Water quality is a big problem in the United States. As noted in a 2023 piece in Fast Company, over 46 million people in the U.S. experience water insecurity, which means they either lack access to running water or have water that may not be safe to drink.
For some, their houses may have access to clean water, but it’s simply unpleasant to use. According to EcoPure, around 85% of the United States has what’s called “hard water,” or water with significant amounts of dissolved calcium and magnesium.
While hard water may be safe to drink, its use can also have a host of negative consequences, such as drying out one’s hair, fading one’s clothes, or leaving unsightly marks on dishware.
TikTok user Jo (@just.jo.things) knows this struggle well. That’s why, after entering a raffle for a $500 gift card at Home Depot, she was delighted to learn that her preliminary prize of $20 came with a free water test.
However, from here, things quickly took a turn for the worse.
How did this Home Depot shopper get “scammed” by a water test?
In a video with over 10,000 views, Jo explains that she and her husband had entered a raffle at Home Depot for a $500 gift card, something that she says many other people in the store had done.
When the preliminary prize included a free water test, she jumped at the opportunity.
“We have super hard water. It leaves stains everywhere, it’s making my hair disgusting, it’s ruining our shower—like, we definitely want a water test,” Jo explains. At that time, Jo was told the whole test would take around 15 minutes.
Problems began as soon as the water tester showed up.
“The guy arrived 20 minutes early,” Jo says. “I wasn’t home, my husband was, and he said, ‘I cannot start this test until your wife is home.’”
When Jo arrived at home, the test began. As expected, Jo’s water quality was poor.
However, that information didn’t seem to satisfy the salesman. According to Jo, the salesman began reading from dated information about water quality, started listing off companies with whom his organization had worked, and insisted on doing more tests—all after Jo and her husband had already said they were interested in an updated water filter system.
Undeterred, the salesman continued to perform tests, leaving a mess in the process.
“He used about 10 different glass cups. Like, what?” Jo recalls. “You literally made my kitchen an entire mess—and water everywhere, chemicals everywhere.”
A 15-minute visit becomes an hours-long ordeal
At this point, well over an hour had passed, and while the salesman was insisting on continuing to read data, Jo and her husband were pleading with him to simply say how much the system cost.
Finally, at around the two-hour mark, the salesman revealed the price of the system: $11,000.
Not fully deterred, Jo and her husband began to ask about financing options and warranties. In response, the salesman insisted that the couple sign a contract with his company.
“We’re like, ‘We’re not gonna sign anything without information on financing, warranty, like, payment plans,’” Jo recounts.
Although the salesman tried to sweeten the deal with confusing offers like discounts, paying the taxes on the installation, and giving them a lifetime discount on soap, Jo and her husband decided to ask the man to leave, saying that they would like information about this system directly from his company.
By the end, he had been there over two hours. Upon leaving, the salesman handed the couple a link to a survey that would allegedly allow them to receive their gift card. At the time of the video’s recording, Jo had still not received her gift card.
“I genuinely think he was trained to not leave people’s homes until after they say yes,” Jo muses. “And my husband and I are so nice that, like, at first, we’re like, ‘Ok, like, we’ll let you do your spiel because we don’t want you to get in trouble,’ but then at one point, we’re like, ‘Now you’re just being disrespectful.’”
In the caption, Jo identifies the company as Florida Energy Water and Air. While the company has an A+ rating and positive reviews on the Better Business Bureau, other review sites tell a different story.
For example, the company has an average of 2.2 stars out of 5 for its plumbing services on Yelp, with customers mentioning the company’s aggressive sales strategies as well as dissatisfaction with the company’s products and customer service.
@just.jo.things Home Depot “giveaway” and Florida Energy Water & Air is a SCAM!! Beware. Honestly sort of scary that he wouldn’t leave after we asked him to multiple times… #homedepot #homedepotscam #scammeralert #floridaenergywaterandair #waterfiltrationsystem ♬ 10 minutes! Fashionable and bright jazz piano(1127989) – nyansuke
Commenters share their thoughts
In the comments section, several users said they had the same experience.
“Same thing happened to us! The guy stayed for like 3+ hours and we were like making dinner while he was here bc he was taking so long,” said a user. “They also told us 20 mins and a $15 gift card. Wild!”
“My hubby just wanted our water tested and they did this to us!” exclaimed another. “We stupidly filled out the paperwork to get the filter and didn’t realize it was a credit check and we are trying to rebuild ours!”
“I signed up for this 3 years ago and they still call me (from different cities and states) to ask if I’m ready for the water test and I always say no,” revealed a third.
The Daily Dot reached out to Jo and Home Depot via email, and Florida Energy Water and Air via website contact form.
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