PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — WPTV Contact 5 stepped in when a Port St. Lucie woman called, concerned she could be the next victim of a pool scam.
WPTV has told you about several pool companies on the Treasure Coast that are being investigated by law enforcement agencies for taking thousands of dollars from people and never finishing their pools.
Contact 5 is now hearing from people who have had their pools installed, but then noticed big problems immediately.
"It's just been a nightmare," said Donna Mandelko, who lives in Port St. Lucie.
Mandelko's $75,000 pool was completed by Premier Pools on Memorial Day. She told WPTV that before taking her first swim, she noticed something wasn’t right.
"They filled up the pool and three days after that we noticed that the water levels started dropping," Mandelko said.
Mandelko showed our cameras a crack at the bottom of the pool that she thinks is to blame.
"Every single day, I am having to put water in this pool,” Mandelko said. “So now what is happening is all the water where this crack is going somewhere and now it’s caused our travertine, which is close to our foundation, to start dropping.”
Mandelko told WPTV she’s been waiting for the Stuart company to come out and fix that issue for about a week, along with a laundry list of other problems including safety rails that haven’t been finished and a leaking pump.
Mandelko told WPTV the pool failed inspection because of it.
“You know, you wanted something that was going to be nice. You can relax and enjoy and they’ve taken that away from me,” Mandelko said.
Contact 5 called the owner of Premier Pools several times on Wednesday. The owner didn’t get back to us right away. But he called Mandelko back right after we called and told her all of the issues would be fixed.
The owner called Contact 5 back on Thursday morning, saying supply chain issues and a plaster shortage are really slowing his crews down.
Experts said supply chain issues are a big problem right now for a lot of companies.
“There are still significant restrictions and lockdowns in China. So as long as you need a product that has to come on a port, plane, boat, or a crane or a truck, from China, it’s going to be delayed, that just a reality,” said Carl Gould, a finance expert with 7 Stage Advisors.
Thursday morning, a crew showed up at Mandelko’s home and she said they’ve begun making repairs.