Author Topic: Help with home maintenance drama?  (Read 2287 times)

Melisande

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Help with home maintenance drama?
« on: February 16, 2017, 11:35:18 AM »
We are having issues with one of the least mustachian parts  of our life -- our silly pool. It turns out that the pool pump motor is not working again. Yesterday, I had the pool technician out to reinstall a new pool motor (the new motor & labor was go to be between $400-$450. The pool technician said that the problem was probably electrical since the circuit controlling the pool was blown, probably due to a power surge, and needed to be replaced. So, I called the electricians to come out and fix the circuit. They charged a total of $313 to tell me that nothing was wrong and that the circuit was merely switched off. So, they turned it back on again and made sure current was running to the pump. When I complained that I wasn't going to pay that much for so little  work, they said that I had signed off on it. I explained that I was under the understanding that I was paying to fix the circuit. Anyway, I called the office and insisted that they reduce the price to something much lower than that. So, I wound up paying $200 instead.

Then, I called the pool company back to ask that they reimburse us for the rest of it, since we had gotten incorrect information from them re: the circuit. The person I spoke with basically refused to pay saying: 1) I was stupid to pay the electrician so much for nothing (thanks) 2) his technician never told me that I had a problem with the circuit (untrue, he most certainly did) and that 3) his technician is not an electrician anyway, so can't be expected to know anything (well, in that case don't have him make pronouncement/diagnoses about something he knows nothing about -- what he told me was actually more complicated and more incorrect that merely "you have a blown circuit" and involved another circuit that had nothing to do with the pool) and 4) that there is indeed something wrong with the electrical connection -- the circuit is being "tripped" by the motor (this last bit doesn't make the slightest bit of sense to me and contradicts everything else he was saying). The last we left it, the pool repair guy was going to call the electricians' and try to negotiate even more of a discount.

In the meantime, besides changing pool companies and electricians and learning to do my own repairs (all of which I indeed might do so POed am I at this point), does anyone have advice about how to recoup the $200 and how to proceed with the repairs? What might be going on? Should I call another electrician or just have these pool people or some other pool people come and put in a new motor which may or may not need replacing? I am frankly befuddled by all of this. My hunch is that either the electricians or the pool people screwed up and will not admit it and I think it's the pool people.

Oh yes, and if you're ever considering buying a house with a pool, don't do it!


Dave1442397

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Re: Help with home maintenance drama?
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2017, 01:03:42 PM »
I know nothing about pools, but if it turns out that you really are having problems because of power surges, you should make sure they add a surge protector to the circuit.

https://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-PS3000-Surge-Protective-Device/dp/B00I506Z3S

We have friends who just signed a contract for a $48,000 pool installation. We think they're crazy.

Melisande

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Re: Help with home maintenance drama?
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2017, 03:09:15 PM »
I know nothing about pools, but if it turns out that you really are having problems because of power surges, you should make sure they add a surge protector to the circuit.

https://www.amazon.com/Intermatic-PS3000-Surge-Protective-Device/dp/B00I506Z3S

We have friends who just signed a contract for a $48,000 pool installation. We think they're crazy.

Yup, crazy. For us, the pool is turning out to be a beautiful, but very expensive water feature, since I think We used it a grand total of 10-15x this past year.

Well, at least the pool people called back and agreed to pay $92 of the electrician's bill. So, I have that down from $313 to only $107 -- a little more reasonable for the amount of work actually accomplished

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!