“My grandmother informs them once they are done that she will not be paying them any more money, and that this has gone to the states attorney’s office. On hearing this, one of the installers gets on his cell phone and calls his boss. They talk, he hangs up and walks into the bathroom and proceeds to take off the tub door. He walks out of the bathroom with this door and my grandmother says what are you doing and grabs the door…”
For $15,000 That bathtub better be coated in gold, and dispense liquid chocolate. Oh wait, it doesn’t, and they didn’t finish the job, and now the scam plumbers are leaving harassing phone calls and trying to steal doors and parts from the work site.
Hello,
My name is Dawn Green, and I’m writing on behalf of my grandparents. My 83 year old grandfather was hospitalized for 21 days and was told he would have to go to a nursing home if his bathroom wasn’t fitted for his needs( he has Parkinson’s). In a panic, my grandmother contacted Premier bathrooms after seeing television ads and ads in the VFW newsletter.
They sent out a salesman who knew of their situation, and he told them if they signed up that day, he would knock off $2000.00 to make the total $15,259.00. My grandmother did this as she didn’t want my grandfather to go to the nursing home. She paid $5000.00 by certified check that day, and was told another $5259.00 would be due when the tub arrived. It arrived on August 27th, 2007 and on the next day the installers came out. They ripped out the existing tub and started to do the plumbing for the new one. After they had left that evening, my grandparents thought something looked funny so they had a family friend who is a licensed plumber come take a look at it. He said this is all wrong, and he called the plumbing inspector to take a look. The inspector showed up the morning of August 29th, 2007, and asked the installers to show him their licenses, and they had none, so he shut them down. One of these installers went into the bathroom and stole a drain part to stop the new plumber from finishing the job. The inspector called and threatened them that if this part was not there the next day, he would be filing charges with the police. It arrived the next day.
In the meantime, the licensed plumber finished the plumbing portion and my grandfather came home from the hospital with a catheter, and they had to wait until September 17th, 2007 to get the installers back to thier house to finish. This installation was supposed to take 2 days, it should have been done on August 29th.
They show up on September 17th, and started finishing this, my mother had contacted the Illinois States Attorney General’s Office, and the advocate tells them DO NOT pay the last $5000.00, you have been overcharged. My grandmother informs them once they are done that she will not be paying them any more money, and that this has gone to the states attorney’s office. On hearing this, one of the installers gets on his cell phone and calls his boss. They talk, he hangs up and walks into the bathroom and proceeds to take off the tub door. He walks out of the bathroom with this door and my grandmother says what are you doing and grabs the door. They have a tug of war over it and my mother intervenes and tells him to leave or she is calling the police. He leaves the house and goes into their garage and my mom follows him and says I told you to leave, and he starts sweeping the garage floor. She tells him again and he finally says fine and gets in to the truck and takes off.
September 18th, 2007. Now the phone calls start. This company is calling saying they are in breach of their contract, and it needs to be settled. My grandmother informs them they should take it up with the states attorney’s office and hangs up. This job was to be done in 2 days, per the contract, so they are in breach on their end as well. There have been more phone calls and my grandmother has filed phone harassment charges with the local police.
I honestly hope that something can be done to prevent other elderly or disabled people from being taken advantage of like my family has.
Premier Bathrooms is an international manufacturer with sales offices around the world and different regions within the US. The grandmother could have protected herself better by comparison shopping in advance to see what would have been a reasonable price to pay. That way she would know it wasn’t a good deal at 15k or 13k. However, the salesman probably played on her fears of her husband being sent back to hospital in order to rush her into the contract. Mrs. Green’s experience may be limited to one rogue sales office, but that doesn’t mitigate its nastiness. Shame upon thee, Premier Bathrooms of Illinois. There’s a special place in hell for those who try to rip off old people. It has no working plumbing.
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WARNING….
Do not do business with this company. My wife worked for Premier Bathrooms for years. She was told to work illegally in the U.S. as part of her employment.
Premier Bathrooms would send their Canadian reps to work in the U.S. They coach them on what to say crossing the border. They Fed X their contracts and paper work to them so they won’t be caught with it in their car or when flying out of Canada by Customs. After they make their sales they are instructed to mail their contracts to the Kent Wash. office and throw away any paper work that has Premiers name on it. They then come back to Canada and get paid in U.S. dollars. Their commision for selling a tub is 10% of the selling price , which is on average $ 1,600.00 .
They are not only scamming some of the elderly ( by not returning deposits) but they are scamming the taxpayers of the U.S. by paying these people in U.S. dollars and not reporting it to the IRS. They also have some of their installation crews that are Canadian that do not report their income , and get paid in USD when they arrive home. Counsilling people to work in the US without an L1 is a felony , and they are getting away with it. No wonder your economy is in such dire straights with companies such as these operating this way.
Ok, how well do you know Premier Bathrooms as a company?
I worked for this company and their quality is no where worth the price! They charge 10,000 + more than what they pay and as much as 20,000 +! These tubs look institutional and the bath they use for advertising (Easy-Bath) isn’t ever going to accomidate an elderly person or someone with disability! The seat sits 11 ” low with a slope in the seat. If you are @ all tall, your knees will be up against the door! It is not like a hot-tub, nothing to keep the water warm, the opposite, the air jets push cool air and chills the bath quickly! Their lifetime warranty isn’t any better! 1 year on bath, one year on parts and labour and the only thing you have a lifetime on is the seal! But what they should say is 20 years cause the seal needs to be whiped dry after EACH bath. If your taps break, prepare to wait 6 weeks as the brand is from the UK and if its after 1 year, you get to pay for it. These tubs I guarantee you are not custom made! They all have a mold and can not be made to fit your space! Your space is made to fit the bath! They are massed order and kept in warehouses all over the US and Canada! They contract with any installer who is available! Ed has been promoting Premier for years!!! Trump bailed him out from going bankrupt! He isn;t doing any knew adds either! So shop around, search the web, do your homework, buy direct from a company and hire your own installer and save yourself thousands!
Cheers
Here are the number of complaints received by various BBB chapters in the last 36 months for Premier Bathrooms.
Format: “complaints – BBB chapter”
13 – Alaska, Oregon, Western Washington
2 – Western Washington
1 – Detroit, Michigan
13 – Mainland British Columbia
1 – Mid-Western and Central Ontario
7 – New York
2 – New York City, New York
85 – Orlando, Florida
1 – San Jose, California
0 – Vancouver Island, British Columbia
No additional comment necessary.
Response to posting by Dawn Green:
On August 10, 2007, this customer entered into a contract with Premier Baths, Inc., (‘Premier”) for the purchase of a Plymouth model hydrotherapy walk-in bathtub.
Premier exclusively uses independent contractors for its installations. Premier requires proof of any required licensure and insurance prior to using the independent contractors for its installations.
As with any construction project, difficulties can occur. As such, due to inconveniences encountered by the customer during this installation, Premier waived the final balance owed on the contract and fully honored the one year unlimited warranty. A lifetime warranty is still in place on the door seal.
Premier takes customer satisfaction seriously and continually strives for excellence in that area. Premier regrets any customer dissatisfaction and has responded to the customer and any agencies involved and this issue has been resolved.
Melissa Allman
Corporate Legal Coordinator
Premier Bathrooms
You guys don’t know anything about Premier Bathrooms. I purchased two bath tubs for my mother who has had both knees replaced. The advisor who came to my home (Brian Courtney) was very professional and really cared about my mothers needs. We signed the contracted and he was very helpful to explain eveything to my mother and I. We paid about 15,000 for each tub and it was very well worth it!! My mother could of gone to the nursing home and 30,000 is well worth my mother’s saftey and keeping her home!! This tub if the reason why my mother can now live by herself again!! This tub kept my mother out of the nursing home, helped her bathe safetly again, and she doesn’thave to worry about falling! You complain about paying so much money for the tub?? Isn’t your family worth it?? Maybe not to you…I recommend everyone to Premier Bathrooms and I WILL be buying another with them!! When you all 1-800-475-9077 you speak to the nicest people and they’ll help you set up an appt.