Never deal with this unethical company.
Written: Oct 14 '07 (Updated May 21 '08)
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This is the most unethical and dishonest company I truly have ever dealt with. I have never given anyone one star before, because usually there is something good about a company that offsets a one star rating. But I’ll tell you... this company is ALL bad, through and through.
THE DILEMMA
We moved. The water quality at our new home is terrible. I have fish, and I need to know exactly what chemicals are in the water so as not to inadvertently kill my fish. So, I have a high-line water testing kit. I tested our city water, and to my shock it has 1 ppm (parts per million) ammonia in it. This is a life threatening chemical to my fish. Rarely does city water have ammonia in it, so now this is my dilemma. I need a water purifier that will take out the ammonia.
THE SOLUTION (or so I thought)
Aquasana Home Water Filtration products are manufactured by Sun Water Systems, Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas. I found them on the website, http://www.aquasana.com. After cross-referencing different water purifiers, Aquasana seemed to be the best deal. I went to their web site. As soon as you pull it up, they have an offer off to the right: “Order now and get FREE expedited three day shipping!” (Their website has since taken off the “three day” part of this offer.) You also get a “free glass decanter with purchase.”
THE WEB SITE
Before making the purchase, I clicked around their web site a bit. Their web site is actually very easy to use. They have 6 headings across the top: About water, Lifestyle, Products; About Aquasana; Site Map; and Contact Us. They have only a few different systems they offer as purifiers. They have a whole house purifier ($1,095), a counter top for the kitchen purifier ($125) and they have a purifier as an attachment for the shower ($85). The have the Under Sink kit ($55) or you can get the Under Sink kit with brushed nickel ($95). They also sell the filters and have a "water for life" program where they send you filters every six months for a fee.
They have several options within the headings, like: the difference between bottled water and their product, dieting, ask the doctor, and FAQ. I had a question, so I went to the Contact Us link and sent an e-mail.
One interesting item on their web site is they show a list of what their AQ-4000 Deluxe Drinking Water System filters out. Most everything, like Chlorine and the like are filtered at 99.9%. The problem is the ammonia. There is no indication on their web site if their product filters out ammonia or chloramines (chlorine and ammonia combined, which is what I have). Since that is what I need from a purifier, I sent an e-mail to ask.
THE RESPONSE
After I sent an e-mail asking about ammonia removal, I received a response from one of their representatives. I was told that their system WILL reduce chloramines (chlorine and ammonia combined) by up to 99.9% but that I'd have to change the filter every 5 months instead of every 6 months. OK, this sounds like what I need.
THE LIARS (part one)
The AQ-4000 Deluxe Drinking Water System is the kitchen counter top model that can also be under-the-sink mounted. The EQ-300 is the whole house filter, which I was not interested in.
I purchased the AQ-4000 along with the upgraded brushed nickel dispenser with the thought it would remove 99.9% of my ammonia, but I just have to change the filter every 5 months instead of every 6 months. Even though the web site stated, “expedited 3 day shipping,” they sent it ground and I got it 9 days later. LIE NUMBER ONE.
It’s funny, on the web site, they show a lady easily attaching the counter top unit, no problem. Well, when you have a dispenser, it’s a lot of hassle and needs to be attached under the sink. (I will not go into the unit itself, as my review is about the online company and not the unit per say.) Ease of installation...LIE NUMBER TWO.
Anyway, after taking about two hours getting it attached I let it run for about half an hour. I then tested the water with my water testing kit. I was shocked!! It did NOT remove 99% of the ammonia in my city water. It removed only 50%, which made my water at .5 ppm ammonia. Still to high for my fish, and not what I was told in the e-mail. LIE NUMBER THREE.
One other thing it did was raise the PH beyond even my “high range ph” testing kit. My tap water PH comes in at 6.8 PPM. A PH of 7.0 is neutral and is ideal, not only for fish, but for YOUR health, too. The lower the PH, the more the more acidic, and the higher the PH is more alkaline. When I tested the PH level with water from the AQ-4000, it came back at over 8.8 PPM (I say over because this was as high as my testing kit can go). This is incredibly alkaline and dangerous for fish and not so great for human health, either. The company’s Vice President told me they pride themselves on stable, healthy PH levels. LIE NUMBER FOUR.
They state they have a "Pure Satisfaction Guarantee." Taken from their web site:
"When you buy an Aquasana product you can be sure that the quality and value are backed by a 100% Money Back Guarantee!
Try our products for 60 days on us! "
The lies do continue.
THE PHONE CALL
Because of the false advertising and untrue claims, I contacted the Better Business Bureau and made a complaint. I told the BBB I wanted a refund and I wanted Sun Water to pay to have it shipped back to them.
The Vice President from Sun Water Systems, Inc, Mr. XXXXX (I'll call him Mr. Vice President), called me a couple of days later already upset. He basically said that I should have called them instead of making a complaint with the BBB. I told him that I felt at every turn I was lied to by this company. I told him I wanted a refund and a return label for shipping, yet I would like to keep the glass decanter for all the hassle I have been put through (and since they technically can’t use it again, anyway). He told me that if I would have contacted them first, they would have let me keep the decanter, but since I contacted the BBB, I cannot keep it. I asked him, “So, you’re punishing me for contacting the BBB?” He then got upset and told me now he would NOT allow me to even RETURN THE AQ-4000 AT ALL!
I'm thinking, "What about the Pure Satisfaction Guarantee?" LIE NUMBER FIVE.
I hung up on him.
THE APOLOGY
Mr. Vice President then sent me an e-mail about 15 minutes later, titled Apology. He wanted to apologize for how he handled my call. He told me he will send a return shipping label and that I can keep the decanter as an apology gift.
I received the return shipping label (the absolutely only thing they have ever done that they said they would do) via e-mail.
THE LIARS (part two)
I shipped the AQ-4000 back to Sun Water Systems on Sep 17th, and according to UPS, they received it on Sep 20th.
In the meantime, I received a copy of the complaint from the BBB, with Mr. Vice President’s written response. His response to the BBB said that they would pay for the return shipping and credit me once they got it back. He then signed it. LIE NUMBER SIX.
The problem is that this BBB case was opened on 9/13/07. According to the letter from the BBB, they only gave me 10 days to respond, so my cut-off date is 9/23/07. Well, I called Sun Water on 9/25/07, and they told me that they received the package on 9/24/07 (even though UPS says it was delivered on 9/20/07). They just happen to say they got it the day AFTER I needed to respond to BBB. LIE NUMBER SEVEN.
By now the BBB case has automatically closed.
BOTTOM LINE
If their representative's first e-mail would have been honest and simply stated they don’t have ammonia listed because it does not satisfactorily reduce the ammonia, I would not have purchased their product and all of this would not have happened. Everything snowballed with their lies.
I ended up talking with the same representative on the phone a few times regarding my refund, and one day he tells me that they do credits only on Saturday, then another time he tells me that they do credits every other Saturday. The he tells me I’ll see a credit by the end of the week. When I call at the end of the week he tells me I’ll see the credit “tomorrow.” Nothing. I still have not received a refund, and I opened another case with the BBB. I also have had to make a dispute with my credit card company. LIES NUMBER 8, 9, 10, AND 11.
The fish rots from the head down, and if the Vice President can’t be honest and ethical, how can anyone else at that company? Save yourself from unhealthy, alkaline water and from headaches and lies from the company...don’t buy Aquasana from Sun Water Systems.
Recommended:
No
What product did you purchase or try to purchase? AQ-4000
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Epinions.com ID:
cubmomma
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Member: Sherri
Location: Southern Calif.
Reviews written: 28
Trusted by: 26 members
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