Wayne
Fontana,#2Consumer Comment
Sat, June 13, 2020
The truth will always come out in the end. A full TEN YEARS after our pool catastrophe with Blue Haven Pools A Fox News producer called me and asked for an interview on a story he was working on. I agreed to the interview because I was curious why this would come back up after so long. What I learned was so disturbing I feel obligated to share it here as a final testament to the horrendous business practices of this despicable company.
Take a moment and watch this report from Fox News and you be the judge. https://www.foxla.com/news/fox-11-investigates-reputation-defense-companies-utilizing-fraudulent-lawsuits-and-illegal-hacks-to-silence-online-consumer-complaints
G-Man
Fontana,#3Consumer Comment
Sun, January 29, 2012
I had the same problem with Rod Thompson I called Blue Haven and they sent out Rod Thompson he came into our home worked out our pool plan, Took us in our bathroom and filled our sink up turned off the light and showed us these fiber optic lights we were amazed. Then Our nightmare began once the got their money some one just came an knocked our fence down and started digging ....... crazy thing is they tried to do the same thing a block away, my neighbor had to run out of her house to stop them! They were having major problems with the contractors because Blue Haven was not paying them! the contractors they sent were so mad at Blue Haven that they didn't even put the Blue Haven Name In Our Pool!!!! I went back and forth with them over a backwash valve that I needed because I wanted a D.E. Filter. None of their stuff works ... My pool was plumbed WRONG The SMART THING CRAP had to be CUT off, my Awesome Fiber Optic Lights have NEVER WORKED!!!!!! the The pool deck guy looked at my plaster and shook his head and said your plaster looks 10 Years OLD!! I have Coping on my stairs that trip my guest and kids every time we have a function!!!!! my tiles are falling apart!! There are Cracks in the walls .... and in the decking ...... My Kids have never been able to swim at night! Because there are NO LIGHTS and Never Been any lights!! I've called them over and over over the years ..... those workers Quit and started their own pool company Rod Thompson There are 3 houses on my street that have the same problems with their pool! All I ask is that you Look at what you guys did Wrong and Just Fix it! I'm just asking For Justice!! and LIGHTS.... PLEASE! Fiberstars can work good if it is installed correctly! you guys should be Ashamed of yourselves for taking hard working peoples money and forgetting about them the minute you get your money! WRONG WRONG .... I keep checking Ripoff Report Hoping that there is a Class Action Suit I can Join ... because there is no other way to deal with you dishonest People! you can always contact me and fix my problems .... but I know you wont! I even talked to some of your guys at the L.A. Fair .... if they could have turned and Ran they would have ...... BUYER BEWARE OF BLUE HAVEN POOLS!!! I'll be waiting on your call Rod!
Wayne
Fontana,#4Author of original report
Tue, November 30, 2010
Mr. Thompson knows full well that I admitted into evidence the phone recording of our conversation, and his apology accepting FULL responsibility for what transpired with our pool.
The Truth!
Ontario,#5Consumer Comment
Wed, June 17, 2009
Hey Rod, what Pool compant are you working for now, Terri Tuttle still hiding in her office acting like she isn't the General Manager since the contractor board took her license? Call the Ontario office and ask for a pool qoute now, she will say "were waiting until financing gets better" or some other nonsense. Ask her name, she won't tell you! Rod is the old school car salesmen type, who will tell you anything you want to hear to have you sign a contract, one of his best lines is "sign this estimate", yes that's right folks, he get's them to sign a CONTRACT! He tells everyone how his swimming pool has kept him alive, he doesn't have one! If you ever see this guy on your porch, DON'T OPEN THE DOOR! The TRUTH
Elaine
San Bernardino,#6Consumer Comment
Fri, July 11, 2008
After reading your lengthly response Rod I have to say that from what you said it sounds like Blue Haven Pools takes on more work than they can responsibly handle. Contractors are held to a high standard in California. It is these standards that hold a builder responsible for the smallest of mistakes. All homeowners deserve quality not quantity, wouldn't you agree?
Elaine
San Bernardino,#7Consumer Comment
Fri, July 11, 2008
After reading your lengthly response Rod I have to say that from what you said it sounds like Blue Haven Pools takes on more work than they can responsibly handle. Contractors are held to a high standard in California. It is these standards that hold a builder responsible for the smallest of mistakes. All homeowners deserve quality not quantity, wouldn't you agree?
Elaine
San Bernardino,#8Consumer Comment
Fri, July 11, 2008
After reading your lengthly response Rod I have to say that from what you said it sounds like Blue Haven Pools takes on more work than they can responsibly handle. Contractors are held to a high standard in California. It is these standards that hold a builder responsible for the smallest of mistakes. All homeowners deserve quality not quantity, wouldn't you agree?
Elaine
San Bernardino,#9Consumer Comment
Fri, July 11, 2008
After reading your lengthly response Rod I have to say that from what you said it sounds like Blue Haven Pools takes on more work than they can responsibly handle. Contractors are held to a high standard in California. It is these standards that hold a builder responsible for the smallest of mistakes. All homeowners deserve quality not quantity, wouldn't you agree?
Rod Thompson
Ontario,#10UPDATE Employee
Thu, May 29, 2008
When Mr. Wayne first posted a couple of years ago, after he was paid, I thought I would let it go and let him have his chance to vent. I believe the old adage If I can please some of the people all of the time and all of the people some of the time and apologize when I am wrong, I'll be alright. So I apologized for the two errors I made and waited for it to pass but instead of passing, my apology was distorted and misused so I guess it is time to set the record straight but bear with me, it will be long. I've been reading this nonsense far too long and I am tired of it, and please remember, nobody checks the facts about what is written here. I'll answer these accusations but first let me set the record straight. Although I am periodically pursued by other pool companies to work for them with occasional offers of management positions as enticement, I have remained with Blue Haven pools & Spas for 16 years because they build the best product on the market, and I am proud of it. I know that I am helping people to have a pool with the lowest operating cost, least amount of maintenance, and the purest water. With Blue Haven's exclusive, patented high pressure Jet-Flow Circulation System working in conjunction with a state-of-the-art pool cleaner and water purification system, it is the most self-cleaning and self purifying pool on the market and virtually maintenance free. The equipment Blue Haven insists on using comes directly from the manufacturers, assuring it is the newest technology, the most reliable, and the most efficient available, and Blue Haven has the most experience. Consequently, a Blue Haven Smart Pool is the top selling pool in America as listed in The National Pool & Spa Magazine every year since 2002, selling over 7,000 pools per year. That's more than most other pool companies will do in their lifetime. However, building 7,000 pools per year with eight or ten different crews on each one, things happen, things go wrong: buyer or seller miscommunications, buyer or seller mistakes, buyer-seller-workmen personality conflict or buyers who confuse information they received from getting several bids, listening to various presentations, and talking to friends and relatives. It's natural and happens frequently. I.e.: prospects call and ask for the salesman who was out to see them last week and name someone who works for some other company. People we have never heard of call to change their appointment times or cancel a sale (we love that one.) Yes, sometimes salespeople make mistakes. Let's see, fifteen years with Blue Haven Pools, fifty weeks per year, and ten calls per week makes about 7,500 families I have spoken with in as many different yard challenges. Absolutely I have made some mistakes. Absolutely Blue Haven has made some mistakes. Absolutely some of the) workers have made mistakes or irritated somebody. And, believe it or not, sometimes customers make mistakes. But when it's all done, the customer has the lowest maintenance pool on the market with the purest water. That is why while many companies come and go or file bankruptcy at the first sign of trouble (a highly advertised company just closed their doors last week leaving several pools unfinished,) only to reopen under some other name, Blue Haven stays right here building quality pools and dealing with the problems and different kinds of people. The Post Office has problems. Churches have problems, Presidents cause problems. Schools have problems. Many large entities have problems: Sears, Exxon, and Wall-Mart to name three. Sometimes the companies deal with the problems better than other times, but that's human nature. However, when it is all said and done, most of the people who complained about every aspect of construction for various personal reasons, end up admitting that it is great pool, and they love the low maintenance and frequently give Blue Haven referrals. Altogether, Blue Haven has built over 250,000 pools and are still here, standing behind the lifetime warranty on every one of them. There is a listing here about a pool with leaks, that has been taken care of. Other companies emulate Blue Haven in name to take advantage of name confusion or one-off equipment claiming it's as good as, but they aren't honest about it. Do they talk about the frequent articles in trade magazines describing the negative effects of salt systems, or do they just sell them because it's an easy sale? Some other companies let Blue Haven spend time and money pioneering new equipment and technologies, all the while bad-mouthing them because they have nothing good to say about themselves, only to come along behind, trying their best to copy what Blue Haven is doing. The only way some people can make themselves look good is to make others look bad. None of my customers has ever heard me say anything bad about another company still in business because Blue Haven gives me plenty of good things to talk about. Error #1 I wrote on the bottom of the pool plan the pool was to be 3 to 5 to 4 feet deep. It had been a long call, and I was tired. Most of the pools we do are 3 to 6' deep and that is what I wrote on the contract. Mr. A---- stated that I went over certain items on the contract including the depth, admitting I went over it with them. Actually, we went over the whole contract and pool plan line by line. I always do. Mr. & Mrs. A---- were both participating and both signed the papers. Unfortunately, just like typos that have been checked and double checked by professionals and computer programs, nobody caught the error. Before the pool is dug, the customer has to sign the dig sheet clearly identifying the layout and depth of the pool. On dig day, Mrs. A---- missed the error again and signed it. Contract, pool plan, and dig sheet: three chances to catch the error and still it was missed by everybody. Stuff happens. Blue Haven offered a cash reduction as compensation: it was refused. Error #2 Stage payments are currently made as follows: 35% @ Excavation, 35% @ Gunite, 10% @ Tile, 10% @ Deck, 8% @ Plaster, and 2% @ Start-up. I listed their contract price correctly but miscalculated their stage payments to a lower amount. Before he revised it, Mr. A---- said Blue Haven should have just accepted the loss, admitting that he was fully aware that it would have been a loss, and he knew it was money that he owed. Trying to take advantage of the situation? He had told me he thought the back wall could come down for tractor access, and I told him I would base the price on that but if it couldn't; there would be an additional $5,000 for the use of a mini tractor. I did not charge him an extra $5,000 in case it was needed with a verbal promise of giving it back if it wasn't. Who would sign a contract like that with a verbal promise that $5,000 would be returned if it wasn't needed? Especially after just initialing two statements that no verbal agreements applied? About the concrete beside the house: I told them it would have to be sawcut to allow the gas and electric lines to be run from the meters into the back yard, and that the concrete removed would be replaced. Line 18 on the contract that we reviewed, line by line, stated there would be a sawcut. Everybody realizes placing a strip of new concrete in the middle of a piece of old concrete will be noticeable. They got mad in the beginning because the day before they came into the office they demanded I be there for the meeting. Actually, I would have liked that, but I had an appointment across town at UCLA to help my wife of 38 years make plans for a double lung transplant. When she is sick, she gets priority over everything and everybody. Later, two days before the settlement was made, I found out it was in court and offered to testify but it was too late. The general manager had already made the decision to settle and move on. Lastly, the Blustery general manager wasn't blustery, just busy. Being the number one person responsible for 500 to 700 pools per year being built out of our office from Palm Springs to Manhattan Beach and Victorville to Long Beach is heavy duty stress which is why Mr. A---- was paid. Blue Haven Pools did not fold like a cheap suit, as Mr. A---- stated. It was just time preservation and sensible management: prioritizing time versus money. If you are still with me, thank you. Chances are you are reading this because a sales representative from some other pool company sent you here in another attempt to make Blue Haven Pools look bad. The pool industry is, for the most part, made up of a lot of good, reputable, folks doing the best work they can, but there are some sales reps either working for companies that have nothing good to talk about, or, are unprofessional, unskilled, and incapable of competing on a fair playing field. Either way, I thank him for telling you about it. Look at the facts. The complaints listed here over a 7 year period during which time Blue Haven Pools built almost 50,000 pools. Get real here folks. How good can they be? Please, call up the person that sent you here and tell him I said thank you, then call me, or the Blue Haven representative whom was out to see you, and let us get started building you a lot of years of low-cost and virtually maintenance-free, sanitary fun in the sun. Join the other hundreds of thousands of happy Blue Haven customers enjoying healthy, wet-and-splashing, BBQing-and-laughing, picture-taking-and-memory-making summers. Swimming pools are great and the waters fine, come on in. ROD THOMPSON, BLUE HAVEN POOLS, ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA.
Wayne
Fontana,#11Author of original report
Wed, February 27, 2008
Wanted to let all Blue Haven victims to know that there is light at the end of your tunnel. If you educate yourselves, and spend some time in court with BH, you can (and most likely) will win. I took them to small claims court for the 8000.00 dollars I overpaid for my pool, and the judge agreed with me that I was right. I was overjoyed to hear him say BH was "lucky" I only asked for the money I was overcharged. Of course BH then appealed the decision, and I found out the night before we were due back in court they would be allowed a Lawyer with them. Of course I had not secured one for myself, but felt confident I could rely on the judgement of the first Judge. We went to court, and JUST BEFORE we were to be called before the new judge, Blue Haven's business manager blustered into the court room and asked the judge to speak with us privately. He agreed, and they offered a check for $8669.56, and an apology for the HORRIBLE treatment we recieved. Traci and I were speechless until the judge asked us if we were satisfied, I ALMOST said no, but I agreed that it was over. Stand your ground with these guys, they will fold like a cheap suit if you press hard enough.