(WSVN) - He hired a company to build a pool, and according to the contract, it would be ready in six months. It’s now a year later, and guess what he has: a pool problem for Help Me Howard with Patrick Fraser.

Ask Tony a simple question, and you get a simple answer.

Patrick Fraser: “Why would you leave Canada and come here?”

Tony Morello: “Minus 40 below.”

Tony and his wife liked spending the winter in warm South Florida so much they bought a house, brought their boat down from Canada, and looked at their backyard and decided to talk to companies about a pool.

Tony Morello: “We interviewed them all, and then we figured this guy would be the best.”

Tony signed the contract in January of 2021 to build a $79,000 pool. The contract says it would be completed in six months.

Now it’s 12 months later. According to the contract, $25,000 worth of work has been done.

But Tony has paid $45,000, and this is what he has.

Tony Morello: “Nothing. I got a hole in the ground.”

Patrick Fraser: “Now, you’re a smart guy. You’re a businessman. How did he get $46,000 out of you?”

Tony Morello: “He’s smarter than I am.”

To say the pool company has moved slowly is obvious, but Tony says they’re quick with excuses.

Tony Morello: “The COVID, the supplies, the men are sick, the whole company’s sick, the rain, too much water. He blames everything, everybody else but himself; he’s perfect. He blames me for a lot of the problems.”

Tony owned several successful businesses in Canada before he decided to retire and spend the winter in Florida.

Patrick Fraser: “Did you ever think you’d be in a mess like this?”

Tony Morello: “Never? No. I’m mad at myself for allowing myself to be taken in by him.”

Tony now wants taken out of the mess by getting the pool built quickly or get his money back.

Tony Morello: “I don’t know what our options are, because we’re Canadians, and we don’t want to rock the boat here in the United States, which we love. Help me, Howard.”

You won’t believe how many calls and emails we are getting about people who cannot get a pool finished and are fuming. Legally, Howard, what can they do?

Howard Finkelstein, 7News legal expert: “In this case, you have to notify the contractor that they are in breach of the contract by not following their own timeline. Give them 30 days to bring it up to speed. If they don’t, this contract requires you go to mediation. If that doesn’t solve it, you have to sue them to get your money back.”

I spoke to the owner of the pool company, who continued to blame Tony, leaks in Tony’s seawall, plus he disagreed with Howard that he has violated the timeline to build the pool.

He said what we have heard a lot: the pool business is being hit hard by a lack of supplies and crews to do the work. He said government agencies are moving slowly. It took six months to get Tony’s permit.

He added, he was not giving Tony any money back, but he did what Tony wanted: got to work on the pool.

Tony Morello: “Since you got involved, they’ve done what they should have done a year ago.”

Tony will be heading back to Canada for the summer, hopefully leaving behind a nice pool.

Tony Morello: “I’m a positive person, so I’m looking for – as long as you’re on the case, I’m positive. If you weren’t here, it would be a nightmare.”

Glad Tony has progress in his backyard, and we will keep an eye on his pool to see when it’s done.

Pool companies are being hit extra hard because they require so many elements to build a pool. If one material is out of supply, everything grinds to a halt. Of course, the other side: why take on jobs you can’t complete anytime soon?

Dug a hole you can’t get out of? Don’t feel sunk. Dive in with us and see if we can make a splash for you.

With this Help Me Howard, I’m Patrick Fraser, 7News.

CONTACT HELP ME HOWARD:
Email: helpmehoward@wsvn.com
Reporter: Patrick Fraser at pfraser@wsvn.com
Miami-Dade: 305-953-WSVN
Broward: 954-761-WSVN

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