- Nov 12, 2017
- 12,640
- Pool Size
- 12300
- Surface
- Plaster
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- Pentair Intellichlor IC-40
Sorry, wasn't sure where to post this, but then thought it fitting to put it into the same forum in which I first started here at TFP.
For those of you that have followed some of my threads, you've suffered my rants of the story that brought me to TFP. That of an inherited pool maintenance company that mismanaged my pool and its water for years, as they had done for years before for the previous owner of my house. And how they later offered to correct the stinging, unbalanced water with the installation of a SWG, which necessitated, according to them, the replacement of my pool's entire volume of water. Which led to them "selling" me an acid wash, "as long as the pool was empty," to correct the extensive calcium deposits, which I have since learned here were a direct result of their mismanagement of the water in the first place!! The acid wash was also mismanaged, badly, and my plaster was destroyed in the process. The owner of the pool maintenance company refused to accept responsibility for the damage, and so I began my quest of convincing him otherwise.
Which led me to weigh in on threads of many others here who were facing similar issues dealing with an under-performing pool contractor. I offered my story and explained how I was resolving my own issue. And not everyone here agreed with my approach or advice about how to go about it.
But I am here today to share that while my MO might not fit others' circumstances, or sensibilities, I'm proud to say I followed my own advice to the letter, and have just now returned from the bank of the owner of the pool maintenance company, where I cashed his fat check! I recovered the entire out-of-pocket expenses I incurred to replace the damaged plaster. And depending on how I do the math, I actually came out a bit ahead for my trouble. Nowhere near enough to cover the stress and work I've endured over the last 10 months to get this resolution, but such things are not considered by the court system, so I have to count this as a 100% win. At least, it's the best possible outcome I could have realistically achieved.
I'll share the gory details if anyone asks. But I do have to share these rather interesting aspects, which I learned during this process:
When the certified letter exchange between myself and the contractor didn't provide a resolution (other than his low-ball offer, which I rejected), I next turned to the Contractors State License Board (of California). I was hoping for some leverage. And I was hoping they could levy my expenses against the Bond that all California Contractors must maintain. I was seeking their determination that the contractor was responsible, so that I would have that to present in Small Claims Court. Which I was prepared to resort to should the attempt to access the Bond fail. This is what I was mortified to discover. The Bond is provided by an insurance company. The Board has no jurisdiction to direct funds from the Bond. They're virtually unrelated entities. I could file a complaint with the Board, to address the many laws the contractor violated. But I would have to submit a separate complaint, directly with the Bond insurance company to access that money, and the insurance company is the authority that decides the dispersal of any funds. WTH? The insurance company gets to unilaterally decide if the insurance company pays out. WTH? How is this system allowed to exist? I would love to know what percentage of claims ever get paid!! Why would they pay any?
The other shocker was: according to my case worker at the Board, who did take it upon herself to try and negotiate a settlement with me and the contractor, if she was unsuccessful, that was the end of what the Board could do about the money. They can pursue the illegal activities of the Contractor, but the outcome of that investigation and subsequent consequences are NOT public record. So even if the Board finds my Contractor violated any laws (which he absolutely did, about six of them by my count), his "punishment" would most likely be a letter from the Board, a sort of reprimand, that would be sent to the Contractor and attached to his permanent record with the Board. No fines. No penalties. Nothing. Just a slap on the wrist, which isn't even viewable by the next unsuspecting consumer, because the letter is not public record. Shameful. I suppose this is in place to allow a one-time offender to go unpunished. And maybe, if the Contractor continues to rack up these letters, he'll at some point get some sort of fine or something, but the Board's action for his crimes would have no bearing on my complaint, or money owed me, or affect the insurance company's decision, nor make it to court (not with out a subpoena)! There's some real justice for ya. What a system. It's was now clear to me why, in all my years of dealing with contractors, why I've never been provided a proper, legal contract (rarely any contract at all). Because there is no real enforcement of contractor law here in CA!! Not by the Board, anyway. Very frustrating.
All that said, my case worker, who, after explaining all this bad news to me, assured me that she had some other tricks up her sleeve that she could bring to bear. And sure enough, after I had given up on the Board, and was preparing to try for the bond, I got a call from her with an offer of settlement from the Contractor that more than covered the money I was owed! I couldn't believe it. Three times his original low-ball offer! So either she "explained the way things work" to this guy, maybe in terms of his chances in court, or maybe some sort of threat of Board action or sanctions, or perhaps the contractor had other pending suits (I uncovered some evidence of that possibility during my research), and he just wanted my claim to go away. I don't know what she did or said, and I guess I never will, but after all these months of him refusing to make this right, he did.
I had to wait it out for two weeks, but I finally got the check in the mail today. I emailed him to send me a paid-in-full statement (for the other work he performed but I had yet to pay for, which was part of the math of the settlement), which he promptly did. And just like that, it's over. I didn't have to pursue the Bond, which I can't imagine would have been any great success. And, thank heaven, I didn't have to go to court. I would have. But it would have cost me days of preparation work, and weeks of stress. It's really over. Instead, I got the money to pay for the complete replacement of my plaster, and quite a bit extra for incidentals (the water, the salt, some start up costs, etc). The work had been done last year (October), and I had decided to upgrade from the original plaster finish to pebble (I paid for the difference, which is fair), so I have a new pool for my troubles.
I have played out endless scenarios in my head, for many months, about how to handle this and that. Including what I would really like to say to this guy for all the awful, awful, awfulness I've been through on his account. Just to vent. Just to tell him off. But now, with the cash in hand, I see the folly in that, and I'm just going to let it go. It's really over. And nothing I could say to this guy would make a bit of difference. I believe him to be a dishonorable man, and that is, and will continue to be, its own justice.
I think I'll go have a drink, and then a swim in my brand new pool.
For those of you that have followed some of my threads, you've suffered my rants of the story that brought me to TFP. That of an inherited pool maintenance company that mismanaged my pool and its water for years, as they had done for years before for the previous owner of my house. And how they later offered to correct the stinging, unbalanced water with the installation of a SWG, which necessitated, according to them, the replacement of my pool's entire volume of water. Which led to them "selling" me an acid wash, "as long as the pool was empty," to correct the extensive calcium deposits, which I have since learned here were a direct result of their mismanagement of the water in the first place!! The acid wash was also mismanaged, badly, and my plaster was destroyed in the process. The owner of the pool maintenance company refused to accept responsibility for the damage, and so I began my quest of convincing him otherwise.
Which led me to weigh in on threads of many others here who were facing similar issues dealing with an under-performing pool contractor. I offered my story and explained how I was resolving my own issue. And not everyone here agreed with my approach or advice about how to go about it.
But I am here today to share that while my MO might not fit others' circumstances, or sensibilities, I'm proud to say I followed my own advice to the letter, and have just now returned from the bank of the owner of the pool maintenance company, where I cashed his fat check! I recovered the entire out-of-pocket expenses I incurred to replace the damaged plaster. And depending on how I do the math, I actually came out a bit ahead for my trouble. Nowhere near enough to cover the stress and work I've endured over the last 10 months to get this resolution, but such things are not considered by the court system, so I have to count this as a 100% win. At least, it's the best possible outcome I could have realistically achieved.
I'll share the gory details if anyone asks. But I do have to share these rather interesting aspects, which I learned during this process:
When the certified letter exchange between myself and the contractor didn't provide a resolution (other than his low-ball offer, which I rejected), I next turned to the Contractors State License Board (of California). I was hoping for some leverage. And I was hoping they could levy my expenses against the Bond that all California Contractors must maintain. I was seeking their determination that the contractor was responsible, so that I would have that to present in Small Claims Court. Which I was prepared to resort to should the attempt to access the Bond fail. This is what I was mortified to discover. The Bond is provided by an insurance company. The Board has no jurisdiction to direct funds from the Bond. They're virtually unrelated entities. I could file a complaint with the Board, to address the many laws the contractor violated. But I would have to submit a separate complaint, directly with the Bond insurance company to access that money, and the insurance company is the authority that decides the dispersal of any funds. WTH? The insurance company gets to unilaterally decide if the insurance company pays out. WTH? How is this system allowed to exist? I would love to know what percentage of claims ever get paid!! Why would they pay any?
The other shocker was: according to my case worker at the Board, who did take it upon herself to try and negotiate a settlement with me and the contractor, if she was unsuccessful, that was the end of what the Board could do about the money. They can pursue the illegal activities of the Contractor, but the outcome of that investigation and subsequent consequences are NOT public record. So even if the Board finds my Contractor violated any laws (which he absolutely did, about six of them by my count), his "punishment" would most likely be a letter from the Board, a sort of reprimand, that would be sent to the Contractor and attached to his permanent record with the Board. No fines. No penalties. Nothing. Just a slap on the wrist, which isn't even viewable by the next unsuspecting consumer, because the letter is not public record. Shameful. I suppose this is in place to allow a one-time offender to go unpunished. And maybe, if the Contractor continues to rack up these letters, he'll at some point get some sort of fine or something, but the Board's action for his crimes would have no bearing on my complaint, or money owed me, or affect the insurance company's decision, nor make it to court (not with out a subpoena)! There's some real justice for ya. What a system. It's was now clear to me why, in all my years of dealing with contractors, why I've never been provided a proper, legal contract (rarely any contract at all). Because there is no real enforcement of contractor law here in CA!! Not by the Board, anyway. Very frustrating.
All that said, my case worker, who, after explaining all this bad news to me, assured me that she had some other tricks up her sleeve that she could bring to bear. And sure enough, after I had given up on the Board, and was preparing to try for the bond, I got a call from her with an offer of settlement from the Contractor that more than covered the money I was owed! I couldn't believe it. Three times his original low-ball offer! So either she "explained the way things work" to this guy, maybe in terms of his chances in court, or maybe some sort of threat of Board action or sanctions, or perhaps the contractor had other pending suits (I uncovered some evidence of that possibility during my research), and he just wanted my claim to go away. I don't know what she did or said, and I guess I never will, but after all these months of him refusing to make this right, he did.
I had to wait it out for two weeks, but I finally got the check in the mail today. I emailed him to send me a paid-in-full statement (for the other work he performed but I had yet to pay for, which was part of the math of the settlement), which he promptly did. And just like that, it's over. I didn't have to pursue the Bond, which I can't imagine would have been any great success. And, thank heaven, I didn't have to go to court. I would have. But it would have cost me days of preparation work, and weeks of stress. It's really over. Instead, I got the money to pay for the complete replacement of my plaster, and quite a bit extra for incidentals (the water, the salt, some start up costs, etc). The work had been done last year (October), and I had decided to upgrade from the original plaster finish to pebble (I paid for the difference, which is fair), so I have a new pool for my troubles.
I have played out endless scenarios in my head, for many months, about how to handle this and that. Including what I would really like to say to this guy for all the awful, awful, awfulness I've been through on his account. Just to vent. Just to tell him off. But now, with the cash in hand, I see the folly in that, and I'm just going to let it go. It's really over. And nothing I could say to this guy would make a bit of difference. I believe him to be a dishonorable man, and that is, and will continue to be, its own justice.
I think I'll go have a drink, and then a swim in my brand new pool.
