Formal complaints from homeowners, with partially completed Aqua Pool and Spa swimming pools, reached 84 on Thursday according to the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) staffers in Sacramento.
Of those 84, twenty-five were in San Joaquin County, 14 in Stanislaus County, 13 in Contra Costa County and 12 in Sacramento County. Other counties from Yuba to Solano, Alameda and Calaveras had between one and seven complaints each.
Prior to opening its majestic showrooms on Moffat Boulevard near Highway 99, where it intersects with Austin Road, Aqua Pool and Spa was located in Ripon. It was first in the city’s industrial park and later on Milgeo Avenue.
Chief of public affairs for the state licensing board, Rick Lopes, said Thursday that it was his understanding that a contractor such as a pool builder is required to have a city license for each city where it contracts business.
Lopes said his office had finally made contact with Aqua officers Richard Lee Townsend and his son Bryan by telephone Tuesday afternoon. They were two of the four officers listed on the contractor’s license as well as Julio Rangel, a son-in-law.
Lopes noted that on Aug. 9 Rangel and the younger Townsend had disassociated themselves from the firm’s license and applied for a separate license to presumably open a pool business under another name.
“On one hand we’re giving the company the opportunity to make good with their customers. Part of our concern is with the homeowners,” he said. “As long as they are technically still in operation, we want them to give the homeowners a release (from further obligation),” he said.
However the release, that has been penned by the firm, offers a resolution not just for the customer, but for the pool building firm, as well – releasing them from any contractual obligation, he said.
Lopes said that he is suggesting that home owners contact their attorney before signing anything that would release Aqua Pool from its responsibilities.
The CSLB is continuing to urge consumers who have an active contract with Aqua Pool and Spa to file an online complaint if they have reason to believe they may have been harmed by the company.
Pool service contracts have been assumed by Barry Walker of Vintage Pool Supplies and More located in a small industrial area beneath the KAT Country-103 water tower facing Highway 99 a half mile to the south.
The name is similar to “Pool Supplies and More” that was adjacent to the Aqua Pool and Spa building on Moffat Boulevard. The newly established business purchased more than half a dozen service trucks from the pool builder before it closed its doors and hired 18 of his employees.
One customer from a Bay Area community complained that he had a multi-year agreement with the pool company to service his pool on a monthly basis. He said he had been contacted by letter from the new pool maintenance company that assumed the service contracts spelling out that they would have to charge for service – not being able to honor Aqua’s paid up contract.
Of those 84, twenty-five were in San Joaquin County, 14 in Stanislaus County, 13 in Contra Costa County and 12 in Sacramento County. Other counties from Yuba to Solano, Alameda and Calaveras had between one and seven complaints each.
Prior to opening its majestic showrooms on Moffat Boulevard near Highway 99, where it intersects with Austin Road, Aqua Pool and Spa was located in Ripon. It was first in the city’s industrial park and later on Milgeo Avenue.
Chief of public affairs for the state licensing board, Rick Lopes, said Thursday that it was his understanding that a contractor such as a pool builder is required to have a city license for each city where it contracts business.
Lopes said his office had finally made contact with Aqua officers Richard Lee Townsend and his son Bryan by telephone Tuesday afternoon. They were two of the four officers listed on the contractor’s license as well as Julio Rangel, a son-in-law.
Lopes noted that on Aug. 9 Rangel and the younger Townsend had disassociated themselves from the firm’s license and applied for a separate license to presumably open a pool business under another name.
“On one hand we’re giving the company the opportunity to make good with their customers. Part of our concern is with the homeowners,” he said. “As long as they are technically still in operation, we want them to give the homeowners a release (from further obligation),” he said.
However the release, that has been penned by the firm, offers a resolution not just for the customer, but for the pool building firm, as well – releasing them from any contractual obligation, he said.
Lopes said that he is suggesting that home owners contact their attorney before signing anything that would release Aqua Pool from its responsibilities.
The CSLB is continuing to urge consumers who have an active contract with Aqua Pool and Spa to file an online complaint if they have reason to believe they may have been harmed by the company.
Pool service contracts have been assumed by Barry Walker of Vintage Pool Supplies and More located in a small industrial area beneath the KAT Country-103 water tower facing Highway 99 a half mile to the south.
The name is similar to “Pool Supplies and More” that was adjacent to the Aqua Pool and Spa building on Moffat Boulevard. The newly established business purchased more than half a dozen service trucks from the pool builder before it closed its doors and hired 18 of his employees.
One customer from a Bay Area community complained that he had a multi-year agreement with the pool company to service his pool on a monthly basis. He said he had been contacted by letter from the new pool maintenance company that assumed the service contracts spelling out that they would have to charge for service – not being able to honor Aqua’s paid up contract.