I looks like I am another victim of Steve Imaloser Barbarich and HotTubDirect.com. I ordered a hot tub on Feb 2010, with the promised delivery date of July 30, 2010. That date has now been changed for the third time. It is now suppose to be delivered on Oct 18, 2010. I have been given the round around by some of the nicest sounding people in the world assuring me that they will make good on their promise. Below are other complaints that I just found posted on different forums and facebook.

"I am a fairly new owner of an Island Escape Spa that was delivered in 11/09..I already replaced a defective control panel and now the replaced control panel is not working. They (choosehotubsdirect.com) are going to send me ANOTHER ONE and in the meantime I can't enjoy my spa..has anyone had similar problems with these control panels?"

"I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but choosehottubdirect has a current BBB rating of F with 92 complaints in the past 36 months. If you wish to check this out, they are in San Francisco under ChooseDirect.com. This is a company that does not deserve to exist (my opinion of course).

Additionally, their spa are made in China, have no UL listing, and are illegal to install in most parts of this country. There's a rather large movement to get the CA Attorney General and the San Francisco DA to go after them. "

There are numerous facebook entries about this company. I sure wish I had found them before placing the order. I paid for the order by credit card and have notified my card company in hopes of help.

Has anyone contacted the California DA or BBB and know who I need to contact there. Phone number would be greatly appreciated

If you are looking for a hot tub do not deal with this company.

I am the lucky owner of a hot tub bought from a seemingly legit website in California that’s BBB accredited. Supposedly a premium spa as the website portrays from the Island Escape line …called the Orion . But it seems I actually own a SpaKing from China. But I digress…
When I first discussed the order for our hot tub I was mislead to believe that delivery was to be early June before committing to the sale. I was told that if I processed the order right then I could get a tub within 5 weeks instead of waiting the usual processing time... as a shipment was coming in and thus could avoid waiting 5 extra weeks. Since then I've been mislead several times more as to when I would receive my tub. Each time I had to call and ask why my tub was not delivered and each time I was given another date .. June became July became August became Sept ...the most recent time with a delivery estimate of 9/8. Well Sept 9th had come and gone and now I was told a mid Sept date. Not once was I called by the company to be informed of any delays. I had to track down a rep after several tries and no return calls to tell me the status of my order. That should have been my first clue of what was to happen, but I kept thinking I was being unreasonable and to be patient and understanding. I have been more than patient.

Their policy on delivery stated on their website says they "will do the very best but cannot commit to specific deadlines". However there was absolutely no communication with me about delays and I have had to repeatedly contact their support for information. I found this appalling because I was given dates and assured it would arrive. It wasn’t as if I knew this going in.
I purchase nearly everything online and I have never dealt with such negligence
ChooseDirect.com had over $6, 000.00 of my money for several months and I've missed an entire season with my hot tub. I've had retained an electrician for several of the earlier promised delivery dates. The rep I placed the order from did not reply when I asked him direct questions about the delay regarding the way he "won the sale" telling me if I ordered asap I would get the tub with no delay (as I have mentioned above). Excuses abound and have included: they haven't had a chance to call us yet (even though it was almost 3 months after the original missed delivery date).
I called the delivery freight (Allied) used by the company and was met with total understanding on their part. I was told many ChooseDirect.com customers have complained about this situation, they were not the least bit surprised about my gripe.
I believed the company may be a scam based on their incredibly poor customer service. I checked their BBB rating to find it has an A- ... much higher than I thought.) It has since dropped to a B .In searching reviews of this company I found quite a few people who have recently experienced similar situations to mine or worse and who were VERY dissatisfied with their product as well . Perhaps you can see my concerns? I have $6, 343 on a credit card accruing interest since April when the sale was committed. I know that so far this just sounds like a huge inconvenience at worst I realize... But the plot thickens.

Once the product arrived I noticed something’s were missing. It also did not say anything about “Island Escape” or Orion…it was a SpaKing. That was mildly disturbing but it looked nice so we proceeded. I called the company and spoke to an operator who told me I had to contact someone else and to call back. I expressed that I was concerned because I knew the conditions of sale stated that I call immediately if I had a complaint or else they would no longer consider it valid. I thought it odd … how can I test a hot tub until its filled and powered. I was told this was fine and not to worry. I called again, not sure of dates and left a message with an operator. But no return call came. Weeks went buy, I think 2 or 3 before I talked to “Someone”. (Lisa)I mentioned the tub was missing a key feature I ordered custom. Its LED perimeter lighting. (This was one of the bells and whistles reason why I wanted a modern tub to replace our old tub, so not to get it was more than a monetary issue for us) To say the least I was disappointed and now I had this tub delivered and installed and no way get the lighting I paid for and really wanted. I accepted this defeat and moved on. I told Lisa about it and she said shed get back to me on an answer. Again I waited and finally a call back a week + later. She said they would give me back $199 for the lighting. I expressed my disappointment about the lighting and she agreed to give us an extra year warrantee and a years worth of spa chemicals. I accepted having no other recourse.
Well nearly a month later no refund and again I complained to the BBB. Not shockingly, a check arrived less than a week later! Humm. This company plays hardball I see. However even to date, still no spa chemicals. But that’s not even the worst.

Now it gets dicey… We notice that we are having a lot of trouble with the control panel. The manual it came with was very obviously translated from an Asian language to English and thus was very vague, and difficult to follow. (Its not my first hot tub with digital controls, so I know it was not me).
When trying to get help online, I found nothing about my “Island Escape Orion” Spa…it didn’t exist. The booklet said SpaKing on the cover, not Island Escape and when we asked about this Lisa assured us it was the right manual and said they were working on translating it for the future. That doesn’t exactly help me now…
Unhappy still and not sure how to appease this gut feeling that I was being swindled, I turned to the Better Business Bureau and filed a complaint. (Complaint Case#57151786)(Contact: Carrie Mosteiro) ( I have since filed another BBB complaint for failure to respond to my request to return the tub - they have not responded).
Since then I still can not control the temperature of the spa, even though its supposed to be an easy task. It can sometimes drop to 70 and sometimes heat itself to 113…(which I might add hurts a more than you’d think when you get in and don’t look at the temp first). I cant even set the temp to 113F if I wanted to, it doesn’t go up nearly that high! Several times the controls have actually just shut the tub off, sometimes it jams up and is unresponsive, and the only way to get it on again is to trip the breaker. To boot, remember I said those error codes don’t match those in booklet.

I am extremely frustrated by this whole experience. I have a $6800.00 spa I feel is crap, sorry. I did some research online about this Choose Direct and found a host of people who have very similar issues and complaints. Id be happy to furnish those links to you if need be, I have many of documented them. I feel rather taken advantage of. I’ve requested a refund both to the company, the BBB and I have contacted American Express, the card I used to order. I have also filed a complaint to the State Consumer Protection Board just recently. If not just for me but also the others who they have ripped off and bullied. Choose Direct is not a bargain site offering high quality products at lower prices as it pretends to be, it is a scam.

Hello,
I have no doubt that Mr Barbarich is breaking the law.

Over three months have gone by since I last dealt with Steve Barbarich, and I've only gotten madder.
He's really caused alot of pain and stress to me and my wife.

I purchased an "Island Escape Spa" from him for over $7000 this spring.
I found out that that brand doesn't even exist. Its a "Mona Lisa" spa from China. It's logo says "Mona Lisa", the delivery company (Allied Van Lines) said that these hot tubs were picked up right from the import facility.

There wasn't even any repackaging done. Island Escape brand doesn't exist.

Steve Barbarich lied about personally inspecting them. He lied about VERY MANY THINGS!
His site and rep sold me FULL FOAM insulation for $100 extra(later increased to $150.
What I got was about a 12 oz can's worth of aerosol foam snaked in places on the tub (much of it lying on the frame and all over the water pumps. Steve said that thats how its done these days.
I was sure to take lots of pictures.
The Hot tub didn't even work!! Nothing. Steve ridiculed me for that
You don't have to take my words. I don't have to paraphrase, as Steve personally insulted and ripped me off via email, which I intend to keep. I will gladly EVERY EMAIL SENT BETWEEN choosehottubsdirect.com and me to anyone who is interested. Steve Barbarich is dispicable. DO NOT TRUST HIM or give him your money!!! These Mona Lisa hot tubs are PURE JUNK. I have lots of pictures to back this up.

The hot tub was defective in many ways as well as damaged BADLY.
The delivery driver tried to refuse to even deliver it, but Steve told him to take it anyway, and that choosehottubsdirect would "Make it right". Well they didn't, and Steve handled it by insulting us.
I was very careful from the beginning to be courteous, fair, and never rude.
Interestingly, since I did my business with him by phone, and insisted on paying with credit card ( Which his sales rep at first said was not an option), all my correspondence is in writing. I have my itemized invoice which was not what was received, as well as all Steve's lies in print.
Instead of trying to help me, Steve wrote to me that I'm crazy and that all the damage and workmanship are normal for this brand. He offered to replace some parts at a discount to me. What a joke!
Afterwards, he even wrote that it appears that I was looking for a quality brand, and that he had one he would be happy to sell me. (No, he didn't offer a discount)

Here's how I handled being ripped off by Steve Barbarich:
I paid by credit card: I notified my cc company immediately and they went after Barbarich.
I issued a complaint to my state's Consumer Protection Agency, which got on Steve right away and opened the complaint case.
I see tonight that Steve has issued a press release to some blog websites, saying he's donating a portion of sales from Mona Lisa ... I mean "Island Escape" spas to Ike Relief.. It doesn't say how much.
It would be nice to find out if its true. After working with choosehottubsdirect staff and Steve Barbarich, I think it must be another scam - But thats just my opinion.

Steve has denied doing anything wrong, and he replied to the Wisconsin cpa that my behavior is "bizarre".
Here's what I posted to ripoffreport.com about Barbarich:
/URL removed/

If you want more information from an inside source, contact Barbarich's former VP of sales at Choosehottubsdirect. He should be able to confirm that Steve is ripping people off. I was fortunate enough to get to know him and he confirmed my suspicions. He has since quit the company. He's too good for them.

Weeks after Steve was forced to pickup the hot tub (which I had to help load), Steve tried calling me.
I immediately hung up (Sorry Steve- didn't mean to be rude). I want to keep all correspondence in writing. Well, he sends me an email that night saying that I have to return to him missing parts that are unique to that crappy, broken hottub. The nerve! Like I would want to cause myself more grief.

I hope this helps others to think about being ripped off.