ComplaintsforFountain Pools and Water Features

• Initial Complaint

  01/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Would like a honest answer when asking about the job being completed lack of accurate answers signed contract on December 8th 2022 told could take a year hasnt happened then it was a year from dig date that will be February 26th **** we still do not have a cage they have no idea when either that year will be 5 weeks away they told us they fired old cage company in October she said new cage company will have us a cage by Christmas that didnt happen either phone call to company January 4 **** said give then two weeks today phone call January 16 **** the cage company hasnt even applied for new permit engineering was a hold up asked if we could speak to the owner said no we could not were supposed to get a phone call from his right hand ***** we are at **** end would like accurate information honest information their lack of communication is awful for paying customers They have a triple A supposedly we dont know how this could be we are so disappointed and dont know where to turn we hope the BBB can get us some honest answers and get this job completed for us we would like a completion date from fountain pools in hopes that everything will work once it is completed

  Business response

  01/17/2024

  Good Afternoon *****, 

  Everything regarding permitting and engineering has been submitted previous to this complaint and we are waiting to get it back from the county.  We have everything measured and laid therefore as soon as the permit comes back the cage install will be scheduled immediately.  An accurate timeline for the completion of the project would be the end of February, no later than mid March.  Please don't hesitate to reach out to us if you have any further questions about this matter.

  Customer response

  01/18/2024

   
  Complaint: 21151588
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  We were told by our salesman ***** our pool would take eight to twelve months to build the  pool our contract sign date was December 8th 2022 but then we were told oh no the year is by the dig date well the dig date was February 26 2023 we expect this pool to be completed by February 26 2023 there has been nothing done on our pool since October of 2023 we were promised a date in December by ********* that the cage would be up and after that the rest would be done quickly she promised when we called because this did not happen the answers are :  give us two weeks then another call : give us five days they told us they put a rush on this     we are tired of having to make phone calls tired of lip service we expect customer service we have been very patient we have paid our payments as soon as the invoices arrived we are expecting this to be completed by February 26 2024 
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Business response

  01/23/2024

  Unfortunately as we have discussed your completion date was affected by the change in screen company and the process of getting permitting and engineering from the county.  As previously stated we have your project on track to be completed by the end of February-early March **** as one of our top priorities.  Thankyou for your understanding concerning this matter and please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions.

  Customer response

  01/30/2024

   
  Complaint: 21151588
  
  I am rejecting this response because: From the very beginning the communication has been terrible there has been a Round ***** of operations managers that have told ** stories *** told us she promised in an Email that once the problems with the concrete was resolved the pool would be finished soon after late June fountain pools took the pile of sand away from our home and put it on the lot two doors down they poured a foundation and built a house which just closed on January 26th our pool dig was in February its just a pool not a house and its still not close to being finished the next operation ******************************* told us the new cage company would have our cage up by Christmas when we called to ask the week before Christmas if the cage was still onboard to be installed before Christmas then we got more lies the cage wasnt even measured when we called after the new year like January 5th we had a new operations manager ******* we were told we had been measured so give then two weeks second call two weeks later the cage company hadnt even applied for the permit yet so we called the cage company ourselves of course they could not give us any information but had called fountain pools to tell them we called them then the next phone call was asking to speak to the owner of the company but they said we couldnt talk to him but his right hand man ***** would call us but never did so we called fountain pools again and were basically told we shouldnt call them every day  thats when we went to the better business bureau to help us with getting our pool finished there has been terrible communication we cant believe anything they say they cannot seem to give us anything definite this process is painful and cannot understand why they have an A rating on their fountain pool vehicles 
  We  also have had a couple of field managers in the process of the pool building 
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

• Initial Complaint

  12/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We ordered a pool from Fountain Pools October 4th 2022. We brought them the deposit on October 7th. They have been lying to ** ever since. Here is a small list of what was supposed to be done within 5-7 months that we are still waiting for ******. Handrail 2. Auto fill 3. Sunken pavers all over and pavers at auto fill 4. Heater (has been installed for months, but evidently was never installed properly because it does not work) We can not use our pool.5. Our Cage has never been installed. (We were promised recently that it would be done before Christmas originally we were told by April 2023)This has been over a year! Please help us!!!

  Business response

  01/03/2024

  Good Afternoon ******, 

  We apologize for not meeting your expectations on this project.  We have put you on the schedule for tomorrow to have the hand rail and autofill taken care of.  We have marked the other issues in your project as a top priority and will be scheduling you promptly on any other issues listed in your complaint.  Please do not hesitate in reaching out to us with any questions you may have!

• Initial Complaint

  11/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Fountain Pools (FP) built our pool, new construction in 2022. cost: $110k, settled on house 45 days after pool was completed. Pool has discolorations, rough areas since before we moved in. We have a pool company for maintenance with exquisite records re: chemical levels, photos, video of pool cleaning since we settled. FP states it isn't their problem but is the responsibility of ********************** (IPF) who competed the "pebbling" for FP. Rep came out from IPF and didn't test the water, didn't feel the surface and passed the "buck" back to FP who passed it back to us stating it was a maintenance issue. FP "ran" with that explanation. We have had issues with the pool since day one, malfunctioning heater and a pool leak due to shoddy workmanship on behalf of FP. FP refused to "own" the leak stating it was out of warranty. After spending almost $1000 for the leak to be fixed, the company that repaired the leak as well as the Home Builder told us it was due to the *** pipes being incorrectly installed. FP came out to repair the "sunken" pavers and chipped coping due to the leak.We have photos of a green pool before we moved in that have the issues as stated above...FP has stated the photos of the pool concerns are due to the pebbling being wet. It's a pool.Other neighbors have had similar issues with leaks and surface issues and they are having their pools fixed at no charge. FP wants to charge us to acid wash the pool which is not best practice for delamination. We have tried to get in touch with the owner, *****, but he doesn't answer any calls nor emails. Our pool maintenance company services 25 other pools in our community and none of them have chemical imbalances either. We are asking for FP to fix the delamination at no charge to us and they are refusing. FP has all photos re: these issues. If needed, I can supply more photos to the Owner.

  Business response

  11/29/2023

  Per customer request, an agent for ********************** (IPF) went and made a site visit to **** *************, ******, ** on October 12th, 2023, to inspect defects on the finish. The issues presented were of yellowing main drains and areas of discoloration. Upon inspection, the agent found the drains were yellowing, which is caused by iron content in the water, and is not a finish or warranty issue. While the IPF agent was there, they also said that they found calcium scaling and hydration on their floors and walls. This is strictly a maintenance issue and all warranty is voided when the pool is not being maintained properly. 

  Fountain Pools emailed the *********************** and they provided a letter stating their findings and the letter was then sent to the homeowner to provide to their service company. I have also attached the letter from ********************** where they state everything above.

  Please feel free to reach out with in questions.

  Thank you.

   

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

   
  Complaint: 20928247
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  Customer response

  12/06/2023

  I have attached the photos that show a green pool 2 months before we moved into our home. The black blotches are clearly visible in these photos. This was on FPs watch as we hadnt even settled into our house yet.

  There are no records of chemicals being added or maintained, no brushing of pool, no maintenance at all during this crucial time.

  This needs to be remedied by FP at NO cost to us. Acid washing is NOT an option either. This is shoddy workmanship the fault of FP.

   

  Business response

  12/06/2023

  I have attached photos from the time the pool was pebbled (with dates), to the time the pool was clean (2 months later) -

  On Wednesday 4/27/22, the pool was pebbled. On Friday 4/29/22, the pool was finished filling with water. We sent out a tech on 5/2/22 to do a punch out and low voltage. 

  Our first Chemical and Cleaning was on Wednesday 5/4/22. As a company, FP services pools for 30 days (once a week for 4 weeks). In this case, our system shows we serviced this pool for 2 MONTHS (please see the photos). After FP has finished the 30day startup, it is up to the builder and/or the homeowner to provide their own services, or continue with FP - We do not have a continuous service contract to maintain the pool after we completed the 30 day start up, however, we continued for an extra 30 days as a courtesy for ******* (builder).

  We have serviced Sapphire lot 29 @ *********************************************************** from 5/4/22 to 6/28/22. 

  Customer response

  12/13/2023

   
  Complaint: 20928247
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  we have already seen all of these attachments. There is NO record of any chemicals being added, brushing of pool being completed and the pool was green with the black blotches before we moved in.

  FP has not proven any appropriate maintenance of the pool before we moved in. The first 30 days+ are the most crucial and FP did not maintain our pool during this time. The photos do not show any maintenance of the pool. No records of chemicals being added, etc

  FP needs to fix this issue at no cost to us.

   

  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  11/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Jan. 22, 2021 I contracted with fountain Pools to build a pool. Today is Nov. 15, 2023 and it's still not finished. I paid for an autofill system ($2500.00) that is not hooked up. I have called the office numerous times and am told either someone will be there today or they will have the supervisor call me. No one has showed up or called me back. I would like the autofill installed or my money that I paid for it back.

  Business response

  11/17/2023

  Hello,

  We have reached out to the homeowner to discuss the issues stated in the original complaint. The homeowner is on our schedule today to have his autofill unit hooked up. We will ensure with the homeowner that everything is working to their satisfaction. 

  Regards,

  Customer response

  11/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 20874842
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  They still have not reached out to me like they promised they would, I never heard from them. They did send a crew out to install autofill but it is not complete. They dug up several decking tiles to do the installation and left them scattered with a large hole {trip hazard}. They also cut my sprinkler line during the attempted autofill installation. I find everything about this company VERY unethical!!!
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  11/29/2023

  Operations will be sending the site supervisor out tomorrow to look over any and all things that remain unresolved. We will get everything scheduled and taken care of by the end of next week. 

   

  Thank you,

  Customer response

  12/01/2023

   
  Complaint: 20874842
  
  I am rejecting this response because: Fountain Pools wrote that a supervisor would be coming out to ***** the situation. No one from Fountain Pools has shown up or contacted me.  More empty promises from Fountain Pools. It will be 2 years next month when we signed a contract with Fountain Pools for a new pool. The contract states the pool would be finished in a reasonable amount of time.  That time has passed.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  12/11/2023

  As of December 7, we will be having someone going out there and I have spoken to the Buyer.

• Initial Complaint

  11/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Pool and Cage Install Left yard a mess, piles or trash and debris, rotting pallets, cut block, resulting in constant complaints from the **** as well as neighbors asking to clean up the unsightly garbage. Ripped post and gate down without permission to run underground plumbing.Hit and chipped the paint and stucco of neighbors house. Ruined neighbors grass. Barely shows up to do work. Usually only see them once a month if we are lucky. Do not return phone calls or emails. Zero supervision and communication. Every time I call, they explain someone has either quit or fired, and they need to follow up on the questions, but never do. Pool install is ******** months, and not completed. I just want the job finished. Clean up my yard of all debris left including spoils, concrete left behind, and rebar.I have paid every ***** they have asked for based on progress installments. I removed a 16 foot section of fence to allow for easy access. The *** is on my case to reinstall it because the backyard is a disaster. I have pleaded with them to close the violation so I do not get fined.

  Business response

  11/08/2023

  Our team has reached out to ********************** on Tuesday morning in regards to the remaining items. We sent out a crew to do a final grade and clean up yesterday and will continue to move forward on the construction process. We will have the cage ** in 4-6 weeks, and we have already communicated with ********************** that we are moving forward with interior finish. Interior finish is scheduled 11/17 - 11/20. We will be providing a complementary safety barrier so we can move forward with no more delays. We apologize on our behalf and will make sure we get you swimming soon. 

   

  Thank you

  Business response

  11/08/2023

  Our team has reached out to ********************** on Tuesday morning in regards to the remaining items. We sent out a crew to do a final grade and clean up yesterday and will continue to move forward on the construction process. We will have the cage ** in 4-6 weeks, and we have already communicated with ********************** that we are moving forward with interior finish. Interior finish is scheduled 11/17 - 11/20. We will be providing a complementary safety barrier so we can move forward with no more delays. We apologize on our behalf and will make sure we get you swimming soon. 

   

  Thank you

  Customer response

  11/30/2023

   
  Complaint: 20835252
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The work has not yet been finished. 

   

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

  Customer response

  01/16/2024

  This response was provided verbally to BBB:

  The business has been working to address, however everything is not resolved as of today:

  1. There are issues with the plumbing piping.

  2. Final inspection has not passed.

  Business response

  01/16/2024

  Good Afternoon, 

  We will be calling you shortly to address the remaining concerns for your project.  We have you on the schedule for Friday 1/19/23, we will be coming out to address the remaining problems first hand.  Please don't hesitate to call us if you have any questions after today!

  Customer response

  01/22/2024

   
  Complaint: 20835252
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  It is now January 22, ****, and there are no Fountain Pool employees to fix the plumbing issues. Fountain Pools rescheduled from 1/19 to 1/22, but still have not shown up. 

  The Sarasota County pool inspector was at my house this morning. No one from Fountain Pools was there to meet with the inspector. It is not my responsibility to do so. 

  The inspection failed due to incomplete work. 

  This company emailed me about 2 weeks ago demanding final payment, but their work is still not compete. 

  I emailed Fountain Pools back explaining why they will not receive final payment and will not until all items are completed, inspected, and permits are closed. 

  They will also not receive payment until cosmetic repairs/cleaning is completed. 

  Thank you 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *******************************

• Initial Complaint

  10/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Contracted with Fountain pools to build a pool at home address approximately 15 months ago job remains unfinished. In total approximately 8 days of work have been performed in that time with no clear indication there is any intention to finish the job. Work that has been done has been a mix of acceptable and very poor. Aluminum pillars were torn out of my old cage and the roof left completely unsuported during hurricaine season. I paid to repair that and replace the posts myself. I had to rent a backhoe to move large piles of dirt that were dumped in the way of my trailer when fountain pools refused to move it (cost *******). I had to order my own pavers to repair a mistake made by their paver contractors (cost over *******). Trash piles left for over a year in our backyard have made living here very unpleasant. There is no completion date apparent, recently received email stating it may take FIVE YEARS to get the cage completed!Cage company showed up two months ago told me they would be done in five days worked for a day and a half and walked off of the job for unknown reasons leaving the job about 10% finished.Communication when they do respond consists of them telling me they will ask someone and get back to me and they inevitably do not. The state AG should open an investigation into this company.Read their other complaints a clear pattern exists.

  Business response

  10/20/2023

  On behalf of Fountain Pools, we are very sorry to have received this.  At this moment, we have a supervisor going there before the end of today to give our operations manager a proper update. We will work on a schedule to rectify the remaining completion items, and will get back to you by the end of Monday with a timeline. 

   

  *****************************

  Operation Manager

  Customer response

  10/28/2023

   
  Complaint: 20750417
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Manager came by was apologetic however none of this delay is his fault.  
  this problem is the company owners responsibility.  
  No time line was provided on Monday.  Another week has gone by with no action.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

  Business response

  10/30/2023

  *************************** (head supervisor) and ***************************** (operation manager) will be contacting ******************** in regards to a tentative timeline completion. ******************** is in the process of waiting for a cage from our subcontractor, *********. ********* is working diligently to get ******************** cage installed so Fountain Pools can move on to the next phase and completion. As of right now, ********* is scheduled to build Monday and install Thursday/Friday of next week. Once the cage is up and Fountain Pools can schedule a safety inspection, we will make sure interior finish is scheduled shortly after with no delays. 

  ******************************************

  Thank you

  Customer response

  11/02/2023

   
  Complaint: 20750417
  
  I am rejecting this response because: I did speak with them over the phone and more plans were made for the future. 

  This is what I have been hearing for well over a year. 

  I will believe it when I see it. 

  Satisfying this complaint will take finishing my construction.

  Is it possible to keep complaint open and check back in 30 days?  Based on what I was told construction should either be near complete or complete by then. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  08/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Your installers/sub contractors left our place of residence a mess from the beginning. Several texts and emails were sent. We were told on 5/27 that at final grade the site would be cleaned. Final grade was completed and trash was not picked up and had to be cleaned by me. There is still trash in our yard and pool that needs to be cleaned up along with large pvc pipes.Poor paver craftmanship and install was called out numerous times staring March numerous cracked and chipped pavers remain in place. On may 23rd I was given an Invoice from smart pro for ******* I was informed per the pool contract only **** was covered. The invoice outlined copper wire hook *** and 75 feet of conduit installation. The copper wires are hanging out of the pool appliances and i have two pieces of conduit unused sticking out of the ground. This needs to be addressed immediately. On 6/8 I sent an email with pictures asking this wire to be addressed.Email on 7/9 and it still was not addressed. The wire caused the safety inspection to fail which is now causing further delays. I believe I'm owed a refund due to the extra conduit being run and not used If it is not needed it needs to be removed at Fountain or Smart pros costs.On 6/22 our new roof was finished and signed off on. On 7/20 our new 6 inch seamless gutters were installed. Fabritech came and installed the super gutter and cage on 7/27. They cutaway gutters to install super gutter but did not cap our regular gutters. The roof flashing needs to be repaired.off. The gutters are now damaged beyond repair and need to be replaced. This was outlined in an email on 8/5.issues with water in the closer of the cage door which was not allowing it to function properly. I was told the tech would fix this when they came to do the window and door alarms. This was not addressed.Due to the closer not operating correctly prior to my intervention the top hinge was bent causing the door to squeak. The cage still needs to be grounded as well.

  Business response

  08/14/2023

  Large item cleanup and removal of materials is done during final grade / clean up. However, we did send a crew out early for him to get this done per his request. This stage is done with machines and all debris that necessitate a machine to remove are removed. Final handpicking clean *** don't happen until the end of construction when no more mess will be made. I have attached pictures of the property as of today. We do encourage our workers to keep sites clean and we ultimately clean up before we leave.  We moved Supervisors around to cover a wider area. ***** is his Supervisor now. He was ***et that he met with a new supervisor. When I learned he was ***et I reached out to ************************* agreed to call him today. ***** also went to the property today.   We have been trying to meet this customers expectations and we will continue to work with him to resolve these issues.
  The conduit and wires that smart pro runs are entirely different than the conduit and copper wires we run for our bonding grids. The "loose copper wires" the customer is referring to are our bonding wires. They need to be connected to the equipment to pass the safety inspection. This is why we generally don't schedule inspections until after a supervisor visits a site and gives the go ahead to schedule rather than just scheduling when a customer believes they are ready and demand to be scheduled. 
  Most of the pavers he has marked on his deck are stones that have chunks of the white mineral in them. This is not the result of damage, it is the naturally occurring mineral deposits that form inside igneous rock. No two natural stones are identical in color, pattern or mineral makeup. Any pavers that were damaged during installation will be replaced but we will not be replacing stones due to composition of the stone or mineral deposits in the stone. We will also not be paying for the water to fill his pool.
  The aluminum issues will be resolved by Fabritech's warranty/service departments. We have forward all damages and/or unsatisfactory installation concerns to Fabritech to address. If Fabritech is unable to address these issues in a timely fashion, we will have our new aluminum crews do it by the end of next week.
  The guys that install alarms do not make adjustments to cages and/or doors. That is handled by the cage guys. He is on schedule this week to take care of the bonding wire to pass final inspection and then he will be scheduled for pebble.

  Customer response

  08/15/2023

   
  Complaint: 20465940
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *****************

  Business response

  08/21/2023

  We are happy to announce that we have resolved many of ****************** open issues. We apologize on the behalf of Fountain Pools for how long this has taken. ***************************, our Construction Supervisor, will be taking the project to the finish line. The pool is scheduled to have its interior finished pebbled next Monday. ***** will confirm with the homeowner when they plan to repair the portion of gutters requested to be fixed. We will continue to stay in contact with ************** until we resolve all issues. 

   

  Regards,

  **************

   

• Initial Complaint

  07/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  As of right now, I'm so disappointed that we used this company. We signed a contract with Fountain Pools last July and since then there's been nothing but issues.For one communication is terrible. We had to call and send emails multiple times before hearing back. *** told us they don't subcontract, so our pool would be completed in 6-8 months and would be done no later than February. He told us our 6ft gate would be fine so we didn't need to worry about moving ********* pieces. Now, a year later, we find out none of this is true. From the beginning we kept reaching out trying to get updates, but weren't getting anywhere. We were told many times someone would get back to us, but no one ever did.In January we found out that the permit didn't get submitted until November and then needed resubmitted due to easementerror. In January and February we reached out to see if he had a rough idea of when they would start. Once again, never heard back. Reached out again on March 3rd and were told we would get an update on Monday, but of course we never did. In April we found out it needed resubmitted again...Finally on April 25th, we were told final review was scheduled for May 11th and dig would start 2-4 weeks after. Now here we are in July, calling multiple times just to be told someone would be contacting us to schedule everything and to address our concerns. After not hearing back, we reach out once again just to find out at 4pm on a Friday that they would start digging Monday morning, but also that we needed an 8ft opening instead of 6ft, and that it would be another 8 to 9 months until completion because theres a lot to do and they use subcontractors. I was shocked! Here we are a year later and it might be another 8-9 months? And the woman I spoke to on the phone at one point said it is what is... I'm just at disbelief that this is how we're being treated. This is costing us over $100k, and we have been very patient and understanding.

  Business response

  07/17/2023

  We have no control over the municipalities and their permit review process. We submit applications then correct and resubmit any issues the municipality has.That is the permitting process. When you ask for an update while you're permit is in review, "your permit is in review" is going to be all the answer we can give. We cannot give a rough idea of when we can start construction before a permit is issued. As I said, we have no control over the permit review process. ********** is currently taking longer than of the other local municipalities, other than Charlotte County, to review/issue permits. There's nothing we can do to speed up their process. 

  I'm genuinely confused as to how someone thought it was a realistic expectation for construction to be completed in February on a pool that didn't have an issued permit until June 27. When your permit was issued we did your presite. You spoke to our supervisor on site. He instructed you to remove the fence piece and cap your irrigation. We asked you to widen the access to avoid causing any damage to your property. I do apologize if you were told a 6' opening would suffice. That is not accurate. Our small machine is 7'6" wide. We could drive it through a 6' opening but that wouldn't work out too well for the fence and you would not be pleased with the result.

  As much as I wish I could, I am unable to wave a wand and magic a completed swimming pool into the ground. Construction of a swimming pool is a process done in steps. We tell people 8-9 months for construction as a worst case scenario and people are happy when we deliver earlier. I would rather tell people 9 months and deliver in 6 than promise 6 and deliver in 9. 

  Since your permit was issued, every call and email has been answered. We are doing our best to accomodate you. You asked us to dig immediately so I scheduled your dig today. Then you called this morning to cancel because your irrigation isn't capped, despite being asked to have it capped weeks ago. I now have a dig crew I'm paying half a day's wages to do nothing. For future reference, if you want your pool construction process to go as quickly as possible, please make actually doing the things we ask you to do that are holding up construction a priority over submitting complaints. 

  As of right now, your pool construction is waiting on you. Please inform us when you have your irrigation lines capped and access that we can traverse without damaging your property. We will reschedule your dig immediately.

  Thank you,

  *************************

  Operations Manager

  Customer response

  07/18/2023

   
  Complaint: 20328225
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  This is probably the most unprofessional response Ive ever seen, especially with the amount of money the project is for.
  

   First of all, we have been waiting for a call for two weeks from ****, now ***** since **** is out. Im not sure how you can say every call or email has been answered, Id be happy to show you threads of unanswered questions and unreturned calls and texts.

  Second of all, we only signed with fountain because *** assured us the pool would be done by LAST February.

  The permit was wasnt applied for until November 2022, a full 4 months after we signed and payed the deposit in July of 2022. Then, on top of the delay, which we understand municipalities may have, the permit and design was submitted incorrectly because the person submitting did so with an incorrect design, and due to Fountains mistakes, we had to wait an additional 5 months instead of having the permit issued in January.

  Fast forward to it being on us - we were told at 4:30 last Friday that someone could come out Monday to dig, which left us no time to schedule someone to come out and cap the irrigation. And regarding the small machine size, thats fantastic that you know its 76 ft wide, but we were told by two separate people 6ft opening would be fine. Even then, the fence isnt the problem, it can be removed within an hour. As I mentioned, the irrigation however, we needed several business days notice.

  So all in all, while youre making it sound like we expect the pool tomorrow, the fact is its already been a year and weve made absolutely no progress besides the permit.

  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  06/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This is absolutely the worst contractor experience I have ever had. I was told 6-8 months. I am now almost a year and they have no idea when it will be completed. My sales Rep quit or was fired and I was not assigned another rep. I have been through several production mgrs all promising the world. I have no advocate inside the company and no one seems to want to keep the commitments made to me. I was very clear that the pool was to provide my 82 year old mother a way to exercise. The pool was not designed properly and now they want more money to fix their error.I currently have trouble even getting someone to talk to me about it. I would not recommend this company to anyone. I have attached a picture of what I have after $70,000 and almost a year later. Buyer be ware I don't know how they don't have a ton of bad reviews. To this day I have no date of completion.

  Business response

  07/05/2023

  After Hurricane ***, our cage subcontractor (Fabritech) literally stopped producing for us. They went from building 2-3 cages a week for us to less than one every eight weeks. We fell behind. I, nor anyone else here at Fountain pools, have a wand that I can wave to magic a cage out of the ether. We are working on bringing cages in house so that we're never dependent on a subcontractor like this again but for now, we do not have the ability to permit or produce cages. We need a subcontractor. We gave Fabritech a chance to improve their performance considering they've been a valuable ally for years. They did not improve so we started looking for another subcontractor to replace them. We met with at least 50 cage companies. It took a while but we found a company that can produce the volume we need. We are paying the difference in the cost of the cage now compared to the pre-hurricane prices the homeowner contracted with us. 

  I realize ************ only has one pool to worry about and from his perspective, it should be at the top of all priority lists. Unfortunately, we have many cages to worry about. The only fair way to do this was to go in the order that people had been waiting. We had numerous customers that were waiting much longer than ************. Most of whom seemed to understand our inability to instantly manifest aluminum cages into reality and didn't feel the need to complain and threaten at every turn. In the end, his tactics paid off and he was moved much higher up on our list and his new permit was applied for ahead of many others. 

  Attached is a screen shot of the newly issued cage permit on the ************************ portal. I saw the permit was issued this morning and I immediately reached out to the cage company to request a timeline for the measurement, fabrication and installation of this cage. When they answer me with a timeline, I will inform the homeowner.

  It has taken much longer than we'd have liked for ************ to get his cage. When our subcontractor stopped producing cages for us, we were stuck. We literally had zero recourse. It took time to locate another company capable of meeting our needs, negotiating a partnership, contracting, engineering and permitting new cages. I understand that ************ doesn't view "any of that as his problem" but as I stated, we simply do not have the ability to magically conjure aluminum screen cages. We had to work within the confines of this physical universe we inhabit and we did so as quickly as we could manage. 

  Thank you.

  *************************

  Operations Manager

  Fountain Pools

   

• Initial Complaint

  06/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Purchased a pool from builder ***************. Builder subcontractor was Fountain Pools. We closed on our house November 10, 2022. We have had nothing but issues since closing that Fountain Pools has failed to address. The pool (1) has a leak which their own technicians have admitted based on the amount of water we have to add to the pool constantly. (2) They did not supervise their installers and the plumbing is not correct. We have three ports tied into the vacuum system which they want to just put caps on the ports. I told them that was not acceptable. (3) They put return grates on the jet ports for the infinity edge which look awful. They sent a crew out which agreed and set an appointment for Infinite finishes to come out and correct. The tech came out drained my pool took the existing grate covers and said he would be back the next day to repair. Fountain pools subsequently emailed me and said they would not be fixing this issue due to cost. Left me with a drained pool. Company hides behind email. I have requested multiple times to either meet or to have a representative call me and they refuse. For awhile their local supervisor if he was in the are would stop by and try and address issues with crude work arounds please refer to pictures. Mostly he would make excuses and promise to return the next day to finish repair which never happened. The warranty person ****** continues to make statements how their top priority is resolving our issues but never actually follows through.

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