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:05/28/2025

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  -7/18/24-8/29/24 (checks dated) We had our pool plastered end of august. Checks dated in that month and a half stretch totaling $15,000 Pool Closed by Aquatime. 10/11/24 $390 Check to Aquatime - They closed our pool and saw it was full of water and in good shape heading into the winter. No concerns. -Tuesday May 6th $400 check - We were told someone named ******* would be coming, but he did not arrive. Others opened the pool. The pool was empty, no water to be found. This caused concern, and it was very difficult to get ahold of anyone in the construction office. The plaster has visible cracks and is non-operational with addition of water in the current state. -So we have been waiting for direction from the company. No one returned phone calls, we called multiple times.-Friday May 16th - Someone came to assess damages - 60 second conversation in the driveway that the findings would be sent to ***** (assuming company owner, or construction manager?) and that we would figure out where to go from there. A mention of repairing the damage as a resolution was mentioned in passing, but nothing in writing and no written plan or further communication of any sort.-Wednesday May 21st - Email request for an update (none provided). Tried email as no one would return phone calls, and construction office never had anyone available to answer. -Friday May 23rd - Phone call, we were told there is no update for us by the secretary. -Sunday May 25th - Email follow up, asking for any type of plan or communication. (none provided)-Tuesday May 27th - We had assumed no communication would occur during the long weekend. But no responses on the first business day after. We are looking for help. We would like this resolved as soon as possible, as it has been 21 days with no direciton, we are worried that this will continue throughout the summer.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/14/2025

  Good morning, 
  

  I would like to include an update on what has happened since we opened up this ticket with you.

  Aquatime showed up unannounced on Monday June 2nd. They looked at our pool and said that they would need to replaster the entire thing. I think they thought that would upset us, but we were relieved. They worked for 3 days, 6/2,6/3, and 6/4. They left the pool prepared for plaster and what looks like some unfinished work on our stairs.

  We did not have contact with them until yesterday, 6/13. The owner, *****, emailed us and asked us for $4,250 to complete the job. We are disappointed that they did half of the work, and are now asking to pay in order for them to proceed with the work that they started 6/2. We called the office and left updated email and phone information. They did not reply or respond to us 6/5,6/6,6/9,6/10,6/11, or 6/12. Those are days that no one was at our house either. Things were progressing and then stopped. In his email response to us, he blamed technical difficulties on his email, and we questioned why he couldnt contact us with his phone.

  We also responded yesterday 6/13, citing our prior contract from the fall of 2024 plaster warranty. I have attached that here as well as an image. Please let me know if it didnt load. We are concerned we wont hear from them in a timely manner and want to keep you updated and involved. The last time we reached out to you, they did show up, so we are very thankful and appreciative of your efforts.

  Would it be helpful if I attached our email correspondence?

  Thank you very much,

  Carolyn 

  Business Response

  Date: 06/16/2025

  I apologize for not responding to this earlier, I have been having email issues for over 2 weeks now.  The Complaint is from the Towne's of Tewksbury MA.  The gunite pool interior was replastered in August of 2024.  The pool was filled and operated until the pool winterization with no complaints of losing water or any other issue.  Client scheduled a pool opening in May of 2025.  When our crew arrived for this service, the cover was removed and the pool was found to be empty.  There is a Hydrostatic Valve located on the floor of the deeper end of the pool which is a safety valve to relieve ground water pressure into the pool to reduce the lifting effect of water beneath the pool shell.  The hydrostatic valve was found to be lifted at that time which resulted in the pool water loss.  The valve was cleaned off and reset in the pool floor.  The Client was instructed to only add a couple feet of water, stop filling and mark the level to make sure the valve was holding the pool water BEFORE completely filling the pool.  The pool was partially filled as instructed and the water level held.  It was reported at that time that there appeared to be some damage to the floor and area of the steps into the pool by the Owner who did not want to continue to fill until these areas were looked at.  A crew went out to check the area and discovered that there was substantial ice damage to the lower steps of the pool.  This had to have ocurred when the water level was down during the winter time.  As the ice freezes and thaws, it expands and pushes against the risers and treads of these lower steps creating cracks which water can absorb into and refreeze again.  The hydrostatic valve operation is a safety feature installed by the pool builder to protect against high ground water pressure under the pool.  The proper functioning of the valve is not a warranty related issue whereas the pool held water after filling last August 2024 when the work was completed.  I have been in contact with the Client and they have agreed to pay $3,500 toward the repairing of the steps while I am replastering the entire pool over for no additional cost.  The value of the replastering is approximately $15,000 in addition to the step repair costs.  We are plastering the pool this morning and I have put them in contact with a water trucking company who is scheduled for delivery around Noon today.  It is an unfortunate situation where neither the Client, nor us, are responsible for the water loss and resulting pool damage.  Mitigating the repair costs makes them whole and gets them back in the pool.        

  Business Response

  Date: 06/26/2025

  The pool was replastered, as stated, on 6/16/25 and water was trucked that afternoon.  The client emailed the following morning and stated they were experiencing some water loss.  I sent a diver on 6/17/25 who found an area of the new plaster coat (dime sized) was missing in the bottom side of the main drain cavity in the bottom of the deep end of the pool.  This area is underneath the main drain cover grate.  It was epoxy puttied by a diver, the main drain suction plumbing line left closed (to not draw out the epoxy putty until it cured), and the filter system was started.  Received another email notification early the following morning that the majority of the water loss was corrected, but the client felt that there was still a slight loss.  I sent the diving crew the following morning on 6/18/25 to investigate.  They discovered that a small piece of the day before dime sized putty had pulled away.  Crew reputtied again and dye checked.  Client replied by email the following morning that the water loss had stopped.  This water loss after this replaster was related to the replastering itself and not related to the hydrostatic pressure relief valve water loss over the past winter.  There was no cost to the Client for either of the dive team repairs.  NOTE:  The Client has not yet made the agreed upon cost participation in the amount of $3,500.00 for the non-warranty caused damage to the lower steps of the pool from the Winter water loss caused by the hydrostatic valve.  They have been asked twice so far.  Peter 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/21/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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.

  We entered into a contract for an initial $54,175 with Aquatime on 8/18/2020 according to when we signed and returned the contract to them. There were later addendums for extra excavation and fill that added to the total as work continued and we paid as the work was completed, finishing all payments to Aquatime when work was completed. The entire scope of Aquatime's work was completed in May 2021 when the concrete deck was poured and we made our final payment.
  
  It has become very apparent that one corner of our pool is sinking. There is more than several inches difference in the water depth between the filter side (it is the back corner near where the filter is placed) and the opposite side where the skimmer intake is. Our jump rock is in the middle as almost a divider, which just highlights the difference.
  
  In addition, our two lights developed fairly significant leaks. When Aquatime (Peter) would not respond to emails or calls, we attempted to have another company solve this particular issue. However, due to the light style used by Aquatime - the lights mount to the outside frame of the pool wall. If it is the light niche/housing itself that is cracked and leaking (and not just the cover, which has been replaced to no avail) then the only way to fix it is to cut through the concrete to replace the entire fixture (we have been told.). With no response from Aquatime, we have no way of knowing.
  
  We attempted to notify Aquatime over the phone several times and I have copies of emails sent on 6/9/23, 7/1, 7/28, 8/18, 8/29, 9/6, 9/7, and 9/8. We received brief responses from Peter on 7/17, 8/30, 9/6, 9/7, and on 9/8 to tell us he was cancelling his technician's visit. He scheduled a visit with us for 9/4 to see the issues, but arrived unexpectedly on 9/2.
  
  Peter has consistently spoken only about solving the lights and entirely ignored the issue of the sinking corner of the pool. He knows when our closing is scheduled this year and is not responding. Help!

  Business Response

  Date: 09/27/2023

  I had viewed the pool site on 9/02/23 and discussed sending a tech to determine if the light conduits were leaking.  A tech was scheduled to go up on 9/08/23 who called out sick and had to be rescheduled.  The job was rescheduled for 9/27/23 and today a tech was at the site to check the light conduits.  It was determined today that the light niche (or wall fitting for the light) is cracked inside which would result in a loss of pool water. The lights had been previously removed by others and the openings for the light wall fittings were patched over with a piece of liner material on arrival.  The pool did not initially leak and it is difficult to say how the light wall fittings cracked inside.  I believe the Tech today epoxy puttied the interior of each light niche, blew out the niche and then installed a rubber expansion plug at the pool wall to prevent water from entering the light conduits.  This will prevent water loss and any water from entering the conduits for the upcoming winter.  The pool can be winterized on 9/29/23 as scheduled by the Client's pool service company.  There are different ways of performing additional repairs other than the epoxy putty done today which will need to be discussed in order to form a plan for the spring.  The pool elevation does seem to have a slight dip in the deep end near the pool filtration equipment.  I believe this was there originally when the wall base collar was poured.  I will look through the file for any notes, but it sounds familiar.  The current liner does not seem to have settled at all on the floor, walls or slopes of the deep end.  When a pool settles, the liner would drop the amount the pool settled and there is no evidence of settling visible on that liner installation.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/28/2023

  
  ********** ********
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: I have photographs of the entire installation process, from ground break to when the deck was poured the following spring. We waited to pour the deck to give the ground additional time to settle. Since the pool was initially installed, the "dip" as it was called by Aquatime has visibly increased in my photographs, most noticeably when the pool was opened this spring and I began attempting to contact Aquatime again. Why would anyone have installed a pool with such a visible "dip" in it? And why would a client have accepted this? This is NOT normal settling. It was where stumps were dug out, which we identified at the time, paid for extra fill to ensure this wouldn't happen, and Aquatime determined when to stop bringing in that fill - NOT us.

  
  The lights (bulbs) being removed did not cause the niches to crack - they were removed because of the heavy water leaking that was occurring. I can provide pictures and video of the dye tests done prior to the other pool company removing the bulbs if needed (in court at that point - Peter trying to shirk responsibility here is upsetting after he failed to respond for MONTHS and we are out thousands of dollars at this point from trucks of replacement water, repair costs from the other company, etc.)  The other pool company first tried to simply replace the cover on the lights, dye checks and water loss proved there were still heavy leaks. They next tried to remove the bulbs and plug the niches with putty, The dye was still showing some leaks, but not as many.  The liner was placed over the spaces so that we could potentially use our robotic pool vacuum - not as a permanent fix-action.  All of this was gone through with Peter on 9/2 when he arrived here and is documented on our security camera videos of our pool area if needed.  Peter also wrote down notes while he was here.

  
  When Peter's team was here on 9/27, they needed to remove these liner patches to check the light niches (there are two). They replaced the plugs and replaced the putty.  No one asked about extra liner to add a liner patch or why we might want one.

  
  We would like a written contract from Aquatime documenting what they plan to do about this in the spring with dates. This makes action from Aquatime legally binding and we do not play this game with them again in the spring of 2024.  Aquatime then needs to follow through with that contract and actions to fix the pool.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** *****

  Business Response

  Date: 10/17/2023

  I am responding to the additional comments by Client on 9/28/23.  While there was no original report of leaks when the pool was originally constructed, and the fact that someone is responsible for cracking/overtightening the original white faceplates for the 2 globrite lights, it is not disputed that the vinyl niches (or thru wall fittings) are both cracked deep inside.  When I viewed the pool in September 23, the globrite faceplates had been changed to a blue colored replacement faceplate.  Nonetheless, Aquatime is willing to remove a section of decking to access each niche behind the pool wall, replace the niche, backfill and compact and then repair the decking with the original stamped texture that was used originally when we poured the decking.  While there can be no guarantee that the color will match original concrete pour, we have had very good results using a method we developed in an attempt to match the existing color after a 30 day cure of the new concrete area.  This work will be performed before their Spring 2024 pool opening prior to the water level being raised to open the pool.  The water must be below this area in order to replace the thru-wall light niche(s).  This work will be scheduled between 4/15/24 and 5/15/24 depending on the weather and ice-out condition so the cover can be removed from the decking on the house side of the pool for access to the lights.  Client would be required to give us notification via email to the construction office, once the conditions will allow the cover to be removed from the house side of the pool deck.  Different yards get varying amounts of sunlight and this process occurs differently geographically.  This notification should be within the time frame quoted above for the work to be performed.  This timeframe is also before we get very busy.   I am told that the lights were working when Client removed them AND they have opted to keep the (1) color upgrade light they were originally given by mistake.  The original lights would be installed when we are finishing this process.  This work will occur at no cost to the Client.  With respect to the claim of the pool settling, there is no evidence of the floor pocketing, collapsing or settling.  There is no evidence of the seams in the liner at the deep end or at the base of the pool galvanized steel walls collapsing or settling.  There is no buckling of the wall or liner at the intersection of the floor panels and the vermiculite floor which positively indicates no settling or movement.  In my opinion, while there is a slight dip in the elevation, it is barely noticeable around the 104 foot perimeter of the pool and the entry steps.  Even in the pictures it is difficult to see and I believe that it has been exactly that way since the installation.  I would propose that we use a laser to measure the exact elevation in the Spring 2024 to monitor for any alleged movement.  Monitoring would determine if It is moving or if it has not moved from the original installation.       

  Peter W****-Aquatime

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/28/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore 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 date we entered contract was July 9th 2020. We paid $49,265.00 in full and we paid as progress of the job was completed. Aquatime started restoration process in fall of 2020 and could not complete due to ground being frozen and came back spring if 2021. This was a full restoration project of gunite pool including sand blasting, new beam, new plaster, and tile. The project was completed in May, filled with water as stated in contract and brushed twice a day for two weeks to remove calcium bleed off. (This was all done as instructed). In June we noticed right away what looked like to be moon craters in multiple spots where the plaster fell or did not adhere to the walls. I took pictures right away in June and sent them to the owner Peter and the sales person Steve and were told we would be contacted by the fall of 2021 with a resolution. At the end of September 2021, we had Aquatime close the pool and purchased pool cover so the pool would be properly covered and they said the would also inspect plaster at that time, Aquatime service people took pictures of their own, and said we would hear back. We never heard back about this issue from the owner! With many texts and emails sent , the salesperson Steve kept telling us Peter is aware of the situation and we are on the schedule. Summer of 2022 has come and gone and the craters are worse, yet still no response We used Aquatime for the closings and openings of the pool so we knew all was done correctly to keep our warranty intact, and Aquatime continues to ignore our complaint, therefore we are turning to BBB. I also received a estimate October of 2022 from another pool company to have plaster fixed that Aquatime did poorly and it is $12,000 more on top of the $50k we already spent. The other company said he believes Aquatime used to much calcium which caused it set to quick and that is why we have the problems we have today. We want a refund of the plaster amount and water cost, I.e $12k and we will get fixed from a more professional company that seems to know plaster restoration better than Aquatime and responds to there customer complaints, there is quite a common thread of complaints here on BBB that is similar to mine.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/05/2022

  Mr. ******* did express a concern about the plaster finish the Summer the pool renovation was completed.  The plaster subcontractor was notified and we understood that he viewed the pool.  We have not been able to get any return response from him this past Spring and have engaged another subcontractor to replace him.  At this time the pool would need to be viewed in the early spring of 2023 to determine the course of action.  If the surface is damaged, the pool will be replastered under the warranty due to the timely notification.  We have had extremely good luck with the current plaster crew in both quality and availability.  I will mark on my calendar to contact Mr. ******* in early April to pull the pool cover and view the pool.  This would allow time to complete any warranty work prior to the swimming season.  Mr ******* should feel free to contact Aquatime at the beginning of April to confirm a time and date to view the pool at 603-595-5915.  Ask for Stephanie who will be handling this schedule in the Spring.