Chicago Walk-In Tubs

During the month of August, 2010, we had a walk-in tub installed for my elderly mother-in-law, at her home. The tub was purchased from Chicago Walk-In-Tubs (CWT) located on Touhy Avenue in Chicago, and installed by one of their contractors. From the time of installation, the services of CWT have been nothing but unsatisfactory and frustrating. Calls gone unreturned and appointments missed (while my mother-in-law was in the hospital, which was an added burden) are only the beginning of the problems with the administration of this company. The installation was initially incomplete. Spaces on the floor and wall, where tiles should have been installed, were left bare. After complaining, and after about a month of phone messages, CWT finally had tiles installed, but they were in no way aesthetically pleasing. There is a large gap on the floor, where instead of cutting and installing a tile, they filled the space with grout. Upon first use, we observed that water accumulated on a shelf at the front end of the tub, that drained down a ridge running horizontally, the width of the shelf and onto the floor of our bathroom, ultimately landing underneath the tub on the sub flooring. This ridge was caused by the installation of an ?extender,? that should have been installed on the other side of the tub (the rear, as opposed to the front, where water is bound to accumulate). Independent of CWT, we installed a plastic barrier to try to ebb the flow of water onto the floor during a regular shower, but in order to capture most of the water destined for the floor, we must use a folded washcloth to absorb the majority of water. Water continues to pool on the shelf because the tub was installed incorrectly. We installed a plastic fin, to block the majority of water that poured out of the unit while showering. We must use a rag to soak up water that pools, and would otherwise run out the gulley, positioned so as to drain water off the shelf and directly onto the floor. In order to repair this, the tub would have to be entirely removed and re-installed, putting the extension at the back end of the tub. Another significant installation error, we have been advised by a plumber, was the absence of a P-trap and vent, which would have collected excess water. Like the other installation error, fixing this would require the entire removal of the tub, and re-installation. Finally, the showerhead handle and mount are built into the tub in such a way that when showering, water runs into the inside of the tub and ultimately onto the floor inside the construction, causing water damage on the ceiling in our kitchen. The tub design is flawed, and everyone including Pnina Arsers of CWT has acknowledged this. The shower handle retracts into the tub assembly, but while taking a shower, water runs into the empty socket. During subsequent conversations with a plumber, we learned that CWT regularly hires non-licensed plumbers to install tubs. In fact, the plumber who inspected the damage and incorrect installation told us that the man who installed our tub was a tradesman who specialized in drywall. I have asked CWT repeatedly for a copy of the individual?s license, with no results. Several months after the installation we observed the beginning of water damage on the kitchen ceiling directly below the tub. That damage has since grown to a sizeable, unsightly damage to our kitchen ceiling. CWT has acknowledged that they incorrectly installed the tub, and they have agreed to repair the ceiling at their cost. The damage was caused both by a leak on the faucet installation inside the tub, as well as leaking through the showerhead handle and mount, in addition to the incorrect installation of the tub, overall. The plumber stopped the worst of the flow from the incorrectly installed faucet leak, but he stated at the time that in order to fix all the installation errors, he would have to remove the tub completely and re-install it. At that time we were not confident that the design of the tub was sound. Between the shelf that collected water, and the other leaks in the tub, we were not comfortable leaving this equipment in our home. We therefore asked if, rather than re-installing the defective tub, they would install a bathtub that we would purchase. Initially, CWT assured us that they would solve the problems, both the damage to the ceiling as well as the defective tub. Then CWT argued that they are not responsible for the design flaws of the tub, and we conceded that point. Nonetheless, we agreed, the combination of poor installation AND the design flaws were enough for us to meet CWT half-way, purchase new tub and equipment ourselves, as long as they paid for the installation labor with a licensed plumber. Michael agreed to this verbally, and we discussed with the plumber (in front of Michael) what type of new equipment we needed to purchase. We proceeded to purchase that equipment that day, in anticipation of replacing the tub as quickly as possible. The following day, we were contacted by the plumber, who informed us that CWT had not kept their liability insurance current, and that we needed to wait for them to put their business into minimal order. Concerned, we agreed, and were subsequently contacted by the owner of CWT with a request to have an insurance adjuster examine the damage. Pnina explained to me at that time that, apparently unbeknownst to her, their liability insurance had expired, and that she intended to make a claim for the cost, which she assured me, were her responsibility. ?We are on the same side,? she kept assuring me. ?We will fix this for you,? she insisted. She pressed that she would work with us to resolve everything, ?as we had agreed.? Therefore, I began to build trust in her good will, which as it turns out, was a mistake. On 14 March (after several non-returned calls) we scheduled a ?non-negotiable? date for CWT?s insurance adjuster to inspect the damage. Again, she insisted that we needed to work with the insurance company in order for her to cover the expenses. I was again assured by the owner of CWT that ?she accepted full responsibility,? and that CWT would ?make everything right for us. This reaffirmed our verbal agreement with her husband and sales manager, Michael. On 23 March, 33 minutes late, Pnina and her insurance representative showed up at my house to inspect the damage. Having received additional assurances that ?she was on my side,? and therefore I did not need to make my case to the insurance adjuster, allowed her and the adjuster to inspect the damage and the incorrectly-installed tub. She was quite secretive in the presence of the insurance representative, and after he left she stayed behind to talk to me, putatively to discuss how I might approach the manufacturer to get a refund on the tub itself. She then asked me to show her what was wrong. It was at this point that she began to back off of our agreement to cover labor costs for swapping out the tub, arguing all of a sudden that the tub was not her problem, and that if there was a defect in the tub (which she admitted, there was) I needed to pursue the manufacturer. She claimed no responsibility for the improper installation, other than fixing our kitchen ceiling, and told me that if I wanted to swap out the tub I would need to now cover the labor costs. This was a direct contradiction of what was agreed to by Michael (her husband and our primary contact at CWT) in front of the plumber. She dismissed my argument that we had already agreed they would cover the labor as long as we purchased new equipment, claiming that ?Michael doesn?t know what he is talking about,? and arguing that Michael was ?legally blind,? and therefore would not be able to make such an evaluation. When I reminded her of the fact that CWT installed the tub with a non-licensed ?plumber,? she countered, saying that he was licensed, but that he was now back in Serbia. I asked her for a copy of his license, which I assumed she must have on hand for insurance purposes, and she promised to produce the license last night via fax. I received neither a call, nor a fax. She also agreed to work with us to schedule repairs to the ceiling. She has not done so. During earlier discussions, both with her and Michael, we were assured that they would work with us to resolve the problems, which included: - improper installation of tub by non-licensed plumber - design flaw in tub that causes leaks both internal and external - water damage to the ceiling of the kitchen, below the tub.

Overall the experience was going great. We had a great working relationship. The problem that we had with them is that we really had to stay after them to make sure the work was getting done. And the problem with the project came in the contract where we had a labor budget and then an allowance budget. That budget was $4000, and we were never communicated how much of that budget was remaining. She told us she was over her head on the project, that it was costing her more than we had paid. There were additional assumptions made, just very poor communications which caused a lot of problems throughout. She made assumptions about services that were provided and the costs associated with them. We only owed her $6500, and we paid her $5300 to finish the project which was just carpet and granite. She has cashed that check, and has ceased communication with us. She won't return phone calls, our last communication was October 12th. She called to ask if we could leave our back gate open. We didn't realize she was doing this just to have her crew come in and pick up all of their tools. She stills owes us the granite countertops, carpet, and plumbing work. We wanted to retain a larger portion of the cost that was remaining, but she was stated that she needed to pay the installers and purchase the product first.