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bradley787

I need some advice please

17 years ago

I recently had a 'company' come out and do some pond remodeling for me. The initial meeting went very well, then it was down hill. I gave him half the money up front. Long story short, he basically failed to show up, and when he did, he only did so to drop of a day labor person that managed to tell me in broken English the he himself didn't do pond work. After enough problems, I simply told him to not come back.

Here's my new problem. I hired another company for fix and finish the prior company's goofs. Well, these guy are very nice, prompt, and are doing their very best, but their work has leaks. There's a leak in a hose connection and a separate leak they describe to me as a pin hole leak. They have told me this isn't a problem because they have directed the leaks to run into the pond. For the most part they are, but there is some pooling at the leak areas. I know I will rapidly lose water at these evaporation points and told the guy. He's getting very impatient and said all ponds are going to have evaporation. Ok, sure they will, but if the leaks they created are the source of the problem I think they should fix it.

They are making me out to be difficult to please, but all of my complaints are about their leaks. They are tired of taking the stacked rocks and attempting to fix leaks so they basically just say let it run into the pond.

I'm not happy with that and they want their money. What do I do?

Comments (14)

  • 17 years ago

    Wow!
    First, it's not normal to have leaks. Especially leak in your hose, which should be relatively easy to fix. It sounds like the company you hired lacks basic knowledge of ponds. Is there a contract involved? Does it specify the work to be done? I would not accept a leaking water flow system as a satisfactory job.

    A pin hole leak is easy to patch, but I would demand replacement if you are paying for new equipment. It could mean that the hose is old or defective

    Many people on this forum construct and maintain their ponds. You can get advice on just about anything you would like to do if your interested in DIY.

    I would probable compromise with the company and have them fix the leaks to your satisfaction, or discount the job because it was not completed.

  • 17 years ago

    Dear Bradley,

    Leaks are not acceptable. They cost money in water loss, and they jepardize the integrity of your pond walls because leaks cause the pond walls to collapse over time.

    So first I would try to nicely ask the company to fix the leaks and I will be satisfied. If not resolved I will tell them they have the choice to fix the leaks or I will contact my Credit Card Company and ask for a charge back, file a complaint with the BBB and the Attorey General,and file a claim (for $75) in small claims court, list them on Angie's list and on Rip Off Reports,ect. Then I would follow thru.

    And after that I would try to find the leak myself and fix it.

    Best of luck.
    Lisa

  • 17 years ago

    You are not alone in getting less than you expect from some companies. I hope you are not out a lot of money. While I wouldn't go quite as far as Lisa as a first step I would make it clear they need to correct the problem if they want the rest of their money. I am a 65 year old lady who put in her own plumbing and it doesn't leak. What kind of pipe or hose are they putting in? The time to check for leaks is before they stack the rocks, not after.
    I have had to deal with a number of contractors and as long as there is a contract there are few problems unless they are just totally swamped with too many jobs. This is a fairly common problem and most contractors will make an effort but even the good ones can have a memory lapse if you sign off before they have completed the job to the specifications in the contract. Still, things can go wrong that no one ever expected and those require a new and separate agreement. But these leaks aren't that kind of thing. If there is no contract, you may be out of luck but they may be out of luck as well if you hold on to the cash. Sandy

  • 17 years ago

    Thanks for the responses. I sent them a nice (long) email last night asking them to come back and repair the leaks and forget about restacking the rocks and I would pay them $100 of the $400 I owe them. The main guy working on it called me early this morning and has agreed to replace the entire hose with a new one, ensure there are no leaks, and restack the rocks, if I pay the full balance. I agreed to this with the stipulation that he do it on Saturday when I am home. I think it's fair and he seemed very polite and courteous.

    I'll post the email if y'all are interested.

  • 17 years ago

    Bradley, I am sorry you had to go thru all this BS. Judging by your last post I think things are starting to look up? BUT I wouldn't just hand him the money Sat when they are done..first, make sure you watch them the whole time, and make sure they KNOW you are watching. They will do a better job if they know you are out there keeping your eye on them. They know you know where the problems are, and if you don't see them tend to something that needs attention, dont be shy about saying..hey, I noticed you didn't do this, or that.
    Make sure all the problems are taken care of BEFORE you pay them the remaining balance. I, honestly, would tell the guy, I'll pay you the balance in say, 5 days..after I have time to have it running and make sure all the probs were taken care of properly, if not, they have to come back and fix it till it's right. I would write up this agreement and have him sign it..if he's not willing to sign it, well..that'd be trouble in my book. Is there a written agreement from the beginning of this project? If so, you need to look into that..I hope you didnt sign anything without reading the whole thing first, though it's so easy to do, you want to trust these people, and we should be able to, it's a shame we can't all the time. I wouldnt pay for something done half-assed. You hired them to do this job so that it is done RIGHT..leaks are NOT good, even a little pinhole leak. Yeah, evap is normal, its a given..but NOT leaks, thats totally different. True they are easy to fix yourself, but this was what they were hired for, there are no excuses in my book. They claim to be professionals, so that is what is expected of them, and they should live up to it, period.
    My opinion is that you don't pay the remainder of what is owed until the job is satisfactory..NO leaks.
    Is this a liner pond? I am a little concerned that if they used tubing that wasn't satisfactory, what kind of liner did they use? I hope this ends well, and quickly for you so you can enjoy your new pond!!! BTW..we'll be expecting pix! :)

  • 17 years ago

    Hi daniellalell,

    Thanks for your reply. This is an existing pond, a little over a year old. The hose is from the skimmer to the waterfall. When I went home at lunch the day they were working on it one of the guys told me that it was one complete hose connected from the pump to the waterfall. Well, that afternoon the worker guy called me and said he thought there was a leak at the waterfall. (That was last Friday!) On Sat. I proceeded to take down all the rocks and find the source of the 2 leaky areas, which I did very quickly. I noticed the ONE hose was not, in fact, one hose/tube, it was two hoses, with a leaky coupling/joint thing. This leak was not a trickle either. The other leak was massive. The water was flowing over the waterfall, catching in the liner below (which was covered with rocks) and flowing back under the waterfall out of the pond deep in the ground under the waterfall). I estimate I lost about 100 gallons of water that day!

    I will be present on Saturday and I will not release any money until I am satisfied. I really wanted to do the job myself but I don't really have the muscle, know how and most importantly, the tools!

    In the end, I'm feeling guardedly confident that this will all turn out ok.

    I would post pics, but I swear it NEVER works for me.

  • 17 years ago

    I find it very interesting they used a coupler rather than replace the tubing. A coupler and two hose clamps for 2 inch tubing would cost about 5 to 6 dollars. I have purchased solid 20 foot rubber hose or tubing and it ran about $25 on sale. It would be about the same for flexible rubber tubing unless they are using the lesser quality plastic sump drain tubing which can be had for around $5 for 20 feet. At a careless glance, they look about the same but the sump drain tubing has much thinner walls and is not designed to handle anything under pressure. It will blow out. Then you have the hose clamps and the connectors (which can be pricey if you use the two piece male connectors that screw on and off). All of that tubing can be purchased by the foot at some suppliers and pricing varies. It would be very odd if new rubber hose had a leak.
    Interesting. Sandy

  • 17 years ago

    Dear Sir,

    I have a aquatic plant whose roots are in water and i don't know the name of that plant. so where i found the image or website of these type of plants. i m waiting for your reply.
    You are also reply me on my e-mail adreess
    mqasimuddin@hotmail.com

    Regards
    Qasimuddin Khan

  • 17 years ago

    Quasi, click on the link below.
    "Horton"

    Here is a link that might be useful: Aquatic plants.

  • 17 years ago

    I hope everything is getter better Bradley. Please keep us updated on what happens. Have you ever worked with this company before? Did they install your pond? Have there ever been any issues with the pond before this? Keep your chin up- Everything will work out the way it it supposed to.

  • 17 years ago

    Update please?!

  • 17 years ago

    I'm so sorry for not updating. Well things went from bad to worse. Truly. I have had to hire a third company to come out, next week, and rectify the problem. What is happening is under the waterfall there appears to he a leak which is causing the ground to erode into the pond. I place batting in the skimmer DAILY and take pictures DAILY that the batting is solid mud after being in the pond for even as few as 5 hours. During the day I have to leave the pump off because sometimes the batting gets so thick with YUCK that it starts to block the water flow and the pump starts that dreaded gurgling noise. The noise that you know your pump is about to blow if it doesn't get water.

    The other day, the batting was so thick with the sludge that it forced it into the pump intake, ripping the material holding the batting. Fortunately I heard this and turned it off and pulled the material out of the pump intake.

    I have taken over 100 pictures of the slow erosion and sludged batting. I sent a notice to the company via certified mail on the 18th, requesting full refund within 10 days. I received the green card back today. If I have not received pmt. by the 11th day I will file suit in small claims court.

    If anyone has EXCELLENT instructions for posting photos, I will post some for you.

    Thank you so much for caring. It's been really upsetting. I know there are worse things in the world, but something this simple shouldn't have to be so hard.

    Every single day, I cut squares of batting and put it in the pond after removing the sludgy one. It's become a routine, like having morning coffee.

    I've put off buying plants because this new company is wanting to drain most of the pond to get to the bottom of the problem. No pun intended. I'm scared to move my fish, but it will have to be done. I even think one is about to spawn. That's another post.

    Sorry so long,

    Jennifer

  • 17 years ago

    Hang in there! Once this is fixed you'll have pond labor amnesia...you'll forget the pain and love your pond!!!lol!

  • 17 years ago

    Ha~ my bank account doesn't have amnesia!