ComplaintsforHague Quality Water of Kansas City, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My 17 year old daughter signed up to win a guitar at a concert and then received a call that she won a prize, however, she had to provide her parent phone number. I received a call from Hague water softener telling me that I had to have a water softener demonstration in my home or my daughter would not receive a prize. It is unethical to trick kids to sign up, tell them that they won and then require a water softener home visit. I would never do business with this company.

  

  Business response

  06/29/2023

  I do apologize for the confusion, but on our sign up forms, it does state you must be 18 years old to sign up. This is in bold writing at the top of all sign up forms. We unfortunately do not have a way to verify age until we speak to the person. At that point we give an opportunity for the parent to claim the prize if there was someone under the age of 18 that signed up with us. She was also not chosen for the guitar giveaway, she was selected for an alternate gift. The one stipulation is to allow us to demonstrate a free water test, so I do apologize that we were not able to get you the gift. Please let me know if this clarifies everything. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The company was advertising a contest at ****** in Blue Springs, Mo. The first prize winner won a signed Chiefs jersey. The company called me today to tell me I was the second runner up and I could choose between a 3 night hotel stay at one of 50 locations, a smart watch like the Apple watch but Android version, mp3 player, Blue Tooth Speaker or earbuds. I thought I really won a contest. They told be I had to have someone come to my house and talk demonstrate the water system, and test my water. They needed verbal consent by the homeowner to come out. I agreed and to my surprise they were able to schedule same day at 5:30pm, tonight. I listened and asked questions. I didn’t want to immediately purchase, but I wanted to research before committing. The rep ***** asked me which prize I picked, which was confusing, because he was handing me papers. I told him earbuds. He handed me a prize brochure and told me he can’t just carry around prizes of value in case something happened to them. When I saw all the prize brochures I realized I wasn’t a special winner so I asked if everyone gets this. He told me the company picks 4 people everyday. He didn’t give me a card or anything so I asked for his name and number. He wrote his name and number down. I was still excited to get my prize when he left and I was very interested in the products. I read the prize brochure and it states that I have to pay another company $19.95 activation fee and shipping and handling fee. This was not told to me by anyone. This is not a prize if I have to pay for it. They took advantage of my information that I stated I didn’t want to receive advertising from on the prize entry. They falsely claimed I won a prize to get me to purchase their products, then never gave me s product they told me I would receive. A third party brochure with a prize that has to be activated and charged for is NOT what was told to me. I would not have sat through the presentation if they were honest. I am interested in a water purifier, and will look into other honest options. The company lied. I would like the prize they told me I received. I did my part. I will, also, be contacting ******.

  

  Business response

  03/08/2023

  We do apologize about the misunderstanding on this particular gift. We appreciate you bringing it to our attention that they did not relay the information to you about the shipping and handling fee. We will make sure to speak to the manager to make sure they are relaying the correct information going forward. We have been giving these gifts out for awhile, and have few complaints about them. But there are mistakes made at times, and we appreciate you giving us the opportunity to make this right. We will be reaching out to you. 

  Customer response

  03/13/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Assumed Answered]
  Complaint: 1*******
  I am rejecting this response because:I have not heard from the company. Also, they relayed that I was a winner from a drawing. They were deceiving and tricked me. It’s bad business and they used my personal information wrongfully, then lied to me. Let me be clear, you do not give out a prizes.  You give a brochure for a product I can purchase. You should not be allowed to do this. It’s wrong. 
  Regards,
  ******* ******

  

  Business response

  03/21/2023

  We have been in contact with the above client. We have resolved the issue with the gift she was selected for. We have spoken with the employee that initially spoke to her on the phone to correct the concerns that she brought to our attention. 

• Initial Complaint

  12/19/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We have had a water softener from Hague Quality Water for about 20 years. On September 22nd, 2022 we had the softener leak all over our newly finished basement. I called the following morning explaining the problem and let the service people know this would need extensive work. We had to turn off the water to our house to get it to stop leaking. Thankfully we found it the night it all happened and we were able to clean up some of the water ourselves. However, it still caused extensive damage. I called and the company sent someone out. He said he couldn't do anything and the company would have to send a plumber. He said they would give us a call. When they didn't call after a week, I called and they set up an appointment for October 6th. The day of October 6th, they called to cancel. And tried to reset it for the 7th which would not work. It was reset for Wednesday, October 12th. On the 11th, they called to say they would be heading to my house without my knowledge that the appointment had changed. I found the serviceman polite and knowledgeable. He said the cracked tank was the problem and that the company should take care of it since it was still under warranty. It had taken so long for them to come check it out that my husband was unhappy about the customer service that didn't even want to deal with the company. The serviceman warned us that the company had terrible customer service and would try to shirk responsibility. The serviceman then told us the company would be in touch with us within a couple of days as he would have to put in a new tank, which he didn't have. Nearly 3 weeks later, they still hadn't reached out to us so I sent them a message. They did end up calling at the beginning of November, telling my husband it was our fault. They said they would call back after they figure out what to do and still have not called as of 12/19/2022. The cost to clean-up and repair was about $9000, $1500 out of pocket. This company does not care.

  

  Business response

  12/28/2022

  To respond to the above, 

  We do have record of the initial service request on 09/23/2022. We arrived the same day 09/23/2022 to see that the unit was completely disconnected from the house plumbing. The technician that was assigned to this job was not a plumber, so we did indeed have to schedule a plumber to come out and reconnect the water filtration unit into the existing plumbing. At this time there were no visible cracks or leaks on the unit. We then scheduled for this to be plumbed back into the main plumbing through our installations department. It did indeed get rescheduled once to the 12th of October. At this time we went ahead and placed an order for the watermax tank replacement through our Factory in Ohio, even though we could not hook the unit up to verify under pressure if there was a leak. We honor our warranty with the watermax unit, so there would have been no charge for this all to be replaced. As we waited for the tank replacement to arrive, I spoke to *** ****** and he did explain to me what happened with the leak. He did state he had a company already out to dry up the water in the basement and tore up the flooring. He then told me he would speak to his wife, **** ****** about whether they want to do future business with our company. As of today's date, I had not received a call back about their decision. We do have a tank replacement on standby in our warehouse if they choose to move forward. What we would like to do moving forward is verify that the watermax tank is for sure needing replaced. If the tank is cracked, then we can figure a way to help with some of the out of pocket damages. I have tried to reach out to the *******, but the numbers I have, I cannot leave messages on the phones as the mailboxes are full. I am more than willing to get someone out to get this rectified, and move forward if the customer is willing. 

  Customer response

  01/07/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  Better Business Bureau:
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 

  Since I made the initial report, the company has contacted us. They agreed to replace the tank. They came out today and the plumber did verify that the tank was cracked. He switched it out. We have to clean up more water but waited to fix the floor/walls in the immediate area because of this. He also brought some water sensors.  Now we can have the workers come and finish up. The company has also agreed to pay $1000. We are waiting for them to contact us on this. I will be following up soon. 
  Regards,
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  10/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had signed up to have our water tested back in 2019. Due to covid, Hague water was behind schedule and finally called on 10/7/22 to schedule a test. Yesterday 10/11/22 **** ******* from Hague water showed up at the scheduled time to provide a water test at 5 pm. It took him just a little over an hour to run 3 or 4 tests on our tap water. At approximately 6:05pm we did agree to sit down and discuss pricing of a water treatment system for our home. Somewhere in the course of his very fast rambling we went from talking about water treatment to buying soaps. Fast forward to 6:30 pm and Mr. ******* was still rambling on about soaps, at which point we advised him that we needed to cook dinner for our children and get ready for bed as we get up early for work. Ten minutes later, Mr. ******* was still trying to convince us to buy soaps at which point I told Mr. ******* that he needed to collect his belongings and leave our residence. Five minutes after that, Mr. ******* was still sitting in the chair trying to complete his sales pitch, at which time, I told him for the 3rd time he needed to get his belongings and leave, or we will be forced to call the local authorities and have him removed from our home that way. He finally did get up and go to collect his belongings but was still trying to continue his sales pitch. I contacted the company on the same night to file a complaint against Mr. ******* and was told by the operator that I would receive a call back today on 10/12/22. Needless to say, this company never did call back.

  

  Business response

  10/27/2022

  I do apologize for the visit that you had with ****, and I spoke with **** in regards to this incident. We definitely did not want to make you feel uncomfortable in any way. I did speak with ***** today about this concern and explained that to him. From what I heard, our sales manager also reached out and spoke with ***** to address his concerns. Once again, we do apologize for the visit that you had on 10/11/2022. 

• Initial Complaint

  10/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 10-8-22 we had a rep come test our water because we “won” a free smartwatch and complementary water test due to my wife leaving them our info at an event. They gave us a pamphlet with info on how to get a smartwatch by mail for $20. If I’m paying $20 then how did I win a “free smartwatch”? This is just another scam company you hear about on the news. And the water test took over an hour and a half of our time.

  

  Business response

  10/27/2022

  We do apologize, that particular gift does require a shipping and handling fee. We did reach out to ****** in regards to this, and resolved the issue. We do take our time answering questions, and informing our potential clients during the water test, so sometimes the tests can take that long. 

  Customer response

  10/27/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ***

• Initial Complaint

  08/28/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a phone call telling me I won a prize from a concert I attended. I could choose from 3 different options. I chose the 3 day-2 night hotel stay. They said I would have to let someone come out to test my water to gain my prize. So, someone came out that SAME DAY (8/12/22) to test my water. After and hour and half of that, he left and gave me no information on my prize!! Of course the numbers that called me were unknown so I couldn’t call them back. I NEVER received my email confirmation they said they would send with how to use my getaway prize!!! I am disappointed in our society and that people are heartless enough to scam others!!!! I would never use this water company now that I’ve been scammed. The gentlemen that came to our house was kind and great, but due to the lack of follow through on my “prize” I will never use them and will keep telling others not to as well.

  

  Business response

  09/09/2022

  *******, I do apologize that your rep did not leave you with your gift. We appreciate you giving us your time, and in return you should have received that gift. I will personally make sure it gets mailed out to you. We definitely were not trying to scam you or make you upset. I am sure he/she simply forgot to leave it with you. Just keep a look out for it as I will be sending it today. 

  Sincerely, 

  ***** **********

• Initial Complaint

  07/29/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In May 2022, I attended a concert and Hague Quality Water had a booth doing a drawing to win a guitar. I did input my information for the drawing, but on the entry slip, I specifically wrote for them not to call my phone number. My wife had been in contact with them and even set up an appointment for them to come and do a water test because we “won” a free prize. We were unable to commit to the meeting and since the missed appointment, they have been calling her several times a week from different numbers, even as much as twice a day and today, after my wife didn’t answer their call, they decided to call mine. They called me with the intention to reschedule the meeting they set with my wife, but I told them they did not comply with my request to not contact me and I told them I would be filing a formal complaint.

  

  Business response

  08/15/2022

  Hello *******, I do apologize that the office personnel reached out to you instead of your wife. We have since removed your phone number from our records. I will go ahead and send out complimentary gift that you would have received at the water test appointment, due to the inconvenience. Please let me know if there is anything else we can do to correct the situation. 

  Customer response

  08/15/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* *****

• Initial Complaint

  07/14/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Scam. I won a drawing and was promised a smart watch if they came out and did a water test at my house. He came at 2:00 pm and left at 3:30 pm. As he was leaving, he handing me a piece of paper and said I can pay $25 to get a smart watch from some scam company online with some Smart devices from 1987. Wish I wouldn't have wasted any time on this. If I ever plan on improving the water quality at my house I will go somewhere else. Just wasn't expecting them to promise to give me my choice between a smart watch, Bluetooth speaker, headset, or a 3 day-2 night stay at some hotel. I chose the smart watch and was given a certificate to go buy one.

  

  Business response

  08/02/2021

  Sorry for the trouble Mr. ******. We do offer different options of gifts when we come out for our free water test. We recently had to change up the free gifts that we give out due to the old owner of that gift company passing away. I apologize about the miscommunication, but the gift is free of charge, they do ask you to pay for shipping and handling. We always welcome feedback, good or bad. I will reach out to you and make sure you get the smartwatch at no charge, or offer you an alternative gift. 

  Thank you, 

  *** ******** 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩