Nick Noel Virginia Beach Pools Pool Scammer Virginia Beach Virginia

Stay away from these guys. Similar reports have been filed about Virginia Beach Pools/Nick Noel describing the exact same problems we encountered. Nick is indeed a smooth talker who will tell you what you want to hear (i.e., “we have 30+ years of experience; we clean up after ourselves; we do quality work; we're honest; you'll be happy with the job; we're the only pool company in the area that replace steps; giving you a good price on top of a coupon deal, I’m a man of my word,” etc. etc.)

We started researching contractors in early February 2016 to replace a 15-year old vinyl liner and steps.  We planned the process early in anticipation of completing the project before pool opening in May. After talking to three pool companies, we settled on Nick Noel of Virginia Beach Pools.

Nick recommended the following to upgrade our 34-year old in-ground pool: 1) replace the old liner with a 20-mil grade liner; 2) remove, dispose and replace the old steps and concrete with a stamped concrete deck; 3) replace the old black hard rubber supply lines to current day standards (i.e., PVC); 4) replace the old metal coping with brick; 5) a complete re-do of the filter and pump plumbing system; 5) installation of a filter waste/discharge line that connects to a 4-inch PVC drain system to the street/curb with a pop-up at the end of the line; and 6) redirecting water run-off from the pool deck and rain gutters through a 4-inch PVC pipe running to the street/curb.

At the time, we agreed with his recommendations except for the complete re-do of the concrete and drain system due to cost concerns. We signed a contract on February 25^th to do the job for $10,000. His contract specified the following payment plan: 20% deposit upon signing; 35% upon installing steps; 20% upon completion of PVC supply/return lines; 20% upon completion of liner install. The remaining $500 would be provided after a walk-thru of the completed work and upon our satisfaction (which Nick reserved as a “bonus” for his site manager, Jon Berry). We told Nick we weren't in a big hurry to start since we had a couple of months before pool opening in May. Nick said he was ready to start immediately.

About a week later, we decided to amend the contract to include a complete tear-out of the old concrete deck, replacing it with stamped concrete and installation of the water drain system as discussed earlier. This cost an additional $8,084.00 for a grand total of $18,084. Payment plan for this add-on was 50% down, 25% when formed and 25% due when deck was poured and completed. We provided all payments according to the periods specified.

From the onset, Nick’s workers rarely worked a full day. They would show up for an hour or so then quickly disappear often going for days/weeks before returning. They rarely finished what they started; didn’t clean up after themselves; pointed fingers at each other for work that didn’t get done or wasn’t done right; made promises to be back the next day but never showed. Nick’s site manager, Jon Berry, rarely oversaw work except for 2-3 hours to form the deck and the actual pouring of concrete (he gets credit for working 4 p.m. thru 9:30 p.m. on the day of pouring). Although we had a very wet Spring season, there were ample opportunities when the weather cooperated to follow up on the work. Nick and Jon were full of excuses. Their method of managing schedules and poor leadership skills created inconsistencies, a lack of focus and compromised their character and integrity. They left me, the customer, to wonder if I’ve been scammed. It took them almost four months to pour concrete and five to seal the deck. Nick and Jon do not practice the basic requirements of a running a business – professionalism, and communicating with the customer. I was faced with having to make incessant calls and pleas for action.

There are, however, two areas that I must give fair credit: 1) workers discovered our pool didn’t have a deep well discharge in the deep end of the pool and seeping ground water made installing the new liner difficult; and 2) I was concerned with rust on the metal bulkhead. Nick had his workers install a well point and patched some areas of the rust with a metal plate and epoxy paint. Although I remain cautious about the “band-aid” fix, Nick assured us that we would not have to worry about it in our lifetime. To his credit, he didn’t want us to spend more money and didn’t charge us for the “extra” work (he stated they normally charge $2,000 to install a well point although this is highly suspicious since the well point part itself cost $20 at Lowe’s).

Conversely, there were numerous quality assurance oversights that caused additional out-of-pocket expenses for me:

1) after installing the liner, Nick’s workers overfilled the pool and re-drained thousands of gallons of water. A second refill ultimately cost me over $300 on my water bill;

2) sloppy installation of the coping resulted in uneven grout application, misalignment of bricks, and gaps and chunks of mortar dropped in the pool;

3) sloppy installation of the pool steps caused one of the air jet returns to not work resulting in having to cut through newly installed coping and re-installing of a new part;

4) I had to purchase over $170 of topsoil to fill sunken areas and ditches myself (however, Nick did have another truckload of topsoil mix delivered and spread);

5) workers removed a section of my fence to get a Bobcat to the pool causing damage to our walkway;

6) I had to hire a hauling company to dispose huge chunks of concrete that cost me $950;

7) the plumbing on the drain system wasn’t graded correctly resulting in water back-up issues. Additionally, the pop-up at the end of the line was not extended to the curb as promised resulting in drainage issues on my grass/lawn;

8) I personally had to do a lot of the work Nick said he would do such as: removing large pieces of railroad ties dug up around flower beds; picking up trash and debris; purchasing and installing PVC plumbing parts for the drain system; evening ground tore-up by the Bobcat; and re-installing pavers they removed from my walkway.

Ultimately, after almost six months of excuses from Nick and Jon, I cut my losses and hired contractors to finish installing anchor points for the step ladder and Loop-Loc cover, and extending the pop-up drain system to the curb. I purchased and applied self-leveling caulk/sealant on the expansion joints between the coping and concrete deck myself.

In summary, Nick operates a simple money-making scheme: lure as many customers into signing vague contracts; perform the minimum requirements that obligates payment; hop between contracts and jobs that draw the most cash; leave customers when payments have been completed without actually completing the finishing touches of the job.

Key words to describe Nick’s character and operation: “smooth talker,” “passive-aggressive,” “full of excuses and promises,” “untrustworthy,” “poor manager, leader and communicator,” “poor workmanship and NO attention to detail,” “unreliable,” an “opportunist,” “misleads and takes advantage of the customer,” and “NO INTEGRITY.” He puts up a great appearance on his Facebook page but clearly censors customer feedback.

Learn from our experience by following this advice: 1) exhaust every possible means to research contractors; 2) outline every work detail, expectations and timelines on the contract; 3) work out a payment plan AFTER work has been completed to your satisfaction; 4) agree on a completion date and include it on the contract; and 5) most importantly, do NOT conduct business with Virginia Beach Pools/Nick Noel.