Complaint Review: Eagle Pool & Spa Inc.

We purchased an in-ground pool from Eagle Pool (Eagleville, PA) in April 1996, but have had many problems and no help from their service department. Below is a summary of our problem (see Appendix A for details):

By the summer of 1999, among many other problems, we began noticing that the concrete deck and the side wall on the west side of the pool was sinking, and the west side wall had begun to bow out. We left seven messages for them, to which they never responded. My wife finally managed to get the owner's direct number, spoke with him, and he said he would come out that fall to look at it. He never did.

The problem has continued to worsen. We called again last summer (2001), left a number of messages (also said we had some other work for them to entice them to call), and finally got Bill Stahl to respond. We explained the problem to him, and he said that when he sent the man out to do the other work, he would make an assessment and report back to Bill. Don came out on Aug 24 to fix our hottub and pool backwash valve which was leaking. He told my wife that he was going to recommend to Mr. Stahl that the west side be dug up, including the side wall, and corrected.

We left 5 messages on their answering machine in August and September, sent an e-mail, and, again, they never called us back.

We paid good money to have this pool installed (more than they quoted us!), continue to pay good money almost every month for supplies (we like the staff at their Pottstown store), and cannot understand how they can continue to ignore us - this will only take a few thousand dollars for them to correct. If they had thought there might be a possibility of something like this happening, they should have warned us, and maybe dug the hole and then waited a year. We could have waited.

If anyone in the Philadelphia area is considering building a pool, please call or e-mail us first for a reference; if you came out and took one look at our pool, see the poor quality construction, hear about the incredibly rude service, the overbilling, and the (lack of) response we've gotten from them, I can guarantee you will definitely NOT let Eagle build your pool. Since Eagle will not even return our calls, our only resort at this point is to begin spreading the word through sources such as this.

Appendix A (Detailed log)
--------------------------
Pool: 16x32 in-ground Imperial pool, Grecian style, vinyl lined.
Estimated cost: $15,400. Total cost: $17,700. Overbilled: $2,300.

Problems encountered during construction (summer 1996):

They dug up one of our trees and (when no one was home) stuck it back in the ground (it died months later). Estimated value of tree $1,000 (12' Pink Dogwood).

They dug up one of our drain pipes and (while no one was home) covered it back up (we noticed it after they left, when it rained and overflowed; I had to dig it up and replace it). Estimated cost of materials: $100; my time: $500.

They overcharged us; we had to give them an extra check near the end of construction to cover "unforeseen circumstances". Cost: $2,300.

Vinyl liner was not layed flat. They said it would "work itself out", but never has. It looks terrible.

There are dips (some as large as 2" deep by 3" wide) in the soft material under the liner; when you walk in the shallow end, you can feel them.

The electrical box was placed so close to the fuse box that I almost can't open it.

The forms for the concrete patio were put down so poorly, that if they had poured it the next day, there would have been many irregularities. I had them pull many of them up, and rebuild them.

Problems after construction:

We noticed the concrete walk on the west side sinking slightly after about a year.

By the second year, we noticed that, not only was the concrete walk still sinking, but also the entire west side wall was sinking (about 2") and was bowed out (about 3").

The backwash valve began leaking early in the summer of 1999. We called their 610-631-1950 number, and left SEVEN messages for them on their answering machine (we were never able to speak with a person), but they never once responded. We wrote them a letter, expressing our frustration, and, instead of calling us, they wrote a letter back, saying they had never received any messages! My wife finally managed to get the owner's (John Kleba) direct number, spoke with him, and he said he would come out that fall to look at the concrete problem; he never did.

We called the owner again early in the summer (2001), telling him about the continuing concrete problem. He came out, looked at it, and called back to tell us that he would dig it up and jack it up (during the summer, WITH the water in the pool)! At that point, we went out and took actual measurements, and sent him a letter, stating that, in our opinion (since the entire west wall was sinking), it didn't look like something that could be fixed with the water still in the pool.

We left three messages asking if he had received the letter, and what he thought; we got no response. We then left a message, telling them that we had some work for them, to entice them to call (the ongoing leaky backwash valve, and a hottub problem). Bill Stahl called and said that when he sent a man out to work on the other things, he would have him make an assessment and report back. Don came out Aug 24, fixed the backwash valve, fixed the hottub, and said that he was going to recommend that the entire west side be dug up, and rebuilt. We left 5 messages on their answering machine after that, and sent one e-mail message, but got no response.

The backwash valve is leaking again. I left one more message for Mr. Stahl, and sent him an e-mail. I even said that I also wanted to get an estimate for installation of an automated pool-vac to entice them to call. We have received no response.

I left 2 more messages at the Pottstown store in November and December 2001, but gotten no response.

I have many since, and gotten 1 response: "submit it to my homeowners insurance."

Tom
Douglassville, Pennsylvania