Independent profile — not affiliated with Char-Broil

Char-Broil

Char-Broil, LLC, a Columbus, Georgia grill and smoker manufacturer that has operated as a brand since 1948, is part of the privately held W.C. Bradley Co. family of companies, which also lists Saber, Current Backyard and Oklahoma Joe's as alternate names on the same Better Business Bureau file. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recorded 11 Char-Broil recalls since 1990, most recently a September 2026 electric-shock recall of Bistro Pro Electric Grills and a February 2024 electric-shock recall of Digital Electric Smokers. Char-Broil's BBB profile (A+ rating, accredited) shows 95 complaints in the last three years and a 1.33-out-of-5 average from 33 customer reviews; a separate ComplaintsBoard listing shows 2 complaints, both unresolved. A putative class action over the recalled digital electric smokers, Fares v. Char-Broil, LLC (N.D. Ill.), survived Char-Broil's motion to dismiss in April 2025 (allegations only; no final ruling found as of September 28, 2026), and a 2016 Missouri product-liability case shows Char-Broil filing third-party claims against its propane and parts suppliers. Char-Broil's own site directs warranty, parts and return questions to its Parts & Support hub and a 1-866-239-6777 customer care line. Twenty complaints about Char-Broil grills have been submitted directly to usacomplaints.com since 2002.

COMPLAINTS20
VERIFIED PHONE866-239-6777
LAST CHECKED2026-09-28
Write a Review Jump to complaints ↓
CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Complaints & Reviews on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 20 historical complaints about Char-Broil, published between 2002 and 2012. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources below.

EDITORIAL

Complaint Themes

Missing or backordered partsRust and paint failuresIgnition and burner problemsSlow warranty claim resolution

Each tag reflects a complaint's single primary theme (not every angle it raised), and complaints outside any problem theme — a positive report, or one later retracted by its author — aren't tagged. Counts may total less than the full complaint count above.

EXTERNAL SOURCE

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

BBB: 33 reviews, 95 complaints
ComplaintsBoard: 2 reports
VERIFIED

Contacts

VERIFIED

Locations

TypeAddress
Headquarters1442 Belfast Ave Columbus GA 31904-4432
Mailing addressP.O. Box 1240 Columbus GA 31902-1240
EDITORIAL

Problem with a Char-Broil grill or smoker? What to check first

Char-Broil, LLC (marketed as Charbroil) makes gas, charcoal and electric grills, smokers and Oil-Less Turkey Fryers, and is a brand of Columbus, Georgia-based W.C. Bradley Co. Before assuming a problem is unique to you, it is worth checking a few things Char-Broil itself publishes.

  • Check your model number against the recall list. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) has recorded 11 Char-Broil recalls since 1990, including two in the last three years — Digital Electric Smokers (February 2024, electric shock) and Bistro Pro Electric Grills (September 2026, electric shock). Char-Broil's own recall page is at charbroil.com/pages/recalls, and CPSC's list is searchable at cpsc.gov/Recalls.
  • Use the Parts & Support hub, not a generic search. Charbroil.com's Parts & Support page lets you enter your model number to find replacement parts, warranty information, manuals, product registration and a diagram: "Enter your model number to find: Replacement Parts, Warranty Information, Product Manuals & Guides, Product Registration, Product Diagram."
  • Call the CARE Team for warranty or parts questions: 1-866-239-6777 (Monday through Saturday), or use the "Chat With Us" option on charbroil.com.
  • If you just bought directly from charbroil.com or by phone and want to return or cancel, Char-Broil's stated policy allows returns of unused, originally packaged items within 60 days, but does not accept returns on "fuel, spices, sauces or electrical service parts," and cancellations are only possible before the order begins shipment preparation.
  • Register your product through Char-Broil's Parts & Support hub, which describes registration as providing faster support, warranty tracking, and access to manuals and recalls.
  • If you bought from a retailer (Lowe's, Walmart, Home Depot, Big Lots, etc.) rather than directly from Char-Broil, that retailer's own return policy applies to the purchase, separate from Char-Broil's warranty on the product itself.
EDITORIAL

CPSC recalls: 11 since 1990

A CPSC search for "Char-Broil" across both the Recalls and Product Safety Warnings databases, run September 28, 2026, found 11 recalls; no separate CPSC product-safety warning for Char-Broil was identified in that search. Remedies are quoted from CPSC's own recall notices.

  • September 17, 2026 — Bistro Pro™ Electric Grills, electric shock. "The grounding wire for the grill's heating element can disconnect and lose fault protection, posing an electric shock hazard." Remedy: "Consumers should stop using the recalled electric grills immediately and contact Char-Broil for a free repair kit," registering at charbroil.com/BistroProFix; Char-Broil is also "offering a digital $25 gift card, valid at participating retailers, to consumers who provide photo documentation of the completed repair." About 10,605 units in the U.S. (plus 342 in Canada); only date codes 2510, 2511 and 2512 (Oct.–Dec. 2025) are included. CPSC reports no incidents or injuries.
  • February 15, 2024 — Digital Electric Smokers, electric shock (injuries reported). "The smokers can leak electrical current during use, posing an electric shock hazard." Remedy: free Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter (GFCI) repair kit. About 211,700 units in the U.S. (plus 3,440 in Canada).
  • August 15, 2013 — Patio Bistro® Gas Grills, burn hazard. "The electronic ignition on the grill can ignite unexpectedly, posing a burn hazard." Remedy: free repair kit. About 69,300 units in the U.S. (plus 1,900 in Canada).
  • August 24, 2010 — Vertical Gas Smokers, injury hazard (injuries reported). On the "low" setting, the hose/valve/regulator assembly could starve and extinguish the flame while gas kept flowing; reignition "can cause an explosion that bursts the smoker's door open." Remedy: free replacement hose/valve/regulator assembly. About 18,450 units.
  • May 22, 2008 — Two-Burner Gas Grills sold exclusively at Mills Fleet Farm, fire/burn hazard. The main burner did not fit correctly or connect properly to the gas valve, which could cause a propane leak. Remedy: free replacement burner and installation instructions. About 400 units.
  • May 1, 2007 — Two-Burner Gas Grills sold exclusively at Big Lots, fire/burn hazard. The grills could have an incorrect heat shield, allowing the propane tank, hose and regulator to overheat and become damaged if a propane leak occurred. Remedy: free correct heat shield and installation instructions. About 600 units.
  • March 10, 2004 — Gas grill temperature gauges (injuries reported). Moisture entering the gauge could crack its glass cover. Remedy: free replacement gauge; "Consumers should not use the grill until the replacement gauge has been installed." About 108,000 units.
  • June 26, 1996 — Table Top Grills. Debris in the regulator valve could let gas build up unnoticed; relighting could cause a flash fire or explosion. Remedy: free replacement regulator with an internal filter. About 1.2 million units.
  • September 15, 1994 — Charcoal Water Smokers (no fires reported). "A hole in the exposed charcoal pan ... can cause a fire if used over a flammable surface like a wooden deck." Remedy: free kit to close the hole. About 80,000 units.
  • May 17, 1991 and March 7, 1990 — Thermos/Structo gas grills. A hose/valve/regulator assembly "might leak gas and possibly result in fire." Both notices instruct owners to "call Char-broil, which bought the Thermos grill business," for a free replacement assembly. Combined about 217,600 units.

Char-Broil's own website republishes several of these recalls at charbroil.com/pages/recalls with the same hazard and remedy language.

EDITORIAL

Company background

Char-Broil, LLC does business as Charbroil and describes itself, on its own "Our Story" page, as having brought "one of the first charcoal grills to market" in 1948, later introducing The Big Easy® Oil-less Turkey Fryer (2000) and the TRU-Infrared™ Cooking System (2007). Char-Broil is a brand of W.C. Bradley Co., a privately held, family-owned company founded in 1885 in Columbus, Georgia by William Clark Bradley; W.C. Bradley Co.'s own website features Char-Broil news directly on its homepage, describing itself as "a privately held, diversified family of companies" in "outdoor cooking, outdoor living and recreation, real estate development and land management."

Char-Broil, LLC's Better Business Bureau file (0743-107676) lists Saber, Current Backyard and Oklahoma Joe's as "Alternate Names" on the same business record, and BBB accreditation dates to 1989 (business file opened 1987). BBB's record also shows the company was formally incorporated as an LLC on December 14, 2004, after operating since 1948. A BBB customer review about a smoker independently refers to "Oklahoma Joe's, which is owned by Char-Broil," consistent with the BBB alternate-names record, though this page has not independently verified the precise corporate relationship (e.g., whether Saber, Current Backyard and Oklahoma Joe's are divisions of Char-Broil, LLC itself or separate affiliated W.C. Bradley Co. entities).

Char-Broil's headquarters, per BBB, is at 1442 Belfast Ave, Columbus, GA 31904; its DMCA/legal mailing address, per its own Terms of Use, is P.O. Box 1240, Columbus, GA 31902-1240.

EDITORIAL

Complaint record: usacomplaints.com, BBB and ComplaintsBoard, reported separately

Different sources track Char-Broil complaints differently, and this page reports each separately rather than combining them into one number:

  • usacomplaints.com: 20 complaints about Char-Broil grills submitted directly on this site, dated 2002 through 2012, describing missing or backordered parts, rust and paint problems, ignition and burner failures, and difficulty getting warranty parts shipped.
  • BBB (checked September 28, 2026): Char-Broil is BBB Accredited with an A+ rating. BBB shows 95 complaints in the last three years (18 closed in the last 12 months) and a customer-review score of 1.33 out of 5 from 33 reviews. Complaints displayed on the profile describe long waits for backordered warranty parts (with customers told to keep calling to check stock), disputes over restocking fees on cancelled or returned direct orders, confusion about warranty support after the Saber Grill line was reportedly discontinued, and repeated delivery problems. Char-Broil responds to the complaints BBB displays, and several were marked resolved after replacement parts or grills were sent.
  • ComplaintsBoard, listed as "Char-Broil Warranty": 2 complaints, 0 marked resolved (0%), dated 2008 and 2021. The 2008 complaint concerns warranty-service and replacement-part difficulties; the 2021 complaint alleges that a grill's supplied regulator hose was too short and says the retailer provided a $20 gift card.

A Trustpilot profile for the charbroil.com domain (3.6 out of 5 from 155 reviews) is claimed by "Char-Broil Europe GmbH" — a distinct European entity, not Char-Broil, LLC of Columbus, Georgia — so it is not reported here as the U.S. company's rating.

Because each source covers a different population, time window and methodology, none of these figures is added to or averaged with any other.

EDITORIAL

Federal lawsuits naming Char-Broil

A CourtListener search for "Char-Broil," run September 28, 2026, found Char-Broil, LLC named in multiple federal dockets since 2006. CourtListener's website presented a bot-check page on repeated browsing during this session, and its search API returned "Too Many Requests" errors on most attempts, so this page reports only what was actually confirmed and does not describe allegations that could not be read.

McDonald v. Char-Broil LLC (W.D. Mo., No. 5:16-cv-06124), filed September 21, 2016 and terminated June 30, 2017, is docketed with Nature of Suit "365 Personal Inj. Prod. Liability" and Cause "28:1332 Diversity-Property Damage." Named parties include Char-Broil LLC, Lowes Home Centers LLC, Grand Hall USA, Inc. and Ferrellgas, L.P. d/b/a Blue Rhino. Docket entries actually retrieved show Char-Broil LLC, as a third-party plaintiff, serving discovery requests on Ferrellgas (a propane supplier) and on Grand Hall Enterprises Co., Ltd./Grand Hall USA, Inc. (a grill-parts manufacturer), and jointly filing with Lowe's. According to a court order in the case, the plaintiff alleged a house fire caused by a Char-Broil propane gas grill bought at Lowe's, with over $500,000 in damages — allegations only; how the case was ultimately resolved was not established from the records reviewed.

Fares v. Char-Broil, LLC (N.D. Ill., No. 1:24-cv-04878, filed June 12, 2024), consolidated with a suit by Suzanne and Gil Winokur, is a putative nationwide class action over the recalled Char-Broil digital electric smokers. The plaintiffs allege they received electric shocks, participated in the CPSC recall and received repair kits, and that the repair did not fix the problem; these are allegations. On April 24, 2025, the court denied Char-Broil's motion to dismiss and its request to strike the class allegations. No final ruling or settlement appeared in the docket copy checked on September 28, 2026, whose last listed entry was in October 2025.

Other dockets naming Char-Broil exist in CourtListener, but their allegations were not reviewed for this page and they are not described here.

EDITORIAL

Is Char-Broil Legitimate?

Char-Broil, LLC is a real, long-operating company that has sold grills under the Charbroil brand since 1948, is a brand of the privately held W.C. Bradley Co. (founded 1885, also based in Columbus, Georgia), and has been BBB Accredited since 1989 with an A+ rating. It publishes a working warranty/parts channel (1-866-239-6777 and charbroil.com/pages/parts-support), a written return and cancellation policy, and its own recall page. Separately, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission has recorded 11 recalls of Char-Broil products since 1990 (two in the last three years, both electric-shock hazards), and BBB shows 95 complaints in three years, alongside a 1.33-out-of-5 BBB customer-review average. This page assigns Char-Broil no rating or "scam" label of its own; readers can weigh the recall list, complaint record and litigation record above for themselves.

PUBLIC RECORD

Court & Public Records

CaseAuthorityDatesTypeOutcomeSource
McDonald v. Char-Broil LLC
Docket No. 5:16-cv-06124		U.S. District Court, W.D. Missouri
FiledFiled — no final outcome recorded

Docketed with Nature of Suit "365 Personal Inj. Prod. Liability" and Cause "28:1332 Diversity-Property Damage." Named parties include Char-Broil LLC, Lowes Home Centers LLC, Grand Hall USA, Inc. and Ferrellgas, L.P. d/b/a Blue Rhino. Docket entries actually retrieved show Char-Broil LLC, as a third-party plaintiff, serving discovery requests on Ferrellgas (a propane supplier) and on Grand Hall Enterprises Co., Ltd./Grand Hall USA, Inc. (a grill-parts manufacturer), and a court order in the case says the plaintiff alleged a house fire caused by a Char-Broil propane grill bought at Lowe's, with over $500,000 in damages (allegations only). The case was terminated June 30, 2017; the manner of termination (settlement, dismissal, or judgment) was not retrieved during this research session, and the underlying complaint's specific factual allegations were not read.

Source
Fares v. Char-Broil, LLC (consolidated with Winokur v. Char-Broil, LLC)
Docket 1:24-cv-04878		U.S. District Court, N.D. Ill.FiledFiled — no final outcome recorded

Putative nationwide class action on behalf of purchasers of the recalled models of Char-Broil digital electric smokers; the Winokurs' separate suit was transferred to this district and consolidated into this case. Plaintiffs allege they experienced electric shocks, took part in the CPSC recall and received repair kits, and that the repair was ineffective; they assert breach of implied and express warranty, state consumer-fraud (including Illinois and New York law) and unjust-enrichment claims — allegations only. On April 24, 2025, in an interlocutory order, Judge Matthew F. Kennelly denied Char-Broil's motion to dismiss, including its request to strike the class allegations, and directed Char-Broil to answer the amended complaint; the court noted that the plaintiffs had not yet moved for class certification, so no class had been certified at that point. The copy of the docket on CourtListener checked on September 28, 2026 showed no final ruling or settlement (its last listed entry was in October 2025).

Source
VERIFIED

Company Relationships

  • Owned by: W.C. Bradley Co.
  • Affiliated with: Saber, Current Backyard, Oklahoma Joe's
EDITORIAL

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Char-Broil a legitimate company?

Char-Broil, LLC is a real, operating company that has sold grills under the Charbroil brand since 1948 and is a brand of the privately held W.C. Bradley Co. (founded 1885), also headquartered in Columbus, Georgia. It has been BBB Accredited since 1989 with an A+ rating. Separately, BBB shows 95 complaints in the last three years and a 1.33-out-of-5 customer-review average, mostly concerning delayed warranty parts, and the CPSC has recorded 11 product recalls since 1990. This page assigns Char-Broil no rating or "scam" label of its own.

How do I contact Char-Broil for warranty or parts support?

Char-Broil's Parts & Support hub, at charbroil.com/pages/parts-support, lets you enter your grill's model number to find replacement parts, warranty information, product manuals and product registration. Its own page states: "Contact our customer care team at 1.866.239.6777 Monday through Saturday or Chat With Us." Char-Broil's Contact Us page (charbroil.com/pages/contact) lists Customer Support at 1-866-239-6777 and a chat option, and asks customers to have their Model # and Serial # available.

Is my Char-Broil grill or smoker part of a recall?

The CPSC has recorded 11 Char-Broil recalls since 1990, including a September 2026 electric-shock recall of Bistro Pro Electric Grills and a February 2024 electric-shock recall of Digital Electric Smokers. Check your model number against the current list at cpsc.gov/Recalls (search "Char-Broil") or at charbroil.com/pages/recalls, which republishes several of the same notices with the same hazard and remedy language.

Why is my Char-Broil warranty replacement part on backorder?

Several of Char-Broil's BBB complaints describe long waits for backordered warranty parts, with customers describing being told to "keep calling back" to check stock. This page has not independently verified Char-Broil's current parts-inventory situation; if a part remains on backorder for an extended period, BBB complaint responses show Char-Broil has, in some cases, offered a replacement grill or an expedited order once a complaint was escalated through BBB or its CARE Team at 1-866-239-6777.

What is Char-Broil's return and cancellation policy?

Per charbroil.com's own Return & Cancellation Policy, unused items in their original packaging "may be returned within 60 days of purchase," but only for items "purchased directly through charbroil.com or via phone" — not through a retailer, which has its own return policy. Char-Broil "does not accept returns on fuel, spices, sauces or electrical service parts." To cancel an order, you must call Customer Care "as soon as possible after purchase"; once an order begins shipment preparation, it can no longer be cancelled and must instead be returned. Some BBB customer reviews allege a roughly 20 percent charge on cancelled or returned direct orders; Char-Broil's current published return policy does not state a restocking-fee percentage.

Are Saber, Oklahoma Joe's and Current Backyard the same company as Char-Broil?

BBB's business file for Char-Broil (0743-107676) lists "Saber, Current Backyard, Oklahoma Joe's" as Alternate Names on the same record, and a BBB customer review about a smoker independently describes "Oklahoma Joe's, which is owned by Char-Broil." All are grill/smoker brands within the W.C. Bradley Co. family of companies. This page has not independently verified the precise corporate structure (for example, whether each is a division of Char-Broil, LLC itself or a separate affiliated W.C. Bradley Co. entity) — if your product is one of these brands, check that brand's own warranty terms, since Char-Broil's stated return policy applies only to items purchased directly through charbroil.com.

How do I register my Char-Broil grill?

Charbroil.com's Parts & Support page includes a "Register Your Product" option, described as giving "Faster Support," "Warranty Tracking" and "Easy Access to Manuals & Recalls." Consult the warranty information for your specific model for applicable claim and registration requirements.

What should I do if my Char-Broil grill seems unsafe, sparks, shocks, or catches fire?

Stop using the product immediately, and check whether your model matches one of the 11 CPSC-recorded Char-Broil recalls (cpsc.gov/Recalls, search "Char-Broil"), several of which specifically concern electric shock, fire, or explosion hazards. You can also report an unsafe product directly to the CPSC at cpsc.gov ("Report an unsafe product") in addition to contacting Char-Broil's CARE Team at 1-866-239-6777.