I am exercising my 1st amendment rights to warn my fellow consumers to not fall victim to the same situation that I did. I am a senior citizen suffering from arthritis who sought relief from my symptoms through medical treatments and other solutions such as a walk-in tub. After what I thought to be sufficient research, I chose "Safe Bathing Walk-In Tubs, NC LLC" in Randleman, NC because they were local and I could tour their facility to see the finished product. They installed my tub on January 2015 and for a while all seemed well, that is until we started to notice water stains on the opposite side of the wall from where the tub was installed. I called them to look at it and we identified the cause as a the compression fittings and two water jets leaking. The installer, Ricky Turpin, crawled under the house and didn't report anything out of the ordinary. They then sent me a check for $300 if I agreed to release them from all future liability which I ended up refusing. I would soon discover the tub had a massive leak and that I had suffered extensive water damage that would total close to $15,000. Unfortunately my insurance company at the time, State Farm, wouldn't cover the damage so I was left on my own to take the financial hit for the damages. I had the owner, Richard Alfarone, to come and talk about the damage and without even looking at the tub he blamed my washing machine for the leakage and ensuing damage (despite the fact that it had never given me a moment's trouble) and told me that he wasn't going to pay me anything and then proceeded to walk out of my house. Richard Alfarone also refused to provide me with important warranty information about my tub which would keep me from getting it repaired in case it malfunctions. I later found out through my own investigations that the tub was installed unlawfully without a builder's permit from the City of Sanford, and by an installer who had no plumbing or electrical license. In addition to the bank-breaking water damage suffered, I also learned that the electrical components in the tub were improperly installed and put me and my family in danger of electrocution. Richard Alfarone's company, "Safe Bathing Walk-In Tubs, NC LLC" has been called out by the City of Sanford's Building Inspections Office for not having a permit to do the work, has been served legal injunctions by the North Carolina State Board of Examiners of Plumbing, Heating and Fire Sprinkler Contractors and the NC State Board of Examiners of Electrical Contractors to cease installing tubs without licensed installers. The NC Attorney General's Office Consumer Protection Division has attempted to communicate with them on this issue to no response. Despite all of this, Richard Alfarone has persistently and stubbornly refused to take any responsibility for what has occurred. In addition to the substantial monetary loss and risk to mine and my family's well-being due to electrical hazards, I had to endure over six months of having my house's floor torn up and all my items displaced while I listened to workers hammer and drill all during the day. The market for walk-in tubs are for elderly and infirm consumers; these are people who often lack the ability to fight back against such abuses described above. The installer told us that they had installed hundreds of similar tubs across North and South Carolina. I have to wonder how many of those tubs may have had similar issues, and how many of the elderly and infirm customers who may have had to deal with those issues would have had the time, energy or know-how to receive proper service for them. I plan to continue my struggle against "Safe Bathing NC" on several different fronts, but I wanted to educate my fellow consumers so hopefully they can avoid getting themselves in a similar situation. Please check the website: http://www.tubnightmare.com for further information on this case. - Flora Harrington