Blue Haven Pools & Spas By Calvitti

Buyer beware. Blue Haven Pools by Calvitti. You insist on payment in advance for everything, then “lose my file” and start my job 6 months late by wrecking my driveway and sprinklers. That may have been enough, but you really took the cake with the gas line. Bird dogging every single utility and fence install, but nobody at your company was responsible for confirming the underground utilities were run before the concrete was poured? Now the gas line has to be run around the pool for $2,850 more and nobody can even call me back or return an email?
—Dominic DeCesare you sat in my living room and promised my family you would treat us right. Now you won’t return my phone calls or texts. You are neither honest nor a good person.
-Kathy Sherman. Who is responsible for making sure the utilities are run before concrete is poured? Sure sounds like standard industry practice, but I can’t get an answer to this question from anyone at Blue Haven Pools by Calvitti. Apparently I’m responsible to pay the difference. What about you Mary Lou Saunders? They told me you were a good person too. Do you think this is right? To make me and my family pay for your mistake? Are you really that greedy?
—Subs if you work with Blue Haven Pools and spas by Calvitti know they were happy to throw the plumbing contractor aside even providing a detailed list of other options should I decide to fix their mistake for them by dumping the contractor.
—Jeff Schwartz. What can I say other than leadership matters, and your leadership really shows here. I’m sure you’re a person who doesn’t care, but the people around you see. They know. What a disgrace.

People used to do the right thing, especially those with family businesses. At Blue Haven by Calvitti greed is king. Buyer beware.

Review: Our in-ground pool was completed in 2008, and has been professionally serviced (including seasonal openings and closings).

In late spring/early summer of 2015, we discovered at least one noticeable crack along the plaster inside of the pool. From June 2015 to present, I contacted Blue Haven Pools by Calvitti on at least 15 occasions via email, telephone, and regular mail.

In early to mid July 2015, I was finally able to speak with a Blue Haven employee, who directed me to file a claim form pursuant to the "BHP Smart Plus Warranty." However, I was told that even if I were to submit a claim form, Blue Haven would be unable to immediately send anyone to inspect my pool due to the busy summer season. Nonetheless, by mid-July of 2015, I submitted a claim form along with pictures of the cracks at issue via first class mail.

After repeated follow up attempts, Blue Haven alleged to not have received my claim form. When asked to speak with a more senior employee or officer, I was repeatedly told that such a person was unavailable for the mere fact that they were "busy". Despite my frustrations, I submitted another claim form dated August 8, 2015. After repeated follow up efforts, Blue Haven acknowledged receipt of my claim form, but again told me that no one would be immediately available to even inspect my pool.

I recently followed up again with Blue Haven with absolutely zero progress. It's been at least three whole months since I first reached out to Blue Haven, and not once has anyone made a sincere effort to even address this issue. Now that summer is ending, I would like to close my pool for the season but remain unable to do so as I am concerned that leaving the cracks as-is will only increase the damage to my pool. It is clear that Blue Haven by Calvitti does not stand by their product.

It's worth noting that many of the Blue Haven employees I've spoken with thus far have been abrasive and/or rude. At least one of them feigned their inability understand my spoken English. Hopefully, my command of the English language is sufficient enough to allow me to voice my complaints via typed text.Desired Settlement: I would like Blue Haven to inspect my pool, and make any necessary repairs so that I can close my pool for the 2015 season without any further damage.

Business

Response:

Good Morning, This response was received at Blue Haven Pools on 9/4/15 and faxed/mailed out on 9/10/15. Please see the attached.Please let me know if I can help in any way.Thanks,[redacted]

Our experience with Blue Have Pools by [redacted] was horrible. Most of that negative experience was a result of the people Mr. [redacted] puts in place to manage your pool project.

First, most average people that decide to purchase a pool check around for pricing, quality, service and experience. It's obvious that an in ground pool isn't a cheap expenditure, so you want to make sure you get the best for your money. Our first mistake was choosing Blue Haven Pools by [redacted].

From day one we met a lot of the workers, but never once did the "Project Manager", show his face at the actual project, not even once. I guess it was crazy of us to think that someone managing a pretty expensive project at our home would stop by even one time to introduce himself or to give us a comfortable feeling that we were in good hands. Nope. I would call him about questions regarding the next phase or something that may not have looked quite right and he would never return calls until the 3rd or 4th phone message that was left several days later. Extremely poor communication in our opinion. When we finally got tired of not hearing from him and having our pool sit without anything being done or any communication, I called the owner, Mr. [redacted] to express our frustration with the Project Manager. Mr. [redacted]'s response was, "He receives hundreds of calls from customers, so as you can see he's a very busy man". My thought was, "aren't we customers?". So that was Mr. [redacted]'s response to a customer that isn't able to get ahold of or a call back from their Project Manager.

They installed the incorrect tiles we selected which was eventually taken care of once we finally got ahold of the PM to fix the issue. The electrical company Blue Have Pools used wired our pump incorrectly. Nothing worked. I called that Electric Company directly the next morning and spoke with someone advising them of what had occurred and they advised me they would call me back. Never called back. That sat for over a week before we were able to get ahold of our PM to get someone out to correct the problem. That electrician told us that everything was wired improperly and while I was downstairs with him, he attempted to reset the breaker and the electric box sparked! Wow, I'm glad we didn't end up having a fire at our house from the incompetent electrical company Blue Have Pools uses.

Additionally, we had a waterfall feature installed that the salesman with Blue Haven Pools gave us his information and number. Later our Project Manger said he was unaware we were installing a waterfall and installed the plumbing incorrectly. We thought, no harm no foul, he said it would be corrected. Little did we know that correction would take an act of congress to get corrected. We called him and when he finally called us back he told us that his plumbers would be out to correct that during the waterfall installation. Never happened. The pipes were left open and exposed for over a month without anything being done. Finally, I called the PM and told him we were getting ready to have a load of fill dirt delivered for grading. Once he got around to calling us back, he assured me someone would be out to fix it prior to the grading. No one showed up and we couldn't get a call back, so grading took place. Weeks later he finally sends some guys out to fix the plumbing and they had to dig up what was already graded to fix what would have been fairly simple had they arrived one of the many weeks those pipes remained open in ditches. So while the PM sat in an air conditioned office, his poor workers had double the work by digging out the plumbing work they could no longer see, fix it then regrade what they dug up.

If you are installing a pool, you will have to schedule certain things to coordinate with the construction of the pool. Like water deliver for one. I tried to get an answer from the PM about a date for plaster of our pool. His first response was, "I don't have my schedule book in front of me". He's the Project Manager who was in his office. Doesn't he have a computer in his office? Anyway, while I actually had him on the phone I figured I should take advantage of a live conversation with him, so I tried to get a confirming answer from him which was few and far between and asked him, "when can we expect to hear back from you?" His response was, "today or tomorrow". Needless to say that never happened. We had to wait till after the weekend and leave more phone messages in hopes we would get a call back from him in 3-4 days so we could confirm water delivery for our pool that started in April and we just got to swim in the first time yesterday 7/22.

There were days throughout this project the PM said someone would be out to our house and never showed up. Days we took off from work that we'll never get back due to his poor scheduling. We've had explanations from "The truck broke down" more then once to "the guy that was suppose to be there had a personal problem to attend to" which I realize happens on occasion, to "they were on a pretty big job and didn't finish up in enough time to get there". Again fine, but what happened to a call letting us know these things. I'm a reasonable person and understand life gets in the way sometimes. With kids of my own and a job in Law Enforcement, I know there are commitments that you have that sometimes have to be broken and or rescheduled. But ALWAYS, I call or let someone know of the issue and provide an explanation as to what happened and reschedule for another day. They broke appointments on a constant basis and never once did we receive an explanation or call that no one would show up at our homage when days off were taken so someone would be there for that very appointment.

We would like to say this was a pleasant experience, but we wouldn't be telling you the truth. Our suggestion is if you end up going with Blue Haven Pools by [redacted], like the person before us commented, sign the contract and pray!

When you embark on a major construction project it is in your best interest to hire the most knowledgeable and experienced builder available. I made the right decision by hiring Blue Haven Pools by Calvitti for my custom inground pool. Every aspect of the process was handled professionally which shines through in the finished product. Once the design and permit process was complete, the various phases of construction were completed exactly as communicated by the company. The end result was a top quality inground pool that has provided my family and friends many years of enjoyment. This organization is highly recommended.

I regret hiring BH to build my pool. The salesman promises you the world, but once you pay the deposit, he never responds back. The project manager is no better. When I discovered my spa was excavated too small and called project manager to tell him it was undersized, he wanted to charge me... to fix their mistake! Which he didn't even discover because he wasn't at the job site (everything is done by subcontractors). They then claimed I agreed to smaller spa b/c they dug it according to a sketch which I signed. I fortunately had the square footage of the spa in my contract and was able to prove usinv basic geometry that they didn't dig the hole big enough. They also drew the sketch wrong, which is why the excavator dug it too small. This was the first of perhaps 30 problems. Everything they did was according to the attitude of "we have your money and don't care about anything. We will come back whenever it's convenient for us, and will blame you for anything that goes wrong. Don't bother complaining, we don't listen to you, and if we did, you are at fault." Couple examples: they charged me several thousand dollars for 2 inch diameter piping, but installed 1 inch. When I alerted the project manager, he ignored me. They didn't install many contracted features, claiming it was outside their scope of work. Hmmm, I have a spa remote in my contract, which must be installed into concrete pier... they create the pier, but don't install the hosing for the remote. I had to hire contractor to jackhammer the pier and install the housing with wiring. I could probably fill a 20 page treatise with similar problems. They did not complete pool on time and when they sent a sucontractor to start up the pool, I learned they don't even pay this company, and the company only comes out in the hope of landing a service contract. And here is Blue Haven, telling me that a bunch of work (hooking up ozone generator, programming pool automation, etc.) will be done by the start up guy! The start up guy tried to extort me by claiming my pump is bad and needs replacement (but not on warranty!) and that I had to pay them to rewire things. I refused and told them not to do the work. They then billed me claiming they performed work and actually had the audacity to sue me! They lost the case in Court, but still was very aggravating.

Two years later, my pool has several problems, which Blue Haven basically refuses to address. I highly discourage anyone from dealing with this company. If youdo decide to hire them, don't believe a single word they say,ake aure to put everything in writing and put in a penalty clause for delays. Then pray.

Review: My pool was completed in 2013. It has leaked since the day it was finished. Blue Haven Pools by Calvitti no longer responds to my messages despite the warranty conveyed in my contract. I have documented communications with them dating back to 2013 on this leak. I constantly have to add water to the pool even after weeks with excessive rain. I trusted this builder because of their warranty, but they are not standing behind their work or their contract with me. I paid them over $90,000 for this pool including extras. I just want them to find and repair the leak(s).Desired Settlement: Pressure test the plumbing lines and repair any leaks.

Business

Response:

This letter Is In response to the recent complaint we received from [redacted]. We have been out to the [redacted]'s pool several times in the past years to check for leaks. We also have had a diver out and no leak was ever found. We have also pressure tested along with bucket tested this pool. What the homeowner is experiencing is due to evaporation, weather conditions and normal usage.We are contacting the homeowner once again to explaf n this In hopes that we can resolve this matter. If Mr. [redacted] would like to file a warranty claim then he must follow Blue Haven's procedure.If you require any further Information, please feel free to contact us.