Budget Water International

Review: In February 2016 we purchased a water filtration system from Budget Water in PA. We sent water samples to their company for analysis. We purchased the system Budget Water recommended. We hired a licensed plumber and an electrician to installed as their instructions and worked with them over the phone as the work was being performed. Months later, after email, photos sent and phone communication ( many of our calls have not been returned) we continue to have unacceptable water for daily household use. Added expense for ruined laundry, going to the laundry mat, hauling potable water and stained appliances after spending more than $4,800.00 is unacceptable. A second water sample was shipped to National Water testing lab. The results were sent to Budget Water and us via email. On Monday May 16th we called Budget Water and spoke to their tech Jim D[redacted]. He was to call us back after he met with his manager. As of today we have not received a call.Desired Settlement: A proper working filtration system for our well water as promised. Upgrade size of terminox system to commercial rating at their expense. Two samples of water indicated the iron, manganese and hard water ph. levels that they assured to make a system that would correct these problems (the one we have is inadequate).

Business

Response:

From: <[redacted]>Date: Fri, Jun 24, 2016 at 4:24 PMSubject: complaint #[redacted]To: [redacted]To whom it may concern,My name is Jim D[redacted], and I am a water quality technician at BudgetWater.com. This is in response to the complaint #[redacted] from [redacted]. Mr. and Mrs. [redacted] ordered a water treatment system from us in January of 2016. Their water was far worse than the average well we normally treat, including a VERY high acid content, incredibly high amounts of calcium and total dissolved solids, and iron levels over 65 times the maximum. And while we certainly cannot guarantee such an application, we felt confident we could make the water a great deal better if our instructions were followed. We certainly understand the [redacted]’s frustration with such a poor quality of water, and we were determined to help correct it. We also tried to sell them the least amount of equipment possible to keep the initial expense down as they had a lot of different issues. If necessary we would always add more equipment if the water was really stubborn or pH resistant. We are trained here to never sell more equipment than is needed. Once the equipment was installed and we saw that their water was being very resistant to conventional acid (pH) correction techniques, which can certainly occur with so many problem elements, our engineering department recommended we try to use a stronger mineral to neutralize the acid and add a flow restrictor to the system, as we believed the flow rate was surging above what was reported to us by the [redacted]s originally. And that was understandable as most people are not familiar with flow rate issues.We sent them the flow restrictor to correct this at our cost. The [redacted]s, for whatever reason, did not install it. We offered to provide a stronger mineral to solve the high acid water problem, again entirely at our cost. They refused to try that as well. Once we realized that they were not following our instructions, we offered to take this equipment back and refund the equipment purchase price. Let us say that we understand the frustration of the [redacted]s, as anyone would be frustrated with the type of water and the need to work at it a bit to get it right. But we cannot fix it if they are so frustrated they are unwilling to cooperate with our instructions. We certainly understand how they feel and care about them. We are just not sure what else we can do other than fix it or refund their purchase price. Both of which we have offered to do.Thank You,Jim D[redacted]

BudgetWater.com®Premium Equipment-Budget PricesWater Softeners-Water Filters-Well Water Treatment By purchasing anything from Budgetwater.com® you agree to our Terms of Service at [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

This review is for budget water .com.
1.They do not like to be challenged with questions. His response was" don't worry about it"
2. I had been waiting a week for a paid test to show up in the mail, so I emailed them, asking how long it takes. The man on the phone really needs some psychological help. After ranting for quite awhile, ....they didn't want my business, because I had set them up.

Budgetwater has terrible tech support and customer service. I ordered a filter and they charged my credit card immediately. A week later the filter had not shipped and so I cancelled the order through their online form. A week later my credit card had not been credited and the unit had not shipped. I called the following week and I was told by a woman that they still had not credited my card back or even processed the request to credit my card back. When I asked why my multiple email and online requests to cancel the order had not been answered or acted upon she simply said: "well I didn't get the requests" so I guess I didn't know I was to send them to her personally LOL. This company has poor reviews for "after the sale is done" customer service. Read the GlassDoor reviews and pay particular attention to some guy name [redacted]. Don't try to return a filter after it is installed even if it doesn't work properly. Read the reviews on this company before making a purchase!

Bought their [redacted] and chem feeder. Chem feeder broken within 5 months of normal use. Budget water claims I broke it by adding too much bleach and they won't cover it under warranty. Complete B.S. I would highly recommend anyone looking to buy products from Budget Water to look elsewhere. No one should have to invest thousands into a system and for the Budget Water to leave you hanging. No worth the trouble!

Review: I originally ordered a system from budgetwater.com. I spoke with a technician who told me to get my water tested. I did and called back with the results. My issue was heavy metals in the water, I was getting copper colored rings in the toilet and the wife had trouble with her hair. The city water is known for metal. I explained to the technician the levels a Increase at certain times of the year when the city wells and pumps are running harder. He sold me a whole house sediment filter and a 10" filter with carbon for media and a back washing head and special bypass for changing media or working on system. I had them professionally installed by a licensed plumber. It seemed to get better, I was happy for some time. Then after several months noticed the rings reappearing and wife having trouble with her hair again. I called and explained the situation, the technician admitted that the sold me the wrong thing said they will give you a break when you order the right one. I couldn't afford it at the time so I waited a couple months. Then when I had a little extra money I called and ordered it and they would only drop $20.00 off the bill. I was angry about this but needed to fix the problem and I thought well $20.00 off is better than nothing. I was upset but happy to finally fix the problem (again). Then the new system arrives and I'm livid. It's exactly the same thing I already bought only sent with different media. The media comes separate and has to be put in by the customer or plumber. I call and complain several times before finally speaking with the supposed general manager. A [redacted], who assured me everything would be taken care of. I was supposed to get a refund for everything except the media and get call tags to return the equipment. It has been over two weeks with no results. I have called and written and everyone says it's taken care of, two more days. But nothing ever shows and they never have returned my phone calls once even though they say they will.Desired Settlement: I want all my money returned. And I would like a result like their rating to drop. Their customer service [redacted]. Their really efficient at taking your money but can't seem to find a way to return when they shouldn't have taken it in the first place. In their add they promise 100% satisfaction. What a joke!

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] has received a refund for his purchase. The refund was for the tank and control valve just sent to him. When he changed filters, he could have used what he had and only changed what’s inside of the tank. I spoke with him and told him afterwards that should’ve been made clear to him and apologized. We then sent the credit to administration and that cost has been refunded to him. We also sent out call tags to have the other equipment picked up but he’s having trouble opening the email attachment. We’re going to mail out the call tags. He hasn’t been charged anything for those pieces of equipment. Our standard refunds take 5-10 days.

Thank you,

I'll respond to his complaint in bolds below:

I originally ordered a system from budgetwater.com. I spoke with a technician who told me to get my water tested. I did and called back with the results. My issue was heavy metals in the water (Not common on city water), I was getting copper colored rings in the toilet and the wife had trouble with her hair. The city water is known for metal. I explained to the technician the levels a Increase at certain times of the year when the city wells and pumps are running harder. He sold me a whole house sediment filter and a 10" filter with carbon for media and a back washing head and special bypass for changing media or working on system. I had them professionally installed by a licensed plumber. It seemed to get better, I was happy for some time(This was a correct application, carbon works on absorption and does need replaced, which is why it worked for a time and then they noticed the issues again). Then after several months noticed the rings reappearing and wife having trouble with her hair again. I called and explained the situation, the technician admitted that the sold me the wrong thing (Was sold the correct equipment, simply stepped up to a filter that requires no maintenance and its specialty is removing iron which 95% of these filters go on well water systems) said they will give you a break when you order the right one. I couldn't afford it at the time so I waited a couple months. Then when I had a little extra money I called and ordered it and they would only drop $20.00 off the bill (We don’t discount equipment, prices are already low, hence the name Budget Water but we do care and try to always do what’s right for the customer). I was angry about this but needed to fix the problem and I thought well $20.00 off is better than nothing. I was upset but happy to finally fix the problem (again). Then the new system arrives and I'm livid. It's exactly the same thing I already bought only sent with different media (The tank and control valve are the same, the only difference is the media and this media doesn’t need replaced like his first order, which again, was also correct. Both will work, just two different ways of treatment). The media comes separate and has to be put in by the customer or plumber. I call and complain several times before finally speaking with the supposed(I really am) general manager. A [redacted], who assured me everything would be taken care of.(His money has been refunded and call tags sent) I was supposed to get a refund for everything except the media and get call tags to return the equipment. It has been over two weeks(Standard time frame for credits, 5-10 business days) with no results. I have called and written and everyone says it's taken care of, two more days. But nothing ever shows and they never have returned my phone calls once even though they say they will.

Consumer

Response:

Review: The autotrol valve on my softener would not work properly after receiving it brand new Feb 2, 2014. After much troubleshooting w/ Budgetwater over the phone, they recommended I return the valve so they could look at it further. Our water was very bad, so I needed another option. We agreed I would order a new valve and upon receiving it, would install the new one & return the defective one. The new valve was purchased for $360 on 1/23/15. The tech. on the phone assured me there would not be a problem getting a refund of the $360 after they analyzed the defective valve. I have called on three separate occasions to follow-up to see if the refund was coming, each time being assured it would be taken care of. To date, I still have not seen any refund and feel as if calling any more will simply be more of the same.Desired Settlement: Refund $360 paid for new valve

Business

Response:

We received the rebuilt valve from the manufacturer on 6/9/12. The refund of $360 was credited to the customer's account on the same day. We apologize for any delay, we were simply constrained by shipping times and a delay on the end of the manufacturer. We hope this solves the issue.Thank you,[redacted]General ManagerBudget Water International

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I received the check 2 days ago. Thanks.

Regards,

Review: I started trying to contact this company on February 25, 2015. I have saved all coorespondence, as well as phone records to show the number of attempts to resolve this issue. Several attempts were made to contact Budget Water USA when my water was staining my clothes, sinks, washer, bath tubs, toilets. The first several attempts were made to the sales line, as that was the number I had used to purchase the system, so that is the number my husband called. They would give him the number to the technical support line and no one was ever available to assist and no one would call back. He called once and the response was "This number has been given to you several times." When my husband told them he was sorry but he was calling and no one ever returned his call, the man literally told him he was a liar and that was an insult. Finally I got on the phone, after my husband was hung up on, and talked to someone else, explained the situation and that now we have been trying to deal with this for a month, with NO AVAIL. He assured me he would take care of our problem. He had us test a few things and determined that the part that tells the softner to regenerate, was broken. They promtly sent us a replacement. When that didnt change the quality of the water, we called again. He then told us to send him a water sample. Which I did. It took about a week after receipt of the sample for them to call. Once they did, they stated our water was tested and everything was good. I then sent them pictures, which I still have, of the back of my toilet that is completely rust filled and the bath that looks like mud, that I have been now 2 months of bathing my children in. We then didnt receieve any contact. Repeated phone calls made AGAIN, but this individual was never available. Finally, my husband told them he didnt care who he spoke to, he just wanted the problem resolved or he would pay to have it fixed and then sue them for the cost, since we have had our system for 4 years and have a 10 year warranty. He also asked to speak to a manager. OF COURSE, no manager was available. My husband told them that he would call back tomorrow to speak to a manager. About an hour later the phone rings!!!!!!!!!! We thought we were finally getting somewhere until the indiviual on the other end stated, "I have spoken to a manager and he stated that before you call back tomorrow, you need to read our legal notice on our website". I read it and it states that Budget water has jurisdiction in the [redacted]. Which means if we were to sue them, we would have to do it there. That was 2 weeks ago and no call. Our water is still HORRIBLE. I honestly cant believe that we have put up with this for this long and no one with this company seems to care. They also stated that when purchasing the system, we gave them the wrong numbers, so our system is too small. Which is in no way true. When all else fails, blame the customer, is the motto of this company. That way they get out of all responsibility. I have read other reviews of people with the exact same issues. THANKS FOR NOTHING BUDGET WATER USA. NEVER would I use this company or every recommend them to ANYONE.

Business

Response:

Our records show that the support issue began with the [redacted] on February 25 of this year. Our “Terms of Service” clearly state that a person must follow our instructions before buying anything, which includes the essential part of figuring out their flow rate correctly. That is what determines the size of the unit. Our “Terms of Service” also clearly state that we are not responsible for the application itself, as we can not do the flow rate check for you ourselves, or perform any other onsite tasks as we are an online catalog. When the unit was originally purchased on 2/21/2011 it was sized to a flowrate of 5 gallons per minute (gpm), which is our smallest and least expensive unit. This means that the unit ran for four years without the sizing issue coming to a head, which understandably caused some delays in troubleshooting. We spent a lot of time and effort in this regard, with a great deal of resistance from the [redacted]. One month later on March 24, 2015, they were sent a replacement part and it was suggested that they retest the flow rate and water quality of the well. [redacted], on April 23 (again one month later), admitted to recalculating his flow rate at 14 gallons per minute which would put him in the range of our largest noncommercial filter. It then became obvious that all of the time and effort we had spent on troubleshooting was because of this original error. We have offered two solutions to the problem, including the restriction of their flow rate down to 6gpm and the option of upgrading to the larger tank that they actually needed from the start. They have refused to do that or anything else we suggested. We are not sure what to tell someone who has given us the wrong information to begin with, failed to follow our instructions, and are unreasonable and uncooperative each time we speak with them. We would love for the [redacted] to solve their issue properly and have excellent water again, the same thing we hope for each and every one of our customers. Thank you [redacted] General Manager BudgetWater.com

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

yes. We were provided a replacement part due to our system not regenerating properly. We were also told the head of the unit was bad and that would be replaced but never was. Maybe the system was mis sized, I don't know how we were supposed to know that and how we wasted your time. We have been far from uncooperative. I can obtain phone records showing how many times we called and for how long the call was. And how many times our calls were returned or lasted long enough to ever accomplish anything. It took months in between each contact because we were trying to get someone to call us back but no one ever would. We would not sit around and wait for months to just do something so small and then complain. Any time someone would have us check something, it was done the same day!! But would take weeks just to give someone the results of what we were told to do. Absolutely not, after the way we have been treated, would we purchase any more products to correct the issue. And if that's being uncooperative, then I'm sorry! We have been called liars, uncooperative, all because we were trying to solve our issue! We have been called liars and rude, all because no one would return calls!! It took TWO MONTHS for someone to tell us that our system was too small?! I was on the phone with the salesman and he walked me through how to do it and told me what we needed based on the flow rate. I would not intentionally waste money by purchasing the cheapest, smallest system! I didn't even know that's what I had until now. I purchased what I was told I needed, based on the number I came up with from doing what I was told to do, step by step. I do not feel the need to keep this going. apparently it is all our fault and I will accept that, chalk it up as a lesson learned, that will never be repeated. I see no need to keep explaining and defending myself.

Regards,

Review: Chlorination/filtration system failed within warranty period and company will not honor warranty. Supplied company with photos of failure and we were told that it was the problem of the manufacturer not theirs. Chlorine pump no longer works and filtration tank ruptured-we were told it was our fault.Desired Settlement: Replacement of filter tank, lost filter media and replacement of chlorine pump

Business

Response:

[redacted]Firstly, I am sorry that your tank ruptured. Unfortunately, due to the nature of that rupture, it is exceedingly clear that it was caused by the admitted failure in your well pump. We had the manufacturer engineers look at these photos and they confirmed that this is a situation where it had to be your well equipment, that is, equipment that was not purchased through us, that failed and led to this tank exploding. When the equipment fails on it's own, there would be 1 simple hole where air pressure penetrated the tank. These tanks are fiberglass lined. The fiberglass would have had to be compromised by a previous IMPLOSION, where water would have left the tank and ran backwards through the lines back to the well, causing the tank to crush like a soda can. This would have been followed by the EXPLOSION, when the tank gained pressure from the well pump running, filling with air and water. Because the fiberglass tank imploded first and compromised the strength of the materials meant for high pressures, the result, as depicted in the attached photos, is a fracture along the side of the tank.ZackBudget Water USA

Consumer

Response:

Review: In October of 2014 I contacted BW to help me with a new water treatment system. The company suggested that I send in a water sample because that would help them suggest the proper equipment. I spent $100 to overnight a water sample to the company.

After receiving my sample they suggested that I buy a [redacted] iron filter which I immediately ordered. After installing the filter there was essentially no change in the quality of my water so I called the company. At that point they suggested that I needed some additional equipment in order for the filter to work properly. I immediately ordered a chemical feed pump and chemical holding tank. Doing so almost doubled the cost of my system from their initial proposal.

After receiving my second round of equipment, my water quality was better at times and worse at other times. I called the company again and they suggested a third change to the system. I had to buy a flow switch to activate the chemical pump whenever water was called for. I received the flow switch in late November of 2014. I installed the flow switch and finalized the system on the weekend of December 14, 2014.

The property where the equipment is installed is a weekend place so I started using the final system on the 14th of December and used it for 11 weekends (I don’t go up every weekend) or 22 days before the flow switch failed on the weekend of February 28, 2015. The switch stuck open resulting in a 5 gallon chemical injection into my water system (the entire contents of my chemical tank.) This fouled the water and filled both of my water heaters with tainted water. I disassembled the flow switch, cleaned it out, re-filled the chemical tank, flushed the water system and re-primed the chemical pump. The flow switch failed again on the weekend of March 14th, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. Clearly the flow switch is defective and/or does not function property so I called the company on Monday March 16th.

I have tried to get BW to refund my money for the defective flow switch. On March 16 a rep from the company said that he would investigate the situation after suggesting that there was not much that they could do. He promised me a call me back later in the day. I have not heard from BW since.

My view is that the company has had three shots at designing a system that would solve my water problems. Each designed has failed in one way or another. I spent $100 to overnight a water sample to their lab so that they could avoid a misdiagnosis. While I have no reason to question the integrity of the folks that I have dealt with, the fact of the matter is I have spent almost $[redacted] on a water treatment system that is currently shut down. Just as troubling, the company seems to be ignoring my request for a refund for what is clearly a defective flow switch. The company’s recent actions seem inconsistent with the customer satisfaction pledge that is on the company’s website:

A Real Honest Money Back Guarantee! Our HONEST money back guarantee is exactly what it says. If you are not 100% satisfied, we will refund the full purchase price of the equipment and take it back. No nonsense, no gimmicks and no hassles. We are so confident that you will love the way we treat you, your water quality and the equipment you receive, that returning it will be the last thing that you'll ever want to do.Desired Settlement: I would like someone with the authority to act to call me to discuss this situation. I have a significant amount of time and money invested in this project. My goal is to get my water system running properly and solve my water problems for good.

Business

Response:

We spoke with customer and credit for $[redacted] was offered and accepted. The credit has been issued and customer will receive in 3-5 business days.Thank you,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

A month after I filed my original Revdex.com claim, I received an urgent voice mail from [redacted] at Budget Water. He wanted to hear from me by the end of the day (April 16th) to resolve our dispute. I returned the call on the 16th and agreed to a [redacted] refund with a different BW employee.As of April 21st I have not received the refund that was promised on the 16th. The company also made it very clear that the refund comes with strings attached. [redacted] and the other BW employee both indicated that I would no longer receive technical support on the BW products that I have purchased. They told me that I would have to look to the manufacturer of the products for support. I view their new position on customer support as punishment for requesting a refund on the defective part that they sold me. At this point I feel that the company has generally been unresponsive and combative. For example, when I called the company on the 16th, the person that I talked to accused me of turning down a previously offered $[redacted] refund. This was both insulting as well as untrue. The only reason that I filed a complaint with the Revdex.com was because the company refused to offer me the partial refund that I suggested to them. The company also indicated that they experienced great difficulty getting in touch with me. Yet the Revdex.com had no difficulty contacting me with a follow-up call. My business phone, home phone and e-mail all come to my home address. As a result, it is very easy to get in touch with me up to 16 hours a day. Now the company seems to be dragging their feet on the refund that they promised me five days ago. One of the primary reasons that I decided to do business with BW was their extensive claims regarding customer service and satisfaction. I feel like the company has fallen well short of those claims. After weeks of effort on my part, I am still struggling to get a partial refund for a defective flow switch. The water system the company suggested for me does not work and I am out $[redacted] assuming that I eventually receive the $[redacted] refund. The company has made it clear that I am on my own in terms of future customer service and support. That means that it will be difficult to get much value out of the equipment that now sits idle in my home. In summary my BW experience has cost me lots of time and money and my water problem remains unsolved.

Regards,

Michael Jansen

Business

Response:

We all agreed to the $[redacted] refund. We advised the customer this takes 3-5 business days on average. This time didn't even elapse before he felt compelled to register another complaint in attempt to hurt our good name. We tried to refund the card to speed up this process but we only have 120 days after the purchase to directly apply the refund to the card. This time has elapsed so as promised, we mailed out a check today for the amount of $[redacted]. This was the agreed amount and the check number is [redacted]. The warranties are still in place through the manufacture and they'll also handle all tech support in the future.Thank you,[redacted]

Review: On 11/28/13 I purchase 6 water conditioners including an R/O filter from Budget Water. In February 2014 I succeeded in find a qualified plumber to install them. The systems worked well until the R/O filter lost pressure in May, 2014. On 6/3/14 I spoke with a Budget Water technician who talked me through checking the pressure on the tank; there was no pressure. He checked with his supervisor and said that the pressure tank is under warranty and will be replaced at no charge if I return the failed pressure tank in the box the replacement pressure tank will be shipped in. I agreed.On 6/12/14 I called technician [redacted], who told me that the request for a replacement tank had been processed.On 6/26/14 I spoke with technician [redacted] who said that he would call back in 1/2 hour--he did not call back then or ever. I then called and spoke with technician [redacted] and requested to speak with his manager. [redacted] said the manager was in a meeting which would be over soon and that he would give give the manager a message to call me. The manager did not call me. [redacted] also suggested that I call the manager.On 7/1/14 I left a phone message for [redacted] the manager to call me. He has not called me.Budget Water advised me on which products would solve the issues with my water supply, so the company has been aware for over a MONTH that their broken R/O filter is not cleaning our water, thus everyone in this household is imbibing ARSENIC as a result of Budget Water's malfunctioning filter system.Desired Settlement: I want Budget Water to PROMPTLY send me a replacement pressure tank.I want Budget Water to provide Return Shipment Postage for the defunct pressure tank.

Business

Response:

The customers tank is being delivered today and was taken care of when I received the message. This was over the Holiday weekend but was taken care of that day. As for the first few calls, our terms of service with the manufacture clearly states, it's a repair or replace. They will not send another out until the chance is given to fix the unit because many times the units are just fine and the customer may not be handy enough to fix the issue. Since we don't sell used equipment, this would be charged to us and the only credit would be given if the unit is damaged as claimed.

However, the customer didn't have to return the tank, we shipped before this complaint and we're not requiring her to send back the tank, nor will she be charged in anyway.

Thank you,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

The replacement tank arrived on July 9th, the plumber installed it on July 14th, and the system works properly so far.

Review: I have done business with Budget Water for about 7 years. This week, I had a serious situation where the shutoff valve on my reverse osmosis tank cracked overnight and flooded my kitchen, ruining my cabinets underneath the kitchen sink. I took off work that morning to try and find out what had happened and saw that the valve on the RO tank was cracked and leaking. After cleaning up the tremendous mess, I called Budget Water. Prior to this date, I have had nothing but a wonderful business relationship with this company. But they apparently have hired all new people, and boy have things changed for the absolute worse. When I called, the guy whose name is apparently Dallas, sounded very flustered because there was apparently more than one call he was dealing with at the time. And he proceeded to tell me about HIS problems instead of trying to address my problem. He then scolded me like I was a child (I am 57 years old) and told me that I should be calling the technicians phone number and to do it after 10:00 am (I made the call at 9:30am). Needless to say, I was very taken back by this, especially after the morning that I have had, because I have never experienced this kind of treatment from this company before. So I called the technician number and got a female on the phone who eventually transferred me to a technician, if you want to call him that. I tried to explain to this guy, who almost sounded like Dallas's brother, what I needed (a shutoff valve for my RO tank). I ordered it and requested overnight shipping since I now do not have any drinking water or ice. In order to make sure I was getting the right part (because the price of $35 seemed high to me), and after I gave him my credit card number, I reiterated to him that I had a smaller RO tank (I said 2 gallons not knowing exactly how much it held) and he said, ÿes, it is for that size RO tank. So I thought I was all set. Well, boy was I wrong. When I received the package the next day and opened the box, this "shuoff valve" that they sent me was not the right part at all. In fact, I have no idea what anyone would use that part for because it didn't have any kind of shutoff valve on it whatsoever. It was a brown solid piece of something with 4 water inlets and I don't know what system that would be for. Definitely the wrong part for me, and therefore, my problem is not solved! By now, I am naturally angry. So I called the technicians number again to tell them the bad news. The tech that I had talked to proceeded to tell me that I ordered the wrong part! I simply couldn't believe it. I didn't know how else to say it any better, and I tried to make sure that I had ordered the right thing by telling him what kind of RO tank that I had. After he finally understood what I really needed, he said that he would send it out, not saying whether or not the company was going to pay for the shipping or I was. Also, he didn't say whether there was any price difference between the two parts, which I knew there had to be. My part couldn't have cost over $10. So I asked him if he was going to send it to me overnight, and he YES. Two days went by, and I knew that he didn't send it overnight. At this point, anger doesn't even begin to cover what I was feeling. So I called the regular number back, and unfortunately Dallas, the same rude, inept guy that likes to treat me like a child answered the phone, to my complete dismay. My experience has proved that if you have a problem with new employees, such as these guys, you need to go right to the top and talk to someone who knows something. So I asked for the owner or manager of the company. And this totally rude, condescending, and patronizing guy proceeded with trying to treat me like a child again, telling me I am being rude and telling me to calm down and that he is not going to let me talk to anyone!! I was absolutely livid. I am 57 years old and have never been treated like this from anyone from any company, at any time in my life. At this point, I just wanted to talk to anyone but him, but to no avail. This man thinks he runs the company and you may as well have your feet in dried concrete, because no one can get anywhere with this guy and he wouldn't let me talk to anyone else. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Not knowing what to do at this point, I told him I just wanted my money back. And after he continued to treat me like a child, he said that he would. I get a call today from Dallas while I was at work. He proceeded to tell me that he listened to the recorded phone conversation between me and the inept technician. And he said that I am rude, asked if I always talked to people like that, on and on and on. At this point I was having chest pains, he said that he wasn't going to do business with me anymore and told me that I have the last word. Well, I didn't say anything and after a couple of seconds he hung up on me.

Budget Water went from one of the most professional and pleasurable organizations I have dealt with to the absolute worst company I have ever seen on the planet in a matter of months. The staff changes they have made will be the demise of this company. At this point, my problem is still not solved and I am stuck with their equipment. Dallas thinks he runs that company and the President doesn't even know it. At this point, I don't care about that. If the President wants to run what was a good company in the ground, that is his prerogative. I would just like my money back. It is a shame how quickly a good company can go terribly wrong by a few personnel hiring mistakes.Desired Settlement: I want a refund of $80.00.

Business

Response:

[redacted], we are sorry your experience with Budget Water has changed so drastically. There are two shutoff valves on a reverse osmosis system. One sits on the filtration unit, and one sits on the storage tank. According to our records, you were quite clear in requesting "the shutoff on the unit" which was promptly overnighted to you at a reduced cost. It was then discovered that you had actually needed the tank shutoff valve, which was not sent overnight because you declined to pay for that option.Your frustration is completely understandable, and yet we simply did the best we could to help you. You may of course call in and ask for me if there is anything I can do to assist in fixing your equipment.Thank you,Zachary V[redacted]Buddget Water USA

Consumer

Response:

Review: People should not purchase Budget Waters product.Their service department will help over the phone. This product they sell needs to be tweak but they are not there to help you with this. They say someone will call you back and most time I have to call them back, or I will find the answer myself by taking the time to do research on the web and calling different manufacturer.Do not bother sending them emails they never reply to them.Avoid asking "what can we do next to improve" they do not know what to say.This water system is not working properly and the reverse osmosis already started to climb. It is now at 89 par per million and was at 70 only for a few weeks.Bad, bad service department. I recommend people to go somewhere else.Desired Settlement: I need them to look at all my emails that I send over the last few months and to reply to all of them.

Business

Response:

We're stunned to have a complaint from this customer. Our techs have gone above and beyond for this Mr. [redacted]. He ordered his equipment on 6-24-14 and had it delivered in about a week and he lives in Canada. The very next day he started to call with questions about the equipment and installation. He was sent a private customer website we offer all customers with detailed instructions, helpful pictures, videos and tech support numbers for his installation. Our techs would answer his questions daily and advised almost all his questions are on this installation site provided for his convienance for hours the technicians are not at work.

Here's a copy of an email I got from DK a budgetwater.com. It is the result of string of emails that began when I clicked on the 'chat' button only to discover there was not anyone on the other end and that I was just sending an email. The first responding email implied that I was stupid and the writer gave me a shopping list of things I needed to do before getting back to them. I responded saying that I would have added more information, etc.to my initial message if I had known that I was emailing and not chatting. I suggested that maybe their website needed some work. I got a sarcastic reply, saying I should be glad that they were monitoring their email early in the morning and to get them the information they requested, to which I relied that didn't appreciate the sarcasm and that I would be shopping at one of the company's competitors. Here's the response I got:

"Your attitude was bad to begin with. You ask for help and then make rude comments about us. I am not sure why you would think someone would enjoy your comments. I think we are agreed that you should go elsewhere. We find if you are rude before becoming a customer, you will likely be unbearable if there are any issues after becoming a customer. We are nice people helping nice people. We like to enjoy our jobs here. You are probably just having a bad morning. Hopefully you are not always like this. Good luck to you. It seems you are going to need a lot of luck now. No need to reply, we will not accept further emails for you. We sincerely wish you the best and hope you get things worked out."

Good day

My experience with Budget Water has been quite favorable. I've been dealing with them for the past seven years.

I had iron and hardness problems with my water. Called Budget Water and explained my water woes. The gentleman on the phone was very helpful, after asking me a few questions about ph, water color, etc., he offered a solution. He suggested a system to eliminate the iron and soften the water. The drinking water was discussed and a reverse osmosis filter was added.

I found the system fairly easy to install following the print directions and the videos on the companies web site.Had a few points I needed clarified, so I called the techs and got the answers In needed.

All worked well for six years, however in the late spring of this year the water began to smell horribly. I contacted Budget Water and explained my trouble to a man named Dallas. He was very helpful, after asking me several questions and from my descriptions he suggested I needed a chem feeder, to raise the ph and eliminate the smell. I received the feeder and the tank read the directions, watched the videos had a few questions and called the techs. I got the answers I needed and installed it.

I had questions about the proper amount of soda ash and bleach to water called the service techs and was led in the right direction.

I now feel I have the problems solved and have descent water. Thanks Budget Water

I would like to recap events for you on our experience with Budget water international.

On or about September 19,2015 I spoke with you and purchased a Termonox filter. I had originally thought I needed a ion exchange system and a reverse osmosis filter to remove salt from our drinking water. You convinced me that what I needed was not ion exchange. I purchased the system from you folks for about 1500 dollars. Unfortunately due to extensive travel I was not able to open the box's until sometime late in October. To my surprise I had paid for a revers osmosis filter that I did not need. I called and asked if you had sold me a terminox system or a ion exchange system. After clearing this up I then spent 50 dollars to ship back the reverse osmosis filter. It took your company 14 days to charge back the price of the reverse osmosis filter. In retrospect between shipping it here and back I paid, in shipping costs, the full price of a reverse osmosis filter I did not need.

The initial installation went fine but calls to your twenty four our support went unanswered and no one called me back. I was on my own. We were experiencing a pressure drop that rendered our plumbing system a needed "pause" to fill a bath tub and could not use a garden hose for more than 3 minutes without losing pressure. I spoke with your techs on the phone and told them I suspected the flow restrictor because I was hearing cavitation in it. I was told that more than likely there was a clog in the valves and instructed to tear down the head. No clog was found and once again I was travelling and could trouble shoot no farther at that time. When I returned 5-6 weeks later, I removed the flow restrictor and found a stainless steel screw with a groove and black washer jammed in the orifice. I can assure you it did not come from my well. In any event the system finally went on line and worked as it should in December of 2015, or so I thought. We started experiencing some unusual plumbing issues: backflow preventer leaking, expansion tank venting and a pinhole leak in a copper pipe. My wife called me in the middle of the night and told me the banging in the plumbing room was so bad she unplugged the system, put it in bypass, took the boiler for heat off line and had to heat with fire wood until I returned home, the terminox was running water thru the backwash port non stop as well. I spoke with your techs that told me once again the system had a clog and to strip it down. Told them no not again and they sent me out a new spring. The following day I finally got to spend some time with the system. When it went thru its backwash cycle it would run fine, finish, then error code 3 (lose its position) rapidly move thru it cycle hammering the hell out of the plumbing system. If not for my excellent bracing the unit would have torn itself from the plumbing the hammering of the valves was so bad. I new then what had been causing the backflow valve to be sticking, the expansion tank venting and the pin hole leak, was all from this P.O.S.

It took multiple calls from myself and wife to get you people to get us a replacement head. The incompetency continues: The very used and contaminated head you overnighted us worked well, but as I have mentioned it is used, oxidized and contaminated with only you know for sure, but it did work just fine on install. Today I received a new head from your factory. The swap out had issues: the new head was missing the gray plugs, I had to cannibalize them from the original head to complete the install. On start up the backwash cycle was set for 2,171 minutes! yes that is correct 2,171 minutes, that is a 36.2 hour backwash my friend! I called your 24 hour tech support and received no call back, even now 3 hours later no one has called. I don't have any literature on how to reprogram the controller so once again I have swapped out back to the contaminated used head so that the system will run. I have an RMA number but no account number to charge shipping costs to, for your old equipment. If you were supplying me this equipment for a commercial project I would back charge you a large amount of money for this ridiculous course of events.

At this point all I can say is

, "I wish I never heard of your company", if I could, and I can't I would charge back the entire purchase price on my credit card. I will file complaints along with this letter with your state attorney generals office, Revdex.com, and any other consumer protection agency within a jurisdiction that can act upon your company.

Wonder how you sleep at night buddy,

Surprised this company is even in business. I called to ask some technical questions. And, I got stuck with a psycho on the other end of the phone. Think his name was [redacted] or something like that. He would start ranting and when I would try to say something, he got crazy... saying that I was interrupting him. He then insulted me and then hung up. I tried calling back a few times, trying to get someone else... and he kept on picking up the line and hanging up. He'd insult me, act crazy... then hang up. Then, he said he was going to "block" me because I was a "troublemaker." What a joke. All I wanted to do is ask a few questions!!! This guy should be fired, one of the rudest people I've ever encountered. And, this company should really re-think their approach to customer service. It's obviously not working.

In a weird way, I'm thankful this guy was so psycho. I'd rather know early on that a company is bad... than later. So, he helped make my decision to move on and to take my business elsewhere. Thanks for that!

If you want Customer Service after the sale DO NOT buy products from this company. Their whole customer service demeanor is disappointing to put it mildly. After having our water system maybe 10 months, we returned the water softener control valve for repair or replace in mid April and now the end of May we finally receive it back after multiple unhelpful calls to the company. When attempting to install, we discover that we are missing "o" rings which should have be included so we reach out to the company only to be charged $8.00 for the rings and $10.00 minimum shipping fee.......SERIOUSLY??? I hope to provide enough negative feed back to deter people from using this company at any level. I have been in the Customer Service business for years and cannot comprehend their attitude.

These products do not work and are expensive. The company walks the customer through steps and when the steps don't work the reps walk the customer through even more steps. The result for us has been an expensive product over $1000.00 dollars and the worst water we have ever had. We were better off just having a water softener.

We have been very pleased with the equipment, support, and price of the water conditioner and injection system that we purchased from Budget Water. If you are willing to do some of the assembly and installation work yourself (or can arrange for someone to do it), you can save a great deal of money. We had a water conditioner system that was no longer working and needed to be replaced. I called Budget Water, and was invited to bring in a water sample for free testing. The offices are nearby so I took in a sample, received the results, and I asked if I could ask someone some questions about the equipment they sell. A person there spent about 20 minutes answering all my questions, and there was no sales pressure whatsoever. We did decide to order a water conditioner unit and chemical injection system. The equipment arrived in just a few days. After placing the order we received links to online video tutorials which were clear and helpful.

This company is using an interesting business concept that provides quality equipment and information for customers who are willing to do part of the work of assembly and installation themselves, and in doing so can save a substantial amount of money. The video tutorials were straightforward and clear, and we also called the provided tech support number twice with specific questions. The tech support was friendly and informative. A small amount of plumbing was involved and the use of Shark Bite fittings made that part much easier for us non-plumbers.

Our water quality is noticeably better, and we have not had any problems.

Review: I purchased a water filtration system from budget water international in April of 2014 for use in a new home. The new The type and sizing of the system was recommended by a technician that worked for their company. The home was not completed until August therefore the system was first installed in August. We began having problems immediately but the problems worsened in September. The system that was installed did not work to properly filter our well water. We had to live through nearly four months with water that was not filtered for iron. It ruined our clothes in the wash and stained our sinks and toilets. I worked with their technicians in an attempt to resolve the problems with their inadequate equipment. They blamed our problems on us and gave us several types of things to do to fix the problem without out ever coming to our house to see for themselves that their equipment is simply inferior. None of their recommendations worked to remedy the problem. They refused to take back their equipment when I offered to return everything. They claimed that our water was untreatable. I called culligan who came out and tested our water. They told me that our water could be easily treated and that the water quality was not that bad. One iron filter was all that was needed to correctly filter our water. Customer service of this company is horrible. Budget water recommended a total system that cost me over $1200. The system did not work. I did everything that they recommended to remedy the problem without success.Desired Settlement: I want a total refund for the equipment because it does not work as advertised. I will return all of their equipment. I have no use for it because it does not work. I have a filtration system that works wonderfully now that did not cost nearly as much as budget water's inferior equipment.

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] has not stated thereasons as to why in his opinion, Budgetwater equipment is inferior to theirnew “[redacted]” system. First off, we are an online based company, they found usonline not by us coming to their home. We ship equipment out, we do not deliverit. Mr. [redacted] provided us test results that he had obtained independently. Wetrusted the data he provided and recommend equipment based on this informationalong with the flow rate he provided based on calculating flow rateinstructions on our website, as we have all of customers do. He was recommendeda chemical feed pump since he had an acidic water pH and a 7” Terminox toremove the iron from the water. He was also sold soda ash used to raise the pHin order for the Terminox to remove the iron. The Terminox requires a pH of 7.5to work properly. Mr. [redacted] had the equipmentinstalled by a “contractor” who completely misapplied the soda ash, by applyinga damaging amount of soda ash into his solution tank that caused the chemicalfeed pump to stop working and was not injecting the pH correction that is a keypart of the system. Even then, the Terminox filter was removing part of theiron and when asked to put the filter in bypass they would not bypass itbecause, they could not tolerate the iron without it. The low pH is what ruinedthe Terminox filter from the onset. When asked to contact their“contractor” that misapplied the chemical feed pump, blame was put on us notthe installer. Even still, we tech supported the issue and helped them gettheir chemical feed pump working again. This was not our responsibility, butyet we did it because we care about them and wanted to help them. Ourinstallation site informs our customer that you are to start with 1 lb of sodaash and add it one pound at a time till you reach the pH of 7.5. The“contractor” poured all 50 lbs. into the solution tank and cemented thesolution tank, ruined the foot valve, and ruined the injection and performanceof the chemical feed system. We replaced the entire chemical feed pump, andmixing tank, without charging them a dime. Even though it was the “contractor”that added the incorrect amount of soda ash. Yet they say we availed horribletech support. Our online installation instructions match our installationinstructions provided over the phone as our tech’s can follow that site andread it back to customers. We also requested per policy thatthe pump he had be given to us before we would swap out pumps and that requestwas not met. We eventually got our pump after going against policy and sendinga second one. We did this in an effort to assist them, because we wanted tohelp although this was ruined by their “contractor”. They were also given testkits to better help them set up the chemical feed for chlorine and soda ashinjection. We took a $324.87 loss (pump) and a $99.87 loss on the tank providedto them, all ruined by the contractor. Mr. [redacted] is blaming BudgetWater for poor tech support, ablatant misconstruction of the facts, also blaming Budgetwater for inferiorequipment that was damaged due to the series of mistakes performed by the“contractor”. Mr. [redacted] should be filing a Revdex.com complaint and asking for moneyfrom his “contractor” not Budgetwater. We replaced an entire injection systemand told them they might need the media replaced since it was damaged due tothe chemical feed failing from the onset. We never went that far since theywanted to try other options and had lost faith in the system but not on ourdoing, it was the “contractor” that messed up from the start. We practicallygave them equipment free of charge that was ruined by no fault of ours when wedid not have to, Mr. [redacted] cannot deny these facts. They opted not to continueworking with us. They do not qualify for a refund for the reasons that the“contractor” ruined the piece of equipment that led to the Terminox failing.This complaint by Mr. [redacted] is directed to the wrong party. Respectfully,[redacted]