have been dealing with them for the past month and it's by far the worst experience I've ever had with an online vendor--for roses or otherwise.

Reply #7 of 19 posted 1 JUL 23 by HMF supporting member

scvirginia

This would not be the first time a rose nursery's web site has been purchased after the nursery closed, and the domain name went up for sale.

I seem to recall that this happened at least 5 years ago when another small rose nursery closed. The scammers bought the domain name, filled the site with gorgeous photos swiped from the Internet, and people ordered roses that never showed up.

It's a real shame.

Reply #8 of 19 posted 1 JUL 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Virginia, I reported this company to the BBB, Federal Trade Commission Fraud Bureau, and the Texas Attorney General's office, as well as requesting my bank reverse the charges (which remains to be seen, I believe it's at the company's discretion). I will update the posting if I succeed in getting a reimbursement. Thank you for bringing up the prior fraudulent rose nursery, I'd be interested to know which one this was. If anyone knows, please post!

Reply #9 of 19 posted 17 AUG 23 by HMF supporting member

Michael Garhart

They told me they would refund me twice after I hounded them many times. When I realized it was a farce, I filed fraud though Keybank, and was refunded my funds back. What was most interesting was no invoice. That had never happened with Chamblee's before. It is sad that another nursery option isn't viable, but that's how this business goes many times.	REPLY

Reply #10 of 19 posted 17 AUG 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Oh Michael, I'm so sorry. But, happy you were able to get a refund. My bank told me it would be up to 90 days to see if they could get my $168 refund, I'm still waiting. And yes, I noticed as well that they did not issue an online invoice with the order, like other online nurseries do. These crooked Chamblee's folks are also operating an outfit in TX called One Love Farms. HMF was featuring it and I wrote a scathing review of it, saying they were behind the fraud taking place via the Chamblee's front. I asked HMF admin to remove One Love Farms from this site. I'll have to check and see if it is still up... In the meantime, there are more BBB and Yelp rewiews from defrauded Chamblee's customers (plus, think of all the defrauded people who are NOT on Yelp or BBB, I'm sure it's the vast majority, sad to say).

Reply #11 of 19 posted 3 SEP 23 by HMF supporting member

Michael Garhart

To be honest, I don't even know if BBB is useful anymore, but I know Yelp is because people read it frequently. It is too bad the former Chamblee's is in the past, but that's a frequent reality of the rose business.	REPLY

Reply #12 of 19 posted 3 SEP 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Reply #13 of 19 posted 4 SEP 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

REVIEW ON CHAMBLEE'S I JUST POSTED ON THE DAVE'S GARDEN GARDEN WATCHDOG SITE:
Do NOT under any circumstances order from this nursery. This is the THIRD ownership of the Chamblee nursery, and these folks are nothing short of criminals. I was defrauded of $168 for an order of five roses this past June 2023 that were never sent, and it took me two months to get my charges reinstated with the help of my bank, but only after an exhaustive initiative. I filed a claim with the BBB (to which the company did not respond). I left a negative review on the BBB. I filed a report with the Texas Attorney General's Office. I filed a report on the US Federal Trade Commission 'Report Fraud' page. I left a negative review on the consumer site Yelp. Yelp currently has a dozen reviews (all from 2023) that report being defrauded by Chamblee's. Basically, if you order from them, you will THINK you will get roses, but you will not. The website looks legit. The order process seems legit. But it is NOT, your money will disappear into thin air, and then you will have endless hours of strife and stress trying to get it back. In addition, this Chamblee's ownership also owns an operation called One Love Farms. I'm pretty confident this is ALSO a fraudulent company, why would one be criminal, and the other honest and trustworthy? This whole thing is a darned shame, because the founding Chamblee's was a wonderful nursery that set the standard for rose mail ordering. The second ownership was quite good, although more expensive than the original. It is this third ownership that has sullied and disgraced the name of a formerly honorable nursery, and ran it into the ground. Once they are shut down for good (and they WILL be shut down, this current state of affairs cannot endure indefinitely), it will close the door on the Chamblee's saga in a most unfortunate way. In the meantime, I repeat: DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES ORDER FROM THIS NURSERY. (and do not do business with One Love Farms, either!)

Reply #14 of 19 posted 5 OCT 23 by HMF supporting member

Little Annie

There's also a site called Birdeye that has some recent negative complaints about Chamblee's. This is so hard to believe...never have seen anything like this from rose nurseries.	REPLY

Reply #15 of 19 posted 7 OCT 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Wow, I'll have to check that out Annie... I was not aware of that review site. And YES, it is so bizarre and disconcerting that this has happened in the rose community. This is normally such a trusting, open bunch of people, and when such things happen, it is shocking and disturbing.	REPLY

Reply #16 of 19 posted 7 OCT 23 by HMF supporting member

Little Annie

I am surprised you haven't responded to the posts from someone from Chamblee on the rose forum. If you haven't been in that forum lately you've missed them. Sounds like they are trying to clean up their act and suddenly become good business owners.	REPLY

Reply #17 of 19 posted 30 OCT 23 by HMF supporting member

Michael Garhart

Reply #18 of 19 posted 30 OCT 23 by HMF supporting member

Little Annie

Happened twice before to Chamblee's or to other companies? There is a thread on the rose forum where other people posted that this has happened to them. Chamblee's used to be a great nursery, but, they have many, many complaints in Yelp and other places of almost the same thing....people paid after ordering roses and the roses never came. Contacting the company proved useless.
One of our members in the rose forum just contacted the FBI for online fraud. We are all hoping something can be done. The same people also own One Love Roses and Garden Path.

Reply #19 of 19 posted 2 NOV 23 by HMF supporting member

Michael Garhart

Other rose companies. I can't recall their names.	REPLY

Discussion id : 146-049 most recent 12 JUL 23 SHOW ALL

Initial post 7 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

Zone 5 log cabin

I'm having difficulty contacting the nursery via phone or email. I have an unfulfilled (paid) order from 4/4/23. I've sent 2 emails, and voicemail just says "mailbox full, try again later." Anyone know if there are problems with the company?	REPLY

Reply #1 of 6 posted 26 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Hi, Yes, there are problems (understatement) from this company, the ownership changed a couple of years back and the current owners are now scamming people. Go on Yelp.com to see the reviews, there are a BUNCH of people who are victims of fraud. Please also see my comment in this thread. You should make a claim with the BBB and keep harassing these people until they refund you.... I think HelpMeFind should wipe out Chamblees from their database. And the frustrating thing is it's so sad... this was SUCH a great nursery back in the day when run by the Chamblee family. Now it has been tarnished forever.

Reply #2 of 6 posted 26 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

Zone 5 log cabin

I appreciate your comment. Luckily I'd only ordered one rose, so if it doesn't come through, not a big loss. Oddly, the rose originally showed available, then showed out of stock, so somebody is actively doing something with the website.	REPLY

Reply #3 of 6 posted 26 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Yes, they are actively taking money from online customers, and then not sending the roses. I believe this is known as fraud. Luckily the rose world is populated (by and large) by honorable people, and the founders of Chamblees were exemplary. However, these are different people, I don't know their name(s). They probably wouldn't post it online, due to the liability of what they are doing.	REPLY

Reply #4 of 6 posted 26 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

PS: If you can do a Yelp review about your experience, that would be helpful. I sent the Yelp reviews and online link to the BBB, they will be looking in to it. The more people who speak out against what Chamblee's is doing, the stronger is the case against them. Even if you only ordered one rose, that is no excuse for them to defraud you.	REPLY

Reply #5 of 6 posted 11 JUL 23 by HMF supporting member

Zone 5 log cabin

I've now registered a complaint with both the BBB and the TX state attorney general. Hopefully there will be some action.	REPLY

Reply #6 of 6 posted 12 JUL 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Great, thanks for weighing in. I would recommend that (if you paid by credit or debit card, that you also contact your bank or card company to file a fraud claim. I did this for my bank debit card, and they are actively working on it. Good luck!	REPLY

Discussion id : 146-278 most recent 26 JUN 23 HIDE POSTS

Initial post 26 JUN 23 by HMF supporting member

ParisRoseLady

Chamblee's Rose Nursery is NO LONGER owned or operated by Mark and Sharon Chamblee, it has new ownership that unfortunately has not respected the traditions of customer service, quality roses, and honesty that the original Chamblee ownership demonstrated. Please DO NOT order from this nursery, or you risk being defrauded.	REPLY

Discussion id : 105-400 most recent 7 SEP 17 HIDE POSTS

Initial post 7 SEP 17 by StrawChicago heavy clay zone 5

Chamblee sent me the LARGEST gallon-size-own-roots when I ordered 4 Austin roses from them in spring 2012, over 1 foot with many blooms. Their root-balls were so large & solid that I could plant right into my hard clay, without needing to baby them in fluffy-potting soil. These own-root-Austins are healthy & doing great as of Sept. 2017. Customer service is excellent and their roses are true to the label.