POLK COUNTY, Fla. — A popular Polk County pool company is going out of business and announced plans to file for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy, leaving dozens of homeowners scrambling to get their unfinished pools complete.
“I’m just really disappointed and frustrated. It's gross. We have frogs that live in here,” said Marife Garcia.
Garcia was looking forward to her family enjoying the summer inside their new pool. She said she signed a contract with Aquanautics Pools in December 2022 to build a pool that was supposed to be completed by this July.
“As you can see our pool is 50% done, we still need a lot more to go,” she said.
One year later, and still none of the electrical, pool lining, or panels have been done. Garcia said her finance company already paid $74,000 of the $97,000 contract.
She fears that money has gone down the drain after receiving a letter from Aquanautics Pools informing its customers of plans to file for bankruptcy.
“We trusted them to come into our home and to extend our home, so that we can have it more enjoyable and for them to say sorry we’re going to declare bankruptcy, and there isn’t anything else we can do about it,” Garcia said.
The Florida Attorney General's Office is investigating eight complaints and expects to receive more.
Matthew Reed said crews began digging his new pool last October. “A little over six months or so, where there was no work being done,” he said.
His pool is almost complete, but he said it still needs a cage and handrails.
“I feel kind of fortunate in a sense that we were able to get our pool built; however, screen enclosures now are running anywhere between $22,000 to $30,000” Reed said.
ABC Action News reached out to the owner of Aquanautics Pools, Eddie Scarberry. He said there are 60 pools that are unfinished. He ensures he is doing everything to complete each pool before filing for bankruptcy. He said he is also helping customers find new contractors.
“Well, how can we trust another contractor? That's the point we’re at right now,” said Garcia.
