Thinking about a pandemic pool? Customers say this contractor left them high and dry
Shannon Crowe of Acworth is one of several Pool Craft Company customers who complain the company took their money and left a mess.
WOODSTOCK, Ga. - Lower interest rates during the pandemic convinced a growing number of Georgians to treat their cooped-up family to a backyard swimming pool.
But customers of Pool Craft Company in Woodstock said their experience left them angry, frustrated and in fear that their pool could one day electrocute their family.
"He’s taken something that’s supposed to be so joyful and made it a miserable nightmare," complained Shannon Crowe of Acworth.
In May 2021, Crowe hired Pool Craft to put in a swimming pool and redesign her backyard. Total cost: $123,000. She refinanced her mortgage to help cover the costs.
Nine months later her backyard is a mess. The pool was half completed. The backyard was nowhere near what the plans promised.
Shannon Crowe says she paid Pool Craft $85,000 of what was supposed to be a $123,000 backyard makeover. This is what she has to show for her money.
But it could be even worse. She could have a completed pool but still be afraid to use it.
Like Toney and Randi Langley.
"With the pandemic and all it seemed like the right time for us to do something where we could sit here at home," said Toney Langley, a retired Cobb County police officer. His wife teaches first grade.
When the couple decided to take the plunge, they had a hard time getting estimates because pool contractors were so busy.
Toney and Randi Langley admit they're afraid to use their Pool Craft pool because it never passed an electrical inspection.
Pool Craft was one of the few who did show up. The company completed most of the work, but records show the job failed the mandatory electrical inspection. That’s to make sure the metal pool grid is properly grounded in case there’s a power surge or lightening strike.
Pool Craft poured the concrete pool deck before the inspection, leaving the Cobb County inspectors unable to check the grid work.
"It’s a big deal obviously because of my family’s safety," Toney Langley stressed.
He’s afraid now to get into his own pool.
Jimmy Acosta -- aka Jimmy Cerna -- on a jobsite. He did not respond to questions from the FOX 5 I-Team and may now be working in Tennessee. (Customer photo)
In her complaint to the Governor’s Office of Consumer Protection, Shannon Crowe said she stopped Pool Craft owner Jimmy Acosta from pouring the concrete pool deck until the grid passed inspection.
"Eventually, he walked off the job, has all my money. And this is what I have now," she said, gesturing to a concrete hole full of muddy water and scattered debris in her backyard.
In fact, Cobb County ordered a hold on all 13 open permits issued to Acosta’s company because regulators said he’s skipped or failed so many inspections.
Acosta did not respond to multiple requests for comment from the FOX 5 I-Team.
Crowe and Langley regret not doing more research on Acosta and his company.
If they had, they might have realized this is not the first time Acosta has been accused of shoddy work.
Customers and subcontractors say no one has been in the Pool Craft office since November. The owner has now opened a new company, Georgia Peach Pools.
His first company — Artizan Pools — was sued over similar problems. One of those lawsuits he lost by default. Back then he called himself Jimmy Cerna. That’s actually his middle name. Artizan is now closed.
In 2019, Acosta opened Pool Craft in Woodstock before also closing this year.
In fact, he’s back to using his other name Jimmy Cerna again and running a new company: Georgia Peach Pools. They’re even posting Facebook ads.
But Cobb County has frozen any permits for that company, too.
How can you avoid such misery when selecting a pool contractor?
Don’t just check Google reviews or the Better Business Bureau. Check with the building permit office in your county to see whether the contractor has a history of failed inspections.
You should also ask to see a happy customer’s pool. But be careful you don’t get fooled like Kim Von Kamen.
The Paulding County retiree asked Pool Craft’s salesman to show her a customer’s completed pool.
She was stunned.
"It was magnificent," she remembered. "It was absolutely beautiful."
She quickly signed a contract with Pool Craft. But with $70,000 spent and little work finished, Von Kamen checked the address of that "magnificent" customer pool she remembered seeing.
It was actually Jimmy Acosta’s house. Pool Craft’s owner.
"I’m devastated that I was deceived to believe," she said.
A potential Pool Craft client insisted on seeing a happy customer's pool. She took pictures of a "magnificent" pool and signed a contract. She didn't realize until later it was the company owner's pool. (photo by Kim Von Kamen)
Two subcontractors who say Acosta owes him money said they think he’s working now in Tennessee.
The market for his pools here in Georgia may soon be running dry.
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