TLDR synopsis: SouthernDefense.com is in no way affiliated with my business, SouthernDefenseSupply.com and SouDef.com. Despite my 10+ years in business as Southern Defense, they refuse to respect my senior trademark rights in Southern Defense, and I've received countless customer complaint calls and negative reviews confusing us. My attorneys are working on this, and I'm doing everything in my power to stop the confusion. If you have been a victim, please scroll to the bottom.
NOTICE:
www.SouthernDefense.com is a business operated by
SOUTHERN DEFENSE SOLUTIONS, LLC and/or
SOUTHERN DEFENSE, LLC of DALLAS, TEXAS, is in no way affiliated, associated, or partnered with
SOUTHERN DEFENSE SUPPLY physically based in FLORENCE, AL.
I am a 100% Service Connected Disabled Small Business located in Florence, AL since 2013. I have spent over a decade building my name and reputation throughout the US and world with our products. My website is
www.SouthernDefenseSupply.com or
www.SouDef.com and we use the name Southern Defense in trade. In 2023, we started receiving countless complaint calls and negative Google reviews by customers that were confused by "Southern Defense Solutions" misuse of my trademark. Customers were angry about slow ship times, outrageous shipping charges, and near non-existent customer service by phone and email. A quick Google Search of "Southern Defense" pulls up my well established business and reputation on the right side. I believe that customers found "Southern Defense" on "Ammoseek.com", then Googled the business name, observed a stellar reputation, then went back to order on AmmoSeek. On many occasions, the product was supposed to be shipped in a timely manner, they were only met with voicemail recordings with no return calls. Yes, there are many cases where consumers were provided with product, but if at any time during your wait, you decided to cancel your unfulfilled order, "Southern Defense Solutions" would charge the consumer 20% for a "Restocking fee".
I had my attorney begin drafting a cease and desist in December of 2023. Since then, I have spent thousands of dollars in attorney's fees in attempts to stop "Southern Defense Solutions" from abusing my trademark, despite me being the senior user for over 10 years. During this time, I have discovered a lot about the owners of "Southern Defense Solutions, LLC/Southern Defense LLC". Nathaniel Aaron Boos, Andrew Ngo and Danneskjold Holdings (Sean Kochel). They have many other "online ammo businesses" under the same LLC, that seem to have a similar reputation. "Sentry Ammo (
sentryammo.com)", Ammo Hero (
ammohero.com Formerly "Ammo Brothers" which they were served with cease and desist from "Ammo Bros" in California and then changed their name, but filed a federal trademark in Ammo Brother's name), Southern Defense (SouthernDefense.com, which is infringement on my trademark), Fast Ammo (
fastammo.com, which is an imitation of Ammo Fast, a small business ammo retailer in Kansas that joined Powder Valley), Legacy Outdoor Supply (
legacyoutdoorsupply.com which appears to infringe upon the small business "Outdoor Legacy Gear" based in Texas as well who serves firearm accessories online). Sean Kochel appears to be a "digital landlord consultant" that teaches others to find their place in the "digital landscape" and build up websites. The only issue I have is that it appears that Southern Defense in Texas are doing so at the expense of some previously established companies.
I say all of this to say, please let all of your friends know that we are NOT associated in any way. This has and is causing irreparable harm to my reputation. If you would like to support my business, please visit MY website:
www.SouDef.com or
www.SouthernDefenseSupply.com or my large retail storefront in North Alabama.
My Google Page:
https://g.page/r/CbmAdGCQEur8EAE/review
My Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/sdsguns
STEPS TO TAKE:
FBI Cyber Crime: If you have been a victim of the business practices of Southern Defense located in Texas, I have already started a case with the FBI IC3 Division. (
https://www.ic3.gov/Home/ComplaintChoice)Select "Other Cyber Crime" and follow the information process to report them. It is a very easy process to complete. The more people that file, the higher it will go on the FBI radar.
FTC Complaints: I have reached out to all of the other companies they are infringing upon. I have filed a fraud case with the FTC. Go to :
https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/assistant
Click "An Impersonator", then "Well-known or trusted business". Then fill out all of the applicable information. This is especially important if you experienced a loss due to the business practices of Southern Defense in Texas. I have heard reports of a "Free target promo, that adds an expense to your cart, 20% restocking fee if you decide that you do not want your order if it is taking too long even if it was never processed, near non-existent customer service by phone or email, not receiving your full or correct order, adding shipping insurance without selecting it, offering what some have called deceptive "Free shipping" skus on advertising, only to be charged excessive shipping, and many more complaints we have heard.
BBB: I reported all of their infringing business names to BBB. In addition, be sure to fill out a complaint with the BBB if you were a victim.
https://www.bbb.org/us/tx/dallas/profile/ammunition-weapons/southern-defense-0875-91339615
Google: If you want to leave the google review on the correct business, Google "southern defense solutions google tx" and you will find their account with a 3.8 star rating as of now.
Tired of waiting on your order:
If you have ordered and you are tired of waiting for your order, (after a reasonable amount of time), call your credit card company and dispute the charge with them. It will return your money immediately and require Southern Defense to fight their case to get the money back, but they will have to provide the ammo first.
If there is anything else you recommend that I do, please let me know. I am trying to do everything I can before I file a federal lawsuit.
