Dundas Valley Pools

If I could have chosen zero stars, I would have. I purchased a home with a pool. The previous owners hired DVP to install a new liner prior to us moving in. They day we moved in, the pool was half full-it's clear there was a major leak. It took about a week via text messages for Dan to address the issue. He sent me a YouTube video of the "bucket test". I emphasized that I was losing approx 8-12 inches of water every 24 hrs, but he never replied. Eventually in trying to reach him, I came across a Google instant message feature. I mentioned all my attempts to reach him and my leak problem. He emailed shortly thereafter (I know now that those messages were public, so he was trying to salvage his reputation). He didn't ever get back to me, but instead sent a contracted Leak Detector (Leak Detectives). The "repair" to the leaks can barely be called that. If I can't attach a picture, imagine 2 holes covered with chewed bubble gum that barely covers the area. That was the "fix." When my pool continued to leak, both myself and the previous owners tried to reach him multiple times. He was ignoring all text messages, voicemails, emails etc. It got to the point that we were both reaching out to him multiple times a day, every day. It took me 6 weeks to finally reach him, and it was only after I threatened legal action and negative reviews. He came to look at the leaks. He dipped his head into my pool, rubbed some caulking over the area, and said that would hold until he could come back to patch it.

Canadian Leak Detection came the next day (Buds Pools and Spas sent them. I hired them for service when Dan was avoiding my correspondence). They said the only way to permanently fix the leak was vinyl welding. Dan had suggested a patch kit from his truck.

When I asked him to pay for the 2nd leak detection (since he would have paid to send his own contractor for a follow-up, had he answered my calls), and for the vinyl welding (if he couldn't offer a fix more permanent than a patch kit), he stopped answering my texts again.

I will never use this company again, and I plan to share my story with everyone I can so nobody else has to experience this frustration and lack of service. He has some nice looking work on his website, but based on my experience, I wouldn't be surprised if it was shoddy work. (FYI, the new liner he installed has wrinkles in it and is drooping from the coping in various places. It's warranted for him to fix at closing, but I will have someone else do it and send him the bill through my lawyer).

I was not the person who originally hired him, so I don't know what gave the previous owners the confidence to choose his company. What I do know, is that he is unable to deal with conflict or controversy in a professional manner. I've been very reasonable and tempered in my communications. His reason for not getting back to me was that he's been busy this pool season and he can't keep track of his messages (even if this were true, that's not a great way to run a business). I know this is BS because the text I sent with the word "lawyer" received a reply within 5 minutes.

I could honestly write pages more detailing our interactions, my impressions and experiences, but I'd like to take some time to post this on other review sites before anyone else gets duped by him.

Seems to me he's a guy who knows enough about pools to have started and expanded his small business, but in no other way was he prepared for the actual business side of running a company. He can't cope with problems, so he ignores them.

Do not hire:

Unprofessional
Poor Workmanship
Horrible Communication
Unreliable
Evasive

These traits explain the competitive pricing he offers. Trust me-you get what you pay for. Dish out your $$$ to a competent and trusted company up front. If you go with Dundas Valley Pools, you might end up spending that "saved" amount, anyway, as you try to "put out all the fires" he started.