On May 15th we had a Safety Specialist from SafeStepTubs in Burnaby BC come to our Edmonton home. We had on several occasions seen their Canadian advertisement on TV for independence and safety for seniors and people with limited mobility and disability while bathing. We were looking for a tub that would promote accessibility and safety for our 17 year old daughter, all while promoting her quality of life. Our daughter has a disability called Cerebral Palsy/Arthritis. This means that our daughter has limited movement ad mobility.
After our 2 hour consultation with the SafeStepTubs Safety Specialist Ralph Sivertson and confirming that we were purchasing and could expect to receive what we saw on TV in their Canadian advertisement with Pat Boone. Ralph Sivertson assured my husband Ward and I that they only had one tub that was approved by the Arthritis Foundation/Society at Canadian SafeStepTubs and that was all he could see us.
After getting all of the information and confirmation we decided our 17year old daughter would benefit greatly as this would build her wanted independence and quality of life... This was important enough to us to make this purchase for her. The price of the tub was $17,000.00.
FYI the tub that Pat Boone is advertising has important hardware on the tub we ordered from Canadian SafeStepTubs that will allow for 'easy use', thus why the Arthritis Foundation/Society allows their organizations name to be used in the commercial and literature given out by the Canadian SafeStepTubs. Due to this 'easy use' levers, handles and jet buttons are absolutely nonnegotiable for our daughters independence and safety. The tub and hardware that we agreed to had to meet the Arthritis Foundation/Society approval. This way we/she would be certain to have her independence safely, which is the ONLY reason this tub was considered and purchased. The tub and hardware that was installed in our home IS NOT THE TUB WE AGREED TO. This tub has NO 'easy use' levers, handles or jet buttons. As a matter of fact the tub and hardware we received has never been approved by anyone and therefore there is nothing 'easy' or independent for my daughter with this purchase as promised.
An example is the water diverter for the tub. The diverter on typical tubs that send the water from the tap to the shower is a knob on the tap that we pull up or push down. Due to lack of movement this is very difficult for our daughter. The tub they removed from our home has this pull/push knob. The Canadian SafeStepTub were sold by Ralph Sivertson on May 15th was of course to have an 'easy use' diverter that was approved by the Arthritis Foundation/Society... That meant our daughter would independently be able to move the water from the tap to the shower head. This approved lever moves left to right or side to side exactly like the hot and cold water taps that she could use. The tub Canadian Safesteptubs installed in our home DOES NOT have any of the 'easy use' hardware/features and therefore is not what we were shown, advertised, told to expect, promised... And not at all what we paid for. Therefore our 17 year old daughter is still requiring me to support her for diverting the water as well. As you can probably imagine this is frustrating for her. Our daughter was more than aware of the tub she was to receive and understood what it is she needs to be successfully independent. We did not get what we were sold or expecting. All we wanted is what we bought. We did not receive the tub our Safety Specialist Ralph Sivertson with Canadian SafeStepTubs showed us video of, gave us pictures of, left a pamphlet and gave us the manual for. The tub they installed has no 'easy' approved anything by the Arthritis Foundation/Society as Ralph and SafeStep Tubs C.O.O. Matthew Boulton claim.
Yet again for our daughter there would be no 'ease of use' to support her properly, safely and independently as advertised, told, and promised and absolutely needed for her success. Nothing we received was as described, seen on TV or promised.
Due to the jet buttons not being 'easy use' they are difficult for my daughter to turn off and on and another reason for me to stay in the bathroom to help her... Well I couldn't shut the jets off when my daughter was in the tub. This caused her much distress. To shut the jets off my husband thankfully was home and had to kill the power to our house so that we could shut the jets off and get her out safely. NO foundation/Society would ever approve this dangerous and non 'easy use' hardware/tub. We tried for over a week to find resolution with this company. We started with Paul, Lou and Lisa in the center. Then Angie and Tarra in customer support who were difficult and hung up on me two times when I told Angie the tub was the wrong one! We then found Cindy Leonard who is a manager and she too was unable to rectify that we received the wrong tub and hardware. Cindy said I should talk to the C.O.O. Who is Matthew Boulton... This took a week to find and contact him... They all knew we had the WRONG TUB AND HARDWARE and that MY DAUGHTER WAS STUCK IN THIS TUB that was NOT approved by anyone. Matthew Boulton was patronizing and telling me I was confused... This was unacceptable service and accountability for their mistake and lies. Matthew offered to have an installer come to our home and drill some holes in the tub so he can see if we can try to find a handle or something that "might" work... Except after speaking to an independent plumber this is not possible as one should not be putting holes in tubs as this is a quick fix but a long term problem. Nor is there any real room on the tub to perform this and have it look good. The wrong tub they installed is also leaking since installation. Also trying to replace just the diverter does not change the jet buttons nor offer any 'ease of use' technology. We want what we bought. I asked Matthew Boulton with Canadian SafeStep Tubs to please do the right thing and make good with what we purchased. He has refused to fix their mistake and give our daughter the much needed 'easy use' tub approved by the Foundation/Society of Arthritis. We also asked if they would then remove the wrong tub they installed, put back the same quality of tub we had and give us a FULL refund so that we could purchase a product that was safe and approved for her needs. He refused.
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