Artistic Pools

Spoke with Co-owner, Penny Woods, with Artistic Pools, 22842 FM 2767, Kilgore Texas 75662, by phone and she really talk up their pool service and their installs. How great their pools are, no complaints and how many years her boyfriend, Tom Garza, also Owner of Artistic Pools, had been installing pools for over 15 yrs. It was agreed by our contract that I pay in 3 payments. First payment before work begins, second payment when water is ready to go in the pool and third and final payment when the job is complete. However, that did not happen and before the water went in, I was asked to pay my second payment early because Penny Woods and Tom Garza, had to pay his brother and their worker early. Explaining they were in a bind because they pay them on a daily basis. I felt it was out of line for any pool company to ask that of any customer and that the contract was a key instrument to the agreement. I went ahead and paid the second payment early because I felt sorry for Penny because it was then explained to me they were just starting out in their own business. Not the intial info I received the first time I spoke with Artistic Pools. Apparently, Tom Garza, worked for him self or someone else for years and decided to move on, or something. It was then I realized after my back yard was plowed up I was probably making a huge mistake using Artistic Pools. Before the work even took place, Artistic Pools was having troubles getting a tractor to even start the ground work. That should have been my fiest sign. I had conversation with Penny Woods about my husband and I needing to get a tractor to do some clearing on our property of trash and trees that was left here when we bought the house just 2 yrs earlier, so Penny Woods asked if I would go in halves for a tractor if Tom Garza used the tractor to push up some of the trash pile, and I agreed. While I got tired of waiting for the ground work to begin, and Tom Garza and his workers were gone somewhere else, I noticed they had the pool location completely wrong, so I remarked it myself. When the tractor work finally began, they dug up my septic tank, destroying it and I had to pay out of pocket additional money to get that repaired and relocated. Needless to say I did not pay half of the tractor use after they destroyed our septic tank, and I felt the tractor use was part of their job from the get go and not mine. I would think any pool company would own their own tractor period and how they did accuire it was not my responsabilty. Before the job even got started I told Penny Woods to tell the workers do not throw cigerette butts or trash on my ground and that went no where and their were butts and trash were everywhere. Every evening I went out and pick up their mess. About 2 weeks into a 1 week job, I wasn't home and Penny Woods calls telling me Tom went home early for the day and he wanted me to go ahead and turn the water off at a certain level. When I went to check the water level I noticed the liner on the left side was falling in, Penny says turn off the water and Tom will deal with it the next morning. Next day, Tom and his helpers worked on it some but they left again. I noticed the liner was still falling in and way off center leaving the liner pattern totally off visisually and wrinkled and gathered on the opposite side, this leaving the pool bottom rough and unsmooth for future vacuuming. Penny tells me Tom will be back out shortly and for me to put the submergable pump back in the pool and make sure I turn it if it gets hot while pumping out water. Well, Tom Garza shows up the next morning. Argument breaks between Tom and I to say the least and he doesn't think there's anything wrong with the liner. The agreement in our contract was the above ground pool would be placed as an on-ground pool, and that the dirt be pushed back up around the pool neatly. Tom Garza informs me he did not want to push the dirt up any longer because the tractor rental hours was used up to clean the septic he broke and he could not afford the tractor again. I had to demand it to be done. When Tom Garza does get a tractor somehow, myupright pool framing rails/supports were pumped by the tractor leaving noticable dents on the outer pool frame. Summary; my liner end up having over 8 holes in it because they ruined it when they installed it the first 2 times uneven and over stretching it, the basket in the skimmer was too small and causing debris to go into the pump and filter, bottom of my pool has a 2x4 or something under it that sticks up to this day and my pool vac will not vac over it and gets stuck there so I have to babysit my my automatic pool vac because it cant be left alone, the deep end of my pool has so many wrinkles the vac gets stuck on them as well, the pump and filter were put on the wrong end of the pool, hence now my future deck area has to be changed just to avoid the pump noise. I was told the pool was used but in great shape, almost new they promised! The pool is not new, in fact it is a Doughboy that's estimated to be over 15 yrs old. I was told there was no rust on it and it is covered in rust. I have pics to prove everything I have stated. Please avoid Artisic Pools it's not worth the risk, and confirm the owners names incase they change their company name.