ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. – A dozen customers of Staycation Pools & Spas in the Jacksonville area now claim their pool builds were never finished or were abandoned by the company.
Some of them have cut their losses and hired another company to finish the job but others, like Ashley Kennedy, are stuck with a costly hole in their backyards.
Her St. Augustine backyard is full of broken pavers and equipment that was left behind during construction. She said her children keep asking when they can go swimming.
“They can’t really utilize the backyard because it’s a hazard. There’s rebar everywhere, there’s broken pavers, it’s a nightmare,” Kennedy said.
Receipts show Kennedy has paid over $95,000 to Staycation Pools & Spas. She paid 10% at approval, another 10% after the permit approval, 40% after the pool shell was set, and 35% for tile, decking and coping.
She hired the company in July of 2022 and said, at that time, everything checked out. They’d been in business for several years and Kennedy said they offered a fair price for construction, but crews haven’t been out to work on her property in four months.
“Why are you taking everyone’s money and not doing what you should be doing? It’s not that hard,” Kennedy said.
Tom Stephens with the Better Business Bureau of Northeast Florida said the deposit schedule for Staycation Pools looks normal. What’s not normal is paying for work before it’s complete.
“Where they got us is they said they needed the 35% down for the tile and the coping and pavers, which we obviously don’t have,” Kennedy said. “We needed to pay them upfront so they could pay the subcontractors, but obviously they haven’t paid the subcontractors, so what did they do with the money?”
Kennedy only has to pay the final 5% of her deposit schedule to get water in her pool, which is just a shell right now, but she said she just wants a refund at this point.
“You’re almost better off to cut your losses and tell them I’m not paying you any more money and go find another contractor,” Stephens said.
Stephens said it’s best to send payment once you see the work is done yourself. Otherwise, you aren’t likely to get a refund unless you file a lawsuit which can be costly.
“Usually, when a construction company gets in trouble financially, they’re using the money you paid to finish the pool for the guy before you,” Stephens said. “And if they don’t have another pool coming in, they can’t finish yours.”
Doug Griffith, the President of Staycation Pools & Spas, said he has every intention of finishing the pools that are incomplete in the Jacksonville area.
Griffith said Staycation is open but admits there is financial trouble. He could not provide a timeline for when those pools can be finished.
“I want my money back, like I absolutely want my money back because they haven’t been doing what they’re supposed to be doing so I don’t trust anything they would say or do at this point,” Kennedy said.