A London Free Press reporter’s inquiry revealed a number of claims made by several Southwestern Ontario residents against a London-based pool installer’s faulty and incomplete work.
A Strathroy resident professed losing nearly $80,000 to a pool installer who sought the money in several installments for meagre progress on the job. The resident further claimed to have been left with no choice than to find a new installer when the installer originally hired for the job stopped responding to her calls or messages, and upon inquiry sent her back insulting messages. Consequently, the employment of a new installer set her back in a big way when she had to dish out an almost equivalent sum to the new installer. She indicated she would take the installer to court.
Three other complainants had made claims against the same installer who was reported to either have left the work incomplete or done not to their liking. One of the Dorchester-based complainant echoed a similar narrative, saying due to the installer’s impression of good nature, she too had to part with a large monetary sum as upfront payment, but the installer disappeared without finishing the job.
A pool installer who was employed to finish work on four jobs started by the pool installer in question said to have found issues in the unfinished work such as walls not erected properly, faulty lights installation, and drainage construction.
“I could probably nitpick a whole bunch of little things, but all in all, I just think the amount of money that he takes, comparative to the amount of work that gets done, doesn’t coincide with each other,” he said.
Two other London residents have already taken the installer to court for similar complaints. One of the lawsuits, which was decided in February without an offer of defence from the installer, made him pay $70,000 in damages. The other one, proceedings for which are ongoing, seeks compensation for $150,000.
Consumer groups like Better Business Bureau exhort customers to perform exhaustive research before selecting a contractor, which would include seeking reviews from friends and family members who have had contracted services for pool installation or other work done and ensuring that a pool installer is insured against damages lest something does not turn out the way it ought to during installation.
“We know that, in general, when something is in super-high demand or there’s a scarcity of it…those are opportunities for people to take advantage of people desperate for a product,” said Jennifer Matthews, chief executive of the Better Business Bureau for Southwestern Ontario.
