North Texas

Consumers Warn Public About ‘Dishonest' Hot Tub Company

Advanced Services, in Lancaster, has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau and several complaints on Google Reviews

Two North Texas couples were excited to take a dip into their newly purchased hot tubs, but it didn’t take them long to realize their tubs had major problems.

Lon and Heather Truong recently built a back patio and thought a hot tub would be the perfect addition. They looked up hot tub companies online and came across Advanced Services.

They met the owner, David, at his warehouse and selected a refurbished hot tub for just under $2,800. They said he told them it was as good as new.

The receipt says all are sales final, but there’s also a 90 day warranty, so they felt good about their purchase. But on delivery day, they said the company was a no show.

"We were going back and forth through text saying, 'we're waiting on a part, we're waiting on a part,'" said Heather.

The tub eventually came, but when they filled it up, they said it started leaking. They called the owner to get a tech out to fix it.

"It was like pulling teeth," said Lon. "Calling him or texting him and he would come up with excuses on why they can't come out."

They said a tech eventually came out to fix the leak twice, but each time the leak came back. That wasn’t the only problem. The control panel stopped working, too. The couple said the owner refused to offer a refund and stopped returning their calls.

The Truongs are not alone.

Kathy Meringdol had neck and back surgery not too long ago and was hoping the hot tub would alleviate the pain. But like the Truongs, she said she got a lemon. She and her husband said the tub was missing a plug, three jets and an outside panel, so they haven’t been able to use it.

The owner told them he’d give them their money back, but he never showed.

Advanced Services, in Lancaster, has an F rating with the Better Business Bureau and several complaints on Google Reviews. After seeing this online, both couples called NBC 5 Responds, hoping that we could help.

David told us he did stay in contact with both couples, and any delayed responses were because he was out of town and dealing with a death in the family.

He said the Meringdols are just going through buyer’s remorse, but said he would give them there money back as a courtesy.

As for the Truongs, he said they tampered with the control panel and shorted it out, but parts were on the way, and he’d be willing to fix it.

After we got involved, he sent a tech to the Truong's house. But, the couple tells me they're now dealing with an issue with the filter housing.

As for the Meringdol couple, they said they have yet to see the owner or the refund that he promised.

We asked the owner about those bad reviews online. He told us he’s been in business for 18 years, and some people are jumping on the bandwagon and want to ride it out.

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