Farwell Pools and Construction Inc.

10/14/
Revdex.com
Subject: Complaint #***
To whom it may concern:
In the matter of the complaint submitted by:
*** ***
*** *** ***
*** *** *** ***
In late May
of 2014, we were contacted by Mr*** to troubleshoot
a heater we had
installed
in his home
for the previous owner. Being familiar
with the equipment room, we were aware that the location for the pool heater,
pump and filter was less than ideal to say the least. There is literally no room to operate when accessing
the equipment which makes diagnosis of problems very difficult
My
technician however was able to access inside the heater and determined that the
heat exchanger was leaking and a governor in the In/Out Header was corroded
away. The failure of these components
was likely due to pool water balance from the previous owner. At that time we provided Mr***
with an
estimate for the repair and an estimate for replacing the entire heater
unit. Taking into account that at the
time this was transpiring we were in the busiest time of our season, and that
Mr*** was not living at the house, we did not have contact with Mr
*** for some time. Then we started
receiving Certified letters regarding this matter from Mr***. He indicated that he agreed with most of our
estimate except for the price of the heat exchanger (Tube Bundle). He did some investigating on the Internet for
pricing on the heat exchanger and found some lower pricing. We indicated that internet pricing is cash
and carry with no regard for installation.
The price we gave Mr*** was a fair price for our area. However as a courtesy, we “sharpened out
pencil” so to speak and lowered our price of the heat exchanger.
As to Mr
***’s contention that we left a “dangerous” situation in his equipment
room, we would like to address those as follows. At no time was a situation dangerous. The door to the equipment room could be shut
to prohibit access, so any minimal parts left on the floor could in no way cause
danger with the minimal effort of shutting a door. MrThomson stated that he had (2)
“professional heater installers” look at the heater and state that it was not
“up to code” and they would not work on the heater. When the heater was installed, it was
installed the only way it could due to the ridiculously small area in which the
heater could be placed. Our belief is
that the “professional heater installers” took one look at this sand
didn’t want anything to do with it because of the nightmarish room in which the
heater is installed. I find it
interesting that our heater technician was able to access the heater to inspect
it, but the “professional heater installers” couldn’t even access it. This adds to my belief that they just wanted
nothing to do with it and that was there excuse for turning down the work
As to the
“smell of gas” in the room, I would think that if that situation existed, any
prudent person would call the gas company right away to alleviate any concerns
In addition, the disassembly by our technician in no way involved anything to
do with the gas valve or gas piping. Any
attempt to include this issue with safety concerns is not valid
In closing,
we would like to complete the work for Mr***, but this business of sending
“Certified" letters and hiring outside contractors has left us with some
trepidation in working with Mr***.
We feel he has not always been on the up and up with this situation and
somewhat devious
We would
like to have a good business relationship with Mr***, and now that all
parts required for job completion are in stock, we will schedule the work and
complete it before his home warranty expires
Sincerely,
*** ***
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
November 21, 2014Revdex.com: This
letter is in reply to your most recent inquiry of November  17th 2014.  I.D # [redacted], Farwell
Pools and Construction Inc.   I.            
 In Mr. [redacted]’s November 17th
reply to the Revdex.com he says:  “It should be known that as
of the week of October 20th, the
repair that we were contracted for has been completed and paid for by Mr.
[redacted].  No other issues were raised
by Mr. [redacted] regarding the heater repair, so we can only assume that our
work was to his satisfaction.” On October 23rd
Farwell Pools [redacted] came and replaced the Tube Assembly and Thermal
Governor on our broken pool heater.  We
attempted to use the pool heater on the 25th to heat the pool.  Immediately the unit began a loud and continued
banging noise.  I sent an email to
Farwell Pools on October 25th .and enclosed a
video with audio of the clanging noise.  On
November 16th I again sent Farwell Pools an email outlining
our concern regarding the loud banging noise when the heater is being
used.  We have received no response.  We have attempted to contact them twice via
email regarding the repair and noises.     Prior to the leak in May, the
heater never made any banging or clanging noises operating.  I think it reasonable to inquire as to the
cause, and if it needs to be addressed.    Our concern regarding the
code and safety issues still remains. 
But at this time, we are waiting to hear back from Farwell Pools
regarding the repair, operation and banging. 
I will attempt to include
the audio segment in this response.II.          
In
Mr. [redacted]’s November 17th reply to the Revdex.com, he says: “Our technician was able to remove and re-install the front heater
panel several times in diagnosing and repairing the heater, so the panel
removal is a non-issue.”The “front panel” is approx.
almost two feet tall.  This front panel
is attached by a hinge at the bottom and a knurled screw at the
top. The front door/panel is there to give access to the “tube assembly”,
Unitherm Governor” and other inside parts by unlatching at the top and hinging
at the bottom.  The panel is NOT
SUPPOSED TO BE REMOVED TO PROVIDE  NORMAL
ACCESS.  Mr. Farwell and his
technician disassembled the heater for the repair!  In the process they REMOVED the front
door.  There is still NO ACCESS to the inside parts via the
front door/panel as intended by the manufacturer.  The unit was installed with disregard for the
installation guidelines of the manufacturer.  There is a pipe obstructing the front door
from being opened.  Farwell should have
installed the unit “above” the obstruction to meet code and Raypak guidelines. See page #32 of
Raypak Instllation and Operating Instructions:[redacted]   
 Please note:  We have researched online and  in the “trouble
shooting/Mechanical” section of the Raypak manual.  There is no description of the problem, cause
or possible solution of loud continuous banging during normal operation.
See page #42 of
Raypak Instllation and Operating Instructions:
Regards,
[redacted]

11/13/14
Revdex.com
Subject: Complaint #[redacted]
To whom it may concern:
In the matter of the complaint submitted by:
[redacted]
This letter
is the second being submitted by Farwell Pools in the matter of the heater
repair
for Mr.
[redacted].
 
It should be
known that as of the week of October 20th, the repair that we were
contracted for has been completed and paid for by Mr. [redacted].  No other issues were raised by Mr. [redacted]
regarding the heater repair, so we can only assume that our work was to his
satisfaction.
 
As a
swimming pool repair service, we have completed hundreds of heater installs and
repairs to the satisfaction of our customers. 
We would never work on any piece of equipment that was deemed
“unsafe”.  Although the heater that we
installed for the previous owner of Mr. [redacted] property was not in an ideal
location, we were simply contracted to replace in existing heater.  Not change the plumbing configuration in any
way.  Mr. [redacted] seems to want to blame
us for work we did in the past, even though the previous owner was more than
satisfied with the work we performed. 
Mr. [redacted] seems to be passing judgment on issues that he is really
not qualified to interpret.  He sites the
opinion of (2) “independent pool installers” with no information of whom they
might be.  This makes it impossible for
us to refute what their opinions are.  In
the end, the “proof is in the pudding” so to speak.  Our technician was able to remove and
re-install the front heater panel several times in diagnosing and repairing the
heater, so the panel removal is a non-issue. 
This repair job has been a bit of a moving target for us.  It started out as rather difficult but
straight forward heater repair, and morphed into the suggestion that we raise the
heater for access without any reference to how costly an endeavor that would
be.  I would reference picture
100_7932.JPG that Mr. [redacted] submitted in his complaint.  This picture shows Mr. [redacted]s equipment
room.  To raise the heater the way he
suggests,  the pool plumbing, gas piping
and heater venting would all have to be modified.  This modification would come with a sizable
cost as a plumbing and HVAC contractor would have to become involved.  At no time did Farwell Pools state or imply
that we were qualified to do gas piping or indoor heater venting.
 Mr. [redacted] likes to use buzz words like
“dangerous situation” to convey that Farwell Pools doesn’t care about the many
customers we service.  Nothing could be further
from the truth.  We take great pride in
our work and have many hundreds of satisfied customers to prove it.  We find ourselves “scratching our heads” at
what purpose is being served with the continuation of this complaint.
 
Sincerely,
 
[redacted]