Southwest Rare Coins

I would not recommend this company even though they gave me a refund in the end because they sell coins that are overgraded. My experience with them brings to mind words like "high-pressure telemarketing sales", "manipulative", "unethical", "dishonest", "bullying" and "attempted theft by deception", Only with the help of the West Florida BBB negotiating for me was I able to get my money refunded. The coins they sold me were NOT the grade and quality that they claimed both verbally and in writing on the invoices. At an additional personal cost of over $500.00, I had the coins professionally graded by a top national grading company, the Professional Coin Grading Service (PCGS). The result was proof that EVERY SINGLE COIN FAILED to meet the criteria for a grade of MS66. This means that the coins' real value is only small a fraction of what MS66 grade coins are worth. In the middle of my making payments on these coins, Southwest Rare Coins put through a double charge to my credit card WITHOUT MY AUTHORIZATION. I have disputed the charge with the credit card company and the final outcome is pending. It was in the process of the dispute that the credit card company had me get the coins evaluated by a neutral third party grading service, PCGS. That is when I learned that the coins all failed to meet the minimum criteria for a grade of MS66. When I confronted the self proclaimed owner of the company, John Mead, with the grading results, he said verbally that he would give me a refund "in installments of about $1,000.00 a month". In the pressure of the moment, I agreed to those terms. However, when I got off the phone, I realized his terms of the refund were highly irregular and not a true refund. As fast as possible, I wrote John Mead an email and a letter saying I was rejecting those terms as unacceptable and that I was demanding a full refund immediately. There was no response to my email, but a week and a half later I received a registered letter from John Mead threatening to sue me in which he states, " This is my final communication with you. Next I will hire an attorney and you will hear from them that I am suing you for the balance". Although earlier in this letter he said he will give me "a refund" if I return the coins, he did not commit to the amount or timing of the refund. Additionally, he did not sign this letter. I have so many reasons to not trust this company's word. Three times Mr. Mead made false statements when it seems it suited his case: First, he claimed the coins are MS66 when they are not. Second, he told the credit card company that I had never reported a problem with the coins when I received them, which is not true. And third, when I told him he needed to send me the refund before I returned the coins, he tried to confuse and manipulate me by falsely asserting that they had sent me the coins before I had paid anything, when in fact, I had paid over $3,500.00 before receiving all the coins. Finally, there is their questionable ethics of making an unauthorized charge to my credit card and making it a double charge at that. It is astonishing that after all their apparent wrongdoing, the owner threated to sue me! I filed complaints with the Federal Trade Commission, The Office of The Attorney General of the State of Florida and the Better Business Bureau. In the end, the Better Business Bureau negotiated sucessfully with Stephen Seeley, who is listed as the company president, and as of 9/24/2011 I have received a refund check which appears to be valid.