Crystal Clear Water Treatment Inc.

Review: On 10/12/2012, we had a service call to this business to fix an issue we were having with our water treatment system. Technician came to work on system. When he was finished he came to explain what he had done to correct the issue. The final charge was supposed to be $225. When he told me it was $380, I asked why. He explained he went ahead and did the annual service at the same time even though I did not request it and it was not due until February 2013. In addition, after he left I noticed he tracked Mud on our new hardwood floors and down the carpeted steps to where the equipment was located. Apparently when he was dumping the media that was replacing in the system he was taking out into the edge of the wooded area which had mud and was tracking into the house. I called the company and eventually spoke with the [redacted]. He apologized for the mess that the technician left explaining he is supposed to wear boot covers when tracking into the house. He also said the technician did the full service early since "he was already there" for the other service. I was not happy with ether response. He said he could send someone out the clean the floors and carpets but I had already spent an hour doing that so it was not necessary. He then told he me would provide a CREDIT for the next service appointment. I told him if he did that it would be acceptable for unauthorized service and the damage done to the floors. On 9/16/2013 we had the annual service done on the system. When the lady called to schedule I reminded her we were supposed to have a credit for the service trip per the service manager. She indicated she was not in the office (she called on a Sat. to schedule the appointment) and would leave a note in the file for next week. When the technician gave me the bill, there was no trip charge Pre-printed on the bill, but had been HAND WRITTEN in by him on the side. I asked him and he could not explain why it should not be there. I wrote 2 separate checks, one for the service/trip charge $150.00 (which he had hand written in) and a separate one for the work $175.00 and told him to check when he went to the office to see if they were going to honor the "no trip charge" amount. Ad if so, they could return the $150.00 check to me. I then called the office and spoke with two different people. The second I believe was the [redacted] and she indicated the [redacted] was not in the office but she would speak with him and they would send back the $150.00 check if he agreed with the previous agreement. Well, both checks have been deposited and it is apparent they are not honoring the agreement we had to credit me the trip charge.Desired Settlement: I expect to get that $150.00 refunded to me promptly and NOT a credit again since apparently that does not mean anything.

Business

Response:

The customer is correct and is due a refund check of $150. A clerical error resulted in both checks being deposited. A refund check will be mailed within the week.

Review: The customer service and work that they do on my [redacted] water system each year is the worst ever. And apparently [redacted] has no other authorized dealers in the region. Shame on [redacted]. But these clowns from Crystal Clear Water, screw up my system every time they come out to service my system. Annual maintenance ALWAYS involves me having to call them back to fix what ever it is they messed up. They never get it right the first time. Plus they charge for each visit (sound like a scam yet??!!) . I'm too invested in the system I have now and have no other alterative but hopefully other people go somewhere else (besides [redacted] and Crystal Clear Water) for their home water treatment needs.Desired Settlement: I don't know what a desired settlement would be. I don't what them to touch my system, but I have no choice. Maybe they should just try some other line of business. they've proven, time and time again, they cant do this type of work, well at ALL. I would not recommend this company to anyone.

Business

Response:

The customer's water treatment equipment requires one service call per year. Since the system's installation in 2006, we have performed no more than one call per year with the exception of 2011 in which we performed two service calls. However, the customer was only charged for one of those two calls. Crystal Clear Water has no record of additional calls. If the customer is having issues with his last call, which was performed on September 30th, we can return at no extra cost to him. However, we have received no request to do so at this time.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID[redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: [redacted]

Regards,

Review: posionus water system.. with neutlizer tank.. product not reliable.. and poisonous to humans.spoke with crystal clear water general manager.. on 6/10/13...He laughed at me when I told him the problem with the equipment that he sold me I did not need.. my water is fine..requested a refund of $ 2600 for the neutizer tank only.I have spent thousands of dollars over the years with there companyvery unhappy with them. For selling my something I did not need.Desired Settlement: $ 2600

Business

Response:

The poisonous substance the customer is refering to is potassium permangante. The potassium permanganate is only drawn into the iron filter during cleaning, and the unit cleans when no one is using the water. It does not enter the drinking water supply. Additionally, the potassium permaganate mixes with water and is highly diluted. Potassium permaganate is used to oxidize iron and is commonly used with many iron filters. The substance is readily available online through home improvement stores as a quick online search will verify.

The customer has had a potassium permaganate-using iron filter through Crystal Clear Water since 1996 and this has never caused an issue or been a concern over the years.

Recently, the customer added a calcite-using acid neutralizer to his home. This is an entirely different filter from the iron filter, i.e. and add-on and not a replacement, which was recently installed for $2600. The customer's PH balance was below 7.0, which is acidic, and this can afffect the functioning of the iron system that was already in place. For this reason, the acid neutralizer was added.

After installation of the acid neutralizer, which the customer was happy with initially, the customer's insurance company called as he was attempting to get them to cover the expense. After talking with Crystal Clear Water, the customer's insurance company denied the customer's claim, presumably because this was an add-on and not a replacement, but Crystal Clear Water was not privy to the insurance company's decision making process. The customer's call to Crystal Clear Water, after the insurance company's denial of his claim, was billigerent and threatening.

After a few weeks, the customer called again claiming he wanted a refund and that his system was not working. This is the call referenced in his complaint. At no time, was he laughed at. In fact, we went to his home to verify the system was working. This was done at no cost to the customer. Water tests at the customer's home verified that the system was working properly and the service manager performed a thorough check of the equipment.

Crystal Clear Water is denying the customer's request for a refund as his old equipment and new equipment are both functioing properly. Additionally, the customer is claiming to have issues with the potassium permanganate using iron filter, even though he has had such a filter though Crystal Clear Water since 1996.

Consumer

Response:

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

[Provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution.]

Regards,

THEY LIED TO YOU JUST AS THEY LIED TO MY INSURANCE COMPANY! I GUESS MY BEING SCAMMED AND LEFT WITH A POISONOUS WATER SYSTEM (WHICH HOWEVER, IS IN BY PASS AT THE MOMENT ) IN 1969 UP TO 2013 THEY SCAMMED ME !

OVER THE YEARS MANY TIMES PERMANGANATE LEACHED THRU (BY MY IGNORANCE , I RAN MY WATER UNTIL THE PERMANGANATE CLEARED?) THEY CAN TAKE THE GUARANTEE FOR THE SYSTEM; WHICH IS NOT WORTH THE PAPER IT IS

PRINTED ON,SINCE THIS WILL NOT BE RESOLVED,I CAN ONLY HOPE OTHER PEOPLE WILL NOT BE SCAMMED AS I HAVE BEEN!

My husband accidently called them come to service our water treatment system in Sandston, VA instead of the company we normally use and they did nothing other than say it was toast and that it needed replaced. They gave us a quote on a new system that was ridiculous and then were pushy about the "deadline". They also charged us for doing absolutely nothing. We then called the company we normally use ([redacted]) who guaranteed us that there was nothing wrong with the system. He did the necessary work and was a professional.
When my husband called to question the charge they were rude and demanded the money.

Review: On 5/27/15, I hired a plumber, James H[redacted], to repair a leak under my home that had come to my attention during an HVAC installation earlier in the month.

Upon inspection, Mr. H[redacted] found that the person who had installed the [redacted] system under the house had used a pipe that was not an appropriate size. This caused, over time, for this pipe to come apart and begin to spray water every time the washing machine was used.

This is my third [redacted] system installed in 8/2011, since my second system had to be replaced when it began to spray water in my house causing water damage to three areas of my home.

I’m very concerned about the poor workmanship of the installation of this [redacted] system. Since this part of the system is installed in a crawl space under my house, I have no idea how long this problem existed.

For approximately 28 years, I have been a good customer of [redacted], comply with yearly inspections of my system (which did not include the crawl space), and have purchased two complete systems. It is my expectation that I receive good and honest customer service in return.

In light of the above information, I am respectfully requesting [redacted] reimburse me for the cost to repair this pipe and pay for an independent evaluation and any necessary repairs from a reputable basement waterproofing company to be sure there has been no damage to the structure of my home due to this ill-fitted pipe leaking.

I sent a letter to [redacted] approximately 2 weeks ago, and have not had any response to my correspondence. My daughter contacted [redacted] for me to get the name of the manager to send the letter to (because I am hearing impaired) and she spoke with him, and he gave her the impression that he did not feel [redacted] was responsible for this problem.

Clearly, the plumber I hired found this situation to be caused by the installation of the [redacted] system, which he will verify if necessary.Desired Settlement: As stated in my complaint above, I would appreciate [redacted] refunding the cost to have this pipe repaired as well as a basement waterproofing company inspect my crawl space to ensure there has been no structural damage due to this "spraying of water."

Business

Response:

To date, Crystal Clear Water has not recieved the the customer's letter. If the customer will resend it, I will look over the letter. As the general manager, I do not recall speaking to the customer's daughter, though she may have spoken to the service manager who tyically handles such issues. [redacted]il I see the information from the plumber, there is little more I can comment on. I will happily respond once I receive the letter.

Business

Response:

Below please find Crystal Clear Water’s response to Complaint [redacted]: The customer had a third party plumber repair a drain that was leaking from where our system tied in to it. While I have no reason to reason to doubt the customer (she has been a good and long-standing customer) or the plumber, the plumber’s invoice simply says, “Repair Drainline from Laundry Room Which Had Been Cut Into For Drain For Filter System (Line Pulled Completely Apart).” It does not state that it was an installation error or happenstance. However, since the customer has been with us for years, Crystal Clear Water is willing to refund her the $150 she spent on the plumber, as a show of good faith. Crystal Clear Water will not pay for an inspection of the crawlspace. Since we have been to the customer’s home every year, it is unlikely that this has been a longstanding problem. Best regards, Crystal Clear Water

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's offer. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved. If the company does not perform as promised I can get back to you at: [redacted].

Regards,

Review: My home is on a well for my water. My water pressure had gotten so low that we could only use 1 plumbing fixture at a time. I contacted Crystal Clear Water Treatment to fix the water filter system they installed in 2002. They have been very pushy to get you to buy every product they have from day 1!! I had explained to the scheduling person on the phone that I had very low water pressure. She agreed with me that one of the filters needed to me Dumped & Re-Bedded. I told her that I wanted the technician's to come prepared to complete the job that day. She agreed and said she would make sure THEY (meaning more than 1 person) brought the correct equipment to do the job. The technician (Meaning ONLY 1 person) came to my home yesterday 10/14/13. Of course he tested the water 1st?? Why, Your System is in my house?!! "Oh it looks bad" OF COURSE was the result. When I got him to finally look at the equipment, the 1st thing he said was the softener was leaking and that is why you have low pressure. You do not need Dumped & Re- Bedded service done. I then explained to him that I knew it was and that it had started leaking AFTER I tied cleaning out any obstructions that may be in the screen. He did not look happy that I knew something about what he was trying to SELL/Tell ME! The unit is in the crawl space. I was trying to stay down there with him ever minuet he was here to see what he was doing. He asked me to go up and turn on the kitchen faucet. I did as he asked. When I came back down he said "OH The reason the tank is clogged up is because it is not (Back washing) cleaning itself". The controls on the tank need to be replaced. It ended up with we can band aid it for $1200, Upgrade it for $2500, or replace everything for $4200. I told him I needed to discuss it with my wife. He wanted me to make a decision right then because he was there and they were having issues with their phones. I called my wife and went over the pricing options. She told me very upset to GET THEM OUT OF OUR HOUSE!! I paid him $190.00 for coming to the house that I was not happy to have done. I then called another company I had talked to that morning when I was trying to get another contact # for Crystal Clear. This is because their phones had not been working since I set up the appointment. They also had several bad things to say about Crystal Clear. I set up for them to come out today and tell what really need to be fixed. I told the technician when he got here the story of my experience the day before and that the Crystal Clear tech said the tank was clogged because it was not back washing. He then said this is why it is not back washing holding a unplugged wire in his hand!!! He plugged it in and what do you know , IT STARTED WORKING!!!Desired Settlement: Refund my $190.00 service fee!! The technician should be fired for ling to customers. The company business license suspended for 1 year for deliberately training workers to break equipment, lie to customers and creating false charges to make more money!!

Business

Response:

According to the technician the following occurred:

Upon arrival to the home, the customer's iron filter was bypassed (the customer did this prior to our arrival and had admitted to working on the equipment himself). However, the customer's softener was still online. The technician tested the water, which is commonly done, and saw the water was hard, which means the softener was either offline or not working. After inspecting the equipment, the technician realized the softener was still online. The softener was constantly running water to the drain and it was leaking from the brine injector cap. If water is constantly running to the drain, the customer will not have soft water.

I initially used this company because the house I bought had a rain soft filtration system in it. My first encounter with them was a $150 service in which they told me my control head was bad. This grew into a $1800 fee for replacing a control head on my unit. Then it turned into a $130 fee to service my system which was discounted and the technician told me that this service normally costs $150. The following year I received a phone call from this company telling me they needed to come out for the annual service. No cost was discussed. The technician came and performed this "service" and left a bill for $230. After calling the company and voicing my displeasure over this expecting to pay $150, they told me I agreed to it when I signed my contract with them. They then told me they could offer me a 10% discount special that they had going on this week, but it was only after being argued with and insulted verbally over the phone for 20min. I get that was a prerequisite for the discount. Needless to say they get an F for Customer service and if I catch them on my property again I will call the sherriffs office. I'm pretty sure the $2300 they took from me over the last two years qualifies as a felony!!!!

Terrible customer service. We needed a filter for our drinking water which my husband was planning to go to their office to pick up. They said they would have someone in our area and would be happy to drop it off and never indicated there would be a delivery charge. When we received our bill there was a delivery charge and when I called about it the customer service representative was argumentative and not willing to do anything about it (even though we spent thousands of dollars on our system). I asked to speak with the manager and was put thru to his voice mail. I did not receive a call back and left 2 other voice mail messages for him... again with no calls back. I WILL NOT use them again. My neighbor has had a similar experience and is no longer using them either.