Choose Direct, Island Express, Steve Barbarich, Choosedirect.com, Choosehottubsdirect.com Hot Tub Scam Warning!!! San Francisco California

I found this company offering great deals on Hot Tubs, referencing "Island Escape" as one of the manufacturers they carry. (I now believe this company is a front - Island Escape seems to be owned by the same people - their web site is a joke, isn't even functional, and just so happens to be in San Francisco!). During the transaction I became uncomfortable with their methods - they want to charge 100% up front then to have you wait 8-11 weeks until they deliver. I didn't mind the $500 deposit, but this smelled fishy so I searched the web on them, and found another post on Ripoff where a consumer got screwed. (Report #373095) Turns out the owner Steve Barbarich was the same guy in the other post.

He is threatening me - though I cancelled the order within minutes of doing it - and never signing their invoice/contract - claiming "the order was sent to the factory already" which is a complete and total lie, let alone irrelevant if it's really a 12 week process. What a joke.

Thankfully, I used American Express and happen to have a black card, so they won't pay him, but others might not be so lucky. Anyone who goes out of their way within minutes to try to steal your money instead of actually trying to help their customer is clearly a scam in my opinion. If they simply were responsive and professional, I probably would have worked it out and waited for the tub.

I buy things all the time on line, and have never had an expericence like this one. Beware.

Steve ****
Franklin, Massachusetts
U.S.A.