Apex Store Fails to Deliver School Letterman Jackets by Christmas

Christmas may have come and gone but a couple of Wake County teenagers are still waiting for a gift. Their parents called 5 on Your Side to help solve the case of the missing high school letter jackets.

Posted 11:26 p.m. Feb 5, 2008 — Updated 11:30 p.m. Feb 5, 2008

HOLLY SPRINGS, N.C. — Christmas may have come and gone but a couple of Wake County teenagers are still waiting for a gift. Their parents called 5 on Your Side to help solve the case of the missing high school letter jackets.

Holly Springs High School sophomore Cody McKeon found the letterman jacket he wanted at Carolina Sports Shack in Apex.

“When we went to the store, I saw the Apex one (jacket) and I thought it was really cool,” McKeon said.

Cody's mom, Jennifer, asked store owner Mike Poe if the jacket would be back by Christmas.

“He said as long as we had it placed by November 5, we could have a guaranteed Christmas delivery,” Mrs. McKeon said.

So McKeon and another parent, Valerie Ferralez , ordered the jackets on November 2. McKeon paid the entire $169 total up front. Ferralez paid half.

The order form promised delivery in four to five weeks. When that didn't happen, McKeon called Poe.

“That's when he said, 'well, it's almost done. It should be here within a few days and I'll let you know when it's delivered,'” Jennifer McKeon said.

When the moms didn't hear anything by the week before Christmas, they said they called and left repeated, unreturned telephone messages. Mrs. McKeon said she also went to the store several times.

“I spoke with his wife and his wife told me to stop hassling them and that there were still three more shipping days until Christmas and to stop bothering them and it would be there because they guaranteed it,” Mrs. McKeon said.

So much for the guarantee, the jackets did not make it by Christmas. Ferralez called for two more weeks and when she still didn't have a guaranteed delivery date, she called WRAL's 5 on Your Side.

WRAL called Poe who blamed a lack of communication between his company and the manufacturer's sales representative. But while Poe said he ordered the jackets by November 5, the manufacturer said the order wasn't finalized until January 2.

Either way, Poe sent both women refunds. They plan to buy the jackets somewhere else.

“I'm hoping that I can wear it to school and everyone will love it,” Cody McKeon said.

Poe also added interest to the women's checks and closed Carolina Sports Shack last week. He said he was moving out of the area to care for a sick relative.

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