BISHTA the British and Irish Hot Tub Association offer consumers advice!
There's nothing better than shopping online, it can save time and money, if you ensure you have the right safeguards in place.
When purchasing high ticket items, such as a hot tub, its always advisable to protect yourself against possible online fraud.
BISHTA, The British and Irish Spa and Hot Tub Association, advises consumers that when purchasing a hot tub, they should look for an established supplier who operates from premises you can visit and one that keeps stock of both hot tubs and spares in the UK. BISHTA is a Trade Association established by the industry to ensure Safe Spa Water, to develop industry standards and to ensure that customers are given the best possible advice. BISHTA is recognised by the HSE (Health and Safety Executive) and Public Health England and contributed to the HSE/HPA (now Public Health England) publication Management of Spa Pools published in 2006.
BISHTA recommends that consumers should ideally always ask to see the products that they are intending to purchase. If this is genuinely not possible, they should talk directly with other customers who have bought these products, for a recommendation. It can be tempting to purchase a hot tub online, with some prices seeming, too good to be true. BISHTA advises that they usually are! Sadly, there are occasions when customers have bought products from companies that are not BISHTA members, especially on the internet, thinking they are getting a great bargain, only to be totally let down by poor quality products, or shoddy after sales service. In the longer term, this can end up costing even more money as a result of not asking the right questions from the outset.
Buying from a BISHTA member, either from their show room, on their internet site, or from an exhibition, helps ensure that the end user gets the best advice and can find the item that they wish to purchase that suits their needs and budget requirements. BISHTA members are suitably trained and experienced to provide knowledge about the products and most importantly the water treatment regime that is needed to safely maintain the spa or hot tub. BISHTA members are expected to work to industry standards and to abide by a Code of Ethics, to give consumers peace of mind.
To assist customers make informed choices about buying a spa or hot tub, BISHTA offers the following tips:
1. Make sure you know what you want the spa or hot tub for as this may influence the equipment that you need. For instance, is it for fun, medical reasons or relaxation?
2. Confirm what water treatment is required, so that you can be sure that you know how to maintain the water chemistry for the safest way to relax and enjoy yourself. Anyone that does not offer you this advice should be avoided at all costs, as they may be putting you and your family at risk.
3. Clarify what features you will be getting in terms of number of seats, number and style of jets, entertainment systems available.
4. All hot tubs will need a qualified Electrician to install an RCD for the power supply. Some Spas can then be plugged into a special socket with a special 3 pin plug and may only require a 13 amp power supply, depending on the heater and pump size. Always check this Power supply requirement very carefully with the retailer/supplier. Other hot tubs need to be hard wired into the mains, via the RCD and so you will need to ensure a qualified electrician is on hand to connect your spa or hot tub to the mains supply so that the new Hot Tub can be commissioned upon delivery.
5. Clarify how the company will undertake some form of site survey, otherwise how do they know that your home can accommodate their product?
Hot tubs are good for health as well as relaxation and a good quality hot tub will give years of pleasure.
