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:05/30/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  UnansweredMore 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.

  March 2023-May 2023 $205/Month Weekly Pool Cleaning + Water Testing and Chemical Treatments We hired this company for weekly pool service. We became aware that things weren't right when we noticed parts of our pool equipment had been damaged after their regular service, and our pool vacuum stopped working. We had reached out by email after the equipment was broken, and waited a week with no response. Then we started checking our security footage and noticed that while they were "testing" the chemistry, not once did they put chemicals in our pool over three months of service. The next weekly visit - they "tested" the water and we received an emailed report with "perfect" numbers for our pool chemistry. I took the water to be tested immediately after and the report showed there was virtually no chlorine in our pool - I was forced to buy chemicals and treat the pool myself to get it rebalanced. We then emailed a second time, called (unable to leave a VM due to full Mailbox), and texted the owner with no response. The next day the owner sent a separate email and said he would cancel our service but did not address any of the concerns we brought up. We wanted to give him an opportunity to make it right in case he didn't realize what his technician was doing, but instead he ignored our concerns. This company lacks any ability to maintain pool equipment, and blatantly lied in their weekly pool service reports and to meet the level of service agreed upon. In addition, considering incorrect chemical balance could be a health hazard this company is absolutely negligent and should not be in business or trusted to service anyone's pool.

  Business Response

  Date: 06/10/2023

   

  Customer perception and the reality of circumstances sometimes differ. We feel that is the situation in this case. 

  We serviced the clients property from 2/23/2023 to 5/18/2023. 

  Our company  received an email from ***************** stating he was not going to pay for services and requested services be cancelled.

  On 5/19/2023 we responded " At the request of ***** we will be discontinuing services" . We felt it was in our best interest.

  Narrative:
  

  ****** was a client from 2/23/2023 to 5/18/2023 and her pool was well maintained and keep clear the entire time we had her as a client ( photos available from every visit ) showing the work that was accomplished including emptying the skimmers, pump baskets, back washing, removing debris from the suction cleaner bag etc., 

   Unfortunately  Pool water chemistry is not once and done it requires inputs on a weekly basis. The mention in the concern that water treatments were never added to the pool is blatantly false, if this were true the water would have turned green and been unusable, yet its was always crystal ***************************** All readings provided from tests in the field were accurate including the chlorine readings which were often on the lower end since it was being added manually on a weekly visit.  We added chlorine in several forms during our visits as was noted in the service emails provided. We mainly use stabilized sanitizers which are slow dissolving, this allows the longest time frame for the chlorine to remain in water yet takes filtration and time to dissolve and rebuild in the water once depleted like right after a visit, since we only visited once weekly this was the best option but with normal use. During the last three visits we had been placing the stabilized tabs under the skimmer baskets versus that chlorinator to allow the filter pump to help dissolve helping the chlorine level rise. We have found that as the weather was warming and the pool was being utilized this was a slightly more efficient way to keep the water with chlorine as we were seeing mixed results using the chlorinator attached to the equipment. 

  Addressing the "Broken Equipment" concern

  During one of the last visits our technician went  backwash the filter and the multiport  handle came off,  this wasn't broken by the technician it came off during normal use,  due to the use and age of the equipment. Because the handle came off in the backwash position, it required him to put it back on so the pool could be placed back in filter mode and continue  being used, this was done at no charge to the client.

  The pressure side cleaner seemed to work just fine on every visit and the bag was emptied during each stop. ( Photos available )

  Our company received an email from the customers fianc *******************; that stated that he was not going to pay for services rendered and wanted to cancel service, we choose to respond by agreeing to cancel service versus being accused of things that simply were not true.

   

  Please note that ****** has started  a charge back request, so her desired result of a refund  a refund is not an option.

   

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/12/2023

  Regarding the Business' response to my complaint - while we received weekly reports of the service We were able to confirm after reviewing our security footage, that in fact the pool was not being treated with even the basic chlorine tablets despite the business' claim they were being placed under the skimming baskets. 
  
  We recognize that pool chemistry is not a once and done treatment - this is not our first pool and we managed the pool chemistry in our last pool and understand it requires adjustments week over week. After we reviewed our security footage and realized no treatment was being done over the last couple months, we decided to have the water tested which is how we confirmed that in fact Clear Tec was not treating the pool as agreed upon. In order to start adjusting the chemistry to the proper levels, I had to purchase $50 worth of chemicals for that week to start getting the levels to the correct levels to ensure the water in the pool was at a safe level. Followed by another $85 worth of chemicals the following week.
  In addition, our outreach to the owner was sent with the intentions to resolve the issue - as we wanted to give him the opportunity to address our concerns and rectify the issue, assuming he didn't realize his technician wasn't doing what was agreed upon. It was after we found out that the water was not being treated that we said we were not paying for that week's service and would be cancelling if we did not hear back. The business owner did not once try to address our concerns around the pool equipment *R the water testing / treatment and instead sent a separate email to me agreeing to cancel - all after we sent two emails, a text and tried calling. We had prepaid for the month of May - and cancelled halfway through may, with no offer to refund or rectify the issues. 
  

  While the money spent on services that were not up to par is frustrating, and having parts broken that were perfectly fine before we hired this company is frustrating, My biggest concern is that this company is claiming to be treating their customer's pools with the proper chemicals to maintain a healthy balance. We have proof they are blatantly reporting false numbers to their customers and lying about treating their pools which is irresponsible and could result in health risks for the pool owners and those who use it. 

  Attached are the emails sent by ***** and the last response we finally received from the owner. You can see that ***** provided a thorough explanation of what he found after the technician's weekly visit where we noticed parts of our pool equipment were broken:

  
  "I took a look at the valve and was surprised to see the s**** for the handle had been bent and stripped- it was barely hanging on. It was also leaking from the main *-ring. I took a look at our security footage and I cant tell for certain, but it looks like tech was trying to switch the valve while the pool equipment was running? as Im sure you know this will create immense pressure on the valve and likely will not let your operate the valve. I took the time to replace the * ring, s**** and re-tapped the threads. I tested it multiple times and It is now fixed and in perfect working order again. Please have them use caution and turn off the pool equipment prior to engaging that valve. I have attached pictures of everything."
  

  As it relates to the The pressure side cleaner we noticed it stopped working - Per *****' Email:
  "*ur pool vacuum is not working. After the service last week our vacuum port is no longer getting flow- it had been working fine prior to last *************. I checked the Jandy valve settings. I tried the following:
  Vacuum port only no flow
  Both vacuum and exposed return ports no flow to the vacuum and partial flow to the return ports
  Return ports only- full flow
  We asked the pool technician this week to take a look and he responded by saying the only vacuum systems he was familiar were the ones run out of the skimmerI am very surprised that a pool technician hasnt seen/doesnt know what a  pressure side pool cleaner is? They just left the vacuum disconnected and floating."
  
  We ended our last correspondance with "We will not be paying for this ************* and will also request that your service be discontinued if you do not reach out for resolution."

  
  As you can see in our correspondences we approached the situation with detailed findings / photos of what we found and requested that the company get back to us on our concerns with N* response from the business. Again, we went into the matter assuming the owner would want the opportunity to rectify the situation and keep us as customers. His quick decision to agree to cancel our service and choice to not address any of our concerns leads me to believe that he chooses to do business by deceiving his customers and it's not worth it to him and his business to make it right.