The above graphic was taken directly from "Safe Bathing LLC's guarantee" paper that was given to me. I suppose the fact that they misspelled "guarantee" on it should have served as some kind of red flag. Oh well......
The following are scans of images that support my case against "Safe Bathing Walk-In Tubs NC LLC". Scroll down for all the details:
The following are scans of images that support my case against "Safe Bathing Walk-In Tubs NC LLC". Scroll down for all the details:
Here is the check for $300 that Safe Bathing attempted to give to me in exchange for releasing them from any future liability in this matter.
As you can see the final bills for my damages were quite a bit more than the $300 Safe Bathing tried to offer me.
Factory Carpet Outlet:
$6,245.60 4/11/16
$3,049.94 6/30/16
= $9,345.54
Target Building Solutions:
$4,663.00 5/6/2016
Grand Total = $14,008.54
Factory Carpet Outlet:
$6,245.60 4/11/16
$3,049.94 6/30/16
= $9,345.54
Target Building Solutions:
$4,663.00 5/6/2016
Grand Total = $14,008.54
State Farm's Assessment of the Leak
Here is State Farm's rejection of my water damage claim.
City of Sanford Inspections Office Report
Legal Injunction from the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors against Richard Alfarone, and Safe Bathing Walk in Tubs NC, LLC.
Warning Affadavit from the NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors against Ricky Turpin and Safe Bathing Walk In Tubs NC LLC.
Letter From Licensed Electrician Attesting to the Unsafe Condition of the Tub Wiring performed by Safe Bathing Walk In Tubs NC LLC.
I was a bit disappointed in the Attorney General Consumer Division's response to my case. They sent Safe Bathing some letters with our complaint and when they failed to respond the Attorney General's office basically told us that we were on our own. They framed this as a private dispute between two parties as opposed to a company that serviced who knows how many elderly and infirm people in two states without the proper licenses.
WRAL "5 on Your Side" rejection.
The local consumer action news media didn't think that it warranted their attention either. I did appreciate the courtesy of a response letter, but the response wasn't the desired one. She did offer some good advice near the end. Perhaps if more media coverage was directed at unscrupulous contractors then situations such as these wouldn't be quite as commonplace. Unfortunately in this particular instance "5 was NOT on my side".
The local consumer action news media didn't think that it warranted their attention either. I did appreciate the courtesy of a response letter, but the response wasn't the desired one. She did offer some good advice near the end. Perhaps if more media coverage was directed at unscrupulous contractors then situations such as these wouldn't be quite as commonplace. Unfortunately in this particular instance "5 was NOT on my side".
So what is the take away for the consumer here ?
One simple message........ "You are on your own."
I get the fact that government departments and news agencies have limited resources and can't cover all consumer disputes everywhere, but I feel that this particular dispute is much larger than just me and my wallet. I am not having an argument with some guy who works out of his pickup about how well he raked my yard. This is a rather sizable company that serves a large population of seniors, the most vulnerable of customers. Safe Bathing's own website describes itself as "the retail arm of one of the largest US based walk in bathtub manufacturers in the country." When the installer was on site at my home he was heard to say that they had installed hundreds of similar tubs across North and South Carolina. Assuming that all this is true, then from the documented evidence presented here logic would dictate that all those other tubs could very well have the same issues, potentially financially-devastating and life-threatening issues. Should THAT be of concern to government consumer regulatory departments and local news agencies ?
Apparently not.......
One simple message........ "You are on your own."
I get the fact that government departments and news agencies have limited resources and can't cover all consumer disputes everywhere, but I feel that this particular dispute is much larger than just me and my wallet. I am not having an argument with some guy who works out of his pickup about how well he raked my yard. This is a rather sizable company that serves a large population of seniors, the most vulnerable of customers. Safe Bathing's own website describes itself as "the retail arm of one of the largest US based walk in bathtub manufacturers in the country." When the installer was on site at my home he was heard to say that they had installed hundreds of similar tubs across North and South Carolina. Assuming that all this is true, then from the documented evidence presented here logic would dictate that all those other tubs could very well have the same issues, potentially financially-devastating and life-threatening issues. Should THAT be of concern to government consumer regulatory departments and local news agencies ?
Apparently not.......
On November 8, 2016 I took Safe Bathing to civil court in Randolph County and I won a $6,500 judgment against them.
