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Spa repair scammer alert - North and South Carolina


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Please be aware that there is a person named Charles Gordon Smith who operates in NC and nearby states. He has defrauded many individuals - including me - by promising to order parts, accepting partial or full payment for them, then either not doing the work or only doing partial work. He was convicted of fraud in 2015, went to prison, and started back immediately after his release in 2016. His latest fraud that became public was done on an AirBnB owner in Charlotte, NC in January of 2021.

He has gone by the name Gordon Smith and Charles Smith in the past, but he may also use other names. 

Let me state the obvious: NEVER pay a spa technician until the job is done, not even partially. Mr. Smith is a very skilled con man and- even though I always believed I knew better - I fell victim to his game as have others I've come to know. If mods are concerned about libel issues, then please check the sources before deleting this post.

Sources: 

https://abc11.com/diane-wilson-troubleshooter-carolina-hot-tub-repair-gordon-smith/672749/

https://www.wbtv.com/2021/01/22/mooresville-woman-paid-company-nearly-swim-spa-repair-months-later-no-fix/

https://www.yelp.com/biz/hot-tub-urgent-care-charlotte-2

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This may be true, there are con men all over, and I am not trying to defend anyone. But I do feel compelled to clarify a few things.

12 hours ago, Spiffarino said:

by promising to order parts, accepting partial or full payment for them, then either not doing the work or only doing partial work.

Right now (since covid) there are supply issues all over the pool and spa industry. I have been trying to get a particular part for nearly 6 months now, and the last cover I ordered in March won't be here until October, or so they say now. By October, it may be expected around Easter.

Again, I don't know the details of this situation, but wouldn't want anyone jumping to conclusions based on the fact that they have been waiting a long time. We are all waiting a long time right now.

12 hours ago, Spiffarino said:

Let me state the obvious: NEVER pay a spa technician until the job is done, not even partially

This will mean I won't take the job. I will not buy a specialty part (that can't be returned) without payment in advance. I still have the last $600 circuit board I did that with, 10 years later. It's bad enough to get screwed out of my time, but I get angry when screwed out of my hard-earned money too. And customers who screw repair men are far more common than repair men who screw customers.

So, I see your sources are a news story about his conviction in 2015, and some complaints about long waits in 2021. Everyone had complaints about long waits in 2021. The spa industry is not "essential" anywhere. 

Admittedly, poor customer communication is a bad habit and can lead to problems. But, as an independent self-employed repair contractor I can tell you that given the choice between talking about spas for free and fixing them for money, I will always let the phone go to voicemail if I have tools in my hands. I am a one man show, no secretary or assistant, and when I'm busy, I'm busy. If I already told you (more than once) that the parts are backordered, I am not going to waste my time telling you again, and again, and again... 

I personally have stopped ordering parts. I advise my customers what parts are needed and suggest an online supplier to order from. Parts are your problem, and so is the warranty. The troubles with parts far outweigh the minimal amount I can make from them. It's just not worth it to me. I get paid for my time and knowledge.

And yes, I get paid for coming to diagnose the spa before parts are ordered or repairs are made. Like the doctor, I get paid at the time of service. Diagnosis is the part where my knowledge is most valuable, and it is only free here on this forum, not at your house. I get paid every time you see me, or you won't see me again.

I think your guy should go that route as well. He could avoid alot of trouble that way.

 

 

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  • 1 month later...

The problem has nothing to do with the difficulty getting parts because of the pandemic. He’s been running the same scam for years. He orders parts and is very quick to take the money, and then not only doesn’t return to complete the work but doesn’t even communicate. Here’s a history of his very long criminal record. He had a court date in Buncombe County this week for habitual felon

feel free to look up his long criminal history on North Carolina Department of Public Safety Offender Public Information Site look up offender  037 6275  and that’s him

 

 

 

 

 

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  • 1 year later...
  • 8 months later...

I filed a police report today 9/22/23 after getting scammed out of 1100 dollars worth of parts and repairs to my hot tub. I was originally told my heat sensors were bad so I expected a device fee ($179) dollars and about $50 dollars in parts. He showed up to my house and immediately told me it wasn't the sensors without even checking them and pulled my circuit board out and told me it was bad. He then put my circuit board in his car and sat down at my table and called distributors to find a new one in which I was charged $627 dollars for the board and diagnosis. He told me his banking app was down so he couldn't take payment any other way other than "cash app" when I scammed the QR code the name of the company came up (competent hot tub repair)so I didn't think anything of it. He told me the last would be sent to my house. After a week of waiting I reached out and he told me they had the wrong address and they were sending the pay to him and he would come install as soon as he got it. He said he received it 4 days later and I would be in the books for the following Tuesday. Then, the excuses started... he passed kidney stones and he would be at my house in two days, then he was such in Raleigh and had the board with him so another technician couldn't install it,  then the next day he would stop by on his way from Raleigh to Asheville and he never called or showed up. We stayed calling all the numbers connected to the business they were based on different  locations in NC (Raleigh, Charlotte, Asheville, and Hendersonville) and found out they were all being directed to his personal number. I was then blocked from his phone after texting him and asking for a refund. I spent the day digging up information through the bbb and found the man who only identified himself as "charles" (no last name) was Gordon Charles Smith. Once I searched his actual name I found all the information about his criminal background with fraud and I knew I was scammed. I also found the owner of the apartment building he lives in with his 84 year old mother and talked to her. She informed me he had been at his apartment all day and the previous days in Hendersonville (not in Raleigh) as she is his next door neighbor and that he fed he a line about not being able to pay the rent on time because he was just diagnosed with colon cancer and unable to work. At that point I went to the police. I'm hoping the Investigation will turn up other victims and we can join forces to stop him for good this time. 3rd strike felony is min 10-15 years. If he doesn't get punished harshly in afraid he will never stop!

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