WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla. — When planning for a dream pool, the last place you would expect to end up is in court. But that's where you'll find Carmen Simpson.
She goes to every hearing for Olympus Pools Owner James Staten who faces multiple felonies and even a lifetime ban from owning another pool company after customers say he left them high and dry.
Simpson signed a contract with Olympus back in 2016, but years later, she was left with just a pond instead of a pool and a push to change the law, so this never happens to another homeowner.
“It was never completed,” Simpson said. “I hired engineers right away to come out and see what the problem with the pool was because water was backing up into the kitchen right away. And every time it rained, water came into the kitchen.”
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Simpson says from the start, she had problems with how Olympus Pools was building the pool in her backyard. Things quickly went sour after engineers told her the newly poured concrete needed to be ripped out, so she hired an attorney.
“Justice has to be served," she said. "There were 882 victims from Olympus. He stole that money."
“I spent four years in court, which was a waste because as soon as Olympus filed for bankruptcy, I was out," she continued.
Simpson says she had to replace the floors in her home, damaged by the water intrusion, but then had to live with her blinds closed to avoid looking at her backyard.
“I was left with a hole in the ground," she said. "He left with no fencing up, no anything, and this hole in the ground, so my husband had to put a fence up to protect us for liability purposes, and it just sat there for seven and a half years like that."
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After giving Olympus more than $60,000 and spending about another $40,000 on attorney's fees, there was no money left to finish her pool.
She focused her efforts on making sure other homeowners didn't have the same fate. She set up Facebook groups for pool company customers and became an advocate for tightening contractor laws in Florida.
RELATED: FDLE: Olympus Pools owner arrested for stealing $1.5M from customers for trips, Super Bowl tickets
“These monies need to be put into some kind of escrow accounts or something, so these contractors can't walk away with the money like they do,” Simpson said.
Last session, House Bill 1563 passed the Florida House unanimously. It would have required designated contractors that receive a specified amount of money for improvements to residential real property to place payments in an escrow account. It died in the Senate.
10 Investigates sat down with Republican Sen. Danny Burgess to talk about Florida laws.
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“We talk to people like Carmen, and they are really just like, it's finally time to protect us, the consumer. Something needs to be done. Would you agree with that?” Jennifer Titus asked.
“Yes. I put my family, our young family, in their shoes,” Burgess said. “And if that happened to us, I don't know what we would do. We so yes, my heart goes out to them. And if there's something that we can look at legislatively to be more proactive, we need to do it.”
Simpson agrees. “We have to get the legislators behind us.”
While she continued working to advocate for strengthening the law, Simpson received a call she never expected. A contractor who had heard about her advocacy efforts let her know he was going to help put the past behind her.
“The pool as it stood the day that I saw it. It was full of swamp water. Basically, there was turtle that lives in it,” Jeff Martin said. “I saw immediately why they didn't finish the pool. They set the elevation way too high. There was all kinds of issues with the pool, but I told her, I said, 'Carmen, I can, I can finish this pool.'”
Martin is the Regional Operations Manager for Blue Haven Pools. He reached out to vendors to help Simpson with product and labor costs, and before she knew it, her family was able to take a dip.
“They had it done in less than a month. In less than a month, I just sat out there and amazed,” Simpson said.
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Martin says he's finished several pools for homeowners after companies have gone under. He says one of the biggest pitfalls is automatically going with the lowest bid.
“You want to look at the entire picture. Put the name in Google,” Martin said.
He adds to look at the reviews and whether other customers are having a great experience. Check out their Better Business Bureau profile ratings too. And don't give a big deposit upfront.
“When you take a 25-30% deposit on something like a pool, that first 30% is either paying to finish the guy behind you's pool, or it's paying to start your stuff," Martin said. "Like, if the company you're working with can't build that pool without your money, then you [have] the slightest pitfall, something didn't work out, right?"
And so that's when they're in the truck and they're leaving,” Martin continued.
These are all things Simpson says she’s learned over the past couple of years and hopes lawmakers like Senator Burgess are ready to toughen laws to protect those consumers who have learned these lessons the hard way.
“How do we protect the consumer better on the front end is the way we should be looking at this,” Burgess said.
Martin has a list of questions he gives to customers of things they should ask any pool builder which include:
- How many pools have you built, and have you completed all your projects?
- What warranty do you provide for the pool equipment and for the pool structure?
- Is your insurance current and how much do you carry?
- Do you have a state-certified (CPC) Pools Contractors License?
Make sure to look up that license number on Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation website to see if it’s current and whether any customers have reported any complaints.
Check out tips from the BBB on how to price contracts with any contractor, so that you’re not paying the bulk of your money upfront.
As for Simpson, she hopes to work with lawmakers to make sure the bills that are written will truly protect the consumer.
If you have an issue with a contractor, check here for resources in your community.
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