ComplaintsforWater Air & You

• Initial Complaint

  07/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased an in-home water system on 5/29/20. The system was purchased from Water Air & You **** * ******** **** ****** ** ***** ********************** ****** *** ****** ************** ************************** This company is listed on their website as a BBB accredited business. The equipment we bought: Carbon tanks (2) Softener Tank, Multimedia tank, Oxy Blast Tub, Salt Basin tub, R.O. tank, and filters. We paid 6,200.00 at the time of install. We have since paid out 1,200 dollars in Oxy blast (a chemical to treat the water), water filter changes 200.00, and outside of the company service calls 500.00 to diagnose what this company couldn’t fix. 100.00 on Rust out stain remover. Water Air & You committed to provide “An affordable water treatment solution that removes everything from your water that isn’t hydrogen and oxygen.” “We offer the best warranty.” “Oxy Blast can reliably and safely produce the correct results time and again.” “Our Guarantee 7 years equipment, 7 years control valves and computer boards, 1 year parts and labor on everything, 1 year Chemical pumps, 1 year RO Booster pumps and Re-pressurization pumps, Lifetime Warranty on the tanks.” “ We do our very best to never let a customer go unsatisfied.” “We help homeowners throughout the region improve the taste, smell, and feel of their water with water softener and water filter solutions.” “Low cost, Varying Capacity, Low Maintenance, Made in the USA, Calcite Filter.” “For super charged solution for real problematic water, nothing preforms better than OxyBlast for water disinfection.” (**********************) Our Nature of the dispute started right from the beginning of having the water equipment installed. We share a water well with four of our neighbors. Where we live in Central IL we have very hard water that has several issues with Manganese, Tannins, Rust, Copper, Zinc, Iron bacteria, etc. We were sold a water system with the guarantee that we would only have hydrogen and oxygen left in our water. From the first day of install we have had black staining, rust staining, metallic taste and smell to our water, iron bacteria that grows on our water when it’s allowed to sit, and sand come through our faucets. Our bathwater is yellow/green. Our showers/sinks are stained orange along with our washer and dishwasher. The inside of our toilet tanks are black, orange, bubbly, and slimy. The toilet water smells and when flushed discharges black slime. Showering or washing our hands leaves a metallic smell on our skin. Our laundry water is dirty. Air Water and You came out to our house every month for the first year trying to “fix” the water issues and complaints that we had. Their solution was to regenerate our water tanks and to turn up our Oxy Blast. The turning up our Oxy Blast to a faster flow rate did not fix the problem and cost us more money to re-fill the tanks. We are very frustrated with the process, time, and money spent. Repeated calls for service. Time spent being at home to do the service calls that often took hours of the water techs on the phone with the owner *** talking back and forth. The Water Techs had little to no knowledge and never came with any record of previous work done to our system. We would have to remind them what was tried last time. Many times we would call and have to remind them of who we were and where we lived. It would often take them two weeks or longer to come to our house after a service call. Stretching this process out for weeks/months. In August 2021 we asked for our money back from the owner who sold us the equipment, *** ******. *** ******, the owner, asked us to give him another chance to make it right. He consulted with a water engineer that made a recommendation to change what salt we use, clean out our Carbon tank, and to get a larger resin tank to hold our salt. He also added a multimedia tank. Immediately after the install we noticed no change in the water quality. In fact, the water quality was worse. We had quicker build up of the orange staining, the water smelled and tasted more like metal along with the other previously mentioned issues. In December of 2021 we decided to ask an outside water company to come in. We contacted ******** ********. After their consultation they advised us that they were unfamiliar with the water equipment and had never seen it used they way it was being used. They referred us to ******* ********. ******* looked at our system and said that the equipment being used as a water softener was not a water softener. The other tanks used to purify the water were in the wrong order. The Oxy Blast, a chemical, was being used at an alarming rate. After December 2021 we had no follow up with Water Air & You. They never contacted us to ask how the “new adjustments” they made in December 2021 were going. We decided at that point to contact ******* back and ask if they would be willing to take another look at our system to advise us. They told us that our issues are with Water Air and You. They would be unable to help us going forward because they believed we had been sold a product that would never work correctly. They told us to reach out to Water Air & You and get our money back. We decided to get one more opinion on our current water system. We contacted Culligan to come out to look at our equipment. They came out and said the exact same thing as *******. The equipment being used was incorrect. The Oxy Blast wasn’t necessary and an added expense. The water system was set up in a backwards order. The main filter that filters the water that comes into the house filters last instead of first. Thus resulting in sediment, sand, etc. in our water. The water softener isn’t getting rid of the rust because it isn’t a water softener. The yellow/green is probably Tannins, etc. They also advised us to get our money back. They disclosed to us at the time that they had several unnamed clients that switched over from Water Air & You after having the exact same issues. Our next door neighbor also used Water Air & You and bought their system 6 months before us. We are both on the same shared well and have the exact same complaints. Our neighbors have been trying since October of 2022 to get their money back from Water Air & You. Their repeated calls have went unanswered. June 28 2023 we reached out to *** ******, the owner, of Water Air & You and asked for our money back again. We emailed 4 times and called and left a voicemail. We got no notice back other than a generic email that someone would reach out to us. On July 6, *** ****** called us and had no record of who we were or what equipment we had bought off of him. He also didn’t know what services had been provided to us since 5/29/20. After a lengthy discussion *** told us that he would reach out to the manufacturer and inquire about what money we could get back. On 7/14/23 we talked to *** ****** on the phone and he told us the manufacturer wanted to send out a tech to look at the issues again. Since have already tried this on multiple occasions we said no. We wanted a refund. He told us he would reach back out to the manufacturer and ask again about our money. 7/18/23 we left a voice mail with no return call. 7/20/23 we left a voice mail and no return call. 7/21/23 we left a voice mail with no return call. On 7/22/23 *** ****** called us back. He mentioned he called the wrong number by mistake. Since we finally had him on the phone we asked about our refund. We talked at length about his promises, 7 year guaranteed warranty, 100 percent customer satisfaction, etc. We ended the call with him promising to call us back on 7/24/23 by 5 p.m. with when he was going to refund us the money and pick up his equipment. We didn’t receive a call back. 7/25/23 we called and left a voice mail. No return call. 7/26/23 we called again and asked for a return call by 5 p.m. No return call. We are a family of 7 and live on one income. We were promised water with only hydrogen and oxygen remaining. The best warranty and water that would taste, smell, and feel better. Since 5/29/20 this has not been the case. Water Air & You claims to be a BBB accredited business. Their website has listed a 4.56 review from **** ******** We were offered, when we first purchased our equipment, to leave a 5 star review in exchange for money off future services. We declined because we had not even tried our water system yet. We are asking for a full refund of what we paid 6,200.00 on 5/29/20. We are taking a loss on the other costs incurred at 2,000.00. Along with lost work time, repeated time spent on unanswered phone calls, empty promises, and most important poor water quality. We were sold a system that does not work and we would like Water Air & You to honor their warranty of 7 years and refund our money in full.

  

  Business response

  08/21/2023

  Please note that no where is *** ****** listed as owner, he is Sa*** Manager, as on his business card.
  We appreciate the chance to bring facts from our records, we believe we have worked diligently on
  behalf of the Harshbarger’s. Please note the new complication to scenario of water changes.
  Time of Install Raw Water results were: Raw Water on 7/7/21
  20 Hardness 55 Hardness
  Big ground water change on hardness of 20 at the beginning to 55 taken 7/21. Thus we brought a
  new Multimedia tank addressing their increased conditions along with larger tanks for the others
  holding a larger amount of media.
  Our 20”1 Micron filter was backwards (factory mislabeled) and we caught that the first week
  after install and we corrected the manufacturer error. This filter assists in keeping equipment free from
  any debris before it goes to water system equipment. First alert to water pressure as null to none, not
  from our equipment but from their well.
  Whoever gave the $500 evaluation does not know what media was recommended and the
  approved product for application of this type. As a matter of fact, one of the companies mentioned do
  use hydrogen peroxide in some of their water sales.
  In addition the claim about Oxyblast (Hydrogen Peroxide) is unfounded. If hydrogen peroxide
  is researched it has tremendous benefits against bad bacteria. Hydrogen peroxide data speaks for itself.
  The products have been used as disinfectants for well over a hundred years and are well documented.
  E-col i is a present day threat to families.
  ************’ share a well with 4 other homes which add additional circumstances for water
  being treated from water usage volume to water pressure. Even though consumer is responsible for
  maintaining the amount of water pressure and maintain his well equipment at a proper PSI level, our
  company put in extra equipment to help accommodate as soon as we began to service them at NO cost
  to the ************.
  Service record: 12 Service calls and NO cost to them. Some unfounded or minor adjustments.
  6/18/20 work on Reverse Osmosis pump switch, to adjust for the house flow water affected water
  delivery– No Charge to consumer.
  12/21 Multimedia tank was added onto ************* equipment at NO expense to them.
  The 12x52 softener tank was exchanged for a 12x52 softener tank bringing new media to
  address their changing water supply. The two catalytic carbon tanks (10x54) were replaced with new
  media in 12x52’s tanks increasing amount of media. Thus bringing a whole new system at NO
  additional cost to consumer. I believe at this time we also brought a larger brine tank (salt).
  12/21 Our company brought a 15 gal Oxyblast replacement at NO cost to ************ in addition to
  giving them 4 bags of solar salt also at NO cost to them. Reverse osmosis filters were changed at NO
  cost to consumer.
  New equipment replacement cost to company only.
  As far as their monies, they purchased 3 hydrogen peroxide tanks $150 ea and one set of filters
  at $120 equals $570 (not $2000). Customers are told every 12 months replacement of filters and
  Oxyblast will be needed to maintain water system. On all service calls we charged them NO service
  charge (usually $47ea trip).
  We believe the changes in water conditions and sporadic changes in water pressure have a
  greater link and not mentioned in ************’ letter. We believe we have shown a good faith effort
  with replacing thousands of dollars in equipment, service calls, media and parts.
  Exasperation is what all parties are experiencing. However, the manufacturer warranty is on
  equipment. The offer from the manufacturer is still open to revisit ************* home and try to
  resolve the issues.
  We sincerely submit our response,
  *** ** ******, Sales Mgr
  **** * ******* President

  Customer response

  08/21/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  *** ****** was always presented to us as the owner per himself and his service techs. If we were having issues, his service tech would always call *** to ask what needed to be done. If *** is only the sales manager, why was he the main point of contact for our water engineering issues? Never once were we shown a business card showing that *** was only a sales manager. It was presented to us that **** * ****** was the owner along with her husband *** ******. We have never seen **** presented as the president of the company and *** as the sales manager.
  The date of install listed in the rebuttal of 7/7/2021 is incorrect. We had the water system installed on 5/29/2020. The water system was installed into our current home before we were even living in the house. We were currently living at a rental home and had just purchased our current home. According to your incorrect date of 7/7/2021 we would have already been living in our house for a year.
  We didn’t make a claim about the OxyBlast claims of effectiveness. We stated that it was being used at a higher rate causing us to spend more money on a product that was not helping our water situation. Every service call required our system to be regenerated and our OxyBlast being turned up to a higher rate. It was stated that we bought 3 Oxyblasts off of Water Air & You at 150 dollars each. It was also stated that we would only be using 1 tank every 12 months. We bought 6 OxyBlast tanks off of Water Air and You. Doubling the recommended rate at double what we had budgeted for our cost for the usage of OxyBlast. In December of 2021, we lost all contact with Water Air and You. They did not reach back out to us to see if the changes they made helped (which they did not). We were out of Oxy Blast and began to buy it from another company. It was at this time, that another company mentioned our high rate of usage of OxyBlast and that it was money that was being wasted because of the unnecessary high flow rate.
  12 Service calls were listed in the rebuttal. When were those 12 service calls made and what was done during each of those 12 service calls? It was in fact a lot more service calls than that. When we asked *** about this over the phone, he had no recollection of any of the service calls, what equipment we had, and did not even remember our address of where the equipment was installed, per a phone conversation on 7/6/2023. There were no records kept of service calls or what had been done prior or  paperwork. When the service tech was sent to our house on more than one occasion, he would ask us what had been done previously.
  We did not have new equipment. We were told by the service tech that our tanks were swapped out with tanks they had in “their shop.” The tanks are cleaned out, refilled, and used again. In fact, the service tech told us the tanks are often resold and can be resold if returned by the customer.
  Changes in water conditions and sporadic changes in water pressure was mentioned. We have had no sporadic changes in water pressure. Our well has been serviced and inspected by a professional and any issues with our well that could be related to water conditions and sporadic changes in water pressure were not noted.
  Our neighbors are on the same well and used the same water equipment by the same company Water Air & You. They also have had the exact same problems. As of October 2022, they have been trying to get their money back. Their repeated calls have gone unanswered. They have since switched to a different water company and all their issues are now resolved. The other two houses on our well also use other water companies and do not have any of the issues we have. The issue lies with Water Air & You they are not equipped to handle our water issues and cannot meet our needs as promised on 5/29/2020.
  When we first filed our complaint on 7/27/2023 with the BBB we took direct quotes and information from Water Air & You’s website. Since 8/12/2023, that website has now been changed. (****** cache 8/21/2023) Water Air and You listed several certifications and that they were a BBB accredited business this has all been taken off their website. We have screen shots of the accreditations that are now not listed.
  After our first complaint was filed, Water Air & You asked for a 10-day extension. During this time, they changed their website. From 7/27/2023-8/12/2023, when the 10-day extension was over, they did not contact BBB back. BBB had to reach out to Water Air & You for a response.
  This all boils down to empty promises, lack of providing customer satisfaction, unprofessionalism on not returning calls/emails, and a refusal to honor their cancellation refund policy, which as been unchanged as of 8/21/2023.
  Copy and pasted from their website:
  Cancellation/Refund Policy
  If you are dissatisfied for any reason, we will service the system, change equipment, or add equipment (at no cost to you) to fulfill our commitment to you. After we have exhausted all options, if you are still not pleased with the results, we will remove the system at no cost to you and provide a full refund. **********************
  The system has been serviced multiple times. The equipment has been changed out and equipment has been added. If you are still not pleased with the results, we will remove the system at no cost to you and provide a full refund.  We are not pleased with the results and want our system removed at no cost to us and we want a full refund.
  *** ****** told us on 7/22/2023 that he would be calling us back on 7/24/2023 by 5 p.m. with the date and time he would be picking up our equipment and the money that was owed to us. We never heard from him again as of 8/21/2023.
  The no cost to us part of the cancellation/refund policy has not been honored. We are at a loss of $6,200. We want our refund of $6,200.
  

  Customer response

  08/23/2023

  Please add these pictures to our last response to Water Air & You showing a small portion of the repeated staining issues we have in our home. We clean our showers, sinks, tubs every week with a product called Rust Out. In a couple days time this stain is back again. Our shower, sink, and toilet are all brand new as of 2022. The black staining is constant on our white kitchen sink. We scrub it out and the next time we turn the water on it leaves this manganese stain. The water in the back of our toilets is the same filtered tap water that we shower in, brush our teeth in, bathe our kids in etc. Over time as this water sits it forms this slimy gooey red iron bacteria and black manganese. Our children's bath water is a yellow/green. Our well water that comes into our home is not being properly filtered by this water system. In addition the water softener is not filtering out rust as evidenced by the staining. We noticed no change in water quality since we have had this system installed.  We feel we have given the company multiple chances to fix the issues and our issues have gone unresolved and ignored since December 2021. Our case is not isolated. Our neighbors have the exact same issues and deserve at the very least a phone call back about why their money has not been refunded.

  It was also brought up that the Manufacturer is responsible for the warranty. We have no paperwork on this and didn't sign any agreement to this. That was never expressed to us. In fact, when we brought up the issue of wanting our money back in December 2021 it was at that time we were told to give Water Air & You (not the manufacturer) one more time to get it right. If not we would get our money back. Which is clearly expressed on Water Air & You's website.

  If Water Air & You is the one selling this water system equipment and has been selling it for years, they should be willing to stand behind the product. Instead they pass the blame onto something "out of their control" like unfounded claims of well water and water pressure issues. We live in a neighborhood with multiples homes all on well water that have whole house water systems from other companies. We have spoken with our neighbors and they all have water systems that filter their water without all the issues we have. I have been over to their houses and looked at their toilets, showers, tap water, and no issues.  

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩