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Call Kurtis: Pool Of Disagreement

This is a classic case of "he said, he said." The customer blames the business and the business blames the customer.

So what's going on here?

"It was wonderful, loved it," says Bob Dixon, Carmichael resident.

At first, Bob enjoyed the pool he paid Advanced Pools $31,000 to install. This goes way back to 2006. But by the spring of 2007, he says the concrete pad that holds his pool pumps, started sinking in the soil.

"The equipment pad had tipped and caused a leak," says Bob.

Advanced Pools replaced the pad but advised Bob the drainage system in his yard was the problem and that he'd be responsible for correcting that.

But since then, Bob says he's had problems with everything from the sweep to a leaky light fixture.

The company says they took care of those, even though they didn't have to, out of good customer service. Now four years after the project started, Bob thinks his pool is leaking.

"I'm concerned that either the pool could sink or pop out of the ground," says Bob.

Hovering over this entire project is the fact the year-long building permit expired back in 2007, before the county inspector could sign off on the pool.

"It was ready for its inspection," says Rick Legnon, President of Advanced Pools.

Legnon says way back in October 2006, well before the permit expired, he scheduled the inspection with the building department, but the inspector couldn't find Bob's house.

Although getting a project approved is the contractor's responsibility, Advanced Pools says Bob has ignored these three letters to reschedule the inspection.

"We sent a series of letters to him, saying you have to grant us access," says Legnon.

This past June, Bob paid more than $600 to renew his permit and the county inspector finally came out to inspect his pool.

The inspector found some landscaping issues and noted a possible leak.

"It's hard to figure out who's responsible," says Rick Lopes, Spokesperson with the Contractors State License Board.

Lopes says with so much time elapsed it's tough to pinpoint who's to blame for what. But if this doesn't get resolved, the building inspector could place a lien against the property.

"If they ever try to sell that property, there's going to be a cloud on that title," says Lopes.

This remains a mess.

As for that leak, since we've gotten involved, the company has been out five times looking for it. They can't find it.

Bob refuses to hire a third party company to search for the leak. He did file a complaint with the Contractors Board several years back, the state dismissed the case in 2008 for insufficient evidence.

At this point, if he thinks he can prove his case, he could always take the contractor to court.

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