Aqua-Land Pools, Inc.

Review: In spring and fall of 2011 we had a lot of repair work down in our yard. Aqualand was hired to do several jobs. In the spring they installed a new vinyl liner. As part of this, they had to change the way the liner hangs. We went from cement block to bullnose pavers around the pool. We paid them for this. In the fall, they installed a new pool cover that had a 15 year warranty. It's the cover that the company advertises cars and elephants on, with no problem. In the spring this year, we noticed the cover was ripping all around the outline of the pool, where the bullnose was. I went to Aqualand and spoke to the salesman,[redacted], showing him the damage and to inquire as to what had to be done to enforce the warranty. [redacted] told me that the cover company ([redacted]) would not honor the warranty because we should have had extra padding installed on the cover to protect it from the bullnose pavers. I have used Aqualand for the last 15 years not because they are cheaper, but they are a premium pool company who charges more for their expertise. I told them we wanted a new liner and cover, I expected them to tell me what I needed. They especially should have advised me to protect the warranty. [redacted] insinuated that I should have known that; not him. Even though he and his company were paid to advise me. He even called my wife stupid for not knowing when she went in this summer. He was and is, ignorant. The liner cost over $2100 and was expected to last 15 years, give or take. They gave us an estimate to repair it of $1700. I felt it was an insult for them to profit on their incompetence. They do not stand behind their name when they make a mistake. I own a business and I stand up and admit I made a mistake; and make my customer whole again. They do not. I was warned about them , but had not had such an experience up to nowDesired Settlement: I feel Aqualand should bear the brunt of the cost of repair or replacement. I'm a money manager, how would I know that bullnose pavers require extra protection? This is a question [redacted] should have known to ask,also it was in our file since [redacted] charged us extra to change the way the liner hangs; to work with the new pavers, and finally how about the fact that the Aqualand installation crew never said anything when they installed it. Didn't they know. I feel it is Aqualand's responsibility that our warranty was voided.

Business

Response:

I have reviewed this complaint and spoke with both our customer and our salesman. I also visited the pool and observed the damage to the safety cover. My findings are as follows. Flush bullnose coping, meaning the poolside edge of the coping is not raised but at the same height as the decking, does not typically require perimeter padding. However, in this case the installer of the coping, which was not done by our company, used a concave grout joint between the coping pieces. This created an abrasion point at the edges of the coping stone which would wear the cover when it was under a weight load such as snow or accumaltion of debris. This pool was also underwater during hurricane Sandy, which would have also caused stress on the cover leading to the damaged incurred. I am reluctant to place blame on my staff for failing to forsee a potenial issue as it is the first case of this particular problem occurring. Moving forward, we will be sure to look closer for potential issues such as this one.

As for my salesman informing the customer the damage was not covered by the manufacturer's warranty, that is a determination to be made by the manufacturer, not the saleman. My salesman was wrong to convey his opinion as fact and has been advised accordingly.

To resolve this matter, I am working with the cover manufacturer in an effort to replace our customer's safety cover at minimal or no cost to our customer. I hope to have this resolved by the end of November. I am not sure what our customer meant by "was warned about us" and take exception to it. Our company, more times than not, will do whatever is needed to maintain good customer relations, even if it is sometimes at our expense. Had this customer contacted me directly about this, I am positive I would not be here responding to a Revdex.com complaint.

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

I look forward to working with [redacted] to resolve this. Management had opportunities to get involved in the past, I'm happy they are now.

Regards,