Kathleen S Ldb
map-marker Warminster, Pennsylvania

DON'T BE THEIR NEXT VICTIM!!!!!

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I paid $23k for a pool renovation in 2019. The new finish began peeling immediately. They (Pablo) admitted to me that it was their poor workmanship that caused the new finish to fail. I have been calling, begging them to fix it for almost two years. They have lied repeatedly, telling me that they are coming to fix it but never show up. This company is a disgraceful band of lying thieves!
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Preferred solution: Do the job I paid you for two years ago. Refinish my pool.

User's recommendation: DO NOT BE THEIR NEXT VICTIM!!

Mike E Dxr
map-marker Warminster, Pennsylvania

Heater installation

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Great pool. Great help from retail location. The service people are the worst. Totally screwed up a heater installation. Wired it incorrectly and tech barely had the ability to communicate with customer (me).paul and Ed in the main office. Offered a bunch of lies and bull about the techs abilities.. had to have the problem repaired with a real service tech ...Out of my own pocket
View full review
Loss:
$600
Cons:
  • All

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

User's recommendation: Stay clear of this company.

1 comment
Kathleen S Ldb

Do not do business with this company. They are thieves and liars.

Anonymous
map-marker Warminster, Pennsylvania

Carlton Pool Install

I had a pool put in recently. They started the project November 2017 and finished the last week in June 2018. They have poor project management for the installation process, they don't return phone calls and they don't take ownership of any issue. The pool itself is great and I love it but working with their staff is horrible. After the pool was put in, the placement casued a blockage and drains etc were not recommended. I wound up with 2 pools and they would not take opnership of the issue. They had the water study done and I used their landscaper to do the work. I would never suggest anyone to use them to install a pool. I am using another company to open/close my pool and I will never set foot in their store.
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Loss:
$2000
Reason of review:
Poor customer service
Skrynnik
map-marker Warminster, Pennsylvania

Unhappy customer

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Carlton Pools - Unhappy customer
Carlton Pools - Unhappy customer - Image 2
Carlton Pools - Unhappy customer - Image 3
Carlton Pools - Unhappy customer - Image 4
After we put pool for the first season was ok. after winter it showed cracks We contacts offiice they send workers pretend to fix it. But you have to leave 10 massages before some one even respond on your massages. They are re-doing An incompetent company - never ever use them! Pool is not chip and put my money in, so i can enjoy but every time i go to swim I see cracks get upset. Its make me not to come near my pool. See picture for your self its just unbelievable Certainly not good advertising for them.
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Reason of review:
Bad quality
Onita Foi
map-marker Warminster, Pennsylvania

Avoid at all costs

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I had my pool installed by Carlton years ago. It was a headache dealing with them. They have zero focus on customer service once you start handing over your money. Two years ago I needed to have my pool refurbished and thought it might be best to have Carlton do the work. Shame on e for having a short memory. Again they were nice as could be right up until you make your first payment. After that you become a non factor. Attitude on follow up, simply not calling back. Taking forever to answer simple questions and an overall disdain for dealing with you. Two years later I have a warranty issue and I cant get a call back from them. As I shared in the title, I would avoid at all costs. I don't know who to recommend but I can say with utter certainty to avoid Carlton Pools!!!!!!!
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Cons:
  • Pablo is the worst
Evelyn S Ivq
map-marker Toms River, New Jersey

My "Aqua Bright" finish peeled again!

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Carlton Pools - My Aqua Bright finish peeled again!

Carlton built my pool in 2012, since the beginning it has been a disaster. The finish has peeled, bubbled and cracked.

They have replaced the finish on 3 occasions and it has now cracked again. Each time I have had to chase them down. Every time this happens I have go to pay to pump out the water and refill it which is about $2,000.00 I am chasing them around to get an explanation of why this is happening and I cannot get a return call. All I have is a proposal from them for $22,000.00 to replace the finish that they installed several times without an explanation of why this keeps happening!

I have been calling and emailing them for the last 6 months and not even the courtesy of a response. This past week I have hired an attorney, anyone else interested in joining in please let me know i will be happy to provide my contact information.

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Pros:
  • Pablo
Cons:
  • Bad customer service
Reason of review:
Bad quality

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

11 comments
Nyah Rzx

I just walked outside and found my peeled. Mine was done in 2016. Any progress from anyone?

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Nyah Rzx

The only way I got them fo return was to hire Joe Alessi ESQ from North Caldwell

Doreena Gme

Having the exact same issue with our AquaBrite finish. Installed 2010, cracked and was repaired 2013.

Now cracking and coming up again. Would love more info on your progress

Guest

I did not have a problem with them they put in a liner and came did a quick and neat job price was good

Guest

I am having the same exact issue. Please let me know your lawyer information.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1513746

Contact Joe Alessi from North Caldwell. They finally fixed it, let’s see what happens this year!

Guest

I am having the same problem. Have you made any progress?

Guest

I am having the same problem. Aquabrite finish is cracking and I can’t get a firm date from Carlton re: the repair.

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1451246

I had my attorney send them a letter yesterday if you would like to contact me I will be happy to communicate with you.Evelyn445@***.com

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1451305

I'm also having an issue, I will send you an email. Thanks for posting

View more comments (10)
Anonymous
map-marker West Chester, Pennsylvania

Beautiful pool wonderful crew

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We had a great experience with Carlton pools. Would recommend to anyone
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1 comment
Kathleen S Ldb

You got lucky. Hope you don't have a problem down the road. They'll hang you out to dry.

Anonymous

Horrible experience. I would never recommend using them.

From the start it was a pain dealing with carlton pool. They even got the shape of the pool wrong. Several delays. Timing was definitely off from when the pool was to be finished. When it was finially finished, pipes were completely exposed from pump to the pool. They told me my Landscaper would take care of it. It was a 4 ft deep trench!! Concrete and trash was left all over the yard. When the tech came to start up pump he discovered a missing pipe!! They had to come back and dig under freshly poured concrete to attach pipe to the pool. When it was all said and done the pool sat 4” up higher than my original patio. Your walking uphill to the pool. It looks horrible. The slope of concrete was 4” in a 8ft span. Not at all what it should be. I was told they would pull up some of the concrete and fix the slope. Which they later retracted. I had to pay another company to pull it up and repour, which cost several thousand dollars. I also had to put a small wall in to hide the 4” different of the height of the pool. Carlton pool does not care what the outcome of the job looks like nor do they care if their customers are happy.
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Priti p Jeo

Very disappointing

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I hired carlton pools in 2016 to do my pool. It is June 2018 and I have to say it was the most disappointing experience I went though. Customer service is very poor. They told me they are done last year and I paid them but job is still not done. Will never recommend anyone to carlton pools.
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Reason of review:
Bad quality
Anonymous

Pathetic- no ownership and responsibility

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Have been trying to work with them for the last 3 months on repair work. Although the work is covered under warranty, no one responds voice mails. Continue to transfer the ownership to others and no action taken. My advice is to stay away from Carlton pool. Their pool design and workmanship is also poor quality. If Carlto builds your pool, it will not be a fun experience for you but will be a lifetime painful experience.
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Reason of review:
Warranty issue
Jayne M Isw
map-marker Collegeville, Pennsylvania

Aqua Bright finish

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We have arranged for them to do this finish and we can't get a date for installation, they just keep asking for more money. We signed our deal on 3/29/18 they opened the pool on 4/6 and just last Friday they did the coping and tile.

They won't give us a date for the Aquabright finish, they keep pushing it back. They have told us that they can give us a date for completion mid next week, but that I need to have given them all the money less $2K. Doesn't seem fair, since they had the fist 50% and nothing was done for a month.

Not sure how to move forward with them. Wish I had read these comments before we were so far in.

View full review
Loss:
$5000
Pros:
  • Customer service
Cons:
  • Demanding money upon partial finished product
Reason of review:
Poor customer service
1 comment
Kathleen S Ldb

Don't sure Aqua Brite. We did and the finished failed immediately. I have been trying to get it fixed for two years now.

Anonymous

Cracks cracks cracks

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After putting in a very very expensive pool it immediately showed cracks and for the last 3 years it cracks every time they pretend to fix it. Cleaners do not work and people that they send out have no idea what they are doing.

They are re-doing the pool for the 4th time and I have not been able to use the pool very much. An incompetent company - never ever use them! Everyone who comes here says to me - Look at all the cracks in your pool! My response is - Carlton Cracks!

Certainly not good advertising for them.

The pool ruins the whole setting of my house and aggravates me every day. My pool cost $160,000.00 Unbelievable

A very disgusted customer

Thinking about suing

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Reason of review:
Bad quality
1 comment
Guest

You should sue. This is happening all over the place to other customers.

Anonymous

Fell off a cliff

We used Carlton because the previous owners used them to close the pool every year. Setting up the closing wasn't to bad but when we called to have the pool opened things started to fall off the cliff.

Took multiple attempts to set up the opening over the course of 3 days. We finally got a called back after we had already called someone else. This was just the start. After opening the pool we discovered a leak in the pump.

We called Carlton to inquire if this was something that happened during the closing the previous fall. I left 4 messages just asking someone to call to answer our questions. Carlton took 5 days to call us back and when they did they said they would have no time to come out for another week or 2.

All contact with the corporate headquarters has been worse then have all my teeth pulled out. Never again!

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service
1 comment
Ekaterini Kxo

Closing your pool the prior year would not have caused your pump to leak. You sound like a PITA and trying to blame the company for something. Find a new company and move on.

Anonymous

Almost a Year Later and Pool Still NOT Done

We contracted Carlton pools to build our in-ground pool July 30th 2016. We still do not have a pool we can use.

We have missed Mothers Day, my 12 year olds summer bday party, Father's Day, our yearly summer vacation, now 4th of July my yearly party was cancelled. I have no recourse as Carlton pools has ALL OF MY MONEY. Our Sales Rep Julie Kraft, was great and as I have spoken to her twice just to see if there is anything she can do, she has apologized whole heartedly. The communication of the construction team is HORRENDOUS.

The construction started On 10/11/16. ( remember we signed in July). Steel reinforcement was completed on 11/17/16. My husband had to contact Bob, construction manager, to find out when our yard would be cleaned up from Nov.

there was concrete chunks, Stone left all on our hill all winter and all forms were still around the pool. At the beginning of May, when nothing else was happening and we were never contacted, I contacted Julie Kraft. She couldn't believe we were not done nor no one contacted us. She gave us the number of who to call as well as informed us that we needed to get the fence installed prior to having anything done.

We jumped on the fence and had that done. No one can ever give us a firm date On any aspect of construction. The only "firm" information we receive is when payment is due. In fact it is highlighted and clearly spelled out at what stages it is due.

In regards to the Aqua bright finish- we are told how back logged they are, having to do so many and they could not give us any dates. Not even the week they would be doing it. Why were we not a priority? Why were we not the first on the list to be completed since we were a carry over from 2016?

My husband has been on the phone and email communications with Sharon Myer- Director of Customer Care and Joanne Davis, who I believe is in charge of scheduling. In lieu of the frustration, lack of communication and the fact that it is June 28th 2017 and my pool is still not completed, we were offered $150. I have paid $51,150 for this "experience". I am completely embarrassed and feel like a *** for not listening to my neighbors who have had three different pool companies come into our neighborhood and install 4 pools all last summer.

This year alone, my other neighbor signed her contract in April and is already enjoying her beautiful pool. So what will Carlton Pools do to make this right? My husband asked for the pool chemicals and the water to be compensation for this experience and was told all we can do is $150 and we cannot pay for the water for your pool. What kind of company do you run?

Does Carlton Pools have a customer service philosophy? Do they really care about the customer experience during the pool installation process? Or just getting that money? Do they care about the fact that we were led to believe last July that we could possibly have a pool and be swimming by mid Sept, depending on the weather?

Do they care that we weren't even upset at the fact that the construction didn't start until late Oct, because we looked at it as we will be ready to go in the Spring and have about 4-5 months with our new pool, depending on the weather? Do they care that come July 6th, my children will be out of school for a full month, and still do not have a pool? Do they care why we chose to spend over $50, 000 of our hard earned money on a pool? I paid for this pool with cash, not credit.

So I ask you again, what is Carlton Pools going to do for us? I want an immediate answer and a sense of urgency to get this pool done. There are 7 days in a week. At least 14 hours of daylight to work in.

I don't care about the upcoming holiday- that's not my problem nor my fault. I want contact by the owner of the company. I have requested it several times and have not yet been contacted. I want compensation.

I want the chemicals and water supplied for my pool. I want compensation for my time, the failure for Carlton pools to uphold their end of a contract that both parties agreed to and signed on 7/30/16. We already missed Mothers Day- it was a beautiful day! We missed Memorial Day weekend.

We chose to forgo a family vacation this summer, that we do every June to Anna Maria island in Fl, so that we could enjoy our pool and "have a staycation". I missed that opportunity. My sister in law, niece and nephew, whom we always vacation with, decided to come up to us, to vacation here with our new pool. She just left today, after two weeks.

No swimming, no pool. She will need to wait now until next year. My daughter turned 12 on June 12th. She has been patiently waiting to have her birthday pool party she told all of her friends about in school- that still hasn't happened.

Do you know what a birthday party means to a child at that age.? Although we offered her to have her party elsewhere, she said no- she told all her friends she was getting a pool- she has to prove it now so they believe her. (Not great press for Carlton pools when the parents of these kids ask us what happened) We missed Fathers Day. My 14 year old daughter wanted a end of school pool party.....and is still waiting almost 30 days after school ended.

My 6 year old daughter, who has Special Needs and whom we just found out this fall has type 1 diabetes, has talked about nothing but this pool that she looks at everyday. And having to explain each and every day that it is not ready yet is heart breaking. All this child wants to do is swim. I usually hold a 4th of July Party for friends and family and we especially excited to have the pool for this years party.

I had to cancel that and work with one of my neighbors to hold it, realizing this project was not gonig to be completed. I expect to be contacted Today, 6/28/17, with resolution to the completion of my pool and compensation based on my loss of time and the experience Carlton pools has put me and my family through.

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Reason of review:
Poor customer service

Preferred solution: Price reduction

4 comments
Guest

Wow...I had a pool installed by them and had a few bumps during construction of the pool but it was major construction to transform our backyard that had a lot of challenges. WE LOVE OUR POOL AND WOULD HIGHLY RECOMMEND CARLTON!! and Dan our sales guy was the best, very knowledgeable and available even now after the sale when we have silly new pool owner questions and the office is closed

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1376901

Thank you for the good review

Guest

Sorry you're going through this! That's normal for Carlton Pools! They are the absolute worst pool construction company!

Guest
reply icon Replying to comment of Guest-1345993

Agree, the ABSOLUTE WORST COMPANY !

View more comments (3)
Anonymous
map-marker Collegeville, Pennsylvania

To refer or not to refer your Pool Builder

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We have a Carlton Pool and to be honest building a pool isn't any fun LOL I learned that fast but I can tell you we love our Carlton Pool!! At first when we were done I didn't recommend Carlton but watching friends and neighbors get pools from other companies and to see not only the lesser quality they received but also hearing how over priced their pools were in some cases....well I will be more vocal about how much I like the quality Carlton pool I have! BTW we too had Dan as our sales person and you are right, he is great, he truly does care and will always go above an beyond
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Reason of review:
Good customer service
Charleston Pfe
map-marker Warminster, Pennsylvania

Pool Refinish Stained in One Year

We hired Carlton to refinish our guinite pool. We purchased the expensive chemical additives per their directions.

No other refinish bidders required us to add these chemicals. In just over a year, our finish showed stains is several areas and acquired a cracked finish. It took over a month before Carlton got around to sending someone out to look at the finish. We were accused of dumping chemicals in our pool and burning the finish, causing it to stain.

(After 25 years of maintaining my pool, I guarantee you I didn't burn it!). We were also accused of not maintaining the proper chemical balance. Carlton requested 3rd party proof that we had our water tested on a regular basis and it was normal. This was not required as part of the warranty.

Carlton denied any responsibility under the warranty because it clearly states staining is not covered. However, it could be repaired, if we were willing to pay, and of course they were willing to do it, if we paid them. What good is the warranty if it doesn't cover the finish?! We have owned our pool for 27 years and definitely know how to maintain it properly.

We spent a lot of money and our finish is ***. We refinished the pool to get rid of the staining and in 1 year it was back. In addition, customer service person was very snippy and insisted on having the last word in every communication.

I would never hire Carlton again. I would never recommend them to anyone building or renovating a pool.

View full review
Loss:
$8000
Cons:
  • Post sale service
  • Project management
Reason of review:
Warranty issue

Preferred solution: Let the company propose a solution

1 comment
Guest

Great info. I wont be using them.

About

Summary

Carlton Pools, Inc. is an American company. The company was founded in 1973. The company designs, manufactures and sells a diverse range of custom swimming pools, in-groud swimming pools, water features, waterfalls, and many other related products. Carlton Pools offers the maintenance and restoration of swimming pools, hardscaping and landscaping of the pool site. The company operates three Carlton Pools locations and Carlton Patio Centers. Carlton Pools provides furniture, pool chemicals, pool toys, cleaning systems, and so much more other swimming pool related products.

Carlton Pools operates swimming pool supplies retail center in New Jersey and in Pennsylvania.

Carlton Pools reviews and complaints

Carlton Pools is ranked 31 out of 550 in Household Services category

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