Pool construction

[NGE]

Blue Haven have requested and been supplied with contact details for Fingerscrossed and wishful thinking.

[Fingerscrossed]

Update

I had the sales rep from BH drop in today to clear up any concerns with me personally. Didn't know he was turning up just received a knock on the door. Took only a few minutes to clear things and then we just chatted about other non related pool stuff for a while. Quite a nice chap.

Reason I am posting is that there is alot of negative feedback on this site which is understandable due to the nature of the site however you don't see much positive feedback. I was very negative towards BH before I even made contact with them. Now I feel very comfortable and excited at the same time.
This is more than likely going to be my last post for a while because I have sorted out any concerns I had and I am now waiting for the approval process before they start building.
I will update during the building process.

Word of advise to anyone that is building a pool. Get everything in writing and don't assume anything. This way every thing is clear from the start and there is no misunderstandings. I work in the manufacturing industry and the contract that BH use, uses quite standard clauses. Contracts are to protect both parties. It can be daunting signing a contract but remember that you have a 5 working day cooling off period. This gives you 5 days to show the contract to your solicitor or study it and have any issues cleared up.

BH have addressed all my concerns very promptly.

I am not affiliated with BH in anyway nor do I know anyone from BH (Except the sale rep that has come out twice)

I live in the Narellan area and I am happy to chat to people when construction starts.

I compliment BH on their service so far.

Fingerscrossed

[Oneday1]

I first posted back in July 2009 after waiting over 3 years for BH to build me a pool without any, what i would call, significant problems. (e.g leaking pool, solar installed on wrong side of roof, forgetting to install a skimmer box, drummy coping .. the list of problems is too long to go on with here and dont start me on the minor problems like no vaccuum point). I have played along with the resolution process every step of the way, taking dates and notes of everything. 4 years on, and BH have not complied with OFT nor CTTT orders and we still do not have a pool we can swim in. If I stand on an angle and squint, I can sometimes make myself believe we have the resemblance of a pool. Unfortunately reality kicks in all too soon and i need to resort to looking at the brochure because i feel that is as close as i am ever going to get to having my dream pool.
I have even tried to get quotes from several (10) other pool builders to fix my pool (at our own expense) but when they find out its a BH pool, they decline. I assume, because they dont know what else they will uncover and dont want to warranty BH's work.
BH have not only ruined my dream but have made it impossible to sell my house or enjoy living in it. Remonda, i hope you read this to possibly gain some insight into the real cost to your customers. I feel totally defeated and cheated.
For those of you with good experiences with BH, you honestly should count your blessings and realise how very very lucky you are. For those of you unlucky majority (it seems), you really have my sympathy.

[jaspertd]

<Quote>

Posted: 24 Jan 10 01:47
Post subject: Pool construction
Organisation name: Blue Haven Pools
Issue type: Comment
Blue Haven has requested and been supplied with contat details for jaspertd.

We look forward to an update.

<Quote>

Well here is an update.....

Got the tiling done and the fence up on Friday last week. Rendering done on retaining wall. Just need the inside finishing.

We have not heard from Blue Haven (my details left with NGE are correct) except to ask for the last payment via the building supervisor. In fact has anyone whose details have been "requested and been supplied" actually heard from them? To be fair I haven't actually tried to contact BH- RM directly. Its a bit difficult to ring the office and ask to speak to the guy who has my details from NGE.

In terms of the payment, I think I'll be waiting until the pool is actually finished. I plan to have it independently inspected too, although I am actually pretty sure all will be well as I thing the building supervisor is actually one of the good guys.

On reflection, the thing I really think was deceptive was the change to structural walkways. The walkways were actually designed in a way that they required piers, yet these were not quoted at the time of the walkways. It was left as "does not include piers if required". But they were required by design!

I'll let you all know how we go...

[Fingerscrossed]

Received an email from BH with my pools plans saying that they are being submitted to council.

BH have not wasted any time so far. This is great for me because I have time restraints on vehicle access to my property.

[kadee]

After the way the poor rep was treated here I reckon NGE will be lucky to hear from them again.

noses, spite and faces.

[Fingerscrossed]

Kadee

I hope that is not the case. When I had a question about my contract I phoned Remonda from BH (Same person from BH that has posted here). Remonda was worth her weight in gold. She got straight onto my issues and phoned me back. Turned out that it was my miss-understanding about some rock coping.

I work for a airconditioning manufacturer and deal with complaints myself so I know how hard it can be.

It takes alot of courage to post on a site like this and defend a company or product you beleive in. I applaud Remonda for doing that.

I hope people that have bad dealing with BH do resolve there issues.

Hopefully I will not be one of them however if I am I can at least feel more at ease knowing BH have people like Remonda working for them.

The thing that concerns me is that my dealings with BH have been positive to date . I came so close to not signing the contract due to what I read on this site. BH were the only ones that had the pool I wanted. So I said that I would take the risk and I am glad I did.

Fingers Crossed

[Oneday1]

NGE Note: NGE requires your full name. This is part of the NGE User Agreement. Please use My Profile to complete your details.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Remonda or x from Blue Haven, I have tried to call you many times and neither of you will return my calls. I am left with no other choice than to try to contact you via this site prior to seeking enforcement action through the local court. I would really appreciate it if you would return my calls to advise me when you intend to clear up the outstanding tribunal order against you. Its payable immediately and you are once again overdue. You have my number.
Failure to comply with an order from the CTTT can carry a fine of $22,000 and your building licence suspended.
For the sake of your 'happy' customers who are still expecting a functioning pool from yourselves, dont leave them in the lurch with a suspended licence and just clear this matter up please.

[Croman]

Fingerscrossed, in my opinion, it is too early to rejoice about this transaction. Having said that, I sincerely hope that it does work for you better than it did for many other BH clients.

[Fingerscrossed]

Croman

Hopefully things do work out for me. One thing that I have learnt from reading the post is to make sure everything is clearly spelt out in the contract so that there is no confusion. My nature is usually just to sign things and expect everything to work out.
This site has made me realise that things can go wrong. I understand that people have been carefull and still had problems however having a clear understand from both parties from the begining surely must help minimise problems.

I can only emagine how some people must feel with the problems they are facing. This is a huge investment and a costly one at that.

I feel confident that thing will work out for me and based on the information I have received from this site I feel that I have done everything right as best as I can to minimise complications.

I guess also excitement is playing a huge part because I have never owned a pool and my kids are going to love it.

Yes there is the posibility that things may go wrong and I might share the same fate as other.
I will keep this site updated for good or bad on the progress through the installation stage.


Fingerscrossed

[kadee]

Hope so too. I can't imagine not having a pool. It has played a huge part in our social lives and the kids friends have gravitated here right thru to now in their late teens. It has enabled them to socialise in a healthy and fun environment.

You're family should get lots of good times from your investment.

[NGE]

Blue Haven has requested and been supplied with contact details for Oneday1.

[jaspertd]

Further update

Nothing for several weeks now.

Despite BH requesting and being supplied my details from the site I have heard nothing from them.

We received a roughly scribbled tax invoice in the mail for a progress payment. We called to query a 'VO' amount, which we assume is a variation payment, as we're not really sure what it's for. That was last week. Still haven't heard from them. But of course as the payment hasn't been made, nothing is happening.

Will let you know how we go.

Cheers

[wishful thinking]

Final update.

After several telephone calls to chase up what was happening with the light replacement and timely reminders that I was not paying for the pavers until it was done, we finally had someone out from Autumn Solar on Wednesday. My husband was home to meet him and they had quite a discussion about Blue Haven. This contractor is just finishing his final few weeks with the company because he is sick of dealing with Blue Haven's issues and being the one to bear the brunt of everyone's anger when things aren't done correctly. I confirmed what we already knew, when Blue Haven tell you they are waiting on the supplier/contractor etc, they really haven't yet contacted them.

(On a side note, the reason we knew this was because when our pavers hadn't turned up after a week, I rang the supplier directly and was told there wasn't an order for them. Blue Haven then told me it had been placed a week ago and then the supplier rang to tell me they'd just called after I'd rung them.)

The light is now fixed and we will be paying for the paving. Remonda called on Saturday to see whether it had been done (the first time we had spoken) and she was very professional and apologetic about all we had been through. I told her all the issues we had had, and that she was the ONE person who was good to deal with. Everyone else needs a serious attitude adjustment.

At the end of the day we have a beautiful pool that we will enjoy for many years. I cannot fault the quality of the pool, and believe that if Blue Haven could just improve their customer service people would be a lot more forgiving when things go wrong. If Blue Haven had been professional and apologetic at the beginning and had kept us informed of everything that was happening AND RETURNED OUR TELEPHONE CALLS, I would never have posted on this site. Thank you to Remonda for following up to ensure that finally we were happy, although I am sorry that it took for me to publically shame the company on this site to get that response.

[BlueHaven-RM]

Like most corporate Companies we understand the need for constant improvement and to excel in customer service.

If our customers are not happy, we are not happy.

Blue Haven builds the majority of pools in NSW, which means you are more likely to hear about us than any other pool builder.

However our ratio of happy customers far outweighs the unhappy ones.

This website, along with honest customer feedback, is a valuable tool in allowing us to identify any problem areas of the business or any repeated weaknesses.

A new generation of team leaders have released an improved CUSTOMER SERVICE POLICY and PERSONALISED CONSTRUCTION PROGRAME.

This includes the option of a FIXED PRICE contract elimiating any grey areas.

This also includes a FIXED TIME contract elimiating any time delays.

We abide 100% by the contract, so our biggest request to the public is to ensure all items discussed at point of sale are written into the contract. This allows no room for error or he say / she say.

Our workmanship is excellent and we still offer the best value for money in the pool industry.

I implore any customer to contact me, the Executive Manager, directly for any issue they have for any reason in an endeavour to resolve mutually.