ComplaintsforOhio Pools & Spas, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  08/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I am a customer of Ohio Pools and Spas since 1999; purchased a *** ******* spa in Feb 2019 for $4574 which suffered freeze damage last winter. I contacted them by phone multiple times in May 2022 but the recorded message said the service department was too busy to answer calls, so I visited in person and was told that pickup & delivery is $550, including 3 hours of diagnostic labor time. Tub was picked up 6/28/2022; the work crew was advised of the leak & shown the rotted corners on the tub for replacement. No receipt for pickup, written estimate, or work order was ever supplied. On 6/30/22 I spoke to Scott ******, the technician servicing the tub; he advised that he could not troubleshoot for possible additional leaks until he ordered parts to repair the one initially found at the rear of the tub. I expressed concern of potential costs exceeding $1500, so asked if the company was interested in buying the tub back. On 7/5/2022 upon receiving a phone call that the company was not interested, I authorized Mr. ****** to order the parts to repair the initial leak. On 8/8/2022 I inquired about the tub status; Mr. ****** stated that although parts had arrived earlier, he was instructed to work on other customers' tubs instead. His work detail shows that he worked on mine only after my call; only one leak was repaired, except for a minor drip from a fitting cap in the equipment area. Invoice of 8/17/2022 does not match the work detail; the 15 hours charged for labor - including 3 hours diagnostics - does not match Mr. ******'s 7 hour time. Some (but not all!) of a 2nd person's time (Ms. ********** was arbitrarily included, even though the invoice clearly specified only "1 Man Billable". Additionally, the sales tax charged was in error; total invoice was $2094.69, but should be $1013.32. All but Ms. ********* time I have offered to pay in full. Company refuses to correct their invoice or re-deliver; Company is holding my tub in ransom; has now had for 2 months.

  Business response

  08/31/2022

  Repairs for the hot tub were suggested to be $2,500 by a Spa Service Technician on 6/30/22 during a phone conversation with customer. Authorization by customer was made to order parts and move forward with repair also via phone conversation with technician.
  Our technicians and service assistants are required to note and log all actions performed while repairing a spa. We then go through the detailed invoice and add up all of the time spent by technicians and service assistants working on the hot tub in the shop (we spent over 24 hours of total shop time on this hot tub repair), we examine the time spent, the service standards, ensure that we are working within the margin quoted to the customer at the onset of the service and do not charge for time spent on inter-office communication, moving spas on/off racks and time spent wrapping/unwrapping, etc.  The resulting invoice for this repair equaled 18 total labor hours.
  The line item “SPA SERVICE - 1 MAN” indicates labor per hour/per person and is not specifically tied to a gender or to one specific person.  Regardless of the confusion about the name of this line item, the hot tub was repaired within/under the $2,500.00 amount quoted for repair.
  We don’t understand the rationale behind the customer not wanting to pay for Ms. ********* time spent repairing this hot tub.  This hot tub could not have been repaired without her labor.  If this customer would like to clarify or explain the issue around Ms. ********* labor we would be happy to respond.
  Ohio Pools & Spas quoted up to $2,500 for the service of picking up, repairing the freeze damage and rotten corners, and returning this hot tub.  The hot tub has been repaired, is ready for return. The invoice amount due is $2094.69. We would like to schedule the return of the hot tub once the invoice has been paid.

  Respectfully* ****** ****** President Ohio Pools & Spas

  Business response

  09/14/2022

  I apologize for my delay in response. I did not receive an update notification from BBB and was looking out for an email. 

  We will accept customer's negotiated payment of $1,066.42. 
  We have scheduled the return of the hot tub for Thursday 9/22/22 for 1st job in the morning.   We should arrive between 8-9am.

  Customer response

  09/26/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

  Better Business Bureau:

  On 9/14/2022 Ohio Pools and Spas was advised that they were in violation of Ohio laws; specifically that 1) Ohio Administrative Code Rule 109:4-3-05 requires a business to provide an oral or written estimate to the customer, and that such estimate be acknowledged by him/her if the service repair is expected to exceed $25, a function that the business did not do, and 2) retention of a consumer's product for over 30 days in a payment dispute violates Ohio Revised Code 2013.02 which addresses theft and fraud (the spa was being held as ransom for payment and retained by the business for over 30 days). When the president of the firm, ****** *****, was advised that the filing and prosecution of criminal charges against her for theft, a felony offense based on the value of the spa, would occur if she failed to return the spa to the owner, she avoided filing of criminal charges and settled the matter by returning the properly functioning spa at no charge to the customer on 9/22/2022.  

  ****** ******
  

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