My mother purchased an inground plaster swimming pool from Carlton Pools of Warminster, PA. She signed the contract amid all kinds of promises that they were a "full service pool company" and would take care of any and all of her pool needs in the future. The pool was finished in May of 1998. It was a lovely pool but the problems started almost immediately.
My mother always hired Carlton to come winterize her pool at a pay-in-advance price of nearly $300.00 per year. She did this because she felt if any problems should arise over the winter, that Carlton, because they did the winterizing, would come out and take care of them. After the second winter, the decorative tile started coming off of the pool. After several phone calls, someone did come out and fix the tile, albeit a very sloppy job.
Three summers ago, we noticed a stain developing at the bottom of the pool. Was it algae? We don't know. So of course, we called Carlton Service. We called them so many times it was ridiculous, with nary a call back to us. This stain has grown now to almost the entire bottom of the pool. All we wanted was for someone to come out and tell us how to fix the problem but they refused.
Then last summer it started. Cracks in the plaster were developing on the bench and lower two entry stairs. When the technician came out to winterize the pool we again brought the stain and now the new cracks to his attention. He said he would make a note of it, and that we "really should get that fixed in the spring". HA!
Unfortunately when we took the cover off this spring, we were flabbergasted to note that not only had the cracks now run the entire length of the two bottom steps, they were also approximately 1/2 inch deep, leaking water, and there was also a hazard of getting cut on the bottom of the foot if stepped on, as the crack was beginning to raise on one side. Additionally, large hunks of the tile had fallen off the walls and landed on the bottom.in other areas, where the tile was still in place it had jutted away from the pool walls. It is only a matter of time until this tile falls away from the wall as well.
So what do we do? Well we begin our neverending saga of phone calls to Carlton Service. Did anyone return our calls? Not until receiving an email from me stating it was my last communication before calling our lawyer. Only then did a "Brooke" call my husband to see what the problem was. She assured him that after their meeting that day, it would be discussed and SOMEONE would call back that day to let him know what they would do. Well guess what - it's now July 17 and nobody has called us back. Big shock.
We have not asked them to fix these problems for free. All we want is the type of service they promised us from the time my mother signed her contract, the same service they claim to provide on their web site. These are some of the shadiest people we have EVER done business with and we are so disappointed that we had chosen Carlton to install this pool.
My mom is embarassed to entertain because this pool looks so disgusting and I can't say that I blame her. We thought this would be something that would provide years of enjoyment for the whole family but instead, has become the biggest headache we have ever encountered.
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