Dealing with Rotten Pool Companies

Nothing can be more frustrating than expecting to get the pool and backyard of your dreams, only to have to deal with a rotten company that is doing shoddy work, disregarding your wishes, and perhaps worst of all, ignoring your opinions and phone calls.

You have some recourse if the situation is bad enough. First, get out all your contracts and paperwork. You'll need to have this on hand no matter how far up the legal hierarchy you go. Give one last phone call to the company. Let them know you feel the situation has gotten bad enough that you are now taking action. Remember, they may come back and try to appease you. Best case scenario, they do a good job of it, and it's now water under the bridge. Worst case, they don't care, and you proceed.

Call the Better Business Bureau first. See if there have been any previous complaints against this company, collect them, and go ahead and file yours. Next, call your state Attorney General's office. Ask them if any complaints have been filed, collect them and file yours.

Your next step may be to take the pool company to small claims court, which all this collection of data will help you with. This might mean hiring a lawyer, which will cost money. However, if your case wins, you may be able to get the pool company to give you your money back and pay the legal fees.

And to future clients who may have trouble with contractors in the future: while you can never tell which are the rotten apples, always try to divide payments into increments that are paid out as time goes on. Never pay up front, and if possible, try to reserve most, if not all of the money until the job is complete.

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