ComplaintsforCulligan Water Conditioning of West Texas, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been a customer of ********************** West ********************** for years. I rented an r/o unit from them. They raised their rental rate from $34 to $50 and I did not want to pay that amount. I called them to remove the unit. They said they would give me a prorated amount if it applied. I had 8 days of service before they removed the unit. I just received a bill for $26.28. That is well over the amount of time in the $50 per month that I used that unit.

  

  Business response

  05/01/2024

  Thank you for reaching out to us regarding this previous Customer's complaint.

  My apologies, we have had a much more strict email quarantine added to our email program this last quarter and this prevented us from receiving your messages.

  ************ reached out to our office on 02/05/24 and requested the removal of her Reverse Osmosis Drinking Water System due to the price increase we announced prior to January 1, 2024.

  An appointment was scheduled for 02/14/24 to remove the unit and this action was completed.

  We pro-rated the rental fee of $50 for 16 days equaling $26.72 and leaving a balance of $23.28 for the February rental fees.

  Culligan has not received payment for the $23.28 and finance fees of $9 have been incurred. We would be willing to credit the $9 once the $23.28 is paid,

  Please feel free to reach out to me for any additional assistance I can offer.

  Thank you, have a great day.

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

  Office Supervisor

  Culligan Water Conditioning of West Texas, Inc.

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

  www.culliganwt.com

• Initial Complaint

  01/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have a rented reverse Osmosis system from Culligan Water in *******, **. On January 2, ****, I received a letter stating that they were going to increase my charges from $34 to $50 ( a 47% increase) on January 1. I called them and requested they cancel my contract and come get their RO unit. The lady I was talking to said my contract required a 30 day notice and I would have to pay the new price. I agreed to pay the old price, but this was not acceptable to Culligan. I feel that they should have notified me at least 30 days before the price increase if my contract could not be cancelled for 30 days. I feel this is not fair and very poor business. I would like to have the contract cancelled immediately since I was not notified with sufficient time to cancel BEFORE the price increase.

  

  Business response

  01/15/2024

  Attached is a copy of the Price Increase notice mailed to ********************* on December 31, 2023 notifying of a price increase effective February 1, 2024.

  Also attached is a copy of the Customer Order Form Terms and Conditions. Please see Page 2, Section E for terms of price increase.

  An appointment has been scheduled for removal on 01/15/24 at the Customer's request.

  Once the unit has been removed, a pro-rated credit will be applied to the Customer's account for billing that was incurred at the previous rental fee for ******* 2024.

  This was shared with the Customer prior to this complaint.

  Please feel free to reach out to us for any additional assistance we may be able to offer.

  **********************;

  Office Supervisor

  Culligan Water Conditioning of West Texas, Inc.

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

• Initial Complaint

  11/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In 2022, we initiated a rental service with Culligan, that included a water softener, an RO system, and a refrigerator line connection. Our contract has no disconnection fee or charge for disconnecting equipment or lines installed by Culligan when we no longer need them. However, yesterday, when I contacted Culligan to disconnect the refrigerator line they installed, they informed me of a service fee for doing so. This was surprising and went against our contract terms. I spoke with ******** and later *****, who are operation managers. I pointed out that we were never informed of any charges for disconnecting equipment or lines installed by Culligan that we no longer need, and, more importantly, our contract makes no mention of such charges. To emphasize the inconsistency in their actions, I reminded them of a similar situation last year when we requested the disconnection of the softener. Culligan carried the disconnection without any charges. I inquired why, in the current scenario, they suddenly ask a charge for disconnecting the refrigerator line that they had originally installed, and which we no longer needed. Neither ******** nor ***** provided any satisfactory answers or pointed to a specific clause in the contract that justified such charges. ***** referred to Section 7B of our contract which is about maintenance responsibilities, completely unrelated to our request for disconnection. I pointed this out, emphasizing that Section 7B had no mention of disconnection or any associated charges. ***** was unable to provide a valid response when I highlighted this mismatch between the section he referenced and our situation. There was no mention of charges for disconnection anywhere in the contract as shown in the attachment. These inconsistencies, where under the same contract Culligan previously didnt charge for a disconnection and is now asking for a fee against the contract terms, raise serious concerns about their professionalism and business ethics.

  

  Business response

  11/22/2023

  Thank you for reaching out to us on this issue and I am truly sorry thatyou did not have a great experience!

  However as we discussed, our maintenance agreement is for the maintenance and servicing of the R.O and Softener equipment. We did install a line that runs to your refridgerator as you requested, however adjusting, disconnecting or installing new lines are not in our maintenance agreement. The terms of what services are covered through our maintenance agreement are found in Section 7B in the maintenance agreement and that is the reason you were referred to this section. In this section there is no mention of Culligan being responsible for any adjustments to service lines to an from appliances which unfortunately means that is not covered in the agreement.

  I do understand that you are frustrated that we did come out at a previous date to disconnect an RO unit, however this was due to your decision to terminate the rental agreement for that piece of equipment, so we did come and disconnect it and remove it at no cost to you.

  However disconnecting lines from fridges and appliances connected to the equipment are not part of our rental or service agreement. As stated we are more than happy to come out and provide this service for you for an addtional fee.

  Please reach back out to us if you have any addtional questions or concerns! We value your buisness and hope that we can continue to service you in the future.

  Customer response

  11/25/2023

  Complaint: 20808476
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The discrepancies between the contractual terms and the services being provided by Culligan is deeply concerning:

  1- Misrepresentation of Service Request: Culligans characterization of the request to disconnect the refrigerator line as a "maintenance" issue is misleading. This action does not fall under the purview of routine maintenance. It is a straightforward disconnection of a line previously placed by Culligan, not a maintenance or adjustment of the equipment. Labeling this as maintenance to levy a non-contracted fee is both inaccurate and concerning.
  
  2- Inconsistency in Treatment of Services: Under the same contractual agreement, when the decision was made to disconnect the softener previously, Culligan facilitated this without imposing any charges. Notably, it was rightly recognized as a disconnection, not a maintenance service. The sudden shift in policy to now classify a similar action disconnecting the refrigerator line as a service charge under the guise of maintenance raises serious concerns about consistency and adherence to contractual obligations.
  
  3- Contradiction with Contract Terms: The core of this matter lies in the contractual terms, which explicitly do not specify any fees for disconnecting equipment or lines installed by Culligan. This aligns with our previous experience when the softener was removed without any mention of additional fees, reinforcing the absence of any such clause within our agreement.
  
  These discrepancies, where previous actions were treated differently under the same agreement terms, raise considerable doubts about the consistency, integrity, and alignment of Culligan's practices with the contractual terms.

  Regards,
  
  *********************

  

  Business response

  11/28/2023

  Good morning,

  If you would please review section 4 of the agreement you will see the clause concerning plumbing. 

  Any lines or piping that is run to the system is considered plumbing and is not a part of the equipment and is excluded from the maintenance agreement.

   

  Section 4 of the provision reads

  4. Plumbing

  The installation of equipment does not include any repairs to your plubming system. Replacement of gate valves or draining down of pressure tanks, for example, is not included in this Order. Anything that would be considered a repair to your plumbing will be billed as an extra expense at regluar customary rates. Dealer reserves the right to decline to make repairs and to refer you to a licesenesed plubmer. 

  As stated previously, our maintenance agreement does not include connection and disconnection of service lines to appliances. Our agreement is for the service and repair of the equipment (not the plubming) from normal wear and tear and therefore disconnecting a line from your appliance is out of scope of the contract that we signed. Connection and disconnection of appliances is considered plubming and will be billed at standard rates. 

  No where in the agreement does it state that Culligan will be responsible for the maintenance of the plumbing system or connecting/disconnecting new appliances.

   

   

   

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

  Complaint: 20808476
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Our request was explicitly for the disconnection of the line previously installed by Culligan, not a repair or maintenance issue. Labelling this as part of plumbing repairs, as outlined in Section 4, is grossly inaccurate and misleading. Culligan's attempt to justify an unauthorized charge through this misrepresentation is alarming.

  The clear lack of any agreement clause mentioning charges for disconnecting Culligan-installed lines reinforces this fact. Culligan's failure to identify any contractual foundation for imposing charges to disconnect lines they themselves installed is a clear indicator of their deceptive practices. Their attempt to legitimize an unauthorized charge for a service previously provided without cost raises significant concerns about their integrity.
  
  Regards,
  
  *********************

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