ComplaintsforAquatic Pools

• Initial Complaint

  03/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We contracted with Aquatic to have our pool resurfaced. (The business may also go by the name of Aquatic Leak Detection, **** ******* **** ******* ******* ** - we made the first payment to this business.) The actual job started with the first delivery of materials on July 22, 2021. The total job was $10,350 (less $300 for a rail they were unable to install); total payment made was $10,050. The business was to resurface our pool/spa with ******* ****** ******** **** However, the finish used was neither the ******* ****** brand nor the contracted color of ********* Upon application, we immediately informed the owner of Aquatic that the color was wrong. He made no effort to correct. This color is completely different than the color we chose and contracted for. The spillover for the spa was also cut wrong (also brought to the owner's attention). Additionally, due to their failure to take proper care of the pool during the early months after the resurface (including oil spillage into pool during internal acid wash, lack of brushing, incorrect/lack of chemical treatment), the pool ended up with scaling.

  Business response

  03/22/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/22) */ **** **** contracted Aquatic Pools to tile and refinish her pool in Mims. The pool was tiled, and the pool was prepped for the finish in a timely manner. At that time Steven went out and explained to Mrs. **** that there was a shortage in the industry for pool finished and the Florida Stucco Hawaiian Gem was on backorder. At that time Steven shower her samples of another brand of finish that is the same product with the same warranty. The color was not exact but very similar to the original selection. She agreed to use the different product and it was delivered to the residence. Shortley after the pool finish was installed and the customers seemed happy. When we plaster the pool we perform an acid wash, balance the chemicals and hand the customer a care sheet. It is the customers responsibility to do chemicals in the pool and brush the pool once a day. Shortley after Mrs. **** called and said she was unhappy with the color of her finish. Steven went out himself after hours to meet with Mr. and Mrs. **** at the residence. She told her husband that she never saw any samples and we never talked about the material change. I explained to him what really happened, and they were very rude about the situation. Steven left the property because he was uncomfortable being there. A couple months later Mrs. **** called and said there was a white haze on her surface, Mike went out from Aquatic Pools and showed them that it was scale from the pool being abused and not taken care of. Aquatic Pool gave Mrs. **** a care sheet, showed her samples, communicated with her, and made so many stops there to try to please her we stopped counting. We are sorry she is unhappy, but we tried so hard trying to please her and were unsuccessful. WE have proof of the material change in writing, have proof we gave her the care sheet, and have proof the pool was mistreated. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2022/03/23) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This response from Aquatic Pools is a complete fabrication of the truth. Steven never "explained that there was a shortage in the industry" or that "the Florida Stucco Hawaiian Gem was on backorder." We were not shown samples of another brand. Immediately following application of the horrid bright blueberry finish, I notified Steven that this was not ******* ****** ********* He insisted that it was, so we were forced to contact ******* ****** so they could inspect it. Once Steven learned we were contacting ******* ******* he told us not to contact them and admitted he had used another brand. The color he used was not even close to the color we agreed to and contracted for. The job was started 8/2/21. On 8/12/21, the plaster was delivered and applied the following week. After notifying Steven that we were not happy with the color, he stopped working on our pool even though the job was not completed. We were left with a splotchy finish for weeks; Steven never even mentioned that the job was not finished. On 9/16/21, we contacted Steven to find out if the acid wash had even been done - it hadn't. They didn't come out to do the acid wash until 9/24/21. On that day, they poured acid in the pool and setup two pumps to move water around for the weekend (internal acid wash). At some point late Sunday night/early Monday morning, one of their pumps broke and spilled oil into our pool. From that point on, they were working to remove the oil and clear up the water. It took them until 10/15/21 to get rid of all the oil and clear up the water. That was their error and responsibility to correct, not something they were doing trying to "please" us. The care sheet mentioned was for Weeks 1-4 after resurfacing. They were still "caring" for the pool until Week 9. We didn't receive the care sheet until after that. Our pool is highly cared for and never "abused" or "mistreated." Steven ******, owner of Aquatic Pools, ignored phone calls, didn't respond to text messages, and along with his employees, came and went whenever they pleased without any notification to us. He was disrespectful and extremely unprofessional, even resorting to name-calling. He is still lying rather than taking accountability for his mistakes. Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/03/24) */ Aquatic Pools stands by their initial response. The customer was shown samples and the plaster shortage was explained. The proof is in the pictures we uploaded and the witnesses that were at the job when Steven showed Mrs. **** the samples. This customers number one goal was to try to complain about items and ask us for a discount. That is shown in the text messages we uploaded and she is continuing to do that to this day. She was handed the care sheet and didn't take care of her pool so the acid washes was Aquatic Pools trying to please her and correct her mistakes. We only do internal acid washes to pool that are mis treated. We gave the customer a military discount but we did not find any other discount to be warranted. We are very sorry she is unhappy but they are just trying to get a discount. Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2022/03/26) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Aquatic is still not trying to come to a resolution. We contracted for ******* ****** ******** finish. A different brand/color was NEVER agreed upon. Steven's text of August 12 clearly shows that he was still trying to tell us the plaster was Hawaiian. There is absolutely no mention of a different brand or color. Attached are photos of the color we requested, and the incorrect color used. Despite what Aquatic wrote, our number one, and only goal was to have a beautifully refinished pool. That was not provided. The discount given up front was because my husband served our country for 20 years in the military. It has absolutely nothing to do with the additional discount we asked for due to their deceitfulness by not informing us of misaligned grout lines in tiles and a huge gap that would be all around the pool (shown in attached photo). (Had they been honest and communicated this at the start, when we were selecting materials, we could have chosen differently.) Steven seemed to think that we weren't entitled to a further discount because we already got a military discount. He even said that the salesman shouldn't have given us that discount. A good business owner would work with their customer, but he just turned spiteful and shut down communications. Aquatic states that they only do internal acid washes to pools that are mistreated. This is another lie as is evidenced by the attached posts from Aquatic's ******** page where Aquatic states that "you have to wash it a certain way to get the color to come out good" and "acid washing with the water in the pool to bring out the rich color of the plaster" - both referring to the Hawaiian color. Attached are photos of the blotchy finishes left in our pool. As I said in my previous response, the care sheet wasn't even given to us until the last day they were at our house - 9 weeks AFTER they cleaned up the oily mess in the pool caused by their pump spilling oil into our pool while doing the acid wash. The care sheet shows how to care for the pool during weeks 1-4 after resurfacing - nothing about how to care for it after 9 weeks. However, we did care for the pool as required for a standard salt-water pool, including cleaning, brushing, chemicals as necessary. We are not trying to get a discount. We are requesting a full refund since we will have to hire another company to apply the correct finish. Consumer Response /* (3000, 21, 2022/06/10) */ 5/16/2022 Complaint. Nature of Dispute:Aquatic Pools resurfaced our pool. The warranty for the finish requires that we register the product. For this, we need the Batch Number used and Dealer Name where Aquatic purchased the product. The owner of Aquatic has been unresponsive to our repeated requests for this information. We have reached out many times by email, text, and phone. We even went to the office in person during open hours, but the office was closed. We are unable to register the product without this information. Aquatic did not communicate during the job and continues to have poor communication. Desired resolution: We would like Aquatic to provide the Batch Number used for the finish they applied to our pool and the Dealer name where the product was purchased. Business Response /* (4000, 24, 2022/05/31) */ We purchased the products from **** No batch number was given to us at purchase. Consumer Response /* (4200, 26, 2022/05/31) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) We cannot accept this response because the requested information was not provided. Please provide the name, location, and contact information for the dealer ******** We are unable to determine who this is from your response since you only provided an acronym. Also, please provide proof of purchase since you don't have the batch number. Without the batch number, ****** ********** requires proof of purchase. Business Response /* (4000, 28, 2022/06/13) */ Attached is the receipt from **** That is the name of the supplier. This is the only paperwork we have from the purchase.

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