My elderly parents signed a contract in September 2012 to have Aqua Care install a new tub/shower to accommodate my handicapped father. The paid $5K as a down payment and the remaining $5K was to be paid upon completion. To date, November 30, 2012, NO work has begun. Calls to the company are infrequently returned. When successful contact was made, empty promises plus a discount for inconvenience was offerred. Discovered today that Mike Pagano, who they have been dealing with, is a fraud. Company refuses refund as they claim to have already spent money on the project. NOT ACCEPTABLE. Today we are beginning our journey towards legal action. DO NOT SIGN UP WITH THESE FOLKS. They are famous crooks on the internet.
Teresa
Pearland,#2Author of original report
Sat, January 19, 2013
The rebuttal filed here is absurd. We waited anxiously to get work underway on this shower but recieved a letter in late October that "due to overwhelming demand" they were running way behind. They even offerred a discount because of the delay. They claim that they made several attempts to arrange to come out and this is an outright lie; as they would not return our repeated calls to them. References to "him" as the customer on the phone are false as my dad no longer talks on the phone. This situation is awful as Aqua Care fraudulently represented what they would do and when they would do it and now refuses to return our money. We have filed a police report due to threats made by Aqua-Care. We have verified with our city hall that no work permits were ever applied for. Press on with legal recourse if you wish because it looks like we are heading to court already. Companies like Aqua-Care that prey on the elderly are the cruelest criminals of all. We have filed a BBB complaint and plan to keep complaining and reporting until our money is returned. My statement about "famous crooks on the internet" may not have sounded particularly intelligent but don't be fooled. We are going to travel down every avenue to get our money back and will not rest until we do so. You have our $6K+ and we have nothing from you - rest assured that this is not over.
Michelle
Grimes,#3UPDATE Employee
Fri, January 18, 2013
This is a response to the above complaint. The complaint is misleading and untruthful. On September 26, 2012 the customer signed a contract purchasing a walk-in shower from Aqua-Care USA for $11,044. The contract called for three separate payments during the installation process. The customer made an initial payment of $1,155 when the contract was signed and another payment of $4.618 when the room was measured several days later for the exact size of the custom walk-in shower. Under federal law a contract of this type carries a three day right of rescission/cancellation from the date the contract was signed. No rescission/cancellation notice was ever received by Aqua-Care USA at any point in the process. These funds were obtained in order to provide payment for the custom components, designed in size and color specifically for this residence. The typical production and installation process normally takes four to five weeks to complete. Due to the more complex requirements of this customers product the production process took six weeks.
As soon as the walk-in shower components arrived at our warehouse Aqua-Care USA attempted to arrange an immediate installation date. The customer informed the company that the original installation date was inconvenient for him and wanted to delay the installation. After not hearing from the customer another attempt was made to contact him to arrange the installation date. This time the customers daughter answered the phone and stated that the customer no longer wanted the walk-in shower and would not allow installation in the residence. She then demanded a full refund of the funds paid to Aqua-Care USA. Aqua-Care USA personnel explained to her that a refund was not possible due to the fact that Aqua-USA incurred substantial costs in acquiring the custom made shower designed specifically for this residence and this residence alone.
The assertions in this complaint are untrue and in fact libelous. There were repeated communications with the customer. The most ridiculous and idiotic assertion is that of the claim they are famous crooks on the internet as if anything read on the internet can be taken as a fact or truth simply because it appears on the internet. The individual identified in this letter is not a fraud. Aqua-Care USA remains committed to fulfilling its part of the contact through the installation of the walk-in shower. However, Aqua-Care USA is also considering legal action against the libelee for the damages caused by these completely untrue assertions.