ComplaintsforSonshine Products

• Initial Complaint

  04/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We placed an order, the company said 5-7 weeks, then we were notified that it would be 12-20 weeks. So we sent an email complaining. They then canceled our order, saying they never said 5 months. Then later in the day they wrote us back saying they made a mistake, they did say 5 months. This company is ran poorly, and now over a month of waiting we have to start again.

  Business response

  04/16/2024

  Customer contacted us on 4/14/24 at 6:34pm via email questioning our quoted lead time of 6-8 weeks.  He had found old guidance on our website saying 12-20 weeks or 3-5 months.  He wrote the following:
  "We ordered a spa cover on March 3, 2024. When we decided to use your company and finished picking everything, we were told between 6-8 weeks. We were willing to wait because this was the product we chose. However now looking at your website it could be another 3-5 months before it comes in. That is UNEXCEPTABLE. I would have never chosen your company if I would have known that... It seems as though I was intentionally duped by your company and told lies just to get me to purchase. I do not want to have to get my attorneys involved."

  On 4/15/24 at 10:54am, we replied that we were unaware that any parts of our website still quoted our longer lead times from last year.  However, as he seemed upset to the point of threatening legal action, we refunded his payment in full and informed him that we had cancelled his order.

  On 4/15/24 at 11:07am, the customer replied saying that he did not want to cancel the order and was simply looking for guidance on the lead time.

  On 4/15/24 at 2:25pm, we reinstated his order, re-charged his payment, and thanked him for pointing out to us the section on our website that is quoting longer than currently anticipated lead-time.

  On 4/15/24 at 10:37pm, we receive another accusatory email questioning whether we are even an American company.  He wrote the following:
  "Is this a company located in CN?  If so, then please continue with our refund.  We have lost trust in your company.  After your response this morning wee had  our legal tea do a deep into your operation, and they have concluded that this is not an American company.  We do not wish to support any company that is not located in America.  Especially after the email you sent this morning.  We understand shipping by sea takes 60-70 days, and this is most probably the reason for your delays.  We are invested in other endeavors where we source product from New Delhi, and we are very familiar with shipping freight by sea.  Never the less, please consider this a formal request to cancel our order.  We will expect a reply no later than tomorrow acknowledging our request.  If we do not hear back we will contact American Express and  share with them your email.  I have no doubt they will find in our favor."

  On 4/16/24 at 10:37am, we cancelled his order (again) at his request and refunded his order (again).

  To be honest, we're not really sure what to make of this customer.  What started off by us assuring him that the one place he found on our website about covers taking upwards of 5 months to ship is not reflective of our current lead time which is plastered on the rest of the website, devolved into the customer accusing us of lying to him intentionally to dupe him into buying from us and him thinking we are a front for some Chinese conglomerate.  At this point, the order is cancelled and the payment is refunded per the customer's request.  

  Please let us know if you have any further questions regarding this complaint.  As always, we appreciate the opportunity to respond.

  Best regards,

  Jason F******
  Sonshine Covers/America's SPA-MART

   

• Initial Complaint

  09/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We ordered a hot tub cover from this business because we had bought one 7 years earlier and it was so well made. We ordered in January and it took the full 20+ weeks it said. When we received it we noticed that everything was made as the other except this time there was only one handle on each side and that instead of it being made out of the same material as cover there was only one handle and it was cheap canvas type strap (see picture). It has not even been 3 months since we received the hot tub and it has only been used a few time (texas summer....) and the strap has already broken. No one at the company ever answers the phone nor returns calls so I filled out a support email. That was returned quickly stating that handles aren't under warranty and basically they won't do anything about it. Now we have a useless lid/hot tub as it is very difficult to lift off the hot tub with no working handle. We'd be happy if they would just sent new outer covering for it. I looked at my older order and we ordered everything the same. I guess the quality of their work has just gone down the dump and their customer service is non existent. Products should last longer than you waited for them to be made!!!!

  Business response

  09/11/2023

  As the customer has stated, she reached out regarding her spa cover issue.  Based upon the fact that it involves the handle which is excluded from the warranty, the claim was denied. However, as this cover has only been installed for 3 months we will make an exception and send the customer a new outer skin for the cover.  Our customer service team will be in contact with her soon.

  Jason F******
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

  Customer response

  09/11/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ********* *******
  

• Initial Complaint

  03/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  HORRIBLE company AVOID AT ALL COST!!!! I paid $658 for a premium quality hot tub cover and after using it for about 1 to 3 months i noticed it absorbs a lot of water. The hot tub cover is very heavy now and when you open and close it you hear a gallon or two or even three of water splashing around in the inside liner (underneath the spa cover) back and forth with no way of draining. (unless i make holes in it, which would alter and void any type of warranty) I sent numerous pictures and videos to the company and spent hours on the phone. At one point they transferred me to the owner, i believe his name was Jason, who completely dismissed my claim, mocked me, asked what i do for a living (like it matters). He went off on me, cursing me out, made fun of my profession, called me weak and a baby for complaining about the water in the hot tub and how heavy it is now. I was blown away with how rude and unprofessional he was. He said the same thing someone else in his google reviews said, to ship in back at MY OWN expense and they will take a look at it. We have owned 3 different hot tub covers and never had this issue with any of them. In addition many of our friends have hot tubs and they also never had any problem like this. This company is HORRIBLE. Boggles my mind how they are in business. How can you make and sell a product and not standby your product and your warranty?! I am also a business owner and I'm completely baffled at my experience. Seems to me that the hot tub cover takes on water from the hot tub, when the steam rises and hits the inside of the cover. It absorbs the spas steam and the water sits between the inside liner and DOES NOT DRAIN. the water is trapped and has no way out. I tried standing the hot tub cover vertically and it does not drain. Its clearly a faulty hot tub cover.

  Business response

  03/14/2023

  *** ****** brought his claim to our attention.  We reviewed the videos and the photos that he submitted.  It was determined that no issue was found but we invited *** ****** to send us the cover for a further warranty review.  *** ****** has not been denied warranty service, he simply doesn't think he should have to pay for the shipping to and from our facility.  Like most products that are purchased today, our warranty does not cover the cost of shipping to and from our facility.  Because this expense can be high, we gladly review warranty claims with video and photo evidence.  However, just because video is submitted does not mean it shows a valid warranty claim that requires repair or replacement.  In this case, the video and photo evidence provided did not show a defect.  

  At issue is the presence of water between the inside of the outer vinyl covering and the foam's vapor barrier.  *** ****** alleges that the water never evacuates.  Simply put, our spa cover is a sewn product.  During periods of rain, water will and does seep into the cover through the sewn seams.  Our covers feature four weep holes on each of the two the underneath sides.  Utilizing gravity and during the process of opening and closing the cover, the water is evacuated through the weep holes and somewhat through the seams of the cover.  This is natural for all spa covers.  *** ******** video showed a cover that had some water in it.  However, his assertion that the cover is defective and never evacuates the water is the point of contention.  If *** ****** is correct and the water never evacuated, there would be much more water trapped than illustrated in this photos and videos.  The fact that a small amount of water is featured in the evidence tells us that the cover is evacuating the water.  Between the rain from outside and the rising steam from the hot tub, this process of evacuation happens a lot more than most customers realize.  It is not out of the realm of possibility that several gallons of water can be processed and recycled in this way over the course of a month.  As *** ****** video evidence does not show dozens of gallons of water trapped inside, the issue that he contends does not exist.  The cover is in fact evacuating the water as designed, *** ****** simply doesn't believe there should be any.  As the manufacturer of the product, respectfully, he is wrong.  

  *** ****** does not accept our assessment of the video evidence so we invited him to send the cover to us for further review as determined in our warranty which is attached to this reply.  He has refused.  As of this time, *** ******** warranty claim has been denied.  It was processed with the information provided and he is welcome to send us the cover for further examination.

  Jason F******
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

  Customer response

  03/14/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  

  Jason is wrong in his diagnostics of the issue with the hot tub cover. The hot tub cover does not take in water from the outside through the seams due to rain water but instead it takes on water underneath the hot tub cover through the liners / seams from the spas natural evaporation. The spa produces steam and which rises and it penetrates the hot tub cover trapping moisture and accumulating 1 to 3 gallons of water approximately. I have came to this conclusion because i have to add water to the spa once every month and half. In the 10 years i have owned this hot tub i never had to add water before with my old hot tub cover, in addition i never had a hot tub cover that had gallons of water splashing around between the liners making it very heavy and very uncomfortable to lift. It is very clear that this much water should not be splashing around in a hot tub cover. There should be no water present between the liners. When the hot tub cover is fully open, positioned vertically, the water DOES NOT drain. It is simply trapped in the hot tub cover. 

  This is a very simple and clear problem, there is a lot of water in the hot tub cover so much that it makes it very difficult to operate. No hot tub covers have this issue and are designed this way. It is very clear that this hot tub cover is defective. The owner should stand by his product and pay for the shipping of his deflective product, do a full inspection, and make the right decision based on his findings. Not simply deny my claim and pretend everything is good. I wish i came across his google business page before i made the purchase. All the negative reviews and reading peoples comments on how they were treated was very shocking.

  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ******
  

  Business response

  03/15/2023

  As stated previously, if the customer does not agree with our assessment of the video and photos, there is a process outlined in our warranty statement.  We welcome him sending us the cover for further review.

  Best regards,

  Jason F******
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

  Customer response

  03/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  

  Please send shipping label and i will happily send the cover back to you. Or please refund me my money. 

  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ******
  

  Business response

  03/29/2023

  Our previous response stands.  The evidence provided does not show a warranty situation.  There is a procedure outlined in our warranty in the event that the customer would like the cover further inspected.  He is welcome to exercise that option.

   

• Initial Complaint

  03/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I ordered a hot tub cover in October 2022. I still have not received the product. They said there was a possibility that it might be shipped in January but it wasn’t. They then said it may be 16-20 weeks from date of purchase. We are passed that point. I want to know if I will receive it this month if not I want a refund.

  Business response

  03/13/2023

  Ms. ******** spa cover is currently in production and will ship in the coming days.  Please let us know if you have any other questions.

  Best regards,

  Jason F
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

• Initial Complaint

  02/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I will first start off by saying the product appears to be at face value well constructed, and I did receive it free of damage. However, I placed my order on 2/1/2023 at 4:43pm. I paid the extra $200+ dollars for the rushed production (made within 5 business days). Kept checking the website and all it said was 'in progress'. On 2/15/2023 (10 business days later) I received a phone call which I missed and a subsequent voicemail (date/time, and transcript attached). ******** had questions regarding my hot tub (measuring questions etc...). I answered the questions (to Molly who called), and they stated my cover would be made right away. I then e-mailed customer service regarding ******** reaching out to me 10 days later and not sooner- as to fulfill my order within the promised 5 business days. I expected some type of monetary credit as they didn't uphold their end of the agreement. I received a bogus e-mail which I have attached telling me they reached out to me 2/6 (lie), and 2/10 (lie). I have attached my 'voicemail' call log within the voicemail screen shot. My last voicemail from an unknown number was in September. I believe they tried to turn this around on me, as if I didn't call them back regarding a question they had. Which I obviously would've since I wanted this cover made within 5 days and paid a high price for that! This is completely unethical and a shady business practice to 'gaslight' a customer and lie to them about calling them just to buy yourself more time in production. If you can't uphold the deal extend the 'rushed production' days on your website.

  Business response

  02/25/2023

  As a manufacturer of custom-made products, we regularly reach out to customers with additional questions to help them in the ordering process.  In this case, we were reaching out to *** ****** to ensure the radius of the rounded corners was correct and to communicate to him that our covers are not compatible with a proprietary cover removal system that is common with owners of his brand of hot tub.  As you can see from the attached tickets 1 and 2, we reached out on three occasions to confirm this information without response.  On 2/15, we reached out by phone and the call was not answered.  *** ****** did return the call and give us the information to complete his order.  It was manufactured and shipped and we are happy to hear that he likes the cover.

  Our current lead time for covers without Rush Production is currently 3-5 months.  This is a result of a combination of having a lot of orders to complete and, most importantly, we deliver the majority of the covers we sell because our cost of delivery is lower than what we pay for third-party freight carriers.  We typically serve a market once every 6-9 weeks with our delivery so the lead time is extended in cases where an order comes in shortly before a particular route is closed out and must wait on the route to be scheduled a couple months later.  In fact, the main reason our Rush Production price is so high is that in addition to offering a way to jump the production queue, we are bridging the gap between our cost of delivering on our truck versus a freight carrier.

  *** ******** cover may not have ended up shipping in 5 business days and while it certainly shipped well before our typical lead time, the part that seems to be getting lost in this story is that we were trying to get *** ****** the right custom-made cover.  As evidenced by the tickets attached, we reached out three times for this information so my staff's response to *** ******** request for a refund of the Rush Production fee was appropriate and *** ******** accusations of gaslighting and lying to customers is uncalled for.

  However, as I gathered the information to respond to this complaint I noticed that the emails that we sent from our customer service ticket system ******* had been sent to ****************** while when he opened a ticket with us to request the refund it came from [email protected].  I was able to confirm that [email protected] was not only the correct email but it was also the email provided with the original order.  My staff had simply mistyped the email address as the outbound ticket was created so it's safe to assume that *** ****** never received our communication.  For this reason, I'm refunding the rush fee.  It's a shame that people assume the worst and are quick to accuse, but we're certainly happy *** ****** seems to like the cover.

   

  Best regards,

  Jason F******
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

   

   

  Customer response

  02/25/2023

  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. I am sorry for accusing the company of gaslighting, however I wish Stacey had looked into why I hadn't responded to the first 2 tickets instead of receiving the e-mail I got. I am glad Jason can make things right after this honest mistake. For this reason, I will continue to use ******** and review them positively. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ******
  

• Initial Complaint

  02/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We began the process of having a spa cover made back in July 2022. We were told that the product may take as long as November 2022. Between those dates the company requested a plethora of information regarding the size and shape of the spa cover, which we gladly provided. Finally in November 2022, we received another request for measurements, and we were informed that the "team" was working on the cover. On January 13, 2023, I called the company to inquire as to where the cover was, and I was told by ****** that the "team" was working on it and to expect an email with shipping information by the end of the next week. On February 2, 2023, I called the company and was told that she, *****, did not have any information as to where the process was at, and that she would contact me as soon as she knew anything. Today is February 10, 2023, I called the company only to be forwarded to a message box, after the recording told me I was first in the line of calls. Our order number is ******** and we paid $948.95 on July 20, 2022 for the product.

  Business response

  02/11/2023

  TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

  Ms. ********* order has been refunded.  Please let us know if you have any questions or need further information.

  Best regards,

  Jason F
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had a issue with my cover ballooning on the outside and drooping on the inside, well within the warranty period so I reached out to spa mart via phone and explained the problem. I was told to take pictures and send them to the service dept, and they would get back to me. I sent them a video of the problem. This was Nov.7, 2022 A week went by, no contact by spa mart, so I made another call and was told they were still looking at the video and would get back with me.Another week went by with no response so I made another call with the same result. This went on for another 2 weeks. On Nov 30,2022 I called again and was connected with *****, who told me based on the video, he deemed the ballooning and drooping to be normal. I told him I didn’t think it was, I asked him if he had seen the video and he said no. He then proceeded to tell me that he had been building covers for 25 years and basically I didn’t know what I was talking about. This went on for a few minutes with him telling the same thing and not really understanding what I was telling him. I offered to “FaceTime” him to show him the problem, to which he said he didn’t need to see it, it was normal. After arguing a few more minutes, I finally “talked” him into watching the video ,which he laughed at and repeated that it was normal. He did offer for me to send it in for inspection, at my cost ,and he would get back to me. After the conversation I just had with him this was a big “no”. ***** was the most unprofessional business person that I have dealt with in quite awhile, arguing with me about cover instead of working for a solution.He lost my business and any recommendations for anyone else. The last thing he said was”we’re here for you” with a laugh. ***** was totally rude and a jerk.

  Business response

  11/30/2022

  Mr. ******** contacted us about a concern about his spa cover.  Our staff reviewed his video and we determined that it is not a valid warranty issue based upon the evidence provided.  We pointed out that Mr. ******** can send us the production for a further warranty inspection.  He declined and became abusive and insulting.  If Mr. ******** decides to send the cover for inspection, we will perform a secondary inspection.  However, at this time and based on the issue that was illustrated in the video, no warranty repair nor replacement is validated as it is not a defect in neither materials nor workmanship.

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond.  Please let us know if there are further questions.

  Best regards,

  ***** *******
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

   

  Customer response

  12/11/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** ********

   

  While the video may not show a good view of the top ballooning , it definitely shows the 4-5 inch sag on the inside. I will make another video showing the ballooning of the cover 

  .All of this could have been avoided if ***** had chosen to be more professional and offered a solution instead of immediately defending his product, then making false claims of our conversation 

  Business response

  12/20/2022

  Mr. ******** is welcome to provide further video. In the event that the evidence shows a warranty issue, we will treat it as such.  However, be advised that the remedy for this potential warranty issue would likely be a repair and not a replacement. We will reach out to Mr. ******** with his options once he submits the further evidence he purports to have. 
  

   

• Initial Complaint

  08/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 06/224/22 I ordered a spa cover for $495.00. On 07/24/22 I inquired on the status of my order and was assurred that it was ready and being scheduled for delivery on the next truck out, about one to two weeks. A month goes by and on 08/24/22 they send an email saying the truck is leaving today, do you want to make a color change because we have no blue vinyl. I am not home to get this message. They sent three of them Morning , Afternoon, and evening! The rep said in this email it takes 5 hours to comlete a spa cover from first cut to finish. Why have I been waiting 2,260 hours? They said they contacted me on 08/18/22 with this info about the color change due to the no blue vinyl situation They did not and I would like them to prove that claim. Funny I got all their other emails except that one? Now they say it will take another 3 months at least to get me the spa cover. I told them to cancel the order and now they say OK but I have to pay them $150? For what? incompetence? They offer a 30 day money back gurantee. I don't want it, I want a refund. I can't imagine them producing a quality product when they run their company this horribly. I do not want the product, i would like my money back. I have disputed this charge with my credit card company. I have all the emails they sent, and there wasn't any Aug. 18 contact through email or voice mail. Totally untrue! To make matters worse, soon after they made the charge on my credit card, it was compromised and flagged for fraudulent activity! This was the only place I used the card for.. My opinion,,,,SCAMMERS at worst or bunglers at least.

  Business response

  09/12/2022

  As *** ****** has initiated a chargeback on the credit card payment, we were unable to process a refund.  However, we have notified the issuing bank of our acceptance of the chargeback through which *** ****** will receive his refund.  His order has been cancelled.

  If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us.

   

  Best regards,

  Jason F******
  Sonshine Covers/America's SPA-MART

  Customer response

  09/12/2022

  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

  08/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  03/8/2022: online order placed- Order# ******* Covermate 3 Spa Cover lifter price $279.95 03/15/2022: installed spa cover lifter (licensed professional) 03/15/2022-6/15/2022: used once or twice 06/16/2022: The Spa cover lifter broke on it own (captured on security camera) uploaded 06/20/2022: contacted ******** support line and reported issue, the advised that I have to contact the manufacturer (Leisure pools). I contacted the manufacturer who indicated that they DO NOT communicate with customers and I should contact ********. I contact ******** again : they indicated that they will contact the manufacturer since the product was recently purchased and this a warranty issue. I sent them a pictures and a video of the incident that was captured on my security camera. they advised they will contact me back as soon as they have a resolution - they never did. 07/17/2022: I emailed again to request an update - no response 07/22/2022: I emailed again to request an update - no response I am very frustrated due to the unresponsiveness and request they replace the apparently faulty spa cover lifter and reimburse for the installation fees. Note that I attached a video of the item breaking on its own.

  Business response

  08/16/2022

  As the customer notes, this is a warranty issue with a product from another company, ******* ********.  ******* ******** does in fact prefer not to deal directly with end users and asks their resellers to work with end users on warranty issues.  This customer should not have been sent to ******* ******** in the first place.  From the image and the video it does appear that the parts should be replaced under warranty.  ******* ********' warranty only covers parts and not installation costs nor shipping costs.  We will be in contact with the customer to determine the parts required for replacement and once we collect payment for the shipping cost, we will ship those parts out.  I understand this is not what the customer may be looking for but we are only able to offer what the company is offering under their warranty.  Questions and comments regarding what should be covered and provided by the warranty are more appropriately directed to the company who is extending the warranty.

  
  Jason F******
  America's ********/Sonshine Covers

• Initial Complaint

  03/15/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 11/12/2020, I purchased a spa cover from this company, which has a 36 month warranty. I have owned this cover for approximately 15 months and the vinyl has shrunken so much that it is greatly leaking steam/water in the mid section where the bend is. I contacted the company, ***** replied and offered a solution, which I do not accept as is not a solution for a product that is under warranty. This cover is not too small, has Jason has insinuated (to which I had sent him more pictures). I have taken pictures, videos, sent numerous emails with only 2 replies and has been almost a month now since our first contact.

  Business response

  03/15/2022

  TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to Ms. ********* complaint.  Ms. ******* reached out to us regarding her spa cover stating the the steam stopper device was not sealing the hinge area.  As reference, our spa covers feature a hinge that is 1.5" wide connecting the two halves.  Our steam stopper fits into this void to seal the gap created by the hinge width not allowing the two foam cores to meet up with one another.  Spa covers lay flat on the hot tub.  When they do so, the two foam cores are separated by a gap equivalent to the width of the hinge.  This gap is filled with the steam stopper as the cover is completely closed and the foam cores are compressed against the steam stopper. 

  Upon first glance, Ms. ********* concern would lead us to investigate whether the steam stopper was defective or has been pulled out.  However, upon reviewing the pictures and the video that she provided, a couple of things jump out.  1) The gap in the hinge area is not a rectangle shape, it is wider at the bottom than at the top.  2) The steam stopper clearly is not filling the current gap and again the space at the bottom is more noticeable than at the top.  3) The skirt pieces on the side of the cover are not meeting to each other when they are designed to overlap.

  This led me to conclude that the cover is too small for the spa.  If it is too small, the cover cannot sit down flush to the tub.  Since it is not sitting down flush and is angled up a bit, the foam cores cannot rotate around and compress against the steam stopper device.  This is what we concluded from video and picture evidence.  If Ms. L****** would like to send the cover in for warranty inspection she certainly can and we will conduct a thorough examination of the cover for defects that may be covered by the warranty.  Ms. ******* is not saying that we mismanufactured the cover which makes sense as our production records indicate that it was manufactured correctly.  Please keep in mind that our foam and vinyl patterns are cut independently from one another and the statistical probability of the same error being made on both cuts is highly unlikely.  Further, it is confusing that Ms. ******* is now alleging that the cover has shrunk while maintaining her assertion that the cover is not too small for her spa.  Spa covers don't shrink to the point of not being able to sit down flush.

  We have offered Ms. ******* the option of purchasing another spa cover from us at cost as we do not see this as a manufacturing defect, but a mistake in ordering the proper size.  The issue with giving her a new cover is complicated in that if she is correct and the cover was made incorrectly and we make a replacement spa cover the exact same size as originally ordered, we feel that the same issue will present itself.  However, if we are correct and the problem does stem from the cover being ordered too small for hot tub, we should not be responsible for replacement cost.

  We propose the following:

  - Ms. L****** should measure the current spa cover and submit proof of the size of the spa cover she received.  Though unlikely, if the cover is not at least 84" x 84" with 17" radius rounded corners we should provide her with a new cover.
  - Ms. L****** should measure her spa/hot tub and submit proof of the size of her spa for comparison.
  - Ms. L****** should attempt to get the cover to sit flush with the spa and submit pictures of the cover again.
  - If Ms. L****** is not satisfied with our assessment of the images and video she provides, she needs to send us the cover for further inspection as specified in our warranty document that I have attached to this response.  Our address is ******** Covers, **** ****** ** ***** ** ****** ** ******
  - In the event that the cover is shown to be a minimum of 84X84 and the spa is also 84X84 and if Ms. L****** is alleging that the vinyl has shrunk, we would be willing to do the following:  We will manufacture a new vinyl skin for the cover and send it to her for our cost of manufacturing plus shipping which will be approximately $150.  Once she puts the new skin on the cover, if she submits photos to show that the new skin has fixed the problem we will refund the amount as it will have been a warranty issue.  However, if the skin does not solve the problem it will show that the skin had not shrunk and we were correct in our assessment that the cover was ordered too small.

  We are committed to working through this issue with our customer.  We look forward to a positive resolution.

  Best regards,

  Jason F
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

  Business response

  04/19/2022

  Ms. L****** ordered 84x84.  Not 64x64.  That detail notwithstanding, Ms. ********* measurement of the length perpendicular to the fold is being done with the cover upside laying flat.  As our covers are tapered from the center, the sides need to raised compressing against the steamstoppers to get a proper measurement.  She basically measured up the hypotensus of one right triangle and down the other all while the making the hinge twice its width by not compressing the cover.  Even given that we can see that it's measuring correctly.  It does appear to be 1/8" short in the width on the underside inside the skirt but we can see from the bulge of the foam that it extends past that seam and is the correct width.  That said, the shortage on that width measurement would not cause the original issue communicated.

  All that said, it doesn't address the following issues:
  1) Ms. L****** initially reached out regarding steam escaping.  After investigation of her photos, it was determined that the cover is not being allowed to meet together at the hinge and we suspected that the cover may be too small.  We requested a measurement of the cover and of the spa.  The measurement of the cover, though flawed, shows the cover was likely made within spec.  She has not provided a similar measurement of her spa.
  2) Our concern continues to be that if we make another cover the exact same size, it will not solve her issue.  Nothing that we have seen in the videos and the pictures provided of the cover leads us to believe the cover was manufactured incorrectly that would cause it not to seal in the center which was her original complaint.

  Since we appear to be at an impasse of understanding, we will refund Ms. L****** for the original amount with no restocking fee once the cover is returned to us.  We will have a truck in her area in the next couple weeks and will pick up the cover.  Once we have the cover, we will issue a check as too much time has passed to credit the card.  If Ms. L****** does not return the cover to our driver when they arrive, we can only assume she wishes to keep it and no refund will be issued.

  We have reached out to Ms. L****** to discuss this issue and she has not yet returned our call.

  Please let us know if you have any additional questions regarding this complaint.

  Best regards,

  Jason F
  America's SPA-MART/Sonshine Covers

  Customer response

  04/19/2022

  ****** ******** *******
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  ****** *************
  P.S. Jason, to my knowledge, did not call because no message was left on my cell.
  
  

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