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View Full Version : deceptive sales practices? - salt vs. potassium



whitneyswater
06-10-2010, 01:15 PM
For about the last 8 months there has been a water softener / reverse osmosis salesman from an out of town company that has been canvassing our rural community selling “salt free or sodium free” water softeners. He apparently tells people that the use of salt in water softeners is a health hazard because salt is bad for them and that his system is salt or sodium free since it uses potassium.

He does not inform them that the existing system that they have can use potassium. One person who called me said they had asked him if they could use salt in his system and they were told that salt would ruin it. He apparently uses high pressure and scare tactics to coerce people into purchasing a system.
I have had several people call me about this after he has been to their home. Some have purchased a system from him wanting to know if they have any recourse. He does not give them a written notice of cancellation as required by Nevada state law nor does he tell them verbally of the right to cancel. When they call him to cancel he convinces them to receive a partial refund rather than allowing the cancellation. As far as I can find he is not properly licensed; (having received a business license only last week) and his company is not listed as having a contractor’s license to do the installations.

I am very concerned about the ethics of his sales presentation and the lack of proper licensing therefore leaving the consumer vulnerable to illegal practices with no recourse. Senior citizens seem to be especially vulnerable to his sales techniques.

Are there any resins or systems that can only be used with potassium? As far as I know ALL water softeners can be used with either potassium or sodium both of which are “salts”. The system uses a Clack WS1 control valve.

What course of action would be recommended to protect the consumer from the unlicensed contractor and the high pressure sales and scare tactics of this type of company?

greg-cws
06-11-2010, 09:37 AM
Wow, that kind of behavior is certainly questionable and casts serious doubt on the integrity of the seller.

A few things that jumped right out at me:

"Salt -vs- Potassium" - All residential ion exchange softeners will use a SALT to regenerate. They will either use sodium chloride salt, or potassium chloride SALT. All Strong Acid Cation (SAC) resins can regenerate with EITHER type of salt. The regenerant salt should never enter the product water, since it is used only for cleaning. The exchange ion (sodium or potassium) will be in the product water in trace amounts that vary depending on the kinetics of the resin and the amount of contaminants being exchanged. Interestingly enough, potassium is LESS EFFECTIVE as a regenerant than sodium, so considering the high price of potassium chloride salt and the greater inefficiency created - I tell all my clients to regenerate with sodium chloride and then purify with reverse osmosis if necessary. Sodium Chloride salt will not "ruin" a softener - that assertion is patently false.

No written notice of right of cancellation - That is an illegal transaction in most states. I know that it definitely is a requirement for all in-home solicitation sales in Nevada (in-home solicitation doesn't just mean a door-to-door salesperson, it means any sale conducted at the customer's location whether they called you, or you called them). I'm sure that the Nevada Division of Consumer Protection would be interested in helping these poor victims of this illegal and deceptive sales practice.

Unlicensed to perform installations - Anyone having a contractor perform work in their home should check that the contractor is properly licensed and insured and even more importantly qualified/trained to perform the work. I imagine they're not WQA members either, which means they haven't undertaken to adhere to a strict code of ethics embraced by all legitimate dealers.

It is always saddening to me when I hear about people who sell this way. I had hoped that our industry had progressed a little further by now. It certainly seems like he's not putting the customer's interests first at all.

ion_avenger
06-11-2010, 11:18 AM
Anytime anyone sells like that, they're a crook. Whats the name of this dealer?

eugenelfiorenzil
10-29-2010, 05:54 PM
Well his not a good dealer definitely.If i were the boss company i will fire him right away!

shortiolo
03-18-2011, 10:48 PM
Thats a good Question. Andrews sodium is 136. Ive tried with no luck. I tried adding sea salt to juice/orange juice. I give him organic potato ships with sea salt. I add salt to a lot of his foods. Potassium, I buy the potassium pills OTC and give him some. Both my kids take pills 4 and 7 years of age. Too bad there isnt any sea-salt tablets. Laurie . __________________________________________________ ____ http://buybbb.com/_templates/podpisi/10.png (http://gpxbag.com/Buy-Online-Tote-Purse-Clear-42.html) I like it!