Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  10/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I signed a contract with ***** from Kool Pools 7/2021. ***** had given me a appx. timeline of 6 months. After a deposit was paid there was zero communication for months. By January someone finally returned my phone calls and I was told that the owner had a health concern and was not responding to customers directly and that they were behind schedule. Excavation/ framing of the pool did not occur until 2/22. Once the shell had been completed I made a third payment. The only way I was able to meet the owner directly was by giving him this payment. During this meeting he told me that completion would be in 3 months. At this point I had my doubts regarding the amount of work that still needed to be done so we pushed the completion date to 6/4/2022, which he easily agreed to. ***** is a good salesman and is great at making promises that he cannot keep. By 3/22 rock was delivered for our waterfall feature. After this delivery, a month went by with no work being done. I made several attempts to contact ***** was ignored. I finally received a call back and ***** stated the pool would be done by the end of July. During the month of June ***** sent his crew to work at my home for only 3 days. After this there was no work being done for weeks and again my attempts at contacting him were ignored. At this point, I decided to have my attorney try to contact ***** as the month of July and the agreed completion date **** near. My attorney sent ***** a letter, no response. It did get ***** to complete the coping and pool tile but that was it. I did have access issues to my home for a few weeks after but once it was resolved, no work was done for weeks. At this point my HOA reached out to me that they had received several complaints about the uncompleted pool and no safety barrier being in place. They threatened to get a ceased and assist order and gave me a 60 day window to completion and that date was 9/22. That date has passed and we can't reach *****, and we are planning to ****

  Business response

  01/23/2023

  We regret that this customer was not satisfied with the pool building process. Between contract signing and application date we have had many delays getting the required site specific engineering and surveys. We started this pool in January despite the owner and contractor having open heart surgery that month. Of course this was unexpected and caused more delays. There were many other material and permitting delays outside of our control but the customer fails to mention that a large sink hole in his street caused road closure for months. You mention the completion date of 6/4/2022 but did not mention the massive sink hole and road closures that occurred at this time? We did not have access to the job and this caused us to have to delay progress further. We have done everything in our control to resolve this job and after hurricane Ian in South Florida this fall our screen company had further delays and these jobs are being prioritized before swimming pools. This is also outside of our control. We have been communicative and have documentation on Buildertrend and cell phones and hope to resolve everything with this customer to his satisfaction amicably. 

• Initial Complaint

  03/23/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired Kool Poolz to design and construct a pool in my new home in Naples. A contract with a fixed price was signed in November 2020 but the work did not officially start until May 2021. In May 2021, the extraction was completed and the initial concrete was poured. Then things stopped. We were told that inspections needed to happened. At least 2 months passed and no further work was done. We were being told that with Covid supplies were difficult to get. We then were told that the delay was caused because the tiles that we ordered for the top border were delayed. The tiles arrived late July and were figured the pool would be completed within the next 4-6 weeks. The tiles were installed and work stopped again. We're into September and the owner (Mitch H*******) does not return calls or emails. Until I notify him that I would need to contact an attorney, he meets with me and gave me a list of excuses. He admits that there was an issue with the County permit and the pouring of the concrete that he needed to obtain an engineering report that he was still waiting for. This the first that we heard of this. Supposedly, the engineering report was received and Collier County approved moving forward. Months go by and Kool Poolz has been paid 80% of the pool cost. In late November 2021, Mitch H******* contacts me with "great news" that the pool would be completed by Christmas. He said that all supplies were in stock. He requested an additional payment of 15% ($20,273.17) which I paid. We are now at 95% of the pool cost paid to this company. This was a big con. Another 3 months go by and I am still looking at a concrete hole. I then get a call from Mitch H******* that he needed to hire a new paving company which is more expensive and I need to incur this cost. If I write a check for $6815 they can have them out next week. I refused and he holding the completion of the pool hostage for an expense that I already paid for. This company has been paid over $95k.

  Business response

  05/25/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/04/07) */ Contact Name and Title: Karma H. Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX Contact Email: *****@koolpoolz.com While we do strive to provide quality products and services to our customers and put the wishes and expectations of our customers as a priority we have to defend ourselves and personal interests. We hope you can enjoy your Kool pool with friends and family for years to come but do not agree with the statements above for many reasons. There are many provisions in the contract that refer to "other conditions beyond the control of the contractor, stating that buyer shall pay the contractor for all work then performed and all building then installed plus twenty percent". The increases that have occurred are just that - beyond the control of Kool Poolz. Inflation is not a Kool Poolz problem or a problem specific to the pool industry - it is a global reality that has exponentially escalated since the start of the pandemic. All who we are acquainted with have been impacted by inflation in various ways: from gas prices to mortgage rates, increases have effected us all. The contract was signed November 30, 2020- at 11:59 AM. And the EXCAVATION did occur on May 3, 2021 - again we have had months long waiting lists since the start of the pandemic and this has not been unique to our clients, Kool Poolz, or our industry. The concrete was done shortly after and plumbing commenced. As per the boutique glass upgrade - this was sent March 30, 2021 and signed for April 5, 2021 for $5468.00 boutique glass. According to our contractural agreement change orders are due upon billing and this was not paid by the customer until December 1, 2021. This was purchased by Kool Poolz and installed without payment August 2, 2021. We are not sure why this payment was withheld but this technically according to the contract this puts a stop work order on the job and we continued despite this. We poured the concrete footer once this was finally paid in December and set the equipment in January. We sent a company letter in February and explained the increases and the client has been unwilling to pay these. The travertine material and install has doubled in price and again this is beyond the control of the contractor and was decline by the homeowner February 14, 2022. Nothing has been due to said "excuses", "a con", or "holding the pool hostage." The client paid 95k because of a very large beautiful pool, 5k+ upgraded boutique glass, upgraded equipment (including 2 pumps to accommodate 3 3' sheer descent waterfalls) and upgraded deck material. We followed the draw schedule outlined in the contract signed by the customer. We would love to complete this Kool Pool and feel the client has contributed to said delays. We hope to resolve amicably. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/04/15) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I must disagree that the contract has any provisions for any additional charges beyond any change made by the owner (for example, we upgraded the pool tiles which we have paid). We were forced to hire an attorney who has confirmed that the contract has a fixed price based on the specification of the pool construction. Kool Poolz is now claiming due to inflation that the paving (cost of materials and labor) has increased by $6815 and the most recent advancement is that pool cage has increased by 30%. However, what they fail to mention is that if they had completed the pool as scheduled, there would not have been any inflation issue. Issue 1: Pool Koolz fails to mention that this company messed up with the permitting and Collier County made them get an engineering report that took 3 months to complete. It was not until September of 2021 that they admitted to this. Instead, their excuse was always that due to the pandemic supplies were an issue. 3 Month Delay. Issue 2: The engineering report was received and the Collier County signed off and allowed the pool construction to resume but minimum work was done during the months of September, October and November. WHY? Again, more delays from this company that we did not cause. At this point, we had paid 80% of the pool cost and our phone calls and emails were not responded to. Until we threatened legal action would we get some response but it was one excuse after the next. This company had no incentive to push finishing the pool and I seriously doubt that they were completing the older pool first. Another 3 Months Delay. Issue 3: Kool Poolz always uses the pandemic as an excuse. We were sympathetic to this to a point but when they started construction of our pool, we were already into 14 months of the pandemic. We would have thought that this company that promotes being in business for 20 years could have effectively managed this and have exceptional communication with their clients. Issue 4: At the end of November we received a call from the owner, Mitch H******* with great news that our pool would be completed by Christmas 2021. He indicated that all supplies were in stock and he would have his team out the following week. The paving company would take about a week and then the pool cage company would follow and take another week. We were very hopeful and Mr. H******* asked for another payment of 15% plus the boutique tiles that this company mentions. The 15% should not have been paid until the tile/paver work was completed but it was paid in good faith. About a week prior to Christmas this company did come and dug up the old pavers and I believe finished the prep for the paver installation after numerous complaints. However, most importantly the pool was not completed by Christmas as promised and now we did not even have the limited lanai that we had prior and instead had gravel/sand. We have now paid this company 95% of the pool cost. Another 1 Month Delay. Issue 5: When we spoke to Mitch H******* at the end of November and he promised that the pool would be finished by Christmas 2021, he made some mention of some cost increases. However, Mr. H******* stated that he was absorbing these costs and that we would not be incurring any additional costs. We never considered this even an issue. Mr. H******* stated that he had all the supplies needed to finish our pool. Issue 6: Kool Poolz mentions that we did not pay for the boutique tiles on a timely basis which caused the work to stop. We find this odd and nothing that was ever discussed. The only time that we would hear from the other owner, Karma H*******, was when she wanted a payment. Whenever a payment was asked for a check was written that day and their assistant Faith would pick it up from my home within the next day or so. By the time this company installed these tiles, they had already received 80% payment when most companies only require 50%. When Kool Poolz did request payment for the boutique tiles a check was written that same day. Issue 7: Another 3 months of limited work done for the months of January, February, March. We continue to call to get a status and our calls and emails get no response. We finally get a call from a Lynn and was told that Mr. H******* had some health issue and she was hired to answer questions. We were told that our contract was the oldest and only Mr. H******* can address the delays with our pool construction. There was some mention of price increases which baffled me given that we had a contract and at that point had paid 95% of the contractual amount for the pool. An email letter is then received from both owners on 1/24 to all their clients on the issues of pool supplies and increases in cost. However, it implied that this company was not passing along retroactive increases which our contract would have fallen into that category given this 6-8 week pool construction was now at 8 months and still not completed. "The year of the staycation was not just a fad. It is here to stay. Up until this time we have failed to follow our contract and protect our business and family by passing along the increases as they come. We will not pass along retroactive increases - those losses are ours. Moving forward dynamic prices will be passed along as they are incurred. Also, any changes that require any additional work that was not anticipated at the time of the contract signing will be passed along accordingly." Issue 8: In mid February, I receive a call from Mr. H******* asking about a change order which I never received (he never sent it). He indicated that the company lost their previous paving company and needed to find another one which was more expensive. As he quoted - "they just finished a job in Marco Island and it came out beautiful". I guess that our job that was considered the oldest according to their employee was not true and this job probably received the pavers that we paid for back in November. Mr. H******* went on that the additional cost was $6815 and if I gave him another check they could be out at our home following week. We heard that before (give me $20K and your pool will be done by Christmas), contacted our attorney and was advised that we have no obligation to pay this additional about and denied the change request. We are into April and next month it will be a year since this company started the construction of our pool. We have no lanai and looking at a concrete hole. About 3 weeks, Kool Poolz offered a somewhat reduced price for the paver costs. We just wanted this work done and accepted this change even though contractually we had no obligation to pay this additional amount. However, we requested an amendment to the contract that any final payments will not be made until the pool contraction was 100% completed and must be finished within 30 days. If Kool Poolz and Mr. H******* was so wanting to complete this project ("We would love to complete this Kool Pool"), we find it odd that neither owner will give our attorney a straight answer and it is always that we will get back to you. The latest now is that they are saying that the pool cage has increased by 30% and we will get back to you. The only individuals that have delayed this work is Kool Poolz and specifically Mitch H*******. They have never taken any responsibility for their delays and as you can see from their response from this complaint, only blame us for the delays. They have collected $95K in payments (95% of the contractual amount) and do not seem to have any incentive to finish the job. Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2022/04/29) */ 1. Sep 8, 2021, 3:50 PM Good Afternoon- this payment is past due and we request payment at this time. I was told you were waiting on a copy of the contract which i followed up is viewable under the "documents" tab in ************. As this glass is installed and paid for by Kool Poolz, and is outside of the contractural agreement, we request payment right away. Thank you very much. Aug 4, 2021, 11:13 AM This is now past due. Thank you very much!! 160 - ************** Created By ************** on Fri, Apr 02, 2021 This invoice was sent April 2, 2021 - and was paid in December - 2. Lynne has been at Kool Poolz for over a year. 3. Mitch had a ************ and ****************** in January not that that is the clients business but do not accuse us of lying. 4. I (Karma) call for payments because I am in charge of permitting and billing

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