ComplaintsforAmerican Pool Builders Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On (August) 8/24/2023 we gave American Pool $9,299.87 as a deposit and signed a contract. The contract has no start date. By American Pools own reference, I created a loan contract with ************** (which they use) with an expiration month of February 2024. When January 2024 came around, I reached out to the sales rep to see the status of the start date, and was told they are very very far behind and working hard to allegedly meet the February loan before it expires. Naturally when February came and went with no communication from them, the loan company asked me if I wanted to extend the loan and re-run hard credit. I reluctantly agreed. My wife then contacted the pool office and was told the start month was never going to be any time soon and we should've never done the loan back in 8/2023 and was frustrated that we did so. My wife was then then told something about permits and engineering and a definitive start month of April. When April 2024 came and went and the loan expired yet again, I attempted to reach out to our sales rep and the office via calls, voicemails, texts, and emails. All unanswered. Between all of those I have about 40 times I've attempted to reach out. The loan company too, reached out to let them know their own funds expired twice now. It took a week or so for them to reply to loan company, which was the only piece of communication in months. Fast forward to today 6/10/204 the office calls and says tomorrow they want to come out to start. After around 4 (total) months of no communication, they come out of nowhere and we have already moved on due to no communication and clearly no intent to start the project. I am requesting my total deposit of $9,299.87 back due to no communication and no apparent intent to start the project. I requested to speak with the owner. I fear by them reaching out now, they will spin it around on me as I no longer have intent on the them starting the project which false, based on my numerous communication attempts.

• Initial Complaint

  06/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  This business took a down payment and had not made contact since. I looked for their physical location and it does not seem to exist ( A roofing company is there instead). I would like a refund and to move on to another company.

• Initial Complaint

  05/29/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  August 8,2023 we signed a contract with American pool builders we were told 6 months they would start. We told the sales lady if was going to be longer we wanted no part of it we were very clear about that. She said no way it would be that long so we gave her the check for $6,464.80 for deposit.we were approved for the loan everything was fine. The my wife stopped by to ask if they had samples of tile and patio stones. Spoke to the owner he pulled our file in front of her and told her that we had five pools ahead of ours and would be 6 to 8 months and he would be coming by the month before to scope out our lot. We did not hear anything for a while ,my wife tried to call them for a few weeks no answer so she stopped in again because she got new phone number wanted to give them it. She was told by office manager that it was going to be more like 8 to 10 months went till April not a word from them except email they were moving to new location would update with info. Never have got that information they wont answer the phones we talked to office manager again in May we told her we wanted our money back said we would have to email them that info but I already done that now I have done it twice but when emailed me back said going to talk to project manager about a start date. I emailed back told her we do not want a start date we want our money they have not kept their end of this I dont want them digging a hole in my yard them getting half the money from finance company and me no pool and having to pay for it. We are are a week shy of ten months and they say we still have 5 pools ahead of us. And no idea when they will start pool and they just ignore that we have asked for a refund

• Initial Complaint

  04/01/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  My Wife and I were told our pool would be started 6 months from the date of signing and deposit provided. We signed paperwork with ************************* on 12/22/22 and deposit of $7537.19 provided on 1/18/23.The communication was great up until the deposit and many emails and voicemails after left unanswered or just a circle of delays with no forward progress.I called and spoke to ***** (Office Manager) on 2/22/23 and she apologized for the lack of communication and provided another email address we can reach out to going forward and that ***************************** (President) would also be copied. She stated they were actually 12 months out vs the 6 that we were told.Here we are at 4/1/24 and another round of poor communication and continuous pattern of excuses.My Wife and I had hoped this would have been an exciting time but turned out to be a very painful experience. We would like our full deposit returned so can go with a more reputable company that makes good on their promises and cares about their customers.

• Initial Complaint

  01/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  The issue is that I was told that the permitting would start in February by ***** when she came to my home. Ive paid my deposit in August 2023 and according to the contract It states a down payment is due before work can be schedule. A down payment was provided in August 2023, I would like a scheduled outline for my project in writing.

  Customer response

  01/18/2024

  I provided a deposit of $7,689.41 to be scheduled. Since the
  deposit cleared, I had difficulty contacting *************************. On
  November 8, 2023, I sent an email trying to get a start date
  for the construction and a copy of the permit. On November
  10, 2023, I sent another text regarding the frustration of not
  having a clear ETA of whats going on. Ive called the office
  on numerous occasions and left messages. My concern is
  that on December 21, 2023, email from *************************** the
  President of American Pool Builders Inc. alarming the
  Department of Business & Professional Regulations site
  shows their license is due to expire this year 8/31/2024 and
  they have moved to a temporary facility without public
  access. I still have not been scheduled according to my
  contract once a deposit was received and I would like my
  refund. American Pool Builders Inc. office location at ******************************************************************************** has moved. We want to
  thank you for your patience and understanding during this
  time. Pardon our dust as we are relocating our offices.
  Please do not be alarmed as we have purchased and are
  renovating a new office facility, right here in ********. While
  our new office location is being renovated, our business will
  continue to operate as normal. We are currently operating
  from a temporary facility that does not have public access.
  This will not impact construction times. We will continue
  moving forward to start, construct, and complete projects as
  efficiently as possible. We will be announcing the address of
  our new location shortly after the renovations are complete.
  You may continue to contact us Monday-Friday 9am - 5pm
  via our regular business phone at ************ or email us
  at ******************* for any questions or concerns. We
  will be contacting you for any color selections or project
  specific requirements if, or, as needed."
  

• Initial Complaint

  01/07/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  On May 5, 2023, we signed a contract with American Pool Builders and paid our initial deposit of $4,727.99. We were advised by the sales representative it would take approximately 6 months for the start and would be contacted to pick out tiles and colors. In October 2023, we began reaching out to the business and after several calls/emails we received an email advising there were two jobs ahead of ours and the construction was to begin between 11/09/2023 - 01/09/2024. However, on 10/24/2023, ****************** responded to a BBB complaint advising "We have been backlogged on our construction starts for 14 months for nearly 3 years now." In December 2023, we reached out by phone and email and were advised there were two jobs in front of ours. At the end of December, we sent a certified letter to the physical address listed with the **************** (which the business is no longer physically located at) requesting proof the pool had already been ordered and if it hadn't a refund. We were advised the company does not issue refunds, they are in the permitting process and to be patient. A call was placed to the ****************'s permit office that day and there are no current submissions for a permit with our address. After several attempts to obtain proof of money being spent or any progress, we have lost confidence that the pool will be built. We have the supporting emails and a certified letter pertaining to the above if needed.

• Initial Complaint

  12/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  In September 2022, I signed a contract and paid the deposit for a pool with American Pool Builders. The project was supposed to start ***** months from the signed contract. As of today, December 13, 2023, the project has not even been started. I am already making loan payments and have nothing to show for it.

• Initial Complaint

  10/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Signed a pool contract on 11/1/22 and paid a $4567 deposit. Was told construction would begin 8-10 months from signing - "possibly sooner". At 8 months and multiple attempts to contact, was told construction would begin 10-12 months from signing. As we're approaching 12 months, we have attempted to reach the company via email, phone, text over the past 2 weeks and haven't received any response. We are concerned that there is either no intention to build our pool or they plan to keep the deposit for some undetermined amount of time with no target build date. I have copies of the contract, emails and texts from early in the process. We haven't received any other communication from them since July 2023

  Business response

  10/24/2023

  We apologize to Mr. ****** on the delay. We have been backlogged on our construction starts for 14 months for nearly 3 years now. It was never our intentions to deceive our customers as to the time line and we do not dispute he may have been told 8-10 months, however 8 or 10 months is a long time to project out our schedule. Even at this, time we are a little uncertain as to the start time, but believe we can start in January 2024. We were only contacted yesterday by voice mail by Mr. ****** which was the first communication from him since last July according to our records, and have not had a chance to respond. However, we do not want this dispute to continue and are willing to refund Mr. ******'s deposit in full. Mr. ****** needs only to email us at [email protected] and request a refund, and will mail his deposit back to him forthwith.

  James T******* President American Pool Builders

  Business response

  11/09/2023

  The complainant **** ****** requested a full refund and cancelation of her contract with us. We have complied with her wishes and sent her a refund check which our bank records indicate was paid on 10/30/2023. We consider the matter closed.  

  Customer response

  11/09/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

• Initial Complaint

  03/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  In May of 2021 we signed a contract to have a pool built by American Pool Builders Inc. We were told at the time of signing that they would start sometime in December. There was no contract from American Pool Builders. In Early November I had called them to schedule a time to come to the showroom as we should be a month out. It was at that time due to construction there was a delay to January/February. I said ok and asked to be informed of any other delays. In late January I called again. After 2 weeks of calling and leaving voice-mails I finally got a hold of someone. I even tried calling the owners cell phone and leaving him a message. Only to be told that I was delayed until mid March. A few weeks later I received a letter in the mail stating that there will be a 12.5% inflation increase. I informed them that there is nothing in the contract that states they can charge for inflation and that I will allow them to void my contract and refund my deposit of $5338. This is when they tell me it's not refundable and they changed the document they originally mailed me to include that. Both letters are dated and there was an attempt to come to an agreement between the company and myself via email. They made no offer to correct anything and stopped all communication. I would like my down payment returned as they are not doing the work they contracted to do.

  Business response

  05/03/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/28) */ In these days of rampant inflation, it's seems almost impossible to keep up and it's spreading hardship throughout our economy. The swimming pool industry has experienced inflation well beyond what the Federal Department of Labor's CPI index is telling us. That is because it is a national average and not industry specific. For instance, gasoline prices have experienced nearly 100% inflation whereas the CPI index says about 8% year over year and it looks like gasoline prices are going to continue rising well above the CPI index. Our cost analysis, just since this customer signed the original contract May 2021, proves that the swimming pool industry in this area has experienced 30% inflation with much of that increase occurring in November and December 2021. This is unsustainable for us. Prior to May of 2021 the CPI index, for nearly 10 years, registered about 1.5% inflation a year and in some years the inflation rate was negative (deflationary). The inflation rate in the pool industry has always been a little higher (about 3-5%) but generally followed the same pattern. This meant that we only had to raise our prices every one to two years. This year, and since May of 2021, things have been quite different. In early August 2021 we substantially raised our prices to keep up with the inflation rate. Surprisingly, we had to do it again in October, December, and February, and are set to do it again perhaps this very week. Near the end of 2020 our company, as well as other pool companies in our area, experienced a huge increase in demand for our services. At first we were handling the increase quite well, but we did go from an average six weeks to start a project to about 12 weeks then by May 2021 we thought we were at about 6 months to start, but then the shortages. The Shortages..! The supply chain issues. People in this area seem to think that wasn't suppose to affect them, that it was only affecting other people somewhere else, but it did affect them. We had so many projects just sitting there, not because we were negligent, but because we couldn't get what we needed to complete the job. Of course, once we did receive our supplies they came to us at an inflated price. Nevertheless, we did manage to start most of our jobs at around 8 months and that seems to be the trend for now. In May of 2021, none of what I just explained, the inflation, the shortages, the continued demand for our services, was clear to us then. Although there were signs, we could not have anticipated any of it back in May 2021. The rampant inflation is the most egregious issue we face. By December 2021, all of our contracts from May 2021 through about October 2021, became under water financially and we realized that if we can't persuade those customers to pay more, and we tried to build their projects anyways, our company would be bankrupt financially in just a few short months. At the same time, if we decided to refund all of those deposits, (which has always been just 10% of the contract price) and considering all the expenses we have already made directly related to each project, we will be facing the same financial bankruptcy. It's literally like being stuck between a rock and a hard place. I have tried to explain all this to this customer, but apparently he's not listening. All of this out of our direct control. We must pass these inflation cost to the customers, just like everybody else in this economy, in order to stay in business. Other customers have accepted the new price increases, because, they understand that even with new pricing, the pool will never be less expensive than it is now, and it continues to be a great investment and entertainment upgrade to their home. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/03/30) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I fully understood the situation inflation had put the industry in as I have previously stated. As I also had stated it had affected the entire nation and I would love to have the extra $7k to just go ahead and spend on the pool. My complaints are still as stated that I haven't received any communication from your company other than when I called to find out the status. I called for 2 weeks and left messages on the office phone, owners cell phone and sales persons cell phone with no answer. The only communication was a letter saying there is an inflation increase. My 2nd complaint to the BBB is that there is a signed contract with a price on it and no clause to allow for such increase. I asked to have the contact voided and an agreement on the down payment be agreed upon. American Pool Builders offered nothing. Not even invoices for the alleged costs already allegedly incurred. There has been no permits pulled and I don't feel they have the right to keep funds for a contract they are refusing to execute.

• Initial Complaint

  02/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  We signed up for a pool about a year ago. We were advised we should be installed around November. We have a deposit for 10% as requested which was about 4800.00. It took dozens of phone calls and no rerun communications to physically drive there and get an update. They then said maybe early next year( this year). I tried following up again with the same results. Very hard time getting communication back. We were then told maybe March or April. I asked if they ordered materials or if we were on the schedule and they said no ( this was in late December ). 9 months anger giving them a deposit. I knew if I wasn't able to communicate with them prior to our pool being is installed I would never be able to during the process. I kindly sent them a letter informing them of our displeasure with the process and for our deposit back and they said they would not return any of our deposit. In summary their contract read that the deposit was only refundable for 3 days, but no where did American pools have any good faith gesture to do anything with out deposit. Their contract only protects them. I'd they literally did nothing with my deposit in regards to ordering and scheduling they basically just stole our money. This company is crooked, sneaky, and shouldn't be allowed to serve the public.

  Business response

  05/02/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 17, 2022/03/23) */ ***Document Attached*** The complaint letter submitted by Mr. ********** to the BBB doesn't have a lot of truth in it. The timeline he expresses is way off and his claim as to our responses to his inquiries as to when we would start the project is just wrong. Mr.***** signed our contract on May 3, 2021, and he was told we couldn't start the project for at least 6-8 months but that we would try and start sooner if we could. Near the beginning of November, he inquired as to when we might get started and he was told that we were a little farther behind than we had anticipated back in May, but it looked like we would be able to start in January. Around November 22, 2021 we received a letter from Mr.***** informing us that he wished to cancel the project. Attached is a copy of that letter. The letter never mentioned anything about us taking too long to start the project or about us not being responsive to his inquiries, but instead the letter only indicated that he wished to cancel because he decided to sell his home and that a pool was no longer wanted. We then responded to Mr.***** that he had certain contractual obligations with us. We told him that when a contract is signed there are significant expenses we pay out almost immediately which is the purpose of the 10% deposit. The contract is clear and unambiguous about that deposit and the possibility of loosing that deposit should one cancel the project. We have that rule in our contract to protect the financial stability of our company. In the past however, we have made exceptions to the deposit refund rule but only in certain hardship cases such as, but not limited to, a death in the immediate family. But in Mr.*****'s case he did not express any sort of hardship. The contract does not have guaranteed start or completion times. Instead, the contract relies on reasonable times and industry standards. If for instance, Mr.***** could argue that we told him exactly 6 months to start (which we never did)and then it turned out that we couldn't start for 8 months, then in construction, that is not unreasonable or against industry standards. It's impossible in the pool industry to accurately project a schedule that far out. Had Mr.***** not cancelled the project, we would have started him in January. We know this because our records show the customer that was immediately behind him in line was started around the second week of January 2022. We are sorry that Mr.***** decided to cancel the project, but this was no fault of our own. We are, by the laws of the State of Florida, required to maintain the financial integrity of our company and we cannot allow customers to impose unreasonable costs on us just because they have a change in their personal plans. James J. T******* President American Pool Builders Inc. Consumer Response /* (3000, 19, 2022/03/30) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) First off thank you for the response. I/ we however still have the same complaint. Just because a business owner has the contract to back up a deposit and keep it doesn't make it morally right. I am also in the construction/ service industry and when a customer gives me a deposit for a specialty item I give it back if it wasn't ordered and or they were not scheduled. Do we also have the legal right in our contract to keep a deposit? NEVER. Its not the right thing to do. The owners response to this is that the deposit goes towards the cost of what was done. NOTHING was done. Any estimates, paperwork, etc are part of a company's overhead. a deposit of close to 5,000 should not be kept by the contractor. People work hard for their money, and the faxct that this company can morally justify keeping a persons money even though no goods or services were rendered is a giant RED flag for other customers to beware and stand clear of a company with a low moral ceiling. Putting money over the right thing to do NEVER works out in the long run.

*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. ↩