Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/13/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  UnresolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  ****, the owner of the business, promised to be finished with our pool by 9/1/23. He had my elderly Mother sign contracts with no performance clause stating timeframe but verbally promised her and me multiple times completion date. Today is 6/13/24 and he is not even half way done.
  We have caught him in multiple lies about things that where never ordered or crews that where never hired. He now refuses to answer our calls or texts and has completely disappeared. His companies office is empty, no one there will answer our calls for weeks now.
  I believe he entered this contract with no intention of ever finishing and had malicious intent from the start.
  We hired a different pool company to come in and bid finishing the job. They pointed out that the only things he purchased where the coping, metal walls and steps which are all installed incorrectly and need to be re done which is on their estimate. The estimate to finish what he started 11 months ago is $85,000. Out of the $60,000 he was paid only $5,000 in actual materials are delivered. He refuses to finish the job and I doubt he even has the capacity to do so anyway. This is criminal theft in every way. There are more out there that he has done this to. We have uncovered 3 others just this week

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/14/2024

  **** has now left threatening messages to both me and my Mother In Law calling us liars.  His verbal promises to be finished "in a matter of days" just resurfaced. Something that he has said every month since the day he used a false promise to get My mother in law to sign the contract. We bother have asked for a copy of his companies warranty and a performance agreement since the end of April. Another verbal agreement he refuses to follow through with in writing. We have found a few people that he has worked with that say that this behavior is commonplace for him. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/20/2024

  Texts to my mother in law ***** from **** with dates.

  There is more as well but want to make sure that this is not shared with **** as there is a pending lawsuit at this time

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/20/2024

  When I called him on his countless verbal promises on time and schedule, he almost proudly proclaimed that there is no date on the contract. This seems to be by design

  Business Response

  Date: 07/02/2024

  Please see the attached pictures of all the rain delays and review the delays including the change of the custom made stairs. 

  Business Response

  Date: 07/16/2024

  Our goal is to build and design a swimming pool for our homeowners that is exactly
  what they are dreaming of for their family and lifestyle. We are committed to working
  through the process of construction and do our best to achieve this from start to finish.
  The complaint against Quality Pools by Design does not accurately reflect the truth
  about the communications, project timelines, the design change that caused a major
  delay, or that a competing pool company came to an unfinished project to interfere and
  get business away from Quality Pools. Documentation to support all the statements
  herein has been submitted to the BBB.
  The pool construction process is exactly that. It is a process. Once the contract was
  signed a building permit was requested and went through the approval process. The
  next step was contracting for the removal of several large trees and getting that
  completed before the excavation could begin. Construction began in mid-September.
  Excessive rain during the fall caused delays in getting the walls set and the floor done.
  Our crews were there on multiple occasions and took pictures of the excessive water in
  late September. Efforts were made to keep the water pumped out. Lime was also used to
  dry the dirt more quickly. Conditions continued to be prohibitive, on October 2nd and
  again on October 4th the conditions were still too wet to work.
  During the remaining late fall and winter months, work continued. Plumbing materials
  were in place and backfill was completed. The project was set up to finish with a goal of
  mid-April.
  This spring the project was a top priority. From April 1st through the 8th excessive rain
  continued, pumps were used, and every effort was made to dry out the job site. Work
  progressed but the rains hampered progress (pictures are available.) In the remaining
  month of April, the pool floor and slopes were dry enough to get completed. The pool
  floor work was done, and the liner was ordered. The manufacturer would have had the
  liner done within a week. On May 8th water is pumped out again and work is done on the
  floor. The timeline for completion is getting close, the wedding cake stairs are installed.
  Work will need to be done to prepare as the liner is being made, the pool floor will be
  checked, any necessary adjustments will be made, and rough spots will be smoothed
  out.
  On May 11th, during an onsite meeting with the homeowner and her son-in-law. The
  pool was progressing, and the liner order was in process. However, the homeowner
  expressed concerns over the top step of the wedding cake stairs. She was concerned it

  would be too small for her elderly friends. She asked if a change could be made so the

  top step would be larger. It was agreed that a change could be made. The impact of this
  change required a new step to be designed and then fabricated. On the following
  Monday the 13th. During the meeting it was explained that the step would have to be
  made, the current liner would need to be canceled, and a new liner would have to be
  ordered. The new step was ordered without asking for additional payment from the
  homeowner. On the 15th our crew moved the stairs up to prepare for the step to be
  installed in anticipation of its arrival.
  Beginning on the 18th, one week after the design was changed, we began receiving text
  messages and phone calls from the homeowner and her son-in-law regarding frustration
  over progress. There was progress being made, however there were significant
  limitations on what could be done without the new step. Text exchanges and phone calls
  were occurring, responses were provided as updates were available. On June 5th the new
  step was installed, and new measurements had to be provided to update the changes to
  the liner dimensions. The new liner was ordered as a rush order without additional
  charges to the homeowner. The bonding inspection for the pool was passed on the 11th.
  On the 14th of June, the homeowner asked us to stop working. A competing pool
  company made claims to confuse and manipulate our client. They chose to interfere in a

  project that had not been completed without knowing all the details. Our subcontractor
  installed the preliminary materials for the automatic pool cover. They can supply dates,
  and pictures and confirm their work was completed. They will also confirm that the
  final materials to complete the auto-cover installed after the concrete is poured were
  ordered and subsequently canceled. Furthermore, our vendor for the pool stairs will
  confirm that we ordered the original pool liner for the wedding cake stairs, canceled it,
  and then ordered the new step immediately. We also have our email confirming that a
  revised liner order was placed as a rush order and then it was canceled.
  Unfortunately, the homeowner is caught up in trusting another company determined to
  disparage our commitment to this project.
  While it is completely understandable, that it is frustrating when timelines are not
  meeting expectations, the statements in the complaint do not account for any delays due
  to weather, or the delay due to the customer-requested structural redesign of the stairs.
  It is also very important to note that the complaint states that “another pool company is
  estimating the cost to finish this job is $85,000.” It should be apparent, based on the
  stage of project completion, that this estimate is egregious. The final payment due from
  the contract with the homeowner includes all the remaining pool equipment as well as
  everything else outlined in our agreement.
  The complaint also states the other pool company claims the stairs are installed wrong
  and only 5k dollars in materials have been purchased. This claim can and has been
  debunked by our vendor who is also a pool builder. He confirmed that the stairs are
  installed correctly and can also confirm that the cost of materials exceeds 5,000.
  Unfortunately, this homeowner did not allow us to complete the work and let a final
  inspection confirm it was done properly.
  The wording of this complaint is slanderous and truly a misrepresentation of the events
  that occurred. We hope that reasonable people will see that our commitment to our
  clients is not representative of this complaint and there is an interference here that is
  unfair to this homeowner.

  Regarding the text about the April 15th completion text, we have provided documentation in the form of pictures regarding all the rain during the first 2 weeks of the month that made it impossible to get that done. 
  The pool permit was expired and we were not notified. We asked for the bonding inspection and it was completed without anyone acknowledging we needed to apply for an extension or new permit. It was an oversight on our part but would have been taken care of immediately had we realized it needed attention. Permit requirements and expiration dates vary for different cities and counties so this was simply a misstep on our part. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/20/2024

   I am rejecting this response because: The issue that was so apparent as that there was NO commitment to this project. The contract was signed on 7/21/23 with a promise to be done in 6 weeks (9/1/23). He didn't apply for a permit until 8/14/23. Permit issued 8/30/24. ******** "reasonable time frame" for the permit was 6 months. He used that as his fist excuse, saying that there was a long wait time on the permit and that is why there was nothing done.  His excuses that the rain kept him from working are false. He told us that he lost his project manager and his main guy and was short handed. His full time job at *********** kept him from working on the pool when the weather was good, then would show up or call and blame the inability to get any work done on the weather. All winter there were open trenches and pallets of material and trash left. 4/13/24 The pool bottom was done. The liner that he said was ordered in December was then ordered. By May my Mom asked me to step in and help as **** had not gotten anything done still and communication was poor to say the least.  May 11th we met and talked through how to get the pool finished asap. He was not there on May 8th as he states because he was out of town and our meeting was delayed as he said the airline misspaced his luggage. He said that there was only two weeks of work left and that she wouldn't miss a single "swim day" this season. When she said that the small top step was concerning, **** and I came up with a solution to move the steps up and get a new larger bottom step. He said that he really like that idea and would have to get a new one made but then looked us both is the eyes and said it would not change the timeline. A week later when no one had been on site doing any work he told us that the step would cause a delay and that he told us that would be the case was a lie. She asked him to go back to the original step then and he said that was no longer possible. There was still so much that could have been done during this constant waiting but he didn't have a team to build this pool.   

  When the sun was shinning and work could be done, he was constantly not available. He didn't have the staff to work on this project when he was constantly out of town or at ***********. His company was hired to complete this pool in a promised timely manner, not one guy that has another full time job. Every week was an excuse why work couldn't be done and a new promise of completion and non of it was followed through on  
  

  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/20/2024

  In spite of the countless reasons for the many delays in construction over 11 months, the real reason the pool is not finished is that work was simply not being done.  When I hired Mr. ***** to build the pool, he did NOT disclose to me that he had a full-time job with *********** and would not be present or be able to work on the pool unless he was in town.  Since he travels most of the time apparently, he was not here to do the work.  When he was out of town, he did not respond to text messages or phone in a timely way, sometimes days later, which caused concern and anxiety.  His crew was not able to perform any task of consequence without his presence, so unless he was in town AND the weather permitted, nothing was done on the pool.  I would never have hired him if I had known that he would not be able to spend the time needed to complete the pool within a couple of months, or as he said “by the end of Aug” of last year. 
  
  The workmanship in general is poor quality and much of it has to be repaired or replaced.  The stairs have been evaluated and the decision made to work with them.  In addition to the cost of replacing/redoing the wavy pool crete and repairing the bowed wall, additional work had to be done to replace the inadequate PVC pipe and inadequate electrical cable, and to replace the small pin lights with adequate lights.  Because the concrete pad he installed for the pool equipment was too small and had to be replaced, the gas line had to be extended new gas and electric hookups for the pool equipment were necessary.  This is an additional cost to me of $8,457 to 360 Electric. 
  
  I assume that there were many other pools built in this area between July 2023 and June 2024.  It does not take 11 months to build a pool.  Many weeks went by with perfect weather and no work being done because Mr. ***** was not in town.  He was occupied with his full-time job.  His lack of disclosure and lack of honesty about his ability to build a pool in a timely way with good materials was, in my mind, fraudulent. - ******** *********