Your Experiences
Links:
The sad life of
a Penguin Pools owner:
National
Spa & Pool Institute
Hellopeter.com
Tell me about your experiences - Any pool/other company. Good and/or Bad and I will publish it here.
Send it to paul@easypages.com
2007/10/11
Hello Paul.
I found this site by accident, but I
am relieved to know that I am not the only one being ripped off by Penguin Poo(pholes). they started
renovating our pool 2 and half months ago. It was supposed to take 2 and a half weeks. The paving has been atrocious, and the pavers
have been incompetent. My complaints, emails, phone calls, all seem to fall
into a black hole some where, and no one at Penguin
Pools gives a hoot. At one point they left our house standing in a complete
wreck for two weeks with nobody doing a single thing. I have had the paving
pulled up and forced them to relay it. It is now only partially acceptable, but
I just want to get rid of them.
When they did not put in a expansion gap between the pool copying and the paving, I
requested it, for which they then gave me a "variation quote" which
is an additional quote to the original. But an expansion gap is a standard
feature in paving with clay bricks. Without it, your
paving cracks. As it has in one report on this website.
Their customer relations are
terrible, their work is unacceptable, and their prices are astronomical.
I WILL NEVER USE PENGUIN POOLS AGAIN AND I WILL ENCOURAGE EVERYONE I KNOW
TO AVOID THEM LIKE THE PLAGUE!
I only wish I had seen this site
earlier.
Keep up the good work.
Dale Clark
Flamingo Vlei,
2007/02/14
Hi Paul,
Thanks for
your site. Sadly there are so many
people battling with pool companies. Following is a letter I have just sent to Clear Pools in Pietermaritzburg of which Richard Paine Snr and Jnr
are the owners. Our pool is now just under two years old and the patio
surrounding the pool has collapsed and brought the pool down with it. We
now have to pay another company to take the whole pool out and redo it from
scratch. Clear Pools are taking no responsibility at all, they are
rude, Richard Paine Jnr (who installed the pool) is
avoiding me by not answering his phone or returning my messages, they did a
cheap and shoddy job and I am sick of companies getting away with bad
workmanship.
Richard
Paine Snr & Richard Paine Jnr,
I would
like you to note that our swimming pool installed by Richard Paine Jnr at
I would
like to point out to you that the concrete slab is only 40 mm thick
whereas according to the plan submitted by you it should be 100mm thick.
According to other professionals in swimming pools/ building it must
be 100mm, as stated on the plan. There is supposed to be "R8 @ 300
cc both ways min. lap 400mm" according to the submitted plan
which has also not been done. It has been pointed out to me
that the weir is in the wrong place and should be somewhere near
the deep end in order for the Kreepy to work correctly. We have
complained from the beginning that the Kreepy did not move around the pool
correctly and therefore is not doing it's
job as it should.
The
excavation hole as according to the plan should have been no more than
300mm wide whereas we have photographs which clearly show that the hole dug by
your company is over 1m away from the pool edge in places. The
structural engineer pointed out that there should have been a
movement strip between the house wall and the tiling surrounding the pool
to allow for movement. The chlorinator is supposed to be raised up on a
shelf, and your company has used the cheapest DB board which is known to
pack up quickly and therefore other pool companies "have done away with
using these DB boards for a number of years already". The rock cover
should have holes drilled into it to prevent condensation inside which has
now caused everything to rust under the cover. These last three
points are to indicate your company's slack work.
According
to the
As soon as
the pool was completed we complained about the hollowness under the shallow
end of the pool, and at the steps. Shortly after, the pool
cracked on the stairs and approximately 8000 litres drained out
through the crack under the pool which further put the structural soundness of
the pool in jeopardy. All the professionals consulted have said that the
soil surrounding the pool has not been compacted enough. It was only
compacted for half a day whereas other pool companies compact soil for up to
two days. I am waiting to take a video and photographs on the day the
pool is lifted out and after that we shall continue with legal action against
your company. This letter serves to inform you that your pool
installation is of poor work and I shall be writing to the Natal Witness about
your company stating the facts which I have.
Tamsin
Visagie
2007/06/01
Hi Paul
This was my experience with Penguin Pools in Pretoria.
They installed a fibreglass pool, salt water chlorinator, pump and paving, i.e. the FULL package in March 2006 , they were done in about a week and initially I was very impressed. My initial contact with their salesman, (Johann de Beer) was a bit of a sore point as I was out of the country at the time and he was pressuring my wife into signing the contract while I was away, this should have been enough warning. I even looked past the hug bug and the mishaps that they had with me in the next days that followed. (incorrect chlorinator fitted, constantly blaming me for problems that appeared). But I looked past that, as I finally had my pool. R45000 00 later.
8 months later I noted small cracks developing around the pool which were hairline at first. I contacted PP Head office in Pretoria and spoke to Johann de Beer again and was promptly informed that the paving only covers a 6 months guarantee but he said that he would have to come out and view the pool and then decide what to do next, he should of just put down the phone in my face as I never heard from him again.
I then contacted PP again a week or two later and refused to be put through to Johann and was referred to Nico, (who I assume is in charge) who said that I should fill out a claims form and "let's do it by the book", He sent me the claims form which I completed straight away and sent back to them. 3 weeks passed and I was sick and tired of waiting, so I called them. I got put through to Nico again who said,"yes we've received your claim, but we're not going to cover it as the 6 month period has passed".
I said I can understand a chip in a brick or a small crack after a few years, but not 15 (fifteen) cracks some of which I can put my finger through all around the pool. I have taken pictures of the said cracks and I can supply them if you want to add it. From my findings on hellopeter, it seems that I'm not alone here with regards to bad paving. I was informed by Nico that he can send someone out to quote me to repair the paving.............bloody cheek.
I've posted a complaint on hellopeter as well as contacting several newspapers with this problem, I'm not going to take this lying down, I paid almost R5000-00 extra to have the paving done and it's rubbish................utter rubbish. I don't want them to come out and repair the problem, I want my money back so I can get a PROFESSIONAL in to pull out their rubbish work and replace it.
Regards
Gary Bloom
gary.bloom@international.gc.ca
072-2137904
2006/08/14
Hi Paul,
I am currently going
through a huge ordeal with Penguin Pretoria and will still give you the full
story. It very much summarises the problems from the other readers. What else
can we do to stop these people from operating as they are only bad for once
health (and wealth). Will the newspapers help??
In short, my pool is 1 year
old, had to be re-marbilite and re-paved and still looks like a dogs ass!!! Still have no warranty paper after I have been
threatened to pay the outstanding balance!!
Due to paving re-done my
safety net is off and they do not want to put a temporary one down until they
re-do the paving for the 3rd time!! On Sunday friends of us visited and their
17 month old boy fell in the pool. It was quite a traumatic ordeal and still
they do not have the audacity to phone back and let me now when this will be
fixed!!!
When I tried to seek help
form the NSPI, I was told they are no longer members, but when they gave us the
quote they verbally said they were and their quote still have the NSPI logo
on!!! Surely this is miss representation and one can sue the shit out of them??
Where else can we publicly
put these complaints to warn our fellow SA citizens NOT TO EVER USE
PENGUIN!!!!
Thanks
Gatvol!!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2006/03/19
I unfortunately tasked
Penguin pools early this year for a fibreglass re do of my old marbelite pool,
as as you can read from my heading, I'm not a happy customer.
I was not happy with the entire project and complained every 2 days, but
nothing was done to rectify the issues. I was told to send them a letter which
I did, by early February and was told that the letter would be addresses at the
" next Director's meeting" at the end of
February '06.
Also interesting to hear
from the NSPI, that PENGUIN Pools are no longer members of this organisation,
as my tender / invoice document clearly states that PENGUIN POOLS
Below, please find my letter to Penguin pools.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
To : PENGUIN POOLS
Att: Adriaan Engelbreg & MD or owner of PENGUIN POOLS (
RE: Re Fibre liner for existing pool, new aimflow and replace suction and
return lines.
REF Contract no. 18895
11 Daniel st, Pierre Van Ryneveld.
Adriaan,
Herewith I wish to express my disappointment regarding the work completed on my
pool some days ago.
Some background:
The first team that arrived on site did the re piping and installed a new
aimflow. The old aimflow was also beyond repair and this was also replaced. The
work involved lifting parts of the paving around the pool. Part of removing the
paving resulted in the safety net retaining hooks in the paving being removed.
This was never replaced and after numerous phone calls, this was only corrected
3 weeks later. The point is that I have children and pets and the pool was
without a safety net for this time (3 weeks). No supervision was present during
this operation.
The second team that arrived started with the liner of the pool and part of
their work
(I assume) was to level the surface around both the aimflow’s. I noticed
that they used some form of putty mixed with resin. This surface area around
the aimflow’s was never levelled resulting in the actual covers / Jets
housings not ending up flush with the liner when screwed in. This looks untidy.
Secondly, the mosaic material was damaged prior to or during the clear coat
application that covers it. I asked the people about this and they told me the
“finishing team” would correct the matter.
I also questioned them about the change in colour of the mosaic and they told
me that this would “come right” when everything was dry and cured.
This is not the case and as I pointed out to you today, this brand new pool now
looks like there are alkaline stains on the mosaic.
There was huge amount of “over paint” from the liner onto the
mosaic, and once again I was told that the finishing team would correct this
matter. There are also areas where the liner is exposed, and one can clearly
see the gap where the mosaic ends and the flow coat starts.
Should someone have supervised this, these problems would have been corrected
long before it got too late.
A less important matter, but some finer detail: This team also left small
amounts of remains of paint and other material as they cleaned out old paint
buckets to use at my premises. This rubbish is still on my lawn.
Once again, no supervision
Then the finishing team arrived and started cleaning
the aimflow housings that were full of flow coat. The
aimflows where screwed in, but only 1 could screw in all the way. I was
told that once the pool was full and all the dirt was blown out, we could
tighten the aimflows.
This is not the case as I personally removed the covers and had to spend 30
minutes cleaning the inside thread to ensure that the aimflow could screw in
properly. Still this is not flush with the liner, as mentioned previously.
Some badly finished areas that I pointed out were “touched up” with
more flow coat, and this part of the work seemed reasonably done. They also
attempted to correct some of the over paint onto the mosaic, but not all was
done to a satisfactory standard.
They could also not correct the scratch marks on the mosaic as mentioned
earlier caused by the team that installed the mosaic.
Once again, no supervision.
I am also a business man and run a successful roof erecting business. I know
what standards are acceptable in our industry, and can assure you that your
standards are below acceptable.
It is now probably far too late to do anything about the poor quality of
workmanship, as any attempts to rectify this will cost me more money and
inconvenience.
One would have expected that a well know company like “PENGUIN POOLS in
business since 1955” would have delivered a more professional and quality
service.
Be assured, that I will not be giving good reverences to anyone that wishes to
make use of your services.
Romeo Pretorius
2005/11/30
Dear Paul,
I was sent a copy of your web page regarding the service levels that are afforded by various industries in SA. You do highlight a number of problems with pool companies and it was interesting to study the various complaints. A number of the clients obtained the name of their pool builder from the NSPI, and as the national president of the NSPI, I am most concerned about the apparent lack of service offered by some of these member companies. However, we can only deal with problems that are reported to us, and it appears that the customers were trying to resolve their problems without making use of the NSPI.
Membership of the NSPI is voluntary and very strict criteria are applied before membership is granted. All members adhere to a code of conduct and underwrite a constitution which allows, where required, for disciplinary action. All the chapters have pool inspectors that are available on written request from the client. This inspection is carried out for a nominal fee and full reports are submitted. At all times, and in all industries, it is important that complaints and problems are reduced to writing to the company involved to ensure an accurate record of proceedings and to avoid the ‘I said, he said’ syndrome. Customers must also refrain from instituting legal action before they contact their local NSPI as we cannot get involved in any matter that is sub judice.
Most of the companies
listed are not members and it
is worth noting that Penquin Pools in both
Amongst the technical complaints, I notice one from a customer whose pool plaster became discoloured. The explanation she received is not correct, however the reason for this discolouration is quite technical and I will be happy to discuss this with anybody with the same complaint. Most important with this type of discolouration is that it is no fault of the pool builder or the marble plaster that is used.
I am sure that your web page serves a very useful purpose in highlighting bad service etc. However, this is very lopsided information and the page should surely include all the good service as well – after all, there are normally many more good service stories than bad service ones!
Please publish our web page which is www.nspi.co.za. There is some really useful information on the page as well as all contact details for all the chapters. My details are listed below so please do not hesitate to ask for any assistance regarding the pool industry in SA.
Kind regards,
Neil Cloete.
National President,
NSPI SA.
2005/08/08
Hi Paul,
I have also had a bad experience with Orca Pools. They quoted and then said it would take two weeks to complete the repairs to my pool. The job commenced on the 26th June after I had paid my deposit of R13000. They do not answer their cellphones and I have left numerous messages and sent plenty of emails.
When I initially decided to go with Orca, I contacted a number of references that they had given me, and all were pleased with their workmanship and business ethic. I don't know what has happened to the company.
At this point in time I have a huge amount of rubble standing on my front lawn and a shell in my back yard. I think that they are defrauding people to obtain money and I will be contacting the police to find out what the procedure is (whether this is a criminal ir civil matter), as it looks like they use the same tricks on other people.
Please could you forward my contact details to Michelle, so that we can discuss the matter, as I am going to approach our local newspaper (Kempton Express) with the story.
Thanks
JM
Paul: It's time to let others know what bad service some companies are providing!
2005/05/31
Hi Paul,
I too have had a horrific experience but this time with Orca Pools. We have been in our nightmare for five months. Our pool should have been finished within four weeks. We have left numerous messages and have now been forced to seek legal advice. But what do we do if these guys don't have assets to attach. We are left dead in the water - if only there was water. Our contract with Orca Pools stated that 50% of the R38 000 be paid upfront and the remainder to be paid when the pool is 50% complete. All monies have been paid but the pool is still 50% complete and we haven't seen the contractors for four months. We are now in the process of suing Orca Pools and hope that we can recover some of the money we have invested.
Thankfully I went on to your website. I had just left a message for Penguin Pools to give me a quotation on completing my pool. Thank you very much for publishing these letters. If I hadn't read them I could have been in for another nightmare and who knows how much more money it would have cost me to get Penguin Pools.
These con artists don't realise how hard we have to work for our money and how soul destroying it is to see it lost. It is amazing that at the quotation stage these guys blow your mind with their level of professionalism but the minute you sign that contractor you are doomed.
Regards
Michelle
2004/12/20
Find attached our long and
winding story. We had a frightfully similar experience to your own. Our
situation started with us finding our pool supplier on the NSPI’s
website. This we did as we had done some renovating to our house and had been
once bitten twice shy with builders. We felt that choosing a company affiliated
with the institute will at least give us some help IF things don’t work
out as planned. Yeah right! When it didn’t work out as planned we
contacted the NSPI to only be told that Pengiun were removed from their
institute in December of 2003. The reason why they were still on their website
in Feb 2004 was basically just human error…someone forgot to take them
off!! Apparently there is a lady in the Consumer council in
Good luck with your battle.
We have now ended with some of the stuff fixed (after sending a summons to both
penguin and the NSPI) but the big issues: bad marblelite and two cracks on the
weir. The fixing of the smaller issues were accompanied by a remark from Mr
Regester that we must understand that they are doing this not to admit that
they were wrong but because they are nice!! Will take Christmas and deal with
it again next year.
Regards
Trudy Dempsey
Webmaster: "Looks like a typical
PENGUIN POOLS job - SHOCKING !!!!"
Irene's Letter
to the NSPI
I decided to write directly
to the NSPI as we have been trying to sort this matter direct with Penguin
Pools but we have received no joy. We initially chose Pengiun as they were
affiliated with the NSPI and that this would give us the peace of mind on basic
matters such as acceptable standards.
In general, we received service NOT expected from a company with their track record and CERTAINLY NOT expected for the amount of money we paid.
We initially signed the order for our gunite pool with Penguin pools on the 25th of Feb 2004. We were told by the representative that it would take approx six weeks to complete and having toyed with the thought of having a pool we were naturally very excited. The digging only started on the 25/26th of March 2004. On the evening that the gunite was completed we noticed that the light was not in the middle of the 3 metre width of the pool. We notified penguin by email the next day so that the problem could be rectified whilst the gunite was still wet. We were told that they did not see it as a major problem and that, once the pool is filled, one would not notice this. We did not accept this and requested the move. This was not done and a few weeks later I decided to contact the manager at Penguin to take up the issue with him. After explaining to him that our need to finish this project was basically driven by a two year old who was going to fall to death let alone drown, Mr Regester informed me that there were only two reasons why a project was not finished in time. He went on to explain that they were weather and non-payment of dues by the customer. I explained to him that we were holding back on our payment as the light had not been moved. Mr Regester felt it worthy of discussing his legal position as per the contract and the fact that the gunite was in the ground and, that in its isolation, made the payment of the funds granted. The fact that the light was not in the middle had no bearing and he would look into the fact of why the service up to this point was not on track. He gave me his word that he would organize the move of the light on the following day, if I would make payment on the same day. Upon requesting what the process would entail until the finalization and handover of the pool, he concluded that he would make sure we would swim two weeks later. This call took place on the 21st of April 2004. The light was moved and I am quite hesitant to believe that the manner of the move might not cause some leaking at a later stage. (see “light” attached).
Needless to say our pool was only filled on the 15th of May 2004 after many calls from our side to keep the process going.
The contract further stated that we would have to pay for the pool in full, after the electrical work was done and the pump installed. When I made an enquiry as to the ethical nature of this, I was told that no further work would be done if this is not adhered to. We made or final payment on the 6th of May 2004 after which it took them another 6 working days of full sunshine (no weather or payment to blame) before they continued their activities. Please note that at this point we were forced to put a net on a half finished hole as to minimize the risk to our son. (see photo “net” attached)
We feel that we have stuck
to our side of the deal in paying for the pool in full, as per contract, before
the pool was finalized. The quality of the workmanship has not been up to
standard and although we have brought this to the attention of Pengiun we seem
to get no joy from them.
On the day of the HANDOVER we listed the following as unacceptable (Needless to
say, to this day we did not even receive as little as a telephone call):
18 Mosaic Tiles not the
same colour as the rest of the mosaics in the 7m x 3m pool – See photo
“mosaic” attached
A prominent white line is visible approx 35cm from the water level all around
the pool.
Smudges were left on the steps after the contractor that applied the charcoal
marblelite did not clean their work – See photo “blotches1”
attached. The handover personnel tried to clean it but was
unable to.
As far as the paving goes, we felt that some care could have been taken to deal
with it in a better fashion. We understand that paving is not a fine art, but a
contractor with pride would not leave a job like this – See photo
“paving” attached’
The pool leaks as soon as it fills further than the first line of Mosaic
tiling. We were told by the contractor that he only seals the first line of
Mosaic tiling. Is this the standard? It surely does not make sense for this as
the skimmer box is not even sufficiently covered with only the first line of
Mosaic under water.
No cover for the front of the skimmer box provided – not sure if this is
standard or not.
Further to the above, I did find it interesting that we would receive photo copied manuals for a pool of R 46 000,00. Is this also standard?
My question to the NSPI are the following?
Is this the kind of quality
one would expect for an expense of R46 000.00?
What are the avenues available to me from the standards that the institute
sets? The other avenues of complaint ie: the papers and whoever might help my
case, will be followed, I need to know what the NSPI’s position is on a
case of this nature?
What are the general guarantees provided by the suppliers of gunite pools?
Would it be fair to expect a guarantee on leakage for the light?
The contractors were a lot more forthcoming with their opinions and even went
as far as confirming that our dissatisfaction is felt at most of the pools they
work on for Pengiun. Surely the NSPI cannot allow such service levels by a
company as wellknown and respected as Pengiun?
Unfortunately it is not just Penguin Pools that have no idea what they are doing. We’ve recently had an awful experience with an outfit called Whale Pools – run by Dirk Stassen (actually, we’re still in the middle of it all). Like your story, the first contact was great. Full of helpful suggestions and ideas to make this the perfect pool, Dirk convinced us that a marbelite pool was the way to go. Apart from the delays (which now seem to be an industry standard!) we were happy once the pool was finally completed. However, my self-satisfied smirks for having gone through this experience relatively unscathed were short-lived. After about 8 weeks my white marbelite started developing dark grey patches. At first I thought this was algae growth, but the guys from Pool Solutions (really a great bunch of people) did a water test and confirmed that the water was OK. The dark patches, in their opinion, were developing because the marbelite was not correctly applied.
I phoned dear Mr. Stassen, who said that ‘this sometimes happens’. It apparently had something to do with inconsistency in the quality of the marbelite he gets supplied. He’s very sorry to hear about this, but there’s nothing he can do. After a VERY heated discussion, he suggested that we re-do the marbelite, but that he’s only willing to pay for half the costs. Imagine that! I pay R40000 for a pool, which he screws up. He then admits that he’s used inferior quality material and is only willing to take responsibility for half of the cost of fixing the problem!
Needless to say my lawyers letter should have reached him by now and we’ll be battling this out in court over the next few months.
WATCH OUT FOR THIS COMPANY!!!!!
L.L.
2004/11/11
I'm always appalled at how
seemingly 'big professional companies' feel that / think that they can shove
that little consumer around. Well done for taking them to task!
and...letting us know!
It's ironic that i read this about Penguin Pools now, cos just last night or the night before they had this HUGE BANNER ADVERTISEMENT on "the BLOCK" (the show on MNET) for the pool that they sponsored there!
Of course they wouldn't give the residents of THE BLOCK a hard time, since it's wonderful national exposure for them!
I hope for you and your
family many happy hours in the pool
this summer.
Regards
Faatin
2004/11/09
(See Faatin's Home
Owner's Nightmare Story at the bottom of this page!)
As for the problems you
have had, I will most definitely NOT be
using Penguin Pools for ANY work whatsoever. Just from the pics
and story alone one can see how unprofessional and tardy the workmanship is,
let alone the ridiculous philosophy of holding you to ransom. I am in the
market for a pool and started looking last week, I am
now going to wait to the new year (december holidays etc) and will completely
disregard Penguin as an option. You should sue this outfit for breach of
contract, negligence, costs, etc and more than likely you would gain
compensation. Absolutely shocking does not describe properly the events you
have encountered.
Hope the pool is right now.
ps, had been warned by a family member of the level of
service and workmanship beforehand, this simply adds weight to those opinions.
Take the buggers to court! Seems like you have a well
documented case.
Regards,
Steve
2004/11/08
I am about to spend about R35000 on a pool and will have some more info now with which to make decisions.
I inherited an old pool with the house I bought in Kenridge and, although I got the seller to warrant in the contract that it was structurally sound, it still leaks. Now I have to sue him to get any money out of him. Scary thing is that the onus is entirely on me to prove that he is wrong! Lawyers fees, my professional time, a summer without a swimming pool for us and our three kids etc etc.
Even more scary is that out of 8 so-called pool professionals, no two of them proposed the same remedy to fix the pool! Naturally each proposal involved a method for fixing it in which the proposer was a so-called expert.
Quotes varied between R12000 (for completely relining the pool) to R35000 for replacement. No discount was offered whatsoever for the fact that I already have the hole in the ground and the pump and pipework.
Final decision - redo the whole thing and put it in a better place. In the light of W/cape water restrictions I have also decided to install a smaller unit than the existing 9 x 4.5 m one.
Work will probably start in Feb/March 2005. Any comments and suggestions from other parties will be appreciated.
Regards
Arno McLeod
0833959010
2004/11/08
A "BIG THUMBS UP"
to you for having the nerve to take this matter to hand the way you have done.
This is the type of thing that needs to be done, to assist non-suspecting
public from being lured and caught in the spiders web.
I feel for what you went through as I know that my brother-in-law went through
exactly the same thing as what you did - step for step - except his pool was
fibreglass. The sales person was on the ball and promised the heaven and earth,
until the deal was signed on the dotted line. It would be safe to say that that
was probably the last time he heard from him. Promises made were just not kept.
It is much to long for me to go through all the details but the few that do
spring to mind are :
1) Just after they laid the pegs (just before they started digging), my
brother-in-law called Terry
to ask him to pop in because he wanted to shift (angle) the pool slightly, but
was politely told that he is too busy -
much to the contrary of what Terry's actions were, when this was requested of
him. before the deal was signed.
2) The vibracrete wall was dismantled in order for the free-flow of materials
and workers to take place, however, after weeks and weeks, was still not put together
- this was a problem for my brother-in-law, who had to keep his 3 dogs locked
up over the 3 to 4 month period.
3) Cement works were done on the grass with the clean-up of same left to the
house owner.
4) Telephone calls to the top man of the
This all transpired at a time when I was just about to install my pool and very
much liked the Penguin Pool shapes. Thank God I listened to my brother-in-law.
I have not looked back. I want to thank John and Kurt of Horison Pools for a
sterling job at installing my pool. Yes, we did have our problems between the 2
of us, but they were not problems that I can say were to blame from anything
that we did or anything that deteriated our relationship in any way and if ever
I had to install another pool, I would not hesitate to have one done by Horison
- in fact my brother-in-law has just built another house and is using Horison
Pools as his pool contractor. There pre-consultation services are excellent and
they are patient and professional, no matter how many times you want them to
come around and see you. When they say they will start, they do, and they do
the work quickly, and professionally. They too, have a pool contract, but if
compared with the likes of Penguin Pools or any of the other pool companies, it is clearly visible that these guys have the
utmost faith and confidence in their product and service, in order not to have
you sign a "novel" of a contract. They were also confident enough to
allow me to change the terms of payment to suit myself and were always going
the extra mile.
I do believe that ignorance in terms of not asking questions about whether
something is included or not is both the fault of the consumer as well as the
pool company, but one would think that after the amount of years some of these
guys have been in the pool installation game, that they would be the ones to
bring this to the forefront - which just makes you think that the fact that
they dont, is the reason why they earn the reputations that they do.
Good Luck - but a huge
big thumbs up to John and Kurt of Horison Pools - two years on my family and I
are still in 7th heaven over our pool and feel that it was the best investment
we made - Horison Pools are contactable on (021) 534 9010 or 082 772 6276
(John).
SATISFIED
2004/11/08
How refreshingly welcome, to find somebody highlighting & fighting the injustices meted out by our local pool industry!
We had a gunite pool built by “Anthony
Pools” (
They were full of hidden costs & excuses and eventually completed the pool in quadruple the timeframe given. Phone calls, faxes and threats of litigation does not even help obtaining a amicable resolution out them!
A word of advice: Most pool companies are members of the NSPI, whom undertake to resolve disputes between the public & it’s members, failing which, they appoint a new contractor to complete the pool. They too, are absolutely useless!! We’ve now sold our house & dread going through the same procedures with the next builders.
Regards,
C.
2004/11/08
Contractors in most sectors
of the building industry suck - but when it comes to pools we had a brilliant African guy who
broke away from a company he worked for for many years and started his own
business : at least 30 % cheaper and builds rock solid concrete pools. If
anybody needs his contact details,
E-mail me : simon@ct.stormnet.co.za
Well done for being pro-active : CONSUMERS RULE !!!!!!!
Simon
2004/11/08
Your timing is good. I am
about to get a pool and luckily did not think of Penguin.
Some useful contract info - thanks!
Kind regards
P.R.
2004/11/08
What a good idea to create
a winge notice board to warn other consumers what not to consume I would love
to add my piece about British Airways - they didnt deliver a
whole exhibition Scandinavia and I received an email saying I should relax and
have a nice massage and enjoy my holiday???? a whole years work trashed
Then Isuzu - another warning - very very expensive to run - R35000 everytime
the engine siezes- just because - ie not because there's no oil or because it
hasnt been serviced!
Anyway, hope you have a
lovely swim soon
J.U.
2004/11/08
Thank you very much. I built a new home and will put in a swimming pool as soon as the ground has settled. Now I know who not to contact.
R.M.
2004/11/08
Thanks for the information.....I have just forwarded to both my architect and builder as I am building in Boskloof at present and like you I will take no nonsense from these type of people who are currently cashing in on the boom!
Well done.... we need more people like you instead of just putting up with the poor standards of service.
P.K.
2004/11/07
Just to let you know that I
had similar experiences with Penguin Pools / "Pathetic Pools".
Well done!! By posting it out on the net, you have implemented something which
I have been meaning to do for a very long time.
I have however been dragging their name through the mud every opportunity I get
and one day I hope that they will attempt to sue me for libel (fat chance of
them winning with all the evidence that I accumulated and kept).
My bad experience started in May 2000 also in Somerset West and still continues
today. Besides all the other problems that still persist, I had a pool put in
but with all the air that goes through the system, it could be a Jacuzzi .
My sorry story consists of faxes, letters, logged telephone calls, threats,
counter threats etc, etc.
I have just received your email and will send you my story once I have put it
all together.
P.S. Don't you think that the "Penguin Institute" which is a Closed
Corporation by the way, is like putting the Fox in charge of the Hen House?
Regards
G.S.
2004/11/07
My experiences of the
(*sarcasm*) high levels of service in the
Getting a plumber out of the yellow pages to actually come out and do work is a nightmare. You would phone 6, 5 would be on voicemail, 3 would call back, 1 would have a sobby story why they cant help, and 2 promises to come out, after giving them lots of contact numbers, none show up. I ended up buying tools, and doing the plumbing myself (bathroom taps that broke off).
Building is another
nightmare, getting a builder to quote you is one thing, getting them to
actually show up at Any scheduled time is another!
I started building a +-15m front wall with galvanised fencing, (plans commited,
learned the hard way not to "pay up front" for materials, 1.5 years
later (finally!) i had the wall, after lots and lots of phonecalls and driving
around to builder's house to hear his sorry-ass excuses.
To be honest, i think its easier to FLY a
Dont even get me started with restaurants! I finally have a recipe that guarantees that you dont sit there for hours waiting on people: ask for menu's at their reception before you go in. When they usher you to your table, place your drink order Immediately, even with the person who ushers you in! Else you wont see anyone for at least 20 minutes. When they deliver your drinks, place your meal orders immediately, once finished, if they leave you unattended, stand up and go pay at the till.
My opinion of the
Anonymous
2004/11/07
Thank You
You really went out of your way to place it on the web.
Write to the newspapers and expose them .
L.
2004/11/07
You are not the first person I have heard these horror stories from!
Fortunately I already have a pool :)
Kind regards from
Heinz
2004/11/07
This is SPAM and you know it. Shame on you.
Gerrit
Webmaster:
Have we exposed you? ... or about to?
2004/11/07
I wish to commend you for the website you've put up exposing companies that provide atrocious service. Here's one more story for your collection.
My husband and i bought our first home about three months ago from GONA PILLAY PROPERTIES. One's first home is always an emotional purchase, and unfortunately we were "dubed" by the estate agency mentioned above.
I'll summarise the ordeal for you.
1) We signed the deed of sale with some conditions attached that needed to be completed PRIOR to transfer taking place.
2) The conditions were related to waterproofing of the roof.
3) When the attorney's were ready to walk into the deeds office to register the bond/house in our names, THE REPAIRS WERE NOT YET DONE. My husband and i then refused to give permission for the attorney's to go ahead until we'd heard from the estate agency or seller.
4) We were then furnished with an "undertaking" signed by the seller stipulating a date by which the repairs would be done (about a week later). Feeling "safer" we allowed the attorneys to proceed. BIG MISTAKE.
5) To date, NO REPAIRS HAVE BEEN DONE.
6) My husband and i have
since reported the matter to the estate agencies board AND THE SMALL
Some additional points to
thicken the plot:
Point one: The sellers identity was kept from us (the buyers) by GONA PILLAY
PROPERTIES. They even went so far as to remove that section of the deed of sale
(that
identifies the seller), when we requested a copy of the document! Why you may
ask? Well, because the seller was none other than GONA PILLAY HERSELF!! If you
know anything about the code of conduct for estate agencies, you will note that
this was misconduct of the highest degree.
Point two: We were sold the
house with a fully fitted alarm. Upon requesting the estate agency/seller to
activate it as previously agreed, THEY BLATANTLY REFUSED.
They deactivated it, so it was reasonable to assume they would re-activate
after we moved in. No way Jose! Instead, we called the armed response company
ourselves.
You'd think that was all. Instead we find that the alarm does not BELONG to us.
It turns out that GONA Pillay did NOT have the alarm installed (a previous
owner did), and
since that guy defaulted on the payments, the alarm company had every right to
literally REMOVE THE ALARM. Funny that GONA PILLAY PROPERTIES would then sell a
house WITH AN ALARM that didn't belong to them. So typical to CAPITALISE ON A
FEATURE IN A HOUSE that isn't really yours. MISREPRESENTATION
of the highest degree.
Point three: Nassan Pillay
(Gona Pillay's BROTHER) and managing member of the estate agency...sent three
"companies" to our property to check out the damages and
even graced us with he's presence one evening to inspect the claims we made! At
that visit, he was very "sympathetic' after noting the literally WEAPING
WALLS IN
THE MAIN BEDROOM and the 50 buckets in the roof! He told my husband that he
would get the seller's insurance to pay for the damages since the house was
insured AND that we should get quotes from companies that could give at least a
ten year guarentee (we of course comply with he's request as we did every other
request put to us).
Then, when it becomes clear that their insurance was not going to pay, Mr Pillay sends out two "handy" men, who could provide us with no guarentee and nor was Mr Pillay prepared to guarentee anything himself. After all, why should he provide any guarentees. The house no longer belonged to he's sister AND HE ALREADY HAD HE'S MONEY (so did she). Besides, why hold true to he's word. Words amount to nothing as far as he's concerned!
The extent of the damages to our home would cost a minimum of =-R5000 to fix (according to genuine quotes). Mr Pillay's Handy men wouldn't cost him more than R500. Why pay R5000 when you can pay R500 or less!
Point four: Upon our FINAL letter of demand being HAND delivered to GONA PILLAY PROPERTIES, by my husband, we have since gotten a call from SPRINGER NEL ATTORNEYS, who have been charged with the task of getting to teh bottom of this issue. Interestingly enough, the attorney tried to intimidate my husband by claiming that GONA PILLAY/PROPERTIES had a right to sue us for "criminal activities of some sorts" or whatever (can't remember he's exact words) because we posted a complaint on the "hello peter" website prior to going to the small claims court. I guess this will be another, "we said, they said" scenario.
As you can see/read...this has
been and CONTINUES TO BE A
future home buyers give this agency a miss.
Thank you Paul for giving me this opportunity to vent!
Best regards
Faatin
2004/11/09