Friday, March 30, 2012

Read about Cruchelows at the Bad Business Bureau:
http://tinyurl.com/75f6r7n
and read about the property Owner at:
http://tinyurl.com/7haf5gk

Interesting Info about the Kennesaw Cruchelow Pawn Shop -
5 pages from yelp.com are at the end of this post.  You can see this on their site at: http://www.yelp.com/biz/cruchelow-jewelry-and-loan-kennesaw, however I suspect that it will shortly be removed, so if you want the original content you might also save it on your own computer.


Right click and then in most computers hit 'open link' for larger view or just print it out:


 
 
Here is the text of the item on Page 2, easier to read this way:



Hello Mr. Tony J.

Unfortunately I know these people; they're my next door neighbors! I personally cannot speak directly regarding how they operate their business but I most definitely can speak intelligently to their moral character which surely influences how they conduct themselves in business!

When the Cruchelow's moved in, consequently, becoming my new neighbors, both my wife and I quickly befriended them and welcomed them to the neighborhood. On numerous occasions they spoke openly about opening their own "pawn shop" and bragged about how they, so called, found a way to beat the system by putting/ opening their "pawn shop" in a location that city ordnance strictly prohibits such "down market businesses".

Well, it didn't take but a short period of time to realize that we shouldn't have befriended them for reason stated above. Even worse, Mr. Cruchelow and I had a physical altercation, due solely to his "Hot Temperament"! (Neither of us were arrested, although he would've been had I pressed the issue; additionally, he was later arrested for "Disorderly Conduct" due to his horribly dirty trash talking loud mouth. My wife and I were totally mortified as Mr. Cruchelow "repeatedly" spewed vulgarity at me in the company of my 1 year and 4 year old children; consequently, my wife immediately took our children inside. Mr. Cruchelow was So loud screaming vulgarities, that our neighbor 4 houses away "inside" his home could clearly hear him; consequently, Mr. Cruchelow was arrested, charged and found Guilty of Disorderly Conduct in front of children! E.g.,
http://jcruchelow.blog...

Bottom line:
Ask yourself "Should I" be doing business with these people, more specifically, Mr. John Cruchelow!

Warning: It's my understanding that the city of Kennesaw recognized their mistake and are actively looking to revoke their business license or whatever they need to do, for all of our sakes, to get this type of "down market" business out of Kennesaw! In my most humble opinion and I'm not some right/ left wing extremist or on my preacher soapbox, Pawn Shops are right up there with the Adult Bookstores, Tattoo Parlors and Liquor Stores!

Further information can be found at,
http://kennesawpawnpro...

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Kennesaw pawnshop may get rezoned
by Geoff Folsom gfolsom@mdjonline.com
April 03, 2012 01:11 AM |

Attorney Michael Pryor, left, and John Cruchelow, owner of Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan, answer questions from the Kennesaw City Council at the meeting on Monday night. <br> Photo by Samantha M. Shal

KENNESAW — The owner of property where the city of Kennesaw mistakenly allowed a pawnshop will apply for rezoning, officials said Monday.

The property’s owner, Celestino Venturi, asked the city to amend the zoning at the strip mall that houses Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan at Cobb Parkway and Mack Dobbs Road, said Atlanta attorney Michael Pryor, who represented pawnshop owners John and Serena Cruchelow. Venturi; his lawyer, Garvis Sams; and Council members Bill Thrash and Jeff Duckett did not attend Monday’s hearing at the Kennesaw City Council’s regular meeting.

Mayor Mark Mathews said the rezoning could be discussed at public hearings before the city’s planning commission as early as May 3 and with city council on May 7.

If the rezoning is denied, the pawnshop could be forced to move, Mathews said.

Monday’s hearing was initially called after the city determined the pawnshop to be in violation of a state law prohibiting pawnbrokers from having the word “loan” in their name. According to Georgia code section 44-12-138, any pawnbroker that opens after March 1, 1992, must prominently use the word “pawn” and cannot use “loan” in advertisements.

But, after a threat on constitutional charges from the pawnshop’s attorney, the council voted 3-0 to dismiss the claim referring to the word “loan.” Mathews said city attorneys determined late Friday that, while state law prohibits advertising with the word “loan,” the city had no such wording in its ordinance, meaning it has no jurisdiction to enforce the law.

Despite the city’s claims being dismissed, John Cruchelow told council members he is already working to come into compliance with state law by removing any signs referring to the word “loan.” But he said moving the business would be too costly since he and his wife already put $40,000 into licenses and outfitting the store.

When questioned by Councilman Tim Killingsworth, John Cruchelow defended himself against allegations that he physically and verbally assaulted a neighbor, which led to an arrest in September for disorderly conduct. John Cruchelow said the neighbor had kicked in his door and made “sexual gestures” to his new wife.

“I’m not a public person. It seems everybody is trying to put my business out there,” he said. “I thought he was my friend.”

The Cruchelows left the council chambers after their case was dismissed, but Pryor convinced them to return to hear comments from some of the 50 audience members in attendance. Speakers delivered more than 100 signatures from residents of nearby subdivisions opposing the pawnshop.

Summer Stream resident Lisa Stables even volunteered to help the couple move to another location.

“Hopefully, we’ll find a way to work together so the law’s held up and you’re not hurt financially,” she told the Cruchelows.

But others pointed the finger at the City Council for not enforcing the law.

“They didn’t face the issue,” Summerbrooke resident Robin Ferguson said after the meeting. “They took the easy way out.”

After the hearing, John Cruchelow referred questions to Pryor, who said they plan to work with neighbors.

“The neighbors have a right to come out and express their concerns,” Pryor said. “Obviously the Cruchelows want to meet people halfway. If there’s something they’re doing that the neighbors don’t like, they want to hear from them because they’re their potential customers.”

Mathews apologized for the city’s error, admitting a “serious, serious oversight” in its zoning department at the March 26 meeting and echoed that feeling Monday.

“We’ve been put in a very, very bad position, just as everybody has,” he said. “It’s all been a serious, very serious mistake on our part, when they were approving the business license,” he said.

As of Monday, the Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan website maintained the word “loan” in the store’s name. It was also on signs at its location at 2953 N. Cobb Parkway.

Mathews said the City Manager Steve Kennedy’s office was reviewing whether anyone should be held responsible for the licensing foul-up.

“It’s purely within his abilities,” Mathews said.

In 2004, the city’s approval of a zoning request for Venturi put in writing that the Mack Dobbs Point shopping center would be free from certain kinds of business — including pawnshops.

After neighbors expressed concern about the strip mall during the initial zoning process, an agreement was reached that restricted what could be put at the strip mall. Among the other uses prohibited at the site, which were written into city ordinances, were adult bookstores and massage parlors.

But the city council, on the recommendation of city finance director Gina Auld, approved a pawn and precious metal license for Cruchelow Jewelry & Loan at its Sept. 19, 2011, meeting.

Read more: The Marietta Daily Journal - Kennesaw pawnshop may get rezoned

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Update to the Update!:

Due to some disappearing Yelp posts I decided to look up Yelp on http://www.ripoffreport.com/Search/yelp.aspx and I found 56 complaints about this internet review service.  From reading a few of them it looks like this firm will contact those companies that have poor reviews posted and for a fee of about $300-350 they will take down those negative reviews and either put up or allow to be put up favorable reviews of the firm.

Seems you can't trust anyone these days, even supposed consumer review sites.  Go to the above link and see what the complaints about Yelp are all about.

Update: 
On Feb 15 Todd H wrote a negative review of this firm, on March 5th Sam K also knocked this place. Both posts disappeared about March 13th and by some odd chance on March 15th two extremely favorable posts appeared here about this embattled pawn shop.  Here are the 2 removed posts.

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From: http://www.yelp.com/  at:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/cruchelow-jewelry-and-loan-kennesaw
Total H.

Kennesaw, GA
2/15/2012

Don't let the sign above the door fool you. This so called Jewelry and Loan is nothing more than your standard operating run of the mill PAWN SHOP designed for the sole purpose of cheating an individual, which usually is someone that's having hard times, out of their "wares". As to be expected from this and all other pawnshops, you are given base market value for your goods in which are immediately showcased at "full" retail price! Don't be fooled by the boots and ten gallon cowboy hat,, no southern gentleman available, Mr. Crotchlew is a pawnshop "swindler", period!

All this comes from witnessing a young military man talked out of his grandmother's wedding ring!

You can't say you haven't been forewarned!

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Sam K. Marietta, Ga
3/5/2012 First to Review

cockroach ... This kid, and I do mean kid, will use and drain you, then throw you to the side when you have nothing left to offer. This cowboy want-to-be has a lot to learn in all aspects in regards to business. I have seen him on 2 occasions offer to meet customers outside if they have an issue with his massive ego, and speak down to women whom question his offers.

If you want to be taken advantage of, and spoken to like trash, then visit this loan shop, a.k.a. pawn shop.

Stay away, google the owner and learn a lot.