I have never been so disappointed in anything I have purchased as I am in my Cal Spas Newporter. There is a long ugly story behind it's life history so I might as well get to it. I am sending this letter to every address that I can find that is associated with Cal Spas sp people will know my Cal Spa "changed the way I feel" but is is definitely not for the good!
In August 1988 I wanted to put in a deck and spa at my home. I wanted a large one so if my family of four wanted to use it all at once there would be plenty of room. After looking at what companies had to offer and talking to Glen the manager at Cal Spas Oklahoma City, I decided a Newporter was what I wanted. Of course Glen assured me that Cal Spas were head and shoulders above the competition.
The Newporter was a special order. Glen made up the paper work and told me it would be delivered in 4-6 weeks. This was on a Saturday. I wrote him a check for the full amount and told him that Monday when the bank opened I would transfer some money into the account and the check would then be ready to cash.
MY FIRST CLUE... At 8:00 Monday morning before my bank opened at 9:00 Glen called me and asked if he could cash the check. I told him my bank didn't open until 9:00 so I hadn't been there yet. He started whining and told me some story about the payroll checks for the store didn't come in and if he cashed my check it would help to pay the help. I was stunned but told him to cash the check because my bank would be open in less than hour and by the time the check got here the funds would be transferred and it would be ok. Looking back I should of let that be a clue as to who I was dealing with and RAN!
After 4 weeks I called Glen and asked about the spa. He told me it was made and on the truck at the factory and as soon as a couple more were finished, the load would be headed to OKC.
A week later I called Glen and was told the truck was on it's way to OKC and I would have it soon.
While I was waitind, I poured a pad and built a deck to fit the tub.
The next week I called and Glen told me the Spa was still sitting on the truck at the factory and had not been shipped. THIS MADE ME LEARY!
I called the factory to see if I could find out about it. The factory found the order and told me that it hadn't even entered production! They told me that the LA county fair had generated lots of orders and mine had been "pushed back".
I decided enough was enough. I called Glen, busted him out for lying to me and told him I wanted my money back. He told me that he just managed the store and the owner would have to make the refund. He put me in touch with Camille, the owner of Cal Spas OKC and the other Cal SPa store in TULSA. She assured me that she would send a check. After I waited for another week I called her back to see where the money was. I told her that amount of money may not be important to her but it was to me. She was rude, told me she had made her millions and she drove a Mercedes and that money was nothing to her. I started trying to find somebody above her in the food chain and found John Hess. A Cal Spas distributor for this region. I told him the story. John told me he could get me the Newporter. A couple days later Camille did return my money. I then told John Hess to get me the tub.in about 7-10 days he had the spa and delivered it. AT LAST! Somebody connected with this company that delivers! We set it up, I paid him and life was grand...
For about a year. Then the spa wouldn't function one day. Being 100 miles away he couldn't just run by to look at it. He told me a couple things to check over the phone. I checked them and called him back. He determined the circuit board was bad. He eventually brought a board and the spa was running again. The first time we used it though, we found that the led's on the top panel display and the lcd indicators on the screen were not matching up with the function that was happening. I went ahead and used the tub for a while since everything did operate.
Aside from about once a week coming out to use it and finding o-rings off the jets laying in the bottom of the tub it did work. We used it 1-3 times a week. Usually my wife and I. It was probably 18 months old when I went to secure the cover one day and the straps with the buckle on them fell off in my hand. THE cover was rottening! Even after I had put preservative on it about every three months and every 6 months unzipped it, took the foam out and let it dry in the sun for the day! I did EXACTLY as I was told to do.
I decided to call John and get the topside controller repaired and ask him about the cover. He told me he could take care of the controller but the cover was only warranted for 1 yr. Man did that make me proud of my CAL SPA! John told me he would have to get with the engineers and find out the correct controller to go with the board he installed. After about 6 more months of phone tag between John, the engineers and myself we FINALLY had the correct controller and the tub was working correctly again. Aside from the cover that was getting worse with every day that went by! I tried calling the company direct a couple times and was told to contact the selling dealer. The DEALER did not manufacture nor warranty this lemon! CAL SPAS DID!
Fast forward a few months. To the spring of '01. We go out to use the spa, get in turn it on and SNAP! What was that? I do some checking and find it was the GFI had tripped. I shake my head in disbelief and go back in the house. After cooling off for a few days I called John. He told me to unplug the pumps, lights, ozonator, blower etc from the control box, reset the GFI then begin to plug things back in until it snapped again. I did that, once I got to the blower, SNAP, it happened again. I called John told him the results and he determined the blower needed replaced. I told him to get one and get me fixed. He advised me to leave the blower unplugged and I could use the tub I just wouldn't have a blower. He then told me that he had problems with Cal Spas and it may take a while but he would get a blower. We don't use the tub much in the summer so I put it on the back burner. Finally about September I called John and asked where my blower was. He asked, " Did you ever find out if it was 110 or 220 volt?" I told him the spa was 220 but I had no idea about the blower. He had never asked me about it. He told me he had to know the voltage, to find out. I start hunting for the blower... There it is! WAAAAY back in the corner where you have to take some slats off the cabinet to get it out. I got it out, it was a 230 1.5 hp. I took it apart, it was full of water & rust & froze up tight. I called John back, he assured me he would order one. I then find out that Camille the "millionaire", John, and Cal Spas are all in a big cat fight and John doesn't sell Cal Spas anymore!!! Holy moly!!! SOMEBODY NEEDS TO STOP THE MADNESS!!!
I have went through this winter using the tub and waiting on the blower and fighting with the junk cover that comes with these spas but I am gettin by. TODAY I go out to use the spa and it is down to 85 degrees. Hmmm what is going on here? There's no power??? I check the GFI and it has tripped. It tripped and my blood pressure doubled! I start unplugging things again and find out that none of the pumps are causing it. I don't have a blower anymore. HMMMM only thing left is... THE XL GUARANTEED LIFETIME HEATER!!! Yup you guessed! This bad boy that is almost as technically advanced as the Space Shuttle has spit out the bit! This whole next week we are scheduled to be in the thirties for a high during the day! It may freeze up like a block of ice and turn into a frozen duck pond! Hear me and hear me good! I HAVE LOST ALL PATIENCE WITH CAL SPAS AND THEIR PRODUCTS AT THIS POINT!!!
A little over 3 years old and I have had to fight with the "millionaire" and her flaky manager Glen. Listen to all kinds of lies. So far it has had a circuit board, topside controller, the blower is now a boat anchor, the cover is trash, THE XL GUARANTEED FOR LIFE high performance engineering marvel of a heater has died for the coldest week we have had so far this year! I haven't even mentioned the jets blowing o-rings in the tub on a regular basis or all the times I come out to use it and the controls are locked up and the power has to be turned off and then on again just to get them to function!
This Newporter was made to be displayed and NOT operated. I am not in the least bit happy with it! The only thing that will make me happy is if Cal Spas comes and gets this lemon of an engineering marvel out of my yard! Cal Spas has EARNED 1000,000 worth of free advertising out of this! The way they handle this will determine if 10 cents worth of it does them any good! Hmmmmm wonder if calspassucks.com is taken yet?
Don
Guthrie, Oklahoma
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