Local Pool Care Company Swimming In Complaints

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FORT WORTH (CBS11 NEWS) - Summer is just about here and pool season is already in full swing. CBS11's Cristin Severance has a Consumer Justice warning before you jump into a contract with a pool care company.

Rhett Schwartzkopf is used to writing Consumer Justice promos at KTVT -- not needing Consumer Justice for himself.

"I really thought I did everything right. We already had a rapport. I trusted him at that point," said Schwartzkopf, about the pool care company hired. Schwartzkopf recently bought a home with a pool. "And everybody says, if you're getting a pool, watch out cause' it's a lot of work," said Schwartzkopf.

He noticed a few issues with his pool right away and called a company he used before. "My wife actually found him on Thumbtack. It's an online cork-board where people post their services," said Schwartzkopf.

Owner of Rockin' H Poolcare, Brad Hathcoat, agreed to fix his leaky pool pump, drain and cracks and sell him a pool cleaner for $2,620.

"He went to work on the pump, I left to get to work and that was the last time I saw him," said Schwartzkopf.

Schwartzkopf hasn't seen Hathcoat since January despite calling, emailing and having his attorney contact him.

He then googled the $950 pool cleaner Hathcoat sold him and learned the manufacturer was selling it for $399. Right after Schwartzkopf tipped off CBS11 about his bad experience, CBS11 learned the Better Business Bureau of Fort Worth was doing their own consumer investigation into the business.

The BBB Fort Worth said they have six total complaints alleging the business owes consumers nearly $6,000.

"[complainants allege] They're taking money from consumers without finishing that work," said Lindsey Haase, director of communications at BBB Fort Worth.

Then they got a call from Rockin H Poolcare claiming they were going out of business and didn't need their accreditation. The BBB Fort Worth then secret shopped Rockin H Poolcare, received an estimate and learned the business was still making service appointments.

"They said they were going out of business when they called our offices and that does not appear to be the case," said Haase.

When Schwartzkopf heard about the other complaints -- he contacted thumbtack. According to emails between Schwartzkopf and Thumbtack, the site was aware of the issues and removed the company's information from its site.

Eventually, Schwartzkopf received call from the Hathcoat who wanted to resolve things. "Hey man it's Brad's with Rockin' H Poolcare. Got some bad reviews on Thumbtack, really hurt my business," said a voicemail from Hathcoat to Schwartzkopf.

CBS11 went to the meeting between Hathcoat and Schwartzkopf to ask questions...

CBS11: Why are you making things right, right now?
Hathcoat: Because it's the right thing to do.
CBS11: Well isn't it because your business is hurting since you're no longer on Thumbtack?
Hathcoat: Yeah, yeah. My business is hurting.

CBS11: Did you tell them (the BBB) you were out of business?
Hathcoat: No, I did not tell them we were out of business.
CBS11: So are they lying to me? That's what they say on camera.
Hathcoat. No, no, no, no.

Rockin' H Poolcare told CBS11 they had a few bad employees, which led to their business troubles and have since fired them. Hathcoat agreed to pay Schwartzkopf back in installments and even signed a contract to seal the deal. As part of the agreement, Schwartzkopf called Thumbtack to let them know a resolution was reached.

Schwartzkopf is waiting for his first payment.

The BBB of Fort Worth recommends taking three estimates and request references before signing a contract with a pool care company.

Other Consumer Justice tips before hiring a Pool Care company.

♦No One Home? No Service
One common pool scam is that a company will charge a homeowner for work that was never done. The vast majority of homeowners have limited knowledge of the workings of a pool. Some pool service companies take advantage of this fact. To increase their chances of getting away with the scam, many pool service companies opt to have their employees swing by the home during the day when the homeowner is at work. That way, the employees can get away with doing some of the services and not others. One way you can avoid this scam is having the pool service company only service your pool when you're at home. You can also educate yourself on the kind of work your pool service is supposed to do and then check their work on the day they were supposed to have serviced your pool.

♦Malfunctioning Pump
If your pump isn't working, chances are it's because of a clogged filter. This issue can be solved easily by cleaning the filter. Unfortunately, many homeowners make the mistake of calling a pool service company to deal with this issue. While many pool service companies are honest about how easy it is to deal with this issue, some pool service companies opt to charge homeowners a fortune for "fixing" the pump. Truly, a simple unclogging is typically all that is needed.

♦Weekly Chemical Checks
Some pool service companies offer to conduct weekly chemical checks for homeowners. Unfortunately, dishonest pool service companies often opt to check the chemical balance only once a month rather than the promised once a week. To avoid this scam, you should conduct research on websites like BBB and Yelp.

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