Tiffin Athletic Mats Lied and misled me, bounced check for refund, refuses to make good on debt. Elkton Maryland

This is a mostly complete list of my notes on what has happened:

Short version for those who don't want to read the whole thing:
ordered mats from Tiffin Athletic Mats (tiffinmats.com/ )


 They lied to me for over 3 months about when I would get my mats and did nothing to correct the matter, I had to call and argue with them almost every day. Eventually people got fired for lying to me (that’s what they said) and I finally got my mats. 

I was promised over and over again to get a partial refund on the shipping and they told me over and over again that the refund was sent to me. Finally got the refund and deposited it on Jan 28, 2015


 Today I find out the deposited had bounced, but “luckily” I got a call from Angie at Tiffin who said they would send me another check including my bank fees, but they refused to overnight it and then made it seem like it was my issue and not their and got upset because I used adult language. Yes I’m upset I’ve been lied to for 4 months now, I think I have a right.


 Just got a call from Mr. Tiffin the owner himself and he starts yelling at me saying I can’t talk to his staff that way, he doesn’t want to talk / ignores me when I ask about the way I’ve been treated. Wants me to cuss at him, so I do a few times and then I still ask why he has done nothing to correct the problem. He ignores me and then threatens to call my staff and talk to them the same way… at which point he hangs up.



My need to start talking to legal counsel again to see what my options are, because right now I have no faith in ever seeing the refund, but feel I’m owned a lot more than a partial “refund”.



Figured I put this out there to let people know so hopefully you can avoid the problems I’ve had.






Longer detailed version below BBB complaint :


Thank you for using the Better Business Bureau's Online Complaint System.
case # 36107255.



Filed on : January 19 2015



Filed against :
Tiffin Mats, Inc.
PO Box 823
Elkton MD 21922-0823

Complaint Description:
After many problems with receiving my order, over 3 months late I was promised a partial refund on my delivery charges. I was told it's in the mail. Placed original order on Sept. 17, 2014 - Was given a ship by Date of Oct. 8, 2014 Did not receive any notice around that time so I called on the 10th. Was told they were running a little behind and my order would ship out in 2 weeks. On the24th did not receive any call so I called them was told it didn't make it on the last truck and would have to wait till they returned so it would be about a week. Week comes and goes and then nothing, so I call again. Was told it would be 2 weeks again. So I talked to the head of production Daniel and she promised me it would ship in two weeks guaranteed... which would be the Friday after Thanksgiving. I asked what happens it doesn't? She went and got permission to issue me a partial refund on the shipping. The Friday after Thanksgiving I still didn't get a phone call so I called at the end of the day and was told by a receptionist that my order was on the truck and someone would call me Monday with the details. No call on Monday. So I called them and they told me it was not on the truck and I would have to wait 2-weeks. After arguing with them that this is a ridicules way to treat a customer, I was put on the phone with Bill who is / was the CFO. He said they would be giving me half of my shipping back and my order would ship in two weeks. Two weeks comes and goes and still no call so I call again. I'm told my order has shipped but will be a little while to get their and that my refund has been sent. Also told that I could not track my own order and that the only way to do so was by calling Daniel. Was told later my order should be in by the 19th and then it didn't come. I had to call again, was told they were having trouble with tracking and they would get a hold of the truck driver and let me know. Was told again my refund was coming but my order would make it till around the 1st of 2015. I had vacation plans for the holidays so I didn't contact them for a few and neither did they contact me. After the holidays I called and was told that Daniel had been fired and Bill had left the company, my order it turns out didn't actually ship until the 24thof Dec. I then talked to Jerry a "manager" or someone who is in "management" that I was lied to by both Daniel and Bill and that they are no longer with the company because of that. Still didn't have my order or refund. He checked and said my order would be delivered around the 5th or 6th.He also said that he was putting my refund in the mail on the 2nd of January. He admitted to me that they had screwed me over and said that all he could really do now was get me my mats. I got my mats on the 8th of Jan. and still no refund, even though I called and Jerry verified for me that he had sent the refund. I have threated legal action and am still discussing that option with my lawyer.

Your Desired Resolution:
A this point I will settle for the refund I was promised over and over again of$365. So I can be done with this whole thing. Truthfully I think I deserve my entire shipping refunded to me ($730) plus the lost revenue and stress, but I just want it to be done. If they are unwilling to do that then I will move on to more drastic measures. It was recommended that I try this option first. We shall see.

This case will be reviewed by a complaint specialist at the Better Business Bureau, and then forwarded to the business for their response. It is our policy to allow the business 30 working days to respond to your complaint. You will be notified when the business has responded.


Update 2-4-2015
1-28-15 Tiffin sent the Refund check and it was deposited.

Found out today that the check had bounced. Got call from Angie saying that they were “sorry” and that they would send another check; I told them they needed to include the fees I got charged from the bank (only $15 but still) and they needed to overnight it. She would send the $15 but would not overnight it. She went on about how they are trying to fix the problem and I’m being unreasonable, I told them they are the one’s screwing me over for the last 4 months. W argued some more, I used some bad language which she took great offence and made it sound like this whole thing was my problem. Really they lied to me again and it’s my problem?

While updating my complaint to the BBB I got a call from the owner himself Mr. (Dan) Tiffin. He then proceeded to yell at me and tell me I was not allowed to talk to his staff that way and that I could cuss at him if I wanted. I asked him if he was going to correct the problems with the check and he ignored me and continued to berate me about how I talked to his employees. I said I had tried to get him on the phone many times and he said “well maybe I wasn’t their”, so I asked him why he never called before. He then said / threated to call my staff and talk to them the same way I did to his, I said go the f**k ahead… and then he hung up.

First want to make it clear I was very nice to these folks right up till they were messing with me for about 2 1/2 months and then I have gotten less than nice ;)

They still have not sent my refund check (you know since they bounced the first one on me) and it's been over a week now; at this point I don't think I will ever see that check. I have updated my BBB complaint to reflect tat.

Also I'm hardly the first customer that Tiffin has had problems with here are only a couple of the links that show a history of bad treatment:

BBB Business Review:
bbb.org/greater-maryland/...on-md-23016067

A Facebook Page covering the same kinds of problems, last post seems to be back in 2013, but pretty obvious things have not changed:
facebook.com/DoNotPurchaseTiffinMats

Found this also at an appropriately named website ;)

tiffin-mats.pissedconsumer.com/


Their is also some more information out their about how this company has / or is treating their employees, so again you might want to think twice about dealing with them.