LifeSpas

[donnie]

Okay, I know that others have been warned about companies that only sell by appointment only. Well my wife went to this and wound up buying a spa from them in San Diego. She thought she had a right to change her mind for at least 72 hours but after buyers regret she found out she had signed an apparent iron-clad contract with them and try as we might we could not get out of it! OKAY, enough of buyer's remorse, we now are the proud owners of the LS-8000 since February of this year and already the heating element has gone out. I have contacted the number on the warranty sheet for a replacement and have been told by a Joseph there at acuraspa.com that if the system chemistry was out of balance that could cause premature failure of their "deluxe heating system". The warranty says it should be covered for 5-years, Joseph has already determined the failure was our fault...I am a long-time pool owner and also worked for a local pool service company for 10 years...and the only service we could get was to remove the contol box which houses the "super" heating element and return it to the factory for replacement. It didn't matter to him what level of expertise I might have he had already determined it was our fault! If I send the unit to him I have no doubt it will be replaced...at our expense...and I will have no way to argue any case for warranty replacement because they will have possession of the part! I have been told that their equipment is "so special that only qualified persons are able to replace them" but upon asking them for a local referral Joseph says that it has to come back to the factory. I have removed the control module which is now ready to ship back but I see nothing inside that is either proprietary or difficult to replace by anyone with half a wit and any experience with mechanical equipment at almost any level!

Does anyone out there have any advise on how to proceed with this problem? There are two heating elements that look strangely enought like electric water heating elements, nothing more! I can not possible see that this could be so difficult to replace that I would have to send the unit to them and in which case would forfeit any warranty since they already know it was our fault for chemical imbalance without even the slightest hint of any problems prior to the failure! I check chemicals once a week which is how we always did every pool and spa that I worked on with a local pool service company, YES, we also did equipment repairs and I have been doing that for many types of equipment my entire life so I feel just somewhat qualified to at the very least replace faulty heating elements! My impression is they have no intention of warranty service at all, they want us to send the "special titanium heating element with the control box" to them for replacement without even the slightest indication that anyone was at fault!

I have seen some very good reports about LifeSpas of Texas taking care of problems with their units and question whether it is possible they might step in and offer to send replacement parts that I am perfectly capable of replacing without the expense and denial of warranty that Accura Spa Systems in Riverside, CA has proposed...or anyone else for that matter! Can I buy these parts from another dealer or are these so very good, so very special that this company has exclusive rights to them??? I have replaced these types of elements on electric water heaters and see nothing special about what we have here! In fact this units supposedly heat the 550 Gals. of water so efficiently that nothing has ever come about like this before! HMMM, I have seen the same size elements or larger in a 40/50 gallon water heater that lasted 15 years so am I to believe this company has developed something so special and propietary that no one beside themselves is capable of spinning these out of the mounting and installing new ones??? I am just a bit skeptical of this company but I am left to deal with them and I ask for any help or advice short of never doing business with them since that is already a given! Yes, I have thanked my wife several times for this "new spa" but really I have to live with her and I lover her, LifeSpa's I would never recommend to anyone! One last point, I have a friend that wanted me to install a spa for him but he was skeptical because of having to deal with a certain company...can you guess which one? LifeSpa's of San Diego, he said I would NEVER buy a spa from that sales person and I will not give the expletives to describe that sales person but they are some that I would share as well.

[hottubdan]

How have you determined the element has failed?

How did Joseph determine it was your fault?

Does the warranty state you have to return the euipment to them for repair?  Does it provide for them to come to you?

Quote from their web site:  "Service/Warranty...
Direct from the factory."

It says from the factory, not at the factory.  That implies they come to you.  Have them come to you and prove to you that you caused the failure.

Good luck.

[hottubdan]

Does Life Spas warrant the equipment or is it the Acura Spa Systems Warranty?  If it is Acura Spa Systems you will never win.  Warranty is written in such a way that it can rarely be enforced for the consumer.  Check it out.  http://www.acuraspa.com/warranty/Warranty_rev_Sep_05_2007.pdf

[donnie]

Dan, I was hoping that a professional such as yourself would reply to my query. I ran a series of tests on the system that ultimately showed the heater to be at fault. When I noticed the GFCI had been tripped I reset it and turned the system on, it tripped the GFCI withing about a minute. Turning off the heating on the system allowed the tub to run completely through its cycle with no problems but as soon as I add heating to the cycle then I have the same result mentioned. That test I had run and that was the same test that Acura Spas told me to run to which I responded already done!

Apparently this Joseph can make a determination just from emails to him, that's the only means of communication we have had...what a remarkable ability! Our warranty states that if we do know of a factory authorized service center to call Acura Spas and they would direct us to a local source but their only response is to remove the control unit and send it to them since they have the "expertise" to replace this awesome heating element! My response is that I don't have the expertise to pull two heating elements out but they will allow me to remove the entire control module so they can replace the elements??? Doesn't that sound a bit hypocritical at best and just a bit ridiculous at worst?

There is apparently no one in San Diego capable of doing repairs on this system, my god is San Diego that remote that none of us service persons could possilby qualify to do repairs...well I don't think so. The bottom line is that I need to replace this "super heater" and get this unit up and running before many ugly things start to grow in it! I just removed the control box today so it has been running up until then albiet without heat which is fine. Now it will not have any circulation until repairs are made. Do you or does anyone else know if this Titanium heater has after-market parts I can buy or should I just send this unit to the factory which is going to deny any warranty exists because of "chemical damage"? That was the gist of getting on the forum.

I have heard good things about LifeSpas of Texas and have sent an email to them hoping to get a positive response but I am not holding my breath! Why do they need to do anything about a sale that they had no part of but at least it's a shot I didn' t have before.

Regards,
donnie

[Mendocino101]

Okay, I know that others have been warned about companies that only sell by appointment only. Well my wife went to this and wound up buying a spa from them in San Diego. She thought she had a right to change her mind for at least 72 hours but after buyers regret she found out she had signed an apparent iron-clad contract with them and try as we might we could not get out of it! OKAY, enough of buyer's remorse, we now are the proud owners of the LS-8000 since February of this year and already the heating element has gone out. I have contacted the number on the warranty sheet for a replacement and have been told by a Joseph there at acuraspa.com that if the system chemistry was out of balance that could cause premature failure of their "deluxe heating system". The warranty says it should be covered for 5-years, Joseph has already determined the failure was our fault...I am a long-time pool owner and also worked for a local pool service company for 10 years...and the only service we could get was to remove the contol box which houses the "super" heating element and return it to the factory for replacement. It didn't matter to him what level of expertise I might have he had already determined it was our fault! If I send the unit to him I have no doubt it will be replaced...at our expense...and I will have no way to argue any case for warranty replacement because they will have possession of the part! I have been told that their equipment is "so special that only qualified persons are able to replace them" but upon asking them for a local referral Joseph says that it has to come back to the factory. I have removed the control module which is now ready to ship back but I see nothing inside that is either proprietary or difficult to replace by anyone with half a wit and any experience with mechanical equipment at almost any level!
.

Sorry about your trouble but if it makes you feel any better your not alone. I think Life springs must have the most highly trained and clairvoyant techs in industry since they seem to be able to trouble shoot any problem and come back with, the its your fault chemical damage and do it over the phone.... ....We have had to fix several folks spas who had the same issues you are having. There is a reason why you hear so many times go to a dealer with a store front even if they're not the best dealer the fact that you can walk and voice your concerns in a public setting will help your cause but with your issue no credible company would be putting you though this.

[tinybubbles]

Okay, I know that others have been warned about companies that only sell by appointment only. Well my wife went to this and wound up buying a spa from them in San Diego. She thought she had a right to change her mind for at least 72 hours but after buyers regret she found out she had signed an apparent iron-clad contract with them and try as we might we could not get out of it! .

Just to let people know:  A 3 day right to rescission applies to in-home sales.  Did this company come out to your home or was the appointment at their location?  Who told you that you couldn't get out of the contract?  Maybe you could do some research on this and use it to sway them to help you with your heater issue. http://www.dca.ca.gov/publications/legal_guides/k-6.shtml

[donnie]

To both Mendcino101 and tinybubbles as well as others,

You are correct tiny about the contract, this company sells by appointment only...just try to get them on the phone because they are never in! The only time they are there is for an appointment and it is probably not they at all but him, the "sales" rep who has to okay everything through his boss and as it turns out he is it! What a load of bull this guy carries in his pants everyday! Basically it is as I have seen posted a very high pressure salesman that made my wife feel she would lose the deal of a lifetime if she didn't buy right then. The gotcha was not the contract at all but that he put in his own line saying she would not cancel and she signed it, she even called back the same day since we had not ordered any spa, there was nothing listed on the agreement, no expense what-so-ever had been incurred by LifeSpas because she had not decided on any spa at the time. That seemed like it should have been a slam-dunk as far a cancellation or recision but they fought it tooth and nail for whatever reason and that made no sense to me.

Now Mendocino you have repaired these heaters, am I missing something that really makes these super heaters that no one outside the factory could possibly be able to change? I have the control panel off and can see the elements and except for the fact that it heats spa water they seem no different than many electric water heater elements, you disconnect the wires and spin the elements out and replace them with new ones. There simply is nothing else in the housing and the elements themselves could even be a bit longer and would probably be more efficient. Can I buy these "Titanium elements" at a spa parts supply house? This whole thing seems just a bit ridiculous. They trust me to removed the entire control panel but I can't change elements???

BTW-LifeSpas of Texas has stepped up to the plate and will assist getting replacements for our unit. My wife read some good info on them from this site and so I emailed them our story. Kudos to Bill @ LifeSpas of Texas he seems to be a great guy!

Donnie

[Mendocino101]

Our Tech handles the service side of things if you want PM me and I will pass along his number and you can have him walk you though but it is my understanding from speaking with the techs who have worked on them that as a whole the components used in their spas are less that say standard, certainly not some super efficient unit. I feel bad about sharing this with you as I you  have already spent your hard earned dollars on them but stay on top of your water care and hopefully the spa will give many years of good service and kudos to the man from Texas for helping you.

[Dipstick]

Sorry to hear of your issue and I think your stuck with the cost. Hopefully other will read your story and may help their decision.

Chemical damage on a heater can be a very hard thing to see, all it takes is a pinhole and boom the GFCI trips. The element may look perfect to the eye.

Bromine tablets (pH 4.5) are good for this, a small piece brakes off and then gets stuck on the element and then it sits there burning a hole in the sheath. This can definitely happen in 9-months.

[tinybubbles]

I question the validity of them handwriting something on the contract that over-rides the law.  Did they tell you that you couldn't cancel or did you consult the state or an attorney.  I know that you already have their spa, but I would persue this.  Perhaps contact a consumer advocate with a news station in your area.  This sounds very shady.  If this man was that high pressure, I have no doubt that he would write that on a contract and then try to dupe unsuspecting consumers by saying that they can't cancel. If it was that easy to get around the 3 day right to rescission law, every company would write that on their contract.  I'm not buying it.  Glad to hear someone is going to take care of your current problem.