Mid Atlantic Water Scammed - company is a sham! Manchester, Maryland

I found this company while doing a web search for acidic water neutralizers.  Their website was detailed and their prices seemed pretty good, so I filled out their online inquiry form.  I very quickly received a call back from Aidan Walsh.  He sounded friendly enough- gave me details on their products and some suggestions.  I told him I was in PA and he said that could do the install on a neutralizer. 

After the call, I did some more searching, but it turned out out that Mid Atlantic was the only company within install distance I could find that sold special "non-backwashing" filters.  I called Aidan back and we settled on a price of $900 for a neutralizer, spin-down sediment filter, and installation of the two components.  He took my credit card info and we set an installation date for the following weekend.  I hung up thinking all was well, but then the nightmare began.

About 3 days before the schedule install, Aidan sent me a text that the neutralizer had not yet shipped, so he was not going to be able to do the install.  He said to wait until the tank arrived and then contact him to re-schedule.  The tank did not show up for another two weeks.  When it finally did arrive, I called Aidan and was told that they were busy and he was going to have to push the installation off for 3 more weeks.  I grudgingly agreed because the tank was already at the house and I did want to have the hassle of shipping it back.

During the same time, I received my credit card statement and found that I had been charged $990, instead of the agreed upon $900.  I contacted Aidan, who told me he would send a check for the difference.  2 weeks went by and still no check- I called Aidan several times, but he stopped picking up his phone.  A check finally arrived after another week.

In the meantime, Aidan pushed back the install yet again- each time he complained that he was going to have to drive an hour and half to our place (interestingly, it worked its way up to 2 hours by the last time).  Finally, an install date was set and Aidan told me "his installer" would be there Saturday morning.  When the installer showed up however, I came to find that he was a local plumber in my area and than Aidan had sub-contracted out the work to him. 

The guy had never installed a neutralizer of this type before and didn't even know what to do- he had to call Aidan several times during the install for instructions.  When the installer was done, he said he had to go to the store to get the "salt" for the neutralizer.  I explained to him that the unit does not use salt, it uses "calcite" .  The installer got on the phone with Aidan to confirm this.  The installer then told me that he would not be providing the calcite because Aidan had not paid him enough.  I then got on the phone with Aidan who told me to purchase the calcite myself, send him the receipt, and he would reimburse me.

The next day, I came down to the basement to find water shooting from one of the new pipes used to install the neutralizer.  I called the installer who came out and fixed it.  I think went to the store and purchased 200lbs of calcite for $80.  I immediately forwarded the receipt to Aidan, but got no response.  I then began calling ad he would not pick up the phone or answer messages. 

After about 2 weeks, I finally caught him one morning.  He explained that "all of his checks are taken care of at the end of the month" and that I would receive my check in about two weeks.  I had the strong sense that this was a lie, but I decided to wait.  Of course, the check never showed up.  I called him again and e said "that should have been taken care of, let me look into it.  No check.

The entire experience has been an absolute nightmare.  I did some searching and the guy runs at least one other business.  My suggestion is that if you ever find yourself speaking with Aidan Walsh about a service or product he is offering, you run the other way as quickly as possible.