John was hired to fix my pool in February 2010. John quoted me a price of $745, as indicated in his email on January 20, 2010, as well as the receipt which he initialed. At the time of hire, John was given a deposit of $500, as evidenced by check number from my checking account. It was agreed that he would get the remaining balance at the time, which the work was completed. I was told by John that he could acid wash the pool for $125 additional to the necessary repairs. Furthermore, I was assured that my pool would be operating properly and ready for use in a few days.
On February 12, 2010, John indicated that the repairs were complete. However, he suggested that he should maintain (clean) the pool for his monthly rate of $99 because the pool was still not ready to swim in, but he insisted that he would have it cleaned and functioning properly in a matter of days. He went on to say that with "jobs like this," he prefers to do the pool maintenance for the first 30 days to ensure that everything is working properly or as anticipated.
On this day (February 12, 2010), I paid John the remaining balance for repairs ($245), as well as the acid wash ($125) and 1 month cleaning service($99)--totaling $469 as evidenced by check #** from my checking account. Since the time that the work was done and presented to me as being finished, I still have not been able to use the pool because the water never became clear (free of algae) as he indicated that it would; the pool leaks persisted at the pump and floor heads resulting in a sufficient loss of water per day; frogs and tadpoles remain in the pool because the filter is not working properly due to the multiple leaks which allows the air in.
At one point, John seemed to be apologetic and asked me to be patient because he needed time to identify the source of the leakage. Still, he assured me that he would have the pool operating as soon as possible. Since that time, John has stopped returning my calls and failed to show up on days that he told me he would come out.
Because the pool pump is not working properly, I have had to spend a significant amount of money to have a leak detection company come out and drain my pool to verify that the problems which John claimed to fix have not been fixed. I have to pour chemicals in the water everyday because the pump is not circulating and if I do not, the tadpoles become toads which could be fatal to my dog.
I am asking for a full refund of my $969 paid for services that were, apparently, never rendered. I would appreciate your help in this matter because I have made fruitless attempts to get John back out to rectify the matter. He has had ample time and blatantly refuses to adhere to the terms of his hire, although he collected for the services for which he was hired for. As of today, I have not been able to enter the pool.
In addition to the $969 paid for pool services, I paid another pool company $175 to do a leak detection. I paid $100 to have the pool drained and it cost me $80 in water consumption to refill the pool, in addition to the charge for filling it at the time John drained the pool. This matter has been financially and emotionally exhausting. I am fearful that my dog will be harmed by a poisonous toad. We cannot enjoy our back yard because of the frog-infested water.
