Poor quality work and no communication

In May 2020, we contacted Seven Seas Pool Services via email for a quote on fixing our pool, which included: Remarblite, new mosaics, chop pool, acid wash and filter. We were quoted R18 000 for the job and accepted. The job was scheduled to begin on 2 July 2020.

Our primary contact person was Natasha, who was not responding timorously to email communications, and subsequently requested that we communicate with her via WhatsApp, which we did. We subsequently experienced poor customer service, poor communication and the final quality of the work done was very poor.

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE & QUALITY OF WORK: 2 months after completing the remarbliting of the pool, which had a 7 year warranty, multiple cracks and bubbles appeared all over the newly marblited pool, and water started leaking rapidly out of it. This poor quality of work, was also after a process where the quality of service was poor.

The job was scheduled to begin on 2 July 2020, and we received no further communication or confirmation. At 09h00 on 2 July, we Whatsapped Natasha to ask what time the team would be arriving, and she confirmed for 11h00. By 11h00 the team still had not arrived, and so at 11h15, we Whatsapped Natasha, and she then requested that the team begin the following day (3 July 2020). The team arrived and began working on 3 July, but experienced multiple delays as a result of faulty equipment. The job was mostly completed by 7 July 2020, but there were a number of issues with the completed work that we noted and raised with Natasha, including: 1. a hole in the new marble, 2. a leak in the newly installed pump, 3. the water inlet had been re-installed skew, and 4. the staff had left a mess all over the brick surrounding the pool.

These were, with extensive following up on our side, eventually resolved by 30 July 2020, and involved an insurance claim on the pump. During quoting on the pump (6 August 2020), we were ill advised (by Seven Seas Pools) on fitting a 1.1kw pump, which (if we didn't check for ourselves), would have cracked the 2 bag filter that they insisted was right for our pool and which was newly installed by them. After significant back and forth, they corrected their mistake, and said that a 0.75kw pump was actually the right one, but then took much effort (prompting from our side, following a lack of communication from the pool company) to get assistance with the installation, which was paid for.

On 6 November 2020 (approximately 4 months after the remarblite, which was given a 7 year warranty), cracks appeared in the marblite and water started leaking out the pool rapidly. We contacted Natasha the following day (7 November 2020) requesting assistance, and she asked us to check the pool pump and plumbing, which we did. We asked that one of their staff come out to have a look, and she agreed to this, but said all of the staff were busy. Eventually, after much following up, one of the pool team staff came to see the pool on 24 November 2020 (over 2 weeks after the cracks developed). The staff member said that he would discuss the issue with Natasha and that she would get back to us. It took two days of us trying to get in touch with Natasha, to get feedback from her, and on 26 November, she explained that the cracks were not their fault and rather due to structural damage, and so they were not prepared to fix the cracks in the marblite. Further cracks in the marblite have continued to develop since, as well as bubbling along the walls of the marblite.

On 27 November, Ephraim Mdonkwane of Ephraim Pool Services came to have a look at the pool, and noted that not enough marbilite was used for the job. He said that the reason cracks were appearing was because the marbiliting was too thin, and if an adequate amount of marblite was used, there would not have been cracks and bubbling.

We continued to request assistance from Natasha, even in the form of at least fixing cracks and she refused, saying that the cracks were not their problem. When the issue of the warranty on the marblite was raised, she said that they still wouldn't fix the marblite because it would just crack again.

POOR COMMUNICATION: With regards to communication, we had multiple challenges beginning after we had accepted the quote and paid the initial deposit for the work. There was very little communication about when and what was happening at the various stages, unless it was initiated from our side, and it usually involved multiple messages and calls to get a response. This was particularly after all money for the job had been paid. The attached chats show evidence of the delays in Whatsapp responses throughout November and early December, but not of the issues with phone calls that I would like to raise.

When we were struggling to get a response from Natasha on Whatsapp, and were desperately trying to resolve the issue of the cracks, because thousands of litres of water was leaking out the pool, we tried to communicate with Natasha telephonically. She ignored our phone calls intentionally, which we realised when we called from another number and she answered. Upon answering and realising it was us trying to get some kind of resolution, she would then ignore that number. When we called from a different number, she would then answer and when realising it was us, would again make excuses and stop responding to calls from that number. This was a pattern over about 6 weeks (from reporting the cracks in the marblite until mid-December).

All we wanted was to try and resolve the issue, but her lack of response to our emails and Whatsapps and avoidance of our many calls from multiple numbers made it very difficult to do so. There has since been no resolution.