My experience with liner going bad.

[Bobbing]

Having used this forum on many occasions, it is now time I share something that may be helpful to others.

I purchased an in-ground 20x40 20mill liner from my pool builder at the end of July 2007 for my 18 years old pool. The liner was from Pegasus Products, one of about 100 he put in that year from this company. The liner had probably been leaking for at least a year, but became a real problem in the winter of this year, 2010. When the weather and pool warmed, I found a dehiscence at the seam that had split about 5 inches when I found it.

Needless to say, having a torn liner is frustrating enough especially when it is hard to find. There is also a great cost in replacing thousands of gallons of water as a result of a bad liner. Then trying to get the pool builder out at their busiest time of the year to deal with a bad quality liner is also a frustration for everyone. The builder came out and agreed there was a separation at the seam and said that a patch would be worthless in this case. I brought a copy of the contract, warranty and date of installation to the builder and he was to call Pegasus to take care of things and I would probably have a new liner in about 2 weeks. I knew there was a prorated warranty with this liner and I was coming up on the end of my third year with this liner. I knew I would have to pay only 30% for a new one using the Pegasus warranty.

Well after two weeks I call the builder and he says that Pegasus wants to talk with me, so I call them. I get a fairly unprofessional person who knows of my situation. She says that because I have had the liner for 4 seasons, I would be responsible for 45% (not the 30 % I assumed)of the "retail" cost of a new liner. She could not define what a season was, but refused to see that from July 2007 to June 2010 is nearly 3 years, not "four seasons". She said I would have to pay $900 for a new liner under the terms of their warranty, "sorry that is the way our warranty is."

After speaking to Pegasus Products, I drove to the builders office and we both compared our experiences trying to work with this company. Needless to say between an irate customer and an upset seasoned pool veteran there were plenty of f bombs and other expletives shared in our disbelief of the way we both had been treated. Both of us are businessmen and were pretty astonished at how a manufacturer would throw a builder, their customer, under the bus like what had been done. The builder was embarrassed that the amount they were charging me was about what I had paid for a new liner almost three years ago and a little less than a new liner today. You see, the "retail price" is the high price manufactures make up as the "manufactures suggested retail price." This is a fantasy price that no customer ever pays. This price is convenient for a manufacturer to use during warranty problems so that manufacturer is always assured of making money even when a customer only pays 20%.

When I purchased the liner originally, I was concerned about warranty issues. From what I have learned, I would not buy another liner based on warranty. In my situation with Pegasus, the warranty turns out to be worthless when the company sells a poor quality product and is not interested in standing behind it. It is certainly not worth the stress of dealing with a company like this for something like this. In my case it makes no sense to purchase another product from a company that sold me a poor quality liner and refused to treat me like a valued customer. I took the $900 Pegasus wanted and put it towards a new liner from another company I hope will appreciate my business.

This time instead of focusing on the manufacturers warranty, I sat my builder down and asked him a few questions. I asked, how long have you dealt with this manufacturer and how much business do you give them. I asked how they treat him when there is a problem. Your builder wants you as a customer for life and anything that helps him to do this is valued. He also wants to deal with a manufacturer that treats him and his customer well. I asked my builder to tell me some examples of issues that have come up with the manufacturer and how they dealt with him and the customer. He assured me the new company has never done to him what Pegasus has done. He says the liner I'm getting is from a stand-up company that takes care of the rare issues that occasionally come up. He says he has used this company for many years and they are grateful for the business he gives them.

My builder wants to keep me as a good customer. The pool builder is taking a hit on this issue and is giving me a break with the new liner. This was not his fault, but he is stepping up to take care of me. Ask your builder what he would do in such a situation. Dealing with a stand-up builder with many years of service to his community turned out to be more important to me than any warranty.

[lisahaye]

Hello,
I was wondering if you would mind telling me which liner brand you chose. You sound like you found a great pool guy. I've been researching liners online to see what customers thought of different brands of liners. We are also from Georgia and will be replacing our liner soon. Thank you so much for posting your experience, it knocked out Pegasus for me.