Complaint Review: Rec-Direct Factory Outlet - Kingsport Tennessee

The Spa was purchased on September 02, 2013 and delivered on October 05, 2013.  The Spa unit was installed / made operational on or about October 13, 2013.  From the start, the Spa took an exceedingly long time to warm the water to a usable temperature.  The Spa operated for approximately two weeks when it failed by repeatedly “tripping” the Ground Fault Breaker safety.  The date of this first problem was around October 30, 2013.  My husband contacted the sales representative on November 01 and reported the problem.  The sales representative, Mr. Greg Bramell, (267.297.3134) advised him to contact the technical services division.  My husband called the number provided and spoke with a representative named “Billy” or “Ray” (877.722.4097) and explained the situation.  The technical services group ordered a heater unit and had it shipped to my residence.  My husband installed the heater as instructed and the Spa was restored to “operational” sometime around the second week of November. 

Within a very short period of time, sometime around the Thanksgiving holiday, the Spa failed a second time.  My husband again contacted the sales representative, Mr. Greg Bramell.  Mr. Bramell referred us back to the technical services division.  We again called the technical services division and explained the problem.  They (Gentleman’s name was “Billy” or “Ray”) diagnosed the problem as a heater failure and/or a ‘problem with the brain.”  Both a replacement heater and a master control “brain” box were shipped to my home address.  I was instructed to contact the technician (“Greg” @ 484-554-4326) once the parts arrived at my house.  Approximately ten to twelve (10-12) days later, both parts arrived.  Once we had the parts, my husband contacted the service technician, “Greg” as instructed. A service appointment was scheduled (for a few days later) and a technician came to my residence and installed the replacement heater and the main control box.   

During the Christmas week we learned that the Spa was again inoperative. The Ground Fault Breaker had “tripped” and the unit was off (and near frozen due to long periods of cold temperatures).  The exact date of this third “failure event” is not known as we were travelling over the Christmas holiday period.   On or about December 30, 2013, my husband called the technical service division and again spoke with either “Billy”, “Ray” or “Justin”.   At this time, he was instructed to remove the green/yellow wire from the heater connections (one of the three wires) at the control panel.  With this wire removed, the system restarted and appeared to function properly.   The Spa appeared to operate normally from early January, 2014 through to the first week of March to the best of our knowledge. (Heavy snowfalls and harsh temperatures precluded use of the Spa).

On or about March 6^th, 2014, an “Error Code” appeared on the display screen, the unit had shut itself down.  I was also able to see several parts lying at the bottom of the Spa.  I was later advised that the “code” message was a symptom of a limit sensor defect (heater related) and that the parts found in the bottom of the Spa were from a nozzle/jet that was defective and had come apart internally.  My husband contacted the technical services division and was advised that they would send another heater unit (thermal limit switch is built in to the heater pack) and several models of replacement jet nozzles so that we would have the parts necessary to change out the defective units.  These parts arrived on or about March 18^th, 2014.  My husband installed the heater and replaced the jet/nozzle on or about March 20, 2014.  The Spa again appeared to be operating normally.

On March 27, 2014, I went to use the tub and experienced a substantial electrical shock.  My husband immediately shut down the unit and contacted both the sales representative (Greg Bramell) and the technical services division to complain about this increasingly “dangerous“ unit.  Since the event of March 27, 2014, my husband maintained continuing contact and performed numerous tests as instructed in an attempt to determine the source of the electric “short”.  At this point, the technical services division asked my husband to take numerous photos of the main control box, the house wiring, the inside of the Ground Fault Breaker cabinet, etc.  They asked about wiring size, connections, etc. etc. etc.   My husband repeatedly complied in an attempt to work through the issues and problems.  He placed numerous calls and received several (not all) return calls regarding the problem.  In the discussions with “Greg” (service technician) during the week of March 09, 2014, there was a suggestion that he would be ordering us a new main control box and heater.  This dialogue continued through until my husband’s final call (to “Greg”) on April 11, 2014.  When he spoke with the service technician “Greg” he simply asked me if he received the parts so the he could come out to install them.  To the best of our knowledge, no parts were ordered. 

On April 14, 2014, my husband sent an email to the sales representative (Greg Bramell) and advised him that we wanted to arrange for the return of this defective unit.  On April 15, 2014, my husband placed a return call to the service technician “Greg.”  My husband explained this time line of problems and “Greg” asked him to contact “Justin” at the “service center” to request a “fresh start” with a new Spa control pack and heater.   At the end of the business day on April 15, 2014, my husband called Mr. Bramell directly to inquire as to the status of his request to return the defective Spa unit.  Mr. Bramell advised me that he was not authorized to accept any returns but that I should provide a detailed account of the problems that we have been experiencing.  Mr. Bramell advised that he would send this written explanation on to his District Manager for a decision.

As a follow-up, we consulted with a second licensed electrician who came to our home on April 17 to verify the house wiring and connections.   Again, our house wiring, circuits and wiring were approved and determined to be correct.

In sum, my faith in a remedy; my confidence in the safety of this Spa; my ability to reconcile the many days of “loss use” of this Spa; my patience given the unreasonable number of personal time lost performing repairs, tests; and, my ability to endure further discussions and visits by my licensed electrician have come to an end.   The X-6 Spa that I purchased in September of 2013 has been and remains defective.