CHESTER, Va. -- A Chester man said he had enough after he was forced to wait weeks for nearly $4,000 that was owed to him, after canceling an order for a new walk-in bathtub.
Back in March, Jan Des Jardins decided to purchase this walk-in bathtub from Premier Care in Bathing. The company is headquartered in Florida, but has local salespeople.
Des Jardins said he signed a contract agreement that totaled nearly $11,000, with a down payment of $3900 on March 5, 2016. But soon after, Des Jardins had a change of heart.
"The contract stated you had three business days to cancel and this would have been the first business day of the three days. Plus to send them a registered letter in the mail," said Des Jardins.
Walk-in bathtub from Premier Care in Bathing
The 65-year-old taxi driver said the company's cancellation department told him that he could expect a refund within ten to 15 days, but that didn't happen.
"I have to wonder how anybody can justify keeping your money and not giving anything for it," said Jardins.
As weeks passed by, Des Jardins said he continued to call Premier Care regarding his refund, and even wrote to the Better Business Bureau, as well as several law enforcement agencies in Virginia and Florida.
“There were some days I called them six, seven times in that single day. I've written at least eight to ten letters and got no response," he explained.
Jan Des Jardins
That's when Des Jardins contacted the CBS 6 Problem Solvers. CBS 6 reporter Rob Desir put in more than two dozen calls to Premiere Care in Bathing.
While we did not have much success dealing with the cancellation department, things changed when we were able to get in touch with the company's Chief Operating Officer, Tony Long.
Long explained that shortly after Des Jardins' purchase, the company went into foreclosure and was sold to a private equity firm.
Long declined to issue a written comment about the cancellation procedures, but did say he would issue Des Jardins a full refund.
Jan Des Jardins receives refund check.
Three days later, Long left another voice mail to let us know that the check had been written and mailed to the customer. The following business day, Des Jardins received his refund.
"I thought success, jubilation, and it was just exhilarating, the feeling when I thought finally it was resolved,” Jardins said. “Thank goodness there's people like Channel Six that will go the extra distance to try and help people."
