5 On Your Side

Complaints Mount Against Apex Pool, Spa Company

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APEX, N.C. — All Decked Out Leisure in Apex sells pools, hot tubs and patio furniture. In the past two years, at least 12 people called Five On Your Side to complain about the company and i's owner, Charlie Jannuzzi.

Teresa Shores is one of them. "He has done absolutely nothing and kept my money and I have nothing to show for it," said Shores.

Shores' problem involves a hole in her deck and the hot tub that's supposed to be in it. The spa she bought from Jannuzzi broke after just three weeks. Jannuzzi picked it up last October. After waiting more than a month for it to be fixed, he agreed to a replacement. But the replacement he delivered was too small for the hole.

"I said I don't mind taking another tub, a different tub, a different name brand. I just want it to fit the hole that it goes in," Shores said.

Paul Shellman has a big hole in his backyard. So far, he has paid Jannuzzi almost $21,000 for a pool he expected more than a year ago.

"It frustrates me so much, it just gets my blood boiling," Shellman said.

Other complaints involve a pool liner falling in, scratched patio furniture and even a roof leak. When All Decked Out stopped returning phone calls from Five On Your Side about the problems, Five On Your Side's Monica Laliberte went to the store.

First, Laliberte talked with Jannuzzi's wife, Susan.

"It's probably going to be about 30 minutes," she said.

So Laliberte waited. About 45 minutes later, Jannuzzi showed up. However, Jannuzzi did not want to discuss the complaints and eventually walked out.

When Laliberte tried to talk with Jannuzzi again, he shut the door on her. But she met Steve Migliaccio in the parking lot, a subcontractor now working on Paul Shellman's pool.

"It's three-fourths of the way done. (It's) set in the ground, backfilled, plumbed," Migliaccio said.

However, at Shellman's house, Five On Your Side found a muddy mess that was far from finished. Shellman said he had to take Jannuzzi to court to get the project going again, but he said Jannuzzi has not been out to the pool in weeks. So, he finally paid Migliaccio $4,000 with the hope he will get it done by the end of the month for Shellman's daughter's graduation.

Shores is not so lucky. Even though Jannuzzi previously told Five On Your Side that he fixed her broken spa and that it "looks brand new," Five On Your Side found it sitting out in the parking lot.

Susan Jannuzi now tells Five On Your Side that she will call Theresa Shores by the end of the week to work something out. She said Shellman's pool will be done within 10 days. The pool liner problem is fixed. She said she's working on the other complaints.

Susan Jannuzzi blames the problems on parts and former bad employees. She also said the company was "doing too much." The company is now phasing out of the patio business and concentrating on just pools, spas and service.

The company recently changed its name to All Decked Out Pools and Spas, which could impact their legal responsibilities for transactions done under their previous name of All Decked Out Leisure.

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