in a quandary...

[Water Boy]

. and 6 months without the customer getting their product is completely unacceptable.

If you were referring to my customer, I wanted to clarify. They weren't waiting for 6 months to get their spa. They ordered the spa with 3k down and were building a deck to put the spa on. The tub came in three weeks later, and we were holding it until they were ready. They ran into problems before taking possesion of the tub, and asked if they could have their money back.

[wewannahottub]

If you were referring to my customer, I wanted to clarify. They weren't waiting for 6 months to get their spa. They ordered the spa with 3k down and were building a deck to put the spa on. The tub came in three weeks later, and we were holding it until they were ready. They ran into problems before taking possesion of the tub, and asked if they could have their money back.

I have noticed alot of dealers we have been to hold spas for customers.  

[Merlin]

If you were referring to my customer, I wanted to clarify. They weren't waiting for 6 months to get their spa. They ordered the spa with 3k down and were building a deck to put the spa on. The tub came in three weeks later, and we were holding it until they were ready. They ran into problems before taking possesion of the tub, and asked if they could have their money back.

No i meant in general.

We do the same thing for customers all the time. Most of the time it's because of all the homes being built in our area that we pretty much expect to have to hold off on ordering or delivering the spa.

[Swell-Tub]

OK, tonight I have been on the phone about a contract the provider will not cancel. In June 2007 my elderly step-dad signed a 3 year contract for an in-home security system for those key lobs you carry around in case you fall. They lived in Utah. In December I moved both mother and step-dad down to Las Vegas to live with us because they were both terminally ill. I cancelled the phone service at the Utah home.

Now they have been billing him $40 a month for a service that has not been used since Christmas. I asked them about this and they said that it is true the signal to the house stopped when I cancelled the phone service. Mother passed away 4 weeks ago and my step-dad will die in the next month or so because he is filled with cancer. The service told me that when he dies if I send them a death certificate that they might cancel the service. This is why I get so worked up sometimes when a contract is a contract.

Scott  

[IL Parrothead]

Holding a tub for a while seems to be fairly commonplace.  I got a call today that my Marquis Epic arrived, but I still have to wait for the landscapers to do the patio.  We've been promised we're one of the first jobs to get done, but Chicago weather this time of year is iffy.......It's killing me!  

[Swell-Tub]

Holding a tub for a while seems to be fairly commonplace.  I got a call today that my Marquis Epic arrived, but I still have to wait for the landscapers to do the patio.  We've been promised we're one of the first jobs to get done, but Chicago weather this time of year is iffy.......It's killing me!  

Hang in there, the wait will be worth it. I use to live in Woodridge, IL which was by Naperville, IL. The winters were the worst I remembered and I also lived in Alaska. So a hot tub sounds like just the ticket for that area.

Scott  

[Vanguard]

First, as I begin this posting, let me say I think glfahlc should be refunded his money.  If I were a dealer and this were to come up, I would give the money back.

BUT, all this talk about contracts not being honored.  What is the value of a contract if one party simply decides they don't want to participate any longer.  Try doing that with your mortgage.  "Oh, I don't want to live in that house any longer, so I think I'll just cancel my mortgage and go somewhere else."  Never gonna happen.

Have you tried to get out of a cell phone agreement lately?  What about satellite TV?  I'm all for the little guy, but, the manufacturers/retailers/service providers have to have some protection as well.

To me, as a consumer, if I agree to buy something and the seller upholds his side of the agreement, then I must, should, have - whatever - keep my side.  That is what a contract is for.  

I don't know.  It bugs me all this talk of just canceling just because.  If it is for legitimate reasons, then let cooler heads prevail.  Work it out.  That is the case with glfahlc.  But if it were for some other reason, a contract is a contract.

[wewannahottub]

Agreeing with both sides here, still leaning on the consumer side, though. $2500 is a lot of cash to just drop==I can understand a "10% cancellation fee" or something similiar, but the deposit??  no way.  I was hoping glfahlc would reply to these postings and clear the air about the contract, but he hasn't yet.  I believe someone early in the thread felt "buyer's remorse" ws involved, and I agree, but still there should be some way out without losing the whole deposit.

example==what if his wife died (God forbid) as this was purchased for her??  There is always a way out, at some expense, especially to the consumer.

glfahlc, you may take the floor to explain the contract you signed.

Good luck with everyone

Scott-sorry to hear about your mom and step dad.  May you be provided with compfrt knowing they are not in pain.  It sounds like some consumer advocacy needs to occur over those charges, though.

Chrisi

[dax]

BUT, all this talk about contracts not being honored.  What is the value of a contract if one party simply decides they don't want to participate any longer.  Try doing that with your mortgage.  "Oh, I don't want to live in that house any longer, so I think I'll just cancel my mortgage and go somewhere else."  Never gonna happen.

I don't know.  It bugs me all this talk of just canceling just because.  If it is for legitimate reasons, then let cooler heads prevail.  Work it out.  That is the case with glfahlc.  But if it were for some other reason, a contract is a contract.

A mortage or cell phone or satellite TV contract is an entirely different situation than the original poster's quandary.  In those cases, a person has taken possession of an item or service.  In this case, the buyer has not taken possession nor has the manufacturer incurred costs to build the item.  A $2500 down payment should more than cover the cost for the dealer to place an order and the manufacturer to receive it, don't you think?

Now if the tub and gazebo were actually manufactured, then the buyer should have to honor the contract.  But that's not the case.

[wewannahottub]

Agreed, dax.

The dealer/manufacturer probably didn't even spend $0.25 let alone $25 or $2500.

I think Zep stated it earlier--have a doctor write up a letter, and send that in to the company.  And start filing complaints with consumer advocacy programs.  And local news.  

WWHT

[Swell-Tub]

What is the purpose of a contract?
To protect the interest of both parties. If the seller is not out anything and the buyer is not out of anything then I think a contract should be desolved when special circumstances arise. Like the situation with my folks or a tub and gazebo that were never manufactured. In both cases the seller will make money and the buyer will go away empty handed. In my situation I am the executor of my mothers estate so the alarm company can make me honor the 3 year old contract for the service. Is it legal (probally yes). Is it morally right or good business (I don't think so), they better not use me for a referral in the future.

I also agree in the case of cell phones and mortgages that the seller has already delivered the goods. A mortgage and a free cell phone with a 2 year commitment. Now with the cell phone you can get out of the contract if you pay a $150 cancellation fee, which covers the cost of the phone.

Scott  

[IL Parrothead]

Scott, Woodridge is about 30 minutes from me -- very familiar with it.
What state are you in now?  What state is your mother's estate in?

[Swell-Tub]

Scott, Woodridge is about 30 minutes from me -- very familiar with it.
What state are you in now?  What state is your mother's estate in?

I live in Las Vegas, NV now. My mothers estate is in Salt Lake City, UT. When I lived in Woodridge I worked at the Bellcore training center in Lisle, IL. One winter there in Lisle it got 80 below with the wind chill factor. I could feel the cold through my coat into my bones. My mustache froze and when I touched it the hairs snapped. Like I said earlier, the time I lived in Alaska was not as cold as the IL winters.

Scott  

[Spatini]

. My mustache froze and when I touched it the hairs snapped.
Scott  

Holy Cr?!# , thats cold !!!

[Swell-Tub]

Holy Cr?!# , thats cold !!!

I think it was 1986 and that winter was so cold my face got frost bitten and it hasn't been able to tan since. And I'm not joking. They don't call Chicago the windy city for nothing.

Scott