In Deep-o with Pool Depot; The $7000 mistake

About 3 years ago we saw an ad on TV for a $250. above ground pool. We called the #, and a few days later a salesman nicknamed "Joe Cashregister" (he even had the nerve to tell us this) appeared at our home. He had an impressive sales binder showing us some pictures of beautiful pools, with wrap-around decks and happy people swimming. He also had pages of figures, showing the cost over a period of 5 years for chemicals for inground pools and other types of above-ground pools. He made the point that the top-of-the-line Pool Depot pool for about $7000 would save something like that amount over the years because it had a copper ionizer and wouldn't need chemicals. All it would need would be a gallon of bleach once a week or so and it would stay crystal clear. It needed no stabilizers or any other chemicals, he insisted. He told us that their company would get all the approval from the city, would take care of all paperwork and licenses, and would install it. He said there was a lifetime warranty on everything, because of the superior quality. But we had to sign"today" in order to get free things like a $300. pool cover. We'd get referral fees for all the people who would buy one after seeing ours.


He arranged for financing after we foolishly signed. We've been paying $166. a month for almost 3 years and we still owe almost the entire principal of about $7000. They never got approval from the city. The liner leaked within a couple of months. We just took the pool down to move it and found rust on the outer ring .He swore that would never happen. The pool liner is brittle and in need of replacement. The water was green and cloudy for over a year and we couldn't balance it even with chemicals. None of the features that convinced us to buy it have been true. What so you think we can do? We'd like to stop paying on it but it would ruin our credit. Your help would really be appreciated.