Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  22/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  BBB unable to locate business

  More info

  We put a $1500 deposit for a hottub and now they are closed. How do I get my money back?

• Initial Complaint

  22/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Sept 21 we had an in ground pool pump refurbished by King Pool in Kelowna. Sept 10th it was installed with a 90 day warranty. Oct 22nd the pool was closed by King Pool and the pump was shut down for the season. That's 42 days. April 4th, 2022 King Pool attempted to open our pool. The technician turned on the power & the pump burst into flames and experienced a complete failure. king Pool has refused to honour the warranty, claiming they subcontract the rebuilds and that contractor has changed their 90 warranty to 30 days. No one told us. Several emails were exchanged with Jerry M******* or Ivan K*******. Both names are on the emails. He offered to give us 25 bucks worth of caps at no charge, he offered to replace the pump with another rebuild at our cost, or a new pump at our cost or he could refund our money minus the labour ($336.00) We opted for option 3 although we are out a few hundred in labour. Sept 21, we also ordered a safety cover for our pool. Pool king forgot about us, and ordered it 6 weeks late, so finally in Dec it was installed and paid for in full. Now in April we find out our pool cover was supposed to be delivered with a large storage bag. We have had to fight for the pool cover bag, and all we have so far is a fax request. No expected dates, no estimation of time line... nothing. Therefore we took the offer of 300+ for the pump. Mr M******* did not respond to my last email. However, the owner of King Pools (Jerry M******* claims he enquired into our missing cover bag on March 10th. how is this possible when he didn't know until April 4th (according to his email) We would like to be refunded for the entire cost of the custom pool cover + install + other fees $5188.12 because we did not receive all of the products we paid for. The warranty is probably void now because it was not taken care of as per the warranty. And we would like the remainder of invoice ***** for the pump rebuild and labour because they will not honour the warranty.

  Business response

  22/04/2022

  Hello ******, 

  Here We are again. I truly do not understand some peoples reasoning. There are 2 separate Issues here Last Fall the outdoor pool Pump developed a leak and the motor bearings became Noisy. This is an off brand pump and would normally be replaced with a new motor or complete pump. Both would require modifications and could cost upwards of $1000. Instead the Clients chose a rebuild option of a motor rebuild and reinstall. We probably have over 150 motor services done yearly with very few issues. This usually totals less than half the cost of changing out the pump. We bill the rebuild at $300 sublet, Plus 1.5 hrs labor $180.

  The repaired pump worked until the pool was closed and winterized This Spring the motor sparked and stalled immediately on Start up. Repairs would once again require a new motor or replacement pump. The Clients requested warranty on the repairs. That probably could have happened as the failure was internal and had nothing to do with the previous cleaning and bearing service. It would be similar to having a battery installed in your car and 6 months later the radiator beside the Battery springs a leak. The rebuild shop also pointed out they only cover their work for 30 days. Basically there is no warranty after a winter of down time. We did nothing wrong on the removal and re-install and had charged fairly for our services. Old pump was damaged internally and could not be repaired. We offered the clients a high quality reconditioned pump at 1/2 the cost of new . Somehow they felt we owed them a replacement pump at no charge. I made 3 offers to get them operational but at their cost. They rejected my offers and requested their repair money back. I wrote them a check for the $300 dollar sublet service and the taxes and personally delivered the dead pump and check back to their residence the same day. There is no warranty or reimbursement on labor already fairly billed. There could be a labor adjustment or reduction on future services or replacement as a Good Will gesture. we were not given that opportunity.

  The second concern they have mentioned deals with a Custom measured and fabricated ********* ****** Safety Cover. Their pool is a very unusual Pallet shaped pool that has a large portion of their lower deck area protruding into the pool. The shallow end is radius cornered, with a set of stairs protruding out from the strait wall. The opposite deep end starts curving clockwise from the flat sidewall into a large 18 foot across, half circle inside curve and transitions into a tighter outside curve for the deck outcropping and back into the sidewall towards the shallow end. I have only run into one other similar Pallet shaped pool in my 30 year career.  Unlike a Rectangle pool which use off the shelf prebuilt covers, this one required detailed triangulation measurements and engineering to build and meet safety standards. I did one call for rough measurements which are submitted to my distributor who sends them to the manufacturer and gets an cost estimate back to me. I add my Profit and installation estimate and presented that to the clients. If accepted I take a deposit and have the order processed. When the cover arrived we laid it out over the pool and drilled the 80 plus anchor holes for the flush deck anchors. in ordering. Delivery was indeed late in the year due to supplier issues and Covid related supply and shipping delays. We installed the complicated cover in early December when the weather cooperated. 

  This Spring, upon opening the pool and removing the cover, it was discovered the client was missing their storage bag, which is normally supplied with the covers. We checked our vehicles and storage areas before ordering a replacement. I believe this is a $30 aftermarket part and is usually made from the same breathable cover material with a rope at the top to close the bag, similar to a ***** ****. I will deliver the bag when it arrives at no charge.

  I do not see any valid reason the client is requesting a refund on his Safety Cover purchase. 

  Perhaps I am missing something here and you can enlighten me.? I truly feel we have gone above and beyond what would be considered normal customer service. I would also be interested in what the final costs will be to get a pump working for their pool.

  I know it won't be supplied through our firm

  Thank you,

  Jerry M*******      Owner      KING POOL & SPA

  
  

  Customer response

  22/04/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

  First "here we go again"? Obviously King Pools previous dealings with the BBB should be offering a hint as to their business practice.
  

  I think Mr M******* is deliberately being obtuse and hard to deal with.

  The pump, we did not request any fix or any rebuild at any time. Ever... in fact he suggested in the emails provided the bearings be serviced. He came and got the pump without telling us and reconditioned the entire unit. We paid the bill not overly thinking much of it. It was clear there was a 9o day warranty. Then, as he mentions in his email, he shifts blame to his subcontractor and reduces the warranty to 30 days, but offers another reconditioned pump with 90 days. He's contradicting himself repeatedly. He also claimed he had no idea (check the emails) there was ever anything wrong with the pump, but today offers a completely different excuse.Which is it?
  

  We at no time expected or asked for any other pump. Read the emails Mr M*******! We wanted the warranty honoured. How you honoured or didn't honour a warranty is all you.
  

  You offered solutions we found unacceptable. However one of those solutions was a refund for the pump without  the labour. This was your idea. Not ours, so please stop whining about not being afforded opportunities. If there was another solution, you should have mentioned it. Again, this is an untruth.
  

  The plain and simple truth is,  there is a warranty in place, it should be honoured. Period. What happened, who did it, or why it happened is inconsequential. The pump is broken, and unless you have claimed (which you have not) the broken pump is somehow our fault or we caused the damage on purpose, the warranty should cover this. It was used for 42 days, the warranty is in tact. How the pump is fixed, who does it, or what you replaces it with is up to you. Not us. Therefore, we claim no responsibility for warranties not honoured. You cannot change your mind regarding warranty repair after purchase without agreement from the purchaser. Law!
  

  Secondly the pool cover and bag. We tried to order a cover in sept. 6 weeks later you finally ordered it. That has nothing to with shipping and supply. You messed that up. Own it. But when the cover was installed isn't the problem. What shape my pool is, what my deck looks like or where the stairs are is just verbal diarrhea.  It has nothing to do with the subject matter. Stay on subject.
  

  What is important, is I paid for a complete product and did not receive the entire product. Period. This alone, according to the law, is justification for refund. The fact that we allow the situation to be corrected is up to us, not you.
  

  Your employees took of our $5000.00 cover off. Its wet and full of chemicals. You didn't clean it, you didn't put it away, you just left it in a pile on my deck. You didn't attempt to dry it, nothing... your own technicians called us asking for the bag. They also asked where the power was. Considering its right there beside the pump speaks volumes towards your employees competence. Regardless... that isn't the issue.
  

  The warranty is clear about cleaning and storing. Your actions are voiding the warranty. Therefore why would I want it? If your company is not willing to treat my property as you are being paid to do, why would I want to keep said property? Or you for that matter.
  

  The fact is, you provided a product (the pump) that did not meet the warranty promise. Therefore, it is your responsibility to make it right. Not ours, not the subcontractor, yours. IT IS ILLEGAL TO CHANGE THE WARRANTY AFTER PURCHASE WITHOUT CONSENT. If your business practice warrants the "too bad so sad" motto then shame on you. So far you have blamed your pump rebuild guy, shippers, covid, supply channels, odd shaped pools, stairs, and decks. You are literally making constant excuses while trying to stray from the topic. You are concerned with only your bottom dollar, not the service, not the product... you want minimum effort and maximum payout.

  My entitlement lies with the money paid for the product or service provided. This is the law. Look it up. You have refused to honour the warranty, you have attempted to ruin my cover. Now I want every dime of my money returned.

  To end this, I have to question Mr M******* faxed a request to the cover company requesting the bag on March 10th but apparently did not know of the problem until April the 4th. How is that explained?
  

  To rectify this situation, we want the warranty on the pool pump honoured. If that means fixing it, replacing it, swapping it out for another rebuild that's fine. Our pump should be installed, working and doing the job in which it was meant to do. That service should then carry an additional 90 day warranty. For the cover, it needs to be cleaned, dried and put away according to the warranty. The bag will be replaced, the cover placed in it and stored. This should all happen prior to April 28th. We will be out of the country after that. If this can be accomplished I will withdraw our request for refund on the cover, provided the warranty is still in tact.

  If this is unacceptable to King Pool, over the course of the summer season should my pool experience any other damage as a result of the pump not being installed or because I am now being forced to use another company or the cover warranty being voided I will then seek compensation for that.

  Honour your warranty Mr M*******.
  

  Business response

  30/04/2022

  Hello ** *** .

  It would appear the client is more concerned about my personality and integrity as a business owner as opposed to the facts of the situation.

  Last Fall My Technicians removed a noisy and leaking Pump assembly for a sublet rebuild. The repair facility cleaned the pump replaced the bearings and seals and we picked it up and reinstalled it. The pump ran for a month and was shut down for the winter. On opening the pool This Spring the pump immediately sparked and smoked indicating an internal failure. It was removed and returned to the sublet facility who were unable to repair the motor. Apparently one of the magnetic coil windings had lost its welded mount connection to the casing and fallen onto the armature. (the central part of the motor) This has nothing to do with the rebuildable service done previously. Simply an internal failure of the motor assembly. It is not a repairable piece. At that point whether there was a warranty for 30 or 90 days on the unrelated repairs ii became a mute point. 

  I offered the clients options to replace the pump which were rejected and I returned their dead pump and the sublet portion of their paid sublet service bill from the previous Fall. 

  In regards to the pool safety cover I am confused. This is a separate service request and is not related to the pool pump. I measured the pool and had my supplier quote me a price. We added the usual mark up and installation fees, took a custom order deposit and ordered the very Custom cover.  The cover was installed in a reasonable time frame and the pool was put to bed for the winter. We installed other  customers covers after that. 

  When the service crew removed the cover this spring, they enquired about the storage bag which apparently did not come with the cover as they usually do. At the same time they were unable to complete the pool opening as the pump would not run.

  I ordered and received a separate storage bag and personally handed it to the Mrs., On a Saturday when I found it in a recent parts shipment. 

  She asked me to put the cover into the storage bag but demanded I clean dry and fold the cover first. I asked If there was room on the lower deck to lay it out and started to explain I would have the service Technicians do that on the Monday.  (It takes more than one person) but before I really spoke she made a rude comment and closed the door. Our conversation was over.

  I really don't think we faulted anywhere in measuring, quoting, ordering or installing the Custom winter cover. The bag shortage is fairly minor. I ordered and delivered the bag immediately on finding out it had been shorted from the supplier.

  I am not in a position to, nor should be expected to refund the cost of the cover and install because they do not like me, or my handling of their unrelated pump issue.  

  If the cover, measuring, installation, or safety of the cover was wrong there might be grounds for discussion. That is not the case and I feel I have gone over and above my obligations to this client with their custom engineered, built and installed cover.

  Their is no refund from my supplier on Custom fabricated products and I will not be refunding any costs they have payed regarding the Safety Cover.

  I will encourage this client to seek any pool help from other firms in the future. We will be unable to assist them. 

   

  J M*******       Owner      KING POOL & SPA SERVICES Ltd.

  Customer response

  03/05/2022

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

  As I’ve already explained. I have withdrawn our request for compensation for the pool cover period. As for the pool pump. It was warranted  Period. If the warranty had specifications or stipulations it must be in writing. That’s the law, live with it. 
  

   

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩