ComplaintsforAquarian Pools, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  05/14/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We entered into a Purchase Agreement with Aquarian Pools November 28th 2020 and to date, May 14th, 2022, the work outlined in the Purchase Agreement has not been completed. All attempts to have Aquarian Pools provide an accurate date of completion have been unfruitful as Jim B, the primary point of contact for Aquarian Pools, has repeatedly given dates of completion and then failed to meet those dates. We would like help in resolving this issue with Aquarian Pools.

  Business response

  05/25/2022

  I would like nothing more than to complete the project for *** * **** ******.  We are behind schedule with the project, as we are finding ourselves in the what I hear is the rainiest May in history.  That aside. We have been waiting for our concrete subcontractor to begin his stage of the  project, it is a complex job and I want it done correctly.  Our finisher is now on their project and has work scheduled each day that is is not forecasted to rain this week.  We are not completing any other work during the pour as we need to be out of his way.  As soon as he is done, we will be there to complete the other tasks on the pool.

  I did request the homeowner the homeowner sign and return an addendum copy for added concrete work and I have not received it yet or a statement that I can pickup the signed copy at their home. I did state that it could be signed and returned by email or to let me know and I would have it picked up.

  If I can help further, please let me know.  Jim B

  Customer response

  05/30/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  The primary reason for rejection is due to the fact that this project has been drawn out now for 18 months. The fact that we are having a rainy May is irrelevant since we have been ready for concrete work since January of 2022 at a minimum. Our pool was dug in September/October of 2021, the liner wasn't put in until late Q4, and there has been water in the pool since January of 2022. Which by the way, we have reported a leak in the pool since January, and we still do not have resolution of that yet either. The shear fact that the business believes that the only reason we are behind schedule is due to the recent weather shows that the business does not value their commitment that they made in the purchase agreement we both signed and acknowledged. We have been asking for months to move this project forward with little to no response. In early April, we had a meeting at the job site with Jim B******* where we were told we had plenty of time to pour and finish the pool before "pool season". Since that meeting, progress stalled despite great weather all through April and May. Jim told us we were on the schedule with his concrete guy. A few weeks later, again after basically begging for someone to come to our home and meet with us to discuss pour options, the concrete guy said we were not on his schedule for any time coming up and that Jim basically was lying. This happened multiple times since our initial meeting in April. 

  Again, we reject the business's response. There have been many nice days in the month of April and May with no one from Aquarian on site doing any work. At this point, we no longer feel this is business related and believe our project is off schedule due to some kind of personal or discriminatory reason. There is absolutely no way else to explain how this project is this far behind. It has been 18 months since signing the contract. It has been since October of 2021 that all materials have been on location at our home sitting in the weather. It is of my opinion that Aquarian has completed other projects in front of ours based on reasons outside of weather, or lack of material, or lack of man power. I would ask that the BBB investigate if Aquarian has indeed performed work on other projects that were contracted after ours and completed before ours. We were told when we signed in November of 2020 that we were number 14 on the 2021 schedule and that would put us finishing in the summer of 2021. I cannot believe that Aquarian has failed to complete less than 13 pools since November of 2020. We were told by Jim that a typical pool will be completed in 3-4 weeks once material was available. 

  I am asking for the BBB to help us understand if we are being pushed out for reasons outside of normal business reasons. Has Aquarian completed work contracted after November 2020? How many pools have been installed by Aquarian since November 2020? Does Aquarian's records show that they indeed have not completed work on any contracts signed after November 2020?

  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ******
  

  Business response

  08/12/2022

  I am sorry to say due to weather and other delays, we did not get the pool and concrete in as timely a manner as we would have liked to.  Although we have completed the pool and auto cover.  The customer reported a problem with the lighting and we found and replaced a defective light.  I was informed that our cover installed scraped 2 chairs while moving them for the cover install. I have informed the customers that I will replace the two chairs with the same chairs.  We have pressure tested the pool lines to ensure that the pool lines were not leaking.  I will be in contact with ******* and ******* to finalize the project this week.

  Customer response

  08/23/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below which is a direct response to Aquarian Pools. 

  Hi **** thanks for sending the addendum. As referenced in our email to you dated May 24th, there are still multiple items that are needing completed. In addition to the items referenced in that email, we have highlighted other issues via text or in person that you have acknowledged. Before we discuss the final invoice we should agree to put these items to bed. As stated in our email to you dated May 14th, Aquarian Pools is in breach of our agreed upon contract at this point. We have been contacted by the BBB to let us know that you have not responded to the complaint we filed with them. It seems as though this project has still not been a priority for Aquarian. We do not want to have to continue down the path of working with the BBB to resolve these issues. Let's get these items resolved and then open up the conversation on the final invoice. 
  
  Below are the items that still need resolved:
  Items from May 14th email
  Liner leak inspected, source of leak determined and fixed and validated by 3rd party chosen by ******* * ******* ****** no later than 7 calendar days from the completion of the above mentioned pool decking and patio concrete pour  
  Liner wrinkles
  Installation of autocover - electric hook up still pending in order to confirm install was done properly
  Misc contract items - pool school/training on equipment
  Items sent and acknowledged via text or in person
  Pools steps bowed 
  Autocover rails damaged
  Basketball court scuffed from concrete work, was told that someone would come and clean the court
  Damaged Ledge Lounger chairs during autocover install
   Additional items found as of 8/22
  
  LED pool light surrounding damaged

  
  
  Regards,
  
  ******* ******

   

   

  Business response

  10/27/2022

  In response to *** ******** complaint. 
  
  I will address these items in order based on *** ******** previous message.
  
  I hired a third party leak detection service.  The company hired came out and found a small leak at the deep end step and repaired the leak while on site.
  
  Concrete patio and steps have been completed.
  
  We had a tech work on any wrinkles in the pool. He was able to remove all but a small wrinkle on the face of a step.  This is not uncommon that you can have a small wrinkle in the large steps that are being added to the pools now.  The small wrinkle does not pose any integrity issue or warranty problems to the liner in the future.
  
  We normally perform pool school by our technician as the project comes to a close and all payments are made other than the final that can be collected at that time.  The ******* are far behind on payments on the pool.  I tried to collect a payment prior due per our purchase agreement and was told he would rather pay after the work he had been waiting for had been completed.  We were waiting for concrete during the high rain period this spring and early summer.  
  
  The pool stairs are hand formed from many pieces and can have some slight bow in the center. This is not uncommon and poses no structural issue with the pool.
  
  I in good faith continued the work and have to this date not been able to collect the amount owed to date now that the pool has been completed.
  
  I have stated that if there is any warranty work needed that I am happy to honor the terms of our purchase agreement and repair any items, but cannot continue working while no attempt to bring their account current has been made.
  
  Any warranty issues would include the auto cover rails, scuff on the basketball court and lounge chairs.  I was told I would receive pictures of where the chairs had been moved on the concrete and have not received them to date. I did go to the house and find small abrasions on the chairs but did not see marks on the concrete pool deck.
  
  The cover on the LED light has been corrected, we also found a defect in one of the lights and replaced the light.
  
  As of today we have had to hire an attorney and file a mechanics lien to try and collect the $33565.00 balance due.
  
  I did receive a phone call from ** *** **** ****** after we sent a letter attempting to collect prior to filing the lien and was offered an amount of less than half what was owed. He stated he would  forget about any issues and this would keep him from  trying to cause harm to us on social media.
  
  While I agree it has been very hard to complete projects in the last few years with many product delays, horrible weather and labor issues that many businesses continue to face.  I wanted nothing more than to complete their project properly and collect our payments for the work provided. We strive to do a high quality project and happy customers, while this client has not been happy with the timeline, we have done everything we can to try and help. Including multiple trips to their site by myself and crews.

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