Active since Nov 2017
We saw an ad in the Express for pools. We wanted to have a pool in our garden and there was a special for end of January: pool with free lapa. We called in a few companies for quotes and after some deliberations we settled for the one with the free lapa. We contacted the company on the ad found in the newspaper. Then we got the person to come visit us to discuss the future prospects. They came from East London. We did not have to pay a cent until they had dug the hole completely. then we had to pay 40% down. The next step was the concrete and marble-lite. They did that very quickly. They asked for payment after the pool was concreted. They wanted another 40% then. I objected as I asked where was the marble-lite. They told me to reread the contract and that the 40% was due after the cementing and not the marble-lite. I went to check the contract and indeed, it said that the 40% was due after the cementing. I was really put out. I asked them when they would start the lapa. They said that they would start the next week once payment was done. I paid the next 40%. Then we had bad weather for a few days so no work was done. We waited 4 days and no one came. Then we had good weather but still no one came. We phoned and could not get through on the phone or on emails. Two workers came the next day and hung around waiting for their bosses. My son just asked them to remove the piles of soil that were around the pool while they waited for their bosses. They worked all morning and removed one pile of rubble. Then they phoned their bosses and the bosses moaned at them for having come to work. They were told that they were to go home and that they would be told when to come back. They never came back. We believe that they never got paid for that morning's work. They had no idea like us that they were scammed. After a few days we realised that we had been scammed and left high and dry. It is a sick feeling that gets a hold of you. We opened a case by going to the police station. We went to the bank where we had deposited the money. The account was cleaned out immediately after our deposit. Fortunately we have photos as I took photos of every stage of the pool's progress. We have photos of the 2 mastermind and the workers. We have a contract with an address and banking details.
After having been scammed once already and having a cemented gaping hole in my back garden, I contacted another company, namely Dolphin Pools in Port Elizabeth, owned by Darrell Flemming. He assured me with keenness and confidence that he would give me a sparkling sky blue pool. He knew full well that he was taking over an incomplete job from scammers. He promised me that I could count on him finishing the job. He took a while to come and then came sporadically to do the odd job. My son asked to deepen the pool so we had to pay an extra R6,000 which he did. Then he had attitude with my children while I was overseas and he refused to come back and finish the job. I went personally to his house with a friend and spoke about the problem. He agreed to come finish the pool but only came a few more times and left the paving unfinished. He was supposed to marbelite my pool and all I got were empty promises and a complete shutdown in communication. When I eventually got hold of him he asked for more money. I had paid him 75% of the quote as requested and the last 25% was only due on completion to my satisfaction. I am far from satisfied as the marbelite is not there and he said he did the paving instead of that so he settled for 2 coats of blue paint that was not even damp-proofed. I now have a pool that is brown and white and blue in patches because he cut corners. I now have to get a third company to fix up his mess and finish the work. THIS HAS BEEN A NIGHTMARE AND VERY STRESSFUL AND COSTLY. I am a widow and my family is arriving from overseas for Christmas and this pool is a total disaster. Do not use DOLPHIN POOLS AS HE IS A SCAMMER AND A FRAUD. My contact number is ********** 020.
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