Heres the story.........
I have an in ground pool in my yard. One of the valves was cracked, and I called someone out to fix it. It was a pool repair company. They came out, did a great job fixing it, charged me $300. After it was fixed I had the guy look at the pool and it was not running right. I figured there were leaves plugging something. So I watched him, and he moved a few of the other valves around, and tried to unclog it. That didnt work, so he took a few screws out, to remove a valve cover, and found the clog. It was full of leaves. I stood there while he was doing all of this, hoping to learn how to do it myself. When he put it back together, he cracked the valve. He had a drill/screwdriver, and it pushed the screw to fast into the hole, and cracked it. He told me dont worry about it, he would be back in a few days to fix it. Well, I figured he fixed it, but when I went out to the equipment the other day, I happened to notice, it wasnt ever fixed. So I called the repair company again, and explained to them what happened. They sent someone out to look at it. This was a different guy. He said he would get it fixed, and bring another guy out in a couple days to help him. Two wks went by, and I called them again. I ended up talking to the so called expert who is coming next week to fix it. The expert asked me if I was expecting them to do it for free. I said yes. Well, he said my valves were old, and it wasnt their fault they cracked from screwing them together. I said nobody told me they were planning to charge me, since it was there fault. He said he would do what was fair. I figured if you break something, you fix it. If I hit his car, and broke the fender, I would fix it. Wouldnt I? Or because it was an old car, it would have cracked anyway, so I wasnt responsible to fix it? I need advice. He will be here on Tues next week. I dont think I should pay to have it fixed. I have no idea how much they were planning to charge me either. I was told the guy who originally cracked the valve was no longer with the company. But today, I was told he was going to come out and fix it, and send me the bill. HELP!!! Should I feel bad and pay them? Or is up to them to fix it free?


So, in a nutshell. I had them out to fix a valve that was broken, and to get the system moving faster. I figured it was clogged with leaves. After fixing the broken valve, and noticing that it wasnt moving faster yet, the guy took a look at the rest of the equipment as I watched (I am always curious). He unscrewed a couple other valves, found the leaves clogging it, screwed them back together, but when he screwed one of the screws back in, he cracked the plastic it went into, and now they want ME to pay to have that fixed. Is that right? do I pay for something they broke. They didnt tell me it was old and brittle (its not), and it might break when they repaired it.

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A mother holds her children's hand for awhile; their hearts forever.

I'm confused...what did he come out for initially and what did he break? Looked at valve, fixed to your satisfactio, looked at another valve???, cover cracked???

I don't own a pool so maybe I am missing somthing.

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TLJ ~ Women United in Spirit

Is this it in a nutshell?

You needed something done to the pool. The pool guy came and fixed it and all was fine.

Before he left, you remembered something else - something that you thought was probably an easy fix and that you could do as a home job in the future if you just saw someone do it right the first time.

Pool Guy identified the issue quickly, let you watch, etc... and then in hte process of putting it back together again, a piece broke.

Their claim is that the only way to get the leaves out was to remove that part, and that regardless of who had done what they did, it was going to break.

Your position is that regardless of whether it was old and brittle or not, since they broke it, they need to repair it.

Correct?

yep, I think they need to repair it, and I shouldnt have to pay for the repair. Should I? They were almost rude when they asked me if I thought that it was going to be no charge.
By the way, its not brittle. If pool equipment valves are only meant to last 9-10 years, they have a good racket going. I need to call the original installer of my pool, and ask them how long the valves should last. Just for my own curiousity.

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A mother holds her children's hand for awhile; their hearts forever.

ok...so, the valve that was cracked and you had the repairman coe out for? How did it crack?

And, did the repairman charge you for unclogging the valve/drain?
I think you should pay for the repairs.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

I paid $300 for the repair I called them out for. I called them for a service call to repair a valve that was broken/cracked and my navigator(thing that sucks leaves from the bottom of the pool) was moving slowly. They did that repair. The navigator was still moving slow. So he took the other (different) valves appart to look in them to see if leaves were in them. There WERE leaves in them. When he put them back together, he cracked one of the places the screw goes into. Now water leaks from that crack when it is under pressure. I hope I have explained this in enough detail to understand now. The second valve, that was NOT cracked when he came out, cracked when he screwed it back together with his drill/screwdriver. He took this second (not the one I called them out to repair) valve appart and HE cracked it when HE screwed it back together. He broke it! It was NOT broken when he got there. So, you think I should pay him to come back out and fix something HE broke/cracked? He originally charged me a fee for fixing the equipment. They came out to fix, not break and charge me for another repair. I just cant figure out how I should be the one to pay for the repairs if they broke it. I paid for the repairs they came out to originally fix. I paid them $300.

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A mother holds her children's hand for awhile; their hearts forever.

it doesn't matter what I or anyone else says because you have already made up your mind.
I understand what happened. I think you should pay the charges. Things that require screws can and will crack at any given time. Yours is exposed to water and extreme heat (yeah I know the heat we lived in Denton...) So, I think what you are describing falls under the heading of if you want a pool you sometimes have to pay for fees and repairs that you don't want to.

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Mental that one, I'm telling you. ---Ron Weasley, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets"

Here is what I think:

It's unfortunate that it broke.

Were you charged for the time it took him to take the 2nd valve apart, or hoping they would seek out that 2nd issue for free?

There *was* something else wrong besides the first thing they dealt with: There were leaves stuck in there causing it to have trouble.

That needed addressed.

The real question is whether or not the break was due to neglect/lack of care on his part, or if the age of the part contributed to what happened, and if it was going to happen next week when *you* did it after leaves clogged it again.

Are all the parts to the pool original? Does the fact that the first valve was broken/compromised say anything about the possible condition of the other valves/parts?

To make an analogy, say I have a very old doorknob, and lock myself out of my house. A locksmith comes and gets me in my house, but breaks my old and on-its-last-leg doorknob in the process.

Does he suddenly owe me a brand new doorknob and a subsequent hour-long free visit to install it?

Or do I bear responsibility because I'd allowed my equipment to age to the point that it couldn't be fixed without breaking it?

I had an issue with our washing machine. Called a repairman. He came out, took front 'face' off (w/ circuit board) , took other parts off to get to problem. Found issue and part that needed replacing. While putting the washer 'face' back on, he got water on the circuitry and fried it.

They charged me for their labor + parts for the issue I had initially called them out.
THEY reordered the part the repairman broke (circuit board) and installed it at their cost.

To me, even though that was not why they initially came out, the pool people undertook another job and should be held reponsible for the part that he broke. Not only that, he said he would come back and fix it.

I think the company is wrong on this in billing you for something their rep broke.

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l/ l/ l/
Dont go through life,
GROW through life

Real eyes...realize...real lies.

I think the pool company should be responsible for the repair.They charged $300 to come out and find/fix the problem.The first valve did not elimenate the problem,the pool guy took apart/opened other valves,fixed the problem,but broke a pipe putting it back together.He broke what he was repairing.The pool place needs to cover the cost of the repair.
I would call a different pool place,if you need pool service in the future.

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People that hate cats will come back as mice in their next life. - Faith Resnick

abrien, I may be mis-reading your synopsis, but I think some of your impressions are an intertwining of two issues.

If I'm mis-reading and re-stating what you already understood, I apologize.

The OP called Pool Guy to come fix Item A, a valve that she could visibly see was broken. She was told it would cost $300 to fix that.

While Pool Guy was there, she mentioned to him that the suction off the bottom seemed sluggish, and I assume he said he'd take a look while he was there.

It wasn't part of the intent of his original service call. The OP assumed it was a minor thing she could do herself if she knew what to do. What she didn't count on was that her pool parts were fragile. Should he have known before diving in? Possibly. Would it have mattered, given that other valves were already breaking? Possibly no.

We had tree roots in our drains once. In the process of using the backhoe to get to the sewer pipes in the yard, the plumber busted through a main supply line. Someone in the 1940's had moved it from connecting on the west side of the house to connecting on the east, and didn't report it to the city. There was no way for either of us to know it was there, but the bottom line is that he wasn't liable, because he was doing everything correctly, and the placement of *our* equipment was what led to the break in the main.

Fortunately, our insurance covered the repair, but if it hadn't, it would've been our responsibility.

The pool company is liable for repairs. They were called out to repair a valve and to get the system moving faster. They repaired the valve but didn't get the system to move faster so the job is only half done. That part doesn't even matter because when the repairman agreed to remove the leaves, it was now a job under his control and his responsibility. They owe it to you to fix the damage he caused. I wouldn't ever use this company again. A mistake is one thing but trying to make you pay for their mistake is inexcusable.

I would suggest a compromise given that the repairmen was doing some additional work not previously billed. I am going to assumie that the valves are reaching EOL, and suggest that the compromise might be that OP pay for the materials and the company provide the labor free of charge.

cj/

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I was walking home one night and a guy hammering on a roof called me a paranoid little weirdo. In morse code. -Emo Phillips

Personally, I would want them to pay for at least the labor. He did break the valve. It doesnt matter if he fixed problem A that he had originally been called about and then moved on to a problem B. He was still working on the pool and agreed to look at problem B.

I would offer a compromise. Tell them you will pay for the part... but you want the company to pay for the labor.

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Sell crazy some place else, we are all stocked up here.

Have you ever replaced in a plastic faceplate and cracked it? Some parts will crack if over-tightened. I think that the repair guy is to blame and the company should train their employees to be extra careful when tightening screws, esp. when dealing with plastic parts and electric screwdrivers. They should not bill you.

Rebecca

in this stitution I think they should charge you for looking at the second valve and then they should fix the screws and cover for free. they should charge you to look at the 2 valves and then not charge you to fix the parts that the broken.

Okay, if the pool repair guy was looking and fixing the 2nd problem (clogging) for free and then the valve cracked because he overtightened the screwws, I would split the cost of the repair. You asked him to do something beyond the scope of the problem he can to fix.

If the 2nd problem (clog), was mentioned during the initial call and they said they would "take a look at it", then the responsibility goes to the pool company in my eyes.

Good luck. I would refer to your contract and see what it says about "add ons" because a lot of companies will not assume liability for "add ons" if they aren't in the original contract.

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Proud to say I haven't shopped at a Wal-Mart since Sept 2003

This is what made me come to my decision.

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People that hate cats will come back as mice in their next life. - Faith Resnick

I think you should pay for it, the equipment is 9-10 years old, equipment doesn't last forever. We have an inground pool and I am not sure what a "valve" is, I guess we don't have one. We have a skimmer in the side of the pool that collects leaves, then there is another thing that collects leaves at the pump before it filters through (I clean both). Pool equipment gets old, the concrete ones have to be repainted, the tile ones have to be regrouted, the vinyl liner ones have to be replaced, pumps get old, sand has to be replaced, pressure guages get old, heaters go bad, nothing lasts forever especially if it is something exposed to water and sun 24/7. 9-10 years for a piece of equipment seems like a long time for it to last. You said it was a cracked piece of plastic? Is there anyway you can just buy one and replace it yourself. Here they charge $50 just to come to the house before they even take a look at the pool. You could always call the company that makes the pool equipment and ask how long the expected life is of the equipment, they probably have a 1+800 on their website and the name of the company should be on the equipment. Maybe if you found the life expectancy you could offer to pay for a portion of it (pro-rated) since it would have to be replaced eventually at your expense.