The Consumer Complaints Blog

Sparkle Home Spa Inc. sold me a SG2000 SPA AT HOME spa device that emits ozone. I was not aware of this because the salespeople were telling me everything in Chinese and during the demo, the ozone smell was hidden with strong fragrance. After opening the box at home, we realized the machine didn’t fit our bathtub, and my parents complained about a strong odour. I called Sparkle Home Spa numerous times, leaving numerous phone calls, and Ms. Ng finally got back to me (nearly one week later). I asked for a full refund of about $2100. She declined, informing me that there are no refunds when nowhere in her store or receipt indicated anything about no refunds. If I had known about not being able to refund something over $2000, I wouldn’t have purchased it. She then insisted that the machine would be good for my health. What I found disturbing was the way they use aggresive persuading techniques (i.e. if you really love your parents, you will let them keep the device).

I then contacted Health Canada, the authority to all the Health related issues in Canada, and they informed me that ozone-emitting devices have been banned in Canada and should not be sold. If they are being sold here, it is likely they submitted false information about the product’s specifications to obtain approval certificates. I then left this issue for Health Canada and the CSA to deal with.

I called Ms. Ng (the general manager) again asking for my refund, letting her know that it was unfair to consumers if she does not inform us about her return policies. She then
tells me that there is a policy written on the box. I checked the box thoroughly, and didn’t notice anything too suspicious except for a small paragraph of Chinese characters. It was NOT surprising to see that everything else was written in BIG BOLD english except for the refund policy.

I then examined the refund policy. In Chinese, it informs that the machine may be refunded within 14 days with a restocking fee. I related this to Ms. Ng. She did not acknowledge it. She then told me her headoffice in Hong Kong would not authorize the refund. After spending a couple of days researching the headoffice contact, I called their headoffice in Hong Kong.

They told me they will refund it, providing I ship the Home Spa to Taiwan from Canada — REDICULOUS!

In addition, I have found during the time that I took to make my complaints, that this company operates as a pyrimid scheme, which would explain why they refuse to offer me my refund. They mislead customers, telling them that ozone would improve their health. Nowhere during their salespitch do they say ozone-emitting devices are banned in Canada, that ozone harms the lungs and that ozone is classified as an environmental pollutant.

This company has many names to hide themselves including Sparkle Home Spa Inc., Shianje International, Shianji International and Grandsun.

Damage Resulting = Resulted in $2100 of economic damage plus the time I spent calling them and their headoffice.

Sincerely,

Kevin Kou

Editor’s Note
Call me old fashioned but shouldn’t businesses in a country be forced to do business in one of the two official languages?

As a Canadian citizen I really don’t appreciate it when businesses are allowed to do business exclusively in a foreign language. It’s not right and the government is too spineless to do anything about it due to fears of people playing the racism card. It’s not about racism and it’s not right. Say what you want about Quebec but at least they have the balls to force people to use the official language on their business signs.

It’s fine to do business in one’s native tongue. There are numerous business advantages since most people are comfortable speaking in their original language. But it is not okay to do business in Canada exclusively in a foreign language. It’s not fair to Canadians and down right insulting to Canada. The fact that the return policy is written on the box only in Chinese is offensive to say the least and should not be honoured in any way even if the people buying the product can read Chinese.

Update December 2007
We just heard back from Kevin. Sparkle Home Spa has apologized and finally gave him a refund. He’s satisfied that the issue was resolved and he is now happy. Good work for finally deciding to do the right thing Sparkle Home Spa.

Disclaimer
This article was submitted by one of our readers. Penciltrick cannot make any claims as to its authenticity but the article was accepted on a good faith belief that it is an accurate and truthful account of the events listed.