Southern Style Off-road Getting sold

Wanted to see if anyone else is running into this issue.

I have been waiting for my bumper to be built and delivered since July.
I just received an email saying the company got sold and I only have two options. Wait till March 2024 or get a gift card for store credit back.

is anyone else in this situation?

 

There is already a couple of threads on this topic, do a quick search. Somebody bought them and is promising to make things right. Time will tell. Good luck man.

 

Gift card my ass. You refund my credit card. Thats bs.

 

Agreed. If you paid using a credit card, just take it up with the card company to cancel the transaction.

If the new ownership proves OK, you can always place another order in the future.

I would not accept “store credit” with the unknown of new ownership.

 

charge back time. insane the company would not offer a refund in the first place.

 

They are just trying to retain as much revenue as possible from existing customers before the sale. I am sure they are fully aware that many who paid with a credit card will be pushing for a charge back with the card issuing bank. And if you were stupid enough to pay the old SSO owners with a debit card then ....?

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/southern-style-offroad-sso-ownership-transition.814417/unread

 

Just how does this charge back work ? Are the new owners really liable for SOS mistakes ?

 

Do not take that BS lol. A store credit or gift card? No way.

Call your bank or CC company immediately and explain the situation. Ask them to do a chargeback ASAP. Most will honor it.

Sorry for your situation OP.

 

No reason to get hot. New owners promise to make it right. I am leaving my order in hoping they will and willing to take the chance. Those who aren't are filing for charge backs. I don't know the full scoop but I think the charge back comes out of the old owner's pocket (which is negative since they filed for bankruptcy) and if there is nothing to claw back it is on the credit card company. New owners are trying to build good will buy fulfilling existing orders without the money to pay for them.

They could have likely just bought the designs for a song from the bankruptcy trustee, hired some of the old techs, and then re-branded the products (which consensus is are great) without the SSO name and not tried to make things right but they are facing it head on and I give them a lot of credit for doing so.

 

This should worry any smart consumer.

 

According to the above notice, the new owners bought the SSO name and assets, but not the debt. This means the original vendors to SSO are getting screwed.

I’ve been through this before, working for a company who did this kind of thing, and it is rough. Suppliers HATE it and typically will not support the new ownership due to the outstanding debt of the old owners. Word definitely travels fast in the supplier market.

This situation is nothing new to credit card companies. I’d feel confident that a major credit card company would back their customer and reverse the charges. SSO’s original owners may not be able to take the chargeback, so the bankruptcy court will just nullify the debt and the credit card company will simply write it off.

Keeping your order open with the new company is your decision. I guess you could wait and see what the new company delivers and return it then (if the new ownership allows returns) but shipping a bumper back is probably going to cost you. I’d rather not take the risk.

For me, if in the OP’s place, I would cancel the order and wait and see what the new ownership produces. You can always place another order in the future.

 

I’m just in a weird spot. I have a few thousands in additional parts that have been sitting in my garage to support. I have a heretic light bar, warn winch, factor 55 link and a icon lift kit to support the weight with spc upper control arms

 

My concerns are I should technically be getting my bumper this month my purchase was mainly due to last winter and going through multiple blizzards and my led headlights made it very dangerous so I got the heretic amber light bar and the bumper to mount properly. I don’t want to sit through another winter without it if I have to wait till march. I am also transferring due to military move around then and I’m worried if it arrives after I might be gone.

It’s just worrying if they are fulfilling orders based on original order date or some other way.

Also since they are switching to mass production methods what if any short cuts to quality and design will there be? Will the coatings be the same? Will it look the same or be modified to fit mass production making the bumper look different? I chose this bumper for how it seems to fit the lines perfectly compared to other brands. Makes me question if this was due to being hand built vs automation shortfalls. Also will the quality of steel be the same? Also a lot of people might be out of luck I know credit companies have a deadline for a claim.

 

"Analysis paralysis"

Regardless why SSO failed, or if mass production vs hand built, or any other question ... you know your money and time situation and your research tells you the options compatible with the parts you have waiting for installation.

Pick a path: get funds back back using resources available to you or leave the funds under the "we will honor the order" setup. But pick soon and make a new plan based on that choice.

Everyone has a choice this this at some point in their lives.

 

Your questions are the same as I would have. Unfortunately, the answers are all the same - you are the Guinea pig in this experiment.

If the new owners offered free returns if you decided you didn’t like their product, then maybe I could see keeping the order open, but short of that, I’d cancel the order and just by another bumper from a known quality supplier.

I would certainly not let the pile of parts sitting in my garage dictate my decision on the bumper.

 

Yup. The new owners stated several times "too many great businesses in this industry faded away"

News flash. Great businesses don't fade away - they stay in business. Poor financial decision by Offroad Holdings.

 

Hopefully they make it through this transition. I have there slim line tube front bumper great bumper

 

gift card / store credit so you can still wait till 2024?