Insparations Bocca Granda

Really short version:

We ordered a Hot Tub at the beginning of September, we were told it was manufactured in America it's not it's coming from China.

We were told it would be with us within 4-6 weeks we still don't have it.

We've paid £3,145 which we are trying to get back through our credit card company.

[Name removed] is saying we now owe the remaining £3,145 and if we do not pay he will take me to court.

The Hot Tub is still not in the country.

If you Google [Name removed] of The Trade Price Group you will see this is not a one off or his only company doing this.

Longer Version!

I found The Trade Price Group www.thetradepricegroup.com online while I was looking to buy a hot tub, a salesman came round within a couple of days and sold me a hot tub, it was quite a high pressured sales pitch they took a cheque for £3,145 deposit, I was told my hot tub was made in America and they had a shipment about to come over and if I placed the order on that day I would have my tub in 4-6 weeks, if I didn't I may have to wait for up to 12 weeks.

I phoned my husband to let him know I'd placed the order, it was a birthday present for him and he asked me to switch the payment to a credit card, I phoned The Trade Price Group and they agreed to do this.

The next day things didn't seem right so I googled [Name removed], the owner and The Trade Price Group and was horrified by what I read and from so many people. I called The Trade Price Group straight away and asked to cancel my order, they tried to talk me round but after what I'd read I was insistent and was told they would cancel the order and they would write to me within 5 working days to confirm my refund.

I waited 6 days then re rang them to see where my refund was and was told that they didn't know anything about my cancellation and as per the contract I was over my 7 days cooling off period and couldn't cancel, [Name removed] then rang me and said that I was not to worry my Hot Tub was on its way and I could pay the outstanding balance once the hot tub was delivered and installed.

Then we heard nothing - So we contacted our credit card and organised a charge back, which The Trade Price Group is now contesting.

We still don't have a delivery date for the hot tub in fact we have been told it's still not in the country and it has in fact been made in China and is being shipped from there not America as I was promised - After looking into hot tubs before buying one I would never have ordered one from China.

So after 19 weeks and still no tub [Name removed] has put in writing that I owe them another £3,145 (on top of the £3,145 50% deposit) for shipping costs and that if that payment is not forth coming they will take me to court, please Google this company, you'll see that they are doing this to loads of people and people are losing thousands of pounds.

ordered at tub june 2008 arrive damaged, still have had no replacement must have phoned 100 times just fob you off and tell lies they are abunch of crooks and Im taking them to court steer clear of this company!!

Ordered a spa and gazebo from Insparations Bocca Granda on 06 June 2008 told would be installed within 6 weeks. Hot tub arrived 28 November, gazebo 16 December Hot tub cabinet appeared to be damaged and leaking pipes from install, gazebo damaged doors could not be closed. 6 jets seemed not to be working, water sprays windows of gazebo as damage to jet adjuster. Am now waiting to go to court. Will update after court hearing

I also ordered a Insparations Bocca Granda hot tub as the deal they was offering sounded really good. After being given the sales pitch we preceeded with a £500 deposit and was happy until we googled their company and came across this! We immediately canceled our order and within 3 days received our refund.

Its true if it sounds to good to be true it probably is!

I ordered my spa in June again with the promise of receiving a stock tub within 6 weeks. Got the letter about delivery issues, custom clearance etc etc.

Got told about needing electric put in which cost me £500 plus spent £600 sorting out the garden to put it in!!

Never phoned me, I have always chased them.

Basically I have chased every week and now can't even get through to the Company. Luckily I paid with a credit card and so will try and claim back with them. I do not trust this Company.

I think it is a shame that the product is so let down by the other issues. I have also been unable to get the product and so have had to switch products a number of times and am still not happy.

I wonder if anyone can give me any advice on my hot tub dilemma? We purchased a Manhattan Hot Tub from Trade Price Hot Tubs, paid the full amount on my credit card and was given a 6 - 8 weeks delivery date of a 'stock item'. After many phone calls and insistence, we finally got the hot-tub on 3rd October (14 weeks). The installer happened to be the sales person too! The delivery was an awkward one, which resulted in the wood frame snapping in the corners. We are still awaiting replacement of these parts. The fountain was ridiculously strong and we were told not to use it. It was not the tub demonstrated on their web. We had two weeks of use of the hot tub, then the dreaded E1 appeared on the control, a common error supposedly! They came after about two weeks of being out of use and 'repaired' it. They also turned down the fountain, but it's still not usable! The next day E1 appeared again. We were advised over the phone by the salesman, (come service man, come installer, come warehouse manager) to remove the panels of the tub and unplug the sensor! Then we got the message 'FF'. No one seems to know what this means and they have to rely on the Spa company in America to send them a 'fault list' and instructions as how to fix it. Apparently FF is a first for them! At this point, I lost my rag with them, having been without the use of the tub for some weeks now, and demanded that they give me my money back and take the tub away. They responded by promising to call me on Monday to book a service call! Having read all the reviews on this site, which I am truly grateful for, I am not confident I will get my tub working again. Does anyone have any advice on my rights, bearing in mind I bought it with my credit card?

There is minimal information on the actual hot-tubs, i.e. brochure and manual are inadequate. Whilst the front man is very nice and re-assuring, he doesn't have any clout to get things moving.

I have had the same experience with this crowd. I have paid the full amount for the Manhattan Tub. I First met with the salesman on 12th September, after paying £500 deposit for someone to visit, then £2000 on 13th September and asked to pay the balance on 28th Sept, when the tub was due to be shipped. Originally the tub was due to arrive today 7th November, although I have chased numerous times to have confirmation of delivery. No date has been given. They do not even know if the tub has been shipped from US. They are a very unprofessional lot and have no customer service at all.

I paid all of the £4500 on my credit card - do you know if I can get the credit card company to debit the money back, even although I signed the Spa Serve terms and conditions?

Any help would be great.

Thank you for this wonderful site.

Regards

DD

The spa I got from Spa Serve is great (Gulf Coast), but delivery took weeks and weeks. They wanted full money before delivery, but I only paid 30%. Then they would not unload it off the lorry until they had my credit card details to pay the rest. They would not answer calls, and they didn't return calls. I had an agreement of chemicals for 2 years, and I was told 24 boxes would come with the hot tub. In fact, only 1 did, then 6 came over the following 6 months, and then it stopped. In the end I had to go in person to their company headquarters to get the other 18.

The Inspirations Bocca Granda hot tub looks good in the brochure, but customer service is a joke! Now having to take the legal route to get a refund.