Meat Company Still Selling After Ordered To Stop

KANSAS CITY – Kansas City Health Inspectors shut down Ranch House Quality Meats, located at 10739 Northwest Ambassador Drive Wednesday night. However, Call For Action has found they are still operating.

The Health Department said in an e-mail that it  was acting on a tip.

“The Health Department was responding to a complaint received, and found that the establishment was operating without a permit,” said Jeff Hershberger, spokesman in an e-mail to NBC Action News.

The Health Department was tipped off by a consumer who also Called For Action. Shila O’Bannon is a mother of four and a daycare provider. She blew the whistle on Ranch House when she went to cook up some of the meat she bought from their door-to-door salesman.

“I noticed it was kind of dark … discolored,” said O’Bannon. “I didn’t think that was quite right. I smelled it and it smelled kind of sour.”

O’Bannon called Ranch House and asked for a refund. She says the salesman told her, her $184 dollar purchase came with a 100% guarantee.

“I made at least two to three phone calls a week,” complained O’Bannon. She kept it up for four weeks. That’s when she decided to call state authorities and us.

“I decided to contact Call For Action because the public needs to be aware of this going door-to-door,” explained O’Bannon.

The Health Department ordered the company to stop all sales when it found the company didn't have a permit.  The secretary told Call for Action the trucks were back on the road.  Call for Action also saw one leave the parking lot with two men inside.  The secretary said, "I'll probably be fired for saying that." We asked what she makes of the disconnect.  She said, "I'm not going to lie. I don't have any say."

By the time the KCMO Health Department arrived a few hours later, they say the company was closed. They'll reinspect Friday or Monday.

Company Has History of Customer Complaints

While O’Bannon is glad the Health Department is taking action, and she appreciates the secretary telling the truth, she still has questions.

“What more do we need to do?” asked O’Bannon. “Someone has to stop them. It’s got to stop.”

Call For Action has received other complaints about customer service at Ranch House Quality Meats. Two customers told Call for Action that Ranch House told them they were affiliated with Omaha Steaks, but Omaha Steaks says they don’t sell door to door and don't have any affiliation with anyone that does.

Another customer was also told about a money back guarantee if she wasn't satisfied. After buying the meat, the Kansas City Kansas woman had second thoughts and tried to return it. She tells the same story of un-returned calls. Finally, she drove to the office location and dropped off the meat. She says she eventually got a refund a few weeks later.

In February of 2007, we reported that Tina O'Neil had trouble getting a refund for six boxes of assorted chicken for $129 dollars. She says she was also was told it came with a 100% satisfaction guarantee.

In 2007, O'Neil said, "It was weird tasting. It has a weird texture to it like gristle throughout the whole thing." O'Neil called the company that sold it to her. At the time, it was Steakhouse Quality Meats. Call for Action found paperwork filed with the Missouri Secretary of State for Steakhouse Quality Meats lists Rodney Creighton of Austin, Texas, as the President.  That's the same man we were told to call today for comment on Ranch House Quality Meats.

Ranch House has not filed paperwork with the Secretary of State. However, the Kansas City Health Department also told Call for Action along with a third independent source that the two companies are related. In O'Neil's case we found the business number disconnected and the company had moved out of its office space. It left O'Neil wondering if she should just feed the meat to her dogs.