Crack in the pool!

[Bosco390]

We had our Aloha Fiberglass Pool (the Mystic) installed in 2007, and enjoyed it for almost 5 years, before a crack formed in the summer of 2011 in the deep end, at the corner of a moulded-in seat, about three feet down. Initially, our contractor slapped an epoxy-putty patch on it, but this lasted only a few weeks. We discussed with him that maybe we should contact Aloha, as the pool has a limited lifetime warranty. He commented that they would probably just blame him, and not cover the repair. I did it anyway, in the spring of 2012.
Aloha had us email them numerous pictures of the crack, surrounding decking, etc, which we did. They then said they would get back to us. They didn't. We called weekly... sometimes twice or 3 times a week. Always got the excuse that they were discussing it with the president, or need lead technician advice. After SEVEN WEEKS, the final time I called (they never contacted us) we were informed that NO, they would not cover the repair, as it was believed to be contractor error, not backfilling correctly, resulting in a void behind the wall allowing the weight of the water to form a crack. I reminded them that my photos I sent included shots of THEIR REPRESENTATIVE injecting himself into the installation (was here on site) and I believed that gave them at least some responsibility. The answer was NO, installation is ultimately the responsibility of the contractor soully. They recommended we contact their lead technician, who would GIVE US A QUOTE TO REPAIR IT. It seemed like we were being scammed.
So... Aloha lifetime warranty... worthless. Response to customer concerns... condescending. Pool is now repaired, and we are enjoying it again... if we had to do it over again, we would definitely get a fiberglass pool, just not from Aloha.

[TSH Tech]

When anyone receives push-back by a builder when there is clearly a valid warranty for repair work, and it seems like all efforts are going nowhere, it's time to consult an attorney.

Now I know when the word attorney gets thrown around people get flustered and shouts of "you are just another one of those sue happy so-and-so's". No. The purpose here is not to sue for sums of money and clean out the builder, but get a resolution to the problem; that problem being a broken pool not being fixed on a valid warranty. The outcomes in court are usually one of two ways, either they refund you the total cost of the job or they get your pool repaired for free as stated in the warranty.

In case you are reading this going , "Hey, you're a pool tech, why are YOU advising an attorney against your own industry?" I am a tech who takes pride in my work and delivering quality to my customers. One of the things that irk me to no end in the swimming pool industry are sub-par builders and techs that tarnish the image of the pool industry. These shady types of characters do an incredible amount of disservice to the good people in my industry and we have to work much harder to regain the trust of people who have been ripped off or scammed by lowlifes claiming to be professionals.

[Bosco390]

Thanks for the awesome reply, TSH Tech... and part of me wants to badly to call an attorney and file suit... not sure what I would sue FOR, other than peace of mind... but, the short story is I just got fed up and fixed it myself... Here is what I did, and I would be interested in your take on anything I did that was maybe wrong, or errors which I should keep an eye on for further difficulties...

http://pwp.att.net/p/PWP-poolrepair

But, for now, it's pretty much like it never happened, and I'm glad it turned out that way... my money out of pocket was about $110.00, so suing for that much just doesn't seem worth it... maybe loss of use for 7 months, pain and suffering ... yea, that's it!
Anyway, thanks for the reply