South Jersey Water Conditioning Service

My comments; The letter is pretty much what happened, When [redacted] called and spoke with me about what took place and needed to call in a washer repair company I told her to forward me the invoice and I would pay it [redacted] didn’t mention [redacted] already credited her for the Annual ServiceNOTE on ***’s JOB Ticket.” Told customer he would credit customer $cost for fee incurred by plumber to clean drain” At that time I wasn’t aware [redacted] told [redacted] he would credit her the cost of the annual service She called our office, our office manager( under my direction) explained to her, we weren’t aware that [redacted] gave her credit for the annual service, before my telling her to send me the repair invoice [redacted] was given the option of choosing , us paying for the washer repair or the annual service at no charge [redacted] responded “never mind” and hung up on *** I thought we were being fair [redacted] asked that we schedule a service call, to reassure her everything was all right [redacted] wasn’t charged for a service call for making this visit [redacted] has been a good customer, We have been servicing her system since 2005.If [redacted] really feels we are being unfair with herWe will credit her the Annual Service and pay for the washer repair [redacted] , Pres

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Pursuant to the email of March 20, 2015 I would like to know when I will I can expect to receive the $as promised by Mr*** *** in the latest emailAs you may remember Mr*** promised to reimburse me for the amount I had to pay for the repair when his employee overfilled my water treatment tank which in turn caused the sand to be sucked back into the pipes and in my washing machine
Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciatedThank you
*** ***
Regards,
*** ***

My comments;  The letter is pretty much what happened,  When [redacted] called and spoke with me about what took place and needed to call in a washer repair company.  I...

told her to forward me the invoice and I would pay it. [redacted] didn’t mention [redacted] already credited her for the Annual Service. NOTE on [redacted]’s JOB Ticket.” Told customer he would credit customer $170.67 cost for fee incurred by plumber to clean drain”  At that time I wasn’t aware [redacted] told [redacted] he would credit her the cost of the annual service.  She called our office, our office manager( under my direction) explained to her, we weren’t aware that [redacted] gave her credit for the annual service, before my telling her to send me the repair invoice.  [redacted] was given the option of choosing , us paying for the washer repair or the annual service at no charge. [redacted] responded “never mind” and hung up on [redacted].  I thought we were being fair. [redacted] asked that we schedule a service call, to reassure her everything was all right. [redacted] wasn’t charged for a service call for making this visit.    
[redacted] has been a good customer,  We have been servicing her system since 2005.If [redacted] really feels we are being unfair with her. We will credit her the Annual Service and pay for the washer repair.  
 
[redacted], Pres.

Review: On January 19, 2015 I had a routine schedule appointment for the water treatment (PH) tank's yearly maintenance. the service man was in and out in less than 2.5 hours (not usually that fast). When I went down to do laundry the tub of the washing machine was filled with rusty colored water and sandy sediment in the bottom of the tank. I called a appliance service repair man the I've dealt with for 20 years, thinking something happened to the washer. The appointment was set up for January 23. There was a snow storm and he was unable to come out until January 24. After assessing the situation, he confirmed it was a direct result from the service appointment to the PH tank. During the appointment the service man overfilled the tank with sand which caused, when it backwashed, to suck the sand from the tank out. This then clogged the pipes and backed up into the water pump of the washing machine.I immediately called South Jersey Water Cond office. It was a Saturday and would not be able to come out until the following week "sometime". I explained to them what my appliance service man said and over the phone they suspected that the tank was overfilled and that is what caused the mistake. The cost of the repairs was $192.60 paid to the appliance service company that day.When I called the owner, [redacted], at South Jersey Water Cond., he told me to send him the receipt and they would mail out a check to reimburse me. South Jersey did credit the cost of their service call $170.64. About 2 weeks later I called the office again to find out if they received my receipt and when I would be expecting the refund. The secretary said, I was already credited the service call from there office and a refund was not coming. "They were not going to pay for both." So I still had to pay the $192.60 to have there mistake cleaned up. Not to mention time and money lost from work for meet with these repairmen and the inconvenience of going to a laundry mat to do laundry while all this was being cleaned up.Desired Settlement: Reimbursement of $192.60 for the repairs/service call from the appliance repair company. If South Jersey Water Conditioning Services had done there job properly this would have never happened. I feel reimbursement in the amount of $192.60 is fair.

Business

Response:

My comments; The letter is pretty much what happened, When [redacted] called and spoke with me about what took place and needed to call in a washer repair company. I told her to forward me the invoice and I would pay it. [redacted] didn’t mention [redacted] already credited her for the Annual Service. NOTE on [redacted]’s JOB Ticket.” Told customer he would credit customer $170.67 cost for fee incurred by plumber to clean drain” At that time I wasn’t aware [redacted] told [redacted] he would credit her the cost of the annual service. She called our office, our office manager( under my direction) explained to her, we weren’t aware that [redacted] gave her credit for the annual service, before my telling her to send me the repair invoice. [redacted] was given the option of choosing , us paying for the washer repair or the annual service at no charge. [redacted] responded “never mind” and hung up on [redacted]. I thought we were being fair. [redacted] asked that we schedule a service call, to reassure her everything was all right. [redacted] wasn’t charged for a service call for making this visit. [redacted] has been a good customer, We have been servicing her system since 2005.If [redacted] really feels we are being unfair with her. We will credit her the Annual Service and pay for the washer repair. [redacted], Pres.

Consumer

Response:

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

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

Yes, I accept the offer to credit my Annual Service call and pay for the washer repair in the amount of $192.60 as previously requested.Please send the reimbursement to my home address

Regards,

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Pursuant to the email of March 20, 2015 I would like to know when I will I can expect to receive the $192.60 as promised by Mr. [redacted] in the latest email. As you may remember Mr. [redacted] promised to reimburse me for the amount I had to pay for the repair when his employee overfilled my water treatment tank which in turn caused the sand to be sucked back into the pipes and in my washing machine. Your assistance in this matter is greatly appreciated. Thank you. [redacted]

Regards,

Business

Response:

Mailed ck #[redacted] - $192.60 for plumbing repair.

Consumer

Response:

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

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

Regards,

Review: October 17,2013

On September 24, 2013 our 7 year old water softener broke down. We woke in the morning to a flood in our finished basement. We were able to turn off our water source and stop the constant overflow of water into our finished basement. Immediately we placed a call to [redacted], the water softener manufacturer, and also our Insurance Company [redacted] to start a claim. [redacted] directed us to [redacted], which we thought was odd since South Jersey Water Company did our installation. We mentioned this to the [redacted] representative that took the call and she was unaware of any dealings with South Jersey Water. Since time was of the essence we called [redacted] they immediately came out ready to repair the part that caused the flood. We say ready because the part took about a week to order, leaving us a family of 6 with no water. We should mention that when [redacted] came out it was pointed out that this “flood” should have been avoided if the person who installed it had hooked up a drain. This company being South Jersey Water. On our water softener was a sticker stating, “Overflow. Provide gravity drain line to nearest drain,observing all state and local codes.”(see pictures) We are not a family of plumbers and paid $2400.00 for this system and the systems installation to be done correctly. After the system was installed we should have been informed by South Jersey that no drain was put in. At that point if it were an extra fee we could have decided at the time if it was something we needed to do. We were never informed of this and because of it have major water damage to our finished basement. We were quite upset when we realized this could have been avoided.

We put a call in to South Jersey Water and were told our warranty had expired, and they rarely put in drains if there is no sump pump. When asked why we were not informed of this at the time of installation they had no response other than “we rarely put drains in.” We felt this all could have been avoided if the option was given, and requested they put the drain in now. Their response was it can be installed now for a fee. He went on to state that we only had service on the system once in the seven years. They suggested we go to [redacted] and purchase a condensation pump that would work in our situation and install it our self. We felt this should have been installed 7 years ago and asked them to do it free of charge. The reply was No.

We then called [redacted] and explained the situation to them speaking with [redacted], he was able to verify that my warranty had not expired in fact its a 10 year warranty. He provided me with my model number ([redacted]) and serial number ([redacted]). I am waiting for documentation regarding my warranty. [redacted] agreed to mediate between myself and South Jersey Water and get back to me. We had to call him back one week later only to be told nothing could be done as South Jersey Water will take no responsibility. He agreed again to reach out to [redacted] regarding our warranty since the [redacted] part falls under the 10 year warranty and should be covered, and South Jersey Water to see what could be done about the drain getting installed. I am still waiting for a return call. We have heard from no one since. I have left messages with [redacted] on October 7,11,12,14,and 15, 2013. No response.

We are asking for our $500.00 insurance deductible to be reimbursed and our [redacted] bill of $414.14, since it should be covered under our 10 year warranty. Also we are asking for South Jersey Water to install the condensation pump (approximate cost $200.00) to prevent this from happening again.

We might add that the inconvenience of having no water for one week with a family of 6 was quite challenging. We have children with asthma who had to avoid the basement in order to stay healthy. We are not asking for anything other than the monies put out to fix this problem and the drain to prevent it from happening again.

Thank You,

[redacted] and [redacted]

Important numbers:

[redacted] or [redacted] ask to speak with [redacted]

South Jersey Water Desired Settlement: We are asking for our $500.00 insurance deductible to be reimbursed and our [redacted] bill of $414.14, since it should be covered under our 10 year warranty. Also we are asking for South Jersey Water to install the condensation pump (approximate cost $200.00) to prevent this from happening again. Total $1114.14

Business

Response:

We scheduled the install of a [redacted] model 60 water conditioning system on November 8, 2005. Customer was not home. Customer called rescheduled for November 11, 2005. Our policy, is we give one year free service, including all service calls parts, labor. If we were to need to take that system out and replace it there would be no cost to the customer, plus we do a preventive maintenance service, at the end ofthe first year. Consisting of cleaning the [redacted] tank, [redacted] valve, checking media level, checking by-pass valve, put the system though operation making sure all cycles are working, test the water and replace the prefilter. At this time the customer is offered an "Insured Annual Service Contract” (copy enclosed). The customer chose not to purchase the service contract. The first year free service was completed November 17, 2006. The Customer was given notice each anniversary year for annual service but never respondedH Again having us do the annual service, the [redacted] valve would have_been cleaned or replaced, [redacted] tank cleaned, etc. This service has not been done at least not by South Jersey Water Conditioning Service since the second year of installation, Eight ago. If this service had been done this overflow could have been preventive. it has been my experience since the use of solar salt and proper annual maintenance, [redacted] tank overflows were a thing of the past. I agree informing the customer of the potential problem of [redacted] tank overflowing is not a bad idea. But do say to the customer all the potential problems and scare them to death. Tanks can spring a leak, automatic valves can leak, lots of things, not just with the water conditioner, can happen. We inform the homeowner the importance of replacing the prefilter, purchasing the proper salt, check the salt level so not to run out of salt.( This is a service we also offer our customers "Automatic Salt Delivery”) . We tell them about the purchasing the "Service Contract" then any problem with the water conditioner is our problem, day-night- weekends. I question some of the conversation Mrs. [redacted] had with my office. Doesn't sound like my office. As far as this [redacted] working with us I’m not aware of this.

Mrs. [redacted] said if she were informed of the potential [redacted] tank overflow she might have

agreed to purchase a condensation pump. If she wants to purchase one we will install it at no labor cost.

My observation: Overflow happened on Sept 24‘“. Customer didn’t call us but called the manufacture. Manufacture sent them to a different dealer a non parts stocking dealer. The manufacture saying they didn't know us??? we have been a dealer for over 25 years. Customer stated she was informed by [redacted] she was still under warranty, and we told her the warranty had expired. [redacted] does give a 10 year warranty on all parts with a limits on this warranty " warranty states: “warranty DOES NOT include damage to your system due to abuse, misuse, neglect, freezing, alterations, misapplication, or change in influent water characteristics". Customer was informed because the system had not be serviced by a [redacted] dealer in over7 years the system was out of warranty. South Jersey Water Conditioning Service received the call from Mrs. [redacted] on September 30‘” she scheduled a service call, later that day she called

and canceled. We are a stocking dealer and have all the parts needed. Customer would not needed to wait 6 days for parts.

The offer of the "insured Annual Service Contract" is still available to purchase. We would need to do an annual service. The customer can purchase the Service contract, that would cover all

service calls, parts, labor the coming year including the annual service the end of that year, at that time.

South Jersey Water Conditioning Service, Inc. assumes no responsibility for this issue, We did what we said we would do, giving one year's free service, annual service at the end of the first year, made attempts to reach this customer each year for annual service. We are willing to install a condensate pump, if the customer wants to purchase one.