At least 85 complaints have been filed with Better Business Bureau offices in two states against a Tucumcari playground equipment manufacturer.

The complaints are filed with the Better Business Bureau of New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado against Dome Climber, owned and operated by Rodney Ward of Tucumcari.
 
Gena Coldwell, BBB media relations director, said consumers claim they have paid for products and Dome has failed to deliver, in some cases, for months.

"The complaints are coming in from coast-to-coast and range from $100 to $500," Coldwell said. "The complaints have been made from Hawaii to Florida, with a trend of the customers paying for the geodesic dome and they have still not received delivery."

The complaints were filed between June 2008 and this month, Coldwell said.

Dome owner Ward said Thursday that a theft by a former employee is the reason the company's shipping fell so far behind.

"I hit a huge stumbling block before Christmas, when $5,000 was embezzled from my company," Ward said. "A former employee stole the money that was going to be used for the shipping cost of these domes...”

Ward said he filed a police report Wednesday with the Tucumcari Police Department.

Tucumcari Police Officer Lorenzo Emillio said Ward did not provide enough information to file an official report or begin an investigation.

"Mr. Ward was uncertain about a lot of the facts regarding the embezzled funds," Emillio said. "He was unsure about the time and date in which the theft occurred. He did say that he was going to gather the information needed and bring it in to file the official report."

Ward said he is taking new steps to prevent future problems in his business.

"I just want to get back to the engineering and building the domes," Ward said. "That is the whole reason I started this business."

Ward builds the domes in a section of a former elementary school at south College Street and east Aber Avenue.


For information about businesses and services in New Mexico and Southwestern Colorado, consumers can visit the Better Business Bureau website at www.bbbsw.org or call 1-800-873-2224.