Melbourne pool company Pools R Us in liquidation as clients unleash on business

A major pool company has collapsed, leaving as many as 80 customers desperate to recover deposits worth tens of thousands of dollars.

Nyerse Constructions Pty. Ltd, which trades as Pools R Us and is based in Melbourne, went bankrupt on June 1.

The demise of the family business has left customers in limbo with little or no communication about what will happen to their pools or their money.

Many paid hefty deposits upfront after signing contracts, only to find out later that the company had not ordered planning permission or purchased insurance for the works – meaning some clients are struggling to get their money back.

The Pools R Us website has been taken down while phone numbers for the company and Nyerse Constructions have been disconnected.

An email sent to customers on May 31 said that the managing director, Chris Rhodes, was undergoing treatment for a health problem that was “taking a very heavy toll” on his family and the company.

Customers were told that the company had been closed for several weeks but was working on various options to complete projects.

“Unfortunately, what has happened during this period has taken its toll, to say the least,” the email read.

“Our website and Google Maps listing have been hacked, along with several death threats to us and our families, including their children.

“This is something we cannot go through or tolerate.”

The company then said they would be closing Pools R Us permanently “after many years of building quality pools.”

“We tried all possible avenues and options to continue trading under the circumstances we faced,” the email continued.

“We had been going through Covid – followed by an insanely bad weather year, massive price increases across the construction industry, endless supply shortages and huge staff shortages.

“We are absolutely devastated that we have had to make this decision and unfortunately, due to the events of the past few days, we feel it is no longer possible or safe for us to continue trading.”

One client, Shaz, who only wanted to give her first name, lost $32,000 after paying a 5 percent down payment and a down payment for her swimming pool when she signed a contract with Pools R Us in April 2022.

She had previously had a swimming pool installed at the company without any problems and was eager to use it again after a move.

But after being told the pool would be ready in a few months, Shaz and her husband instead received letters from the company warning of delays due to weather, production, staff shortages and difficulty obtaining a permit.

“This went on for months. My husband and I sent emails and called the office but there was no response,” Shaz told Daily Mail Australia.

“We kept getting the random generic email saying the company was busy and would get back to us.”

Finally, Shaz took it upon himself to visit the Polish R Us office in Dandenong South, Victoria, in February this year and ask for answers.

She claims the owner’s son told her husband construction shouldn’t take that long, but when she confronted staff at the office, she says she was met with hostility.

“They told me to leave the office and said ‘people like you go to the bottom of the list,'” Shaz said.

She then received an email from Pools R Us saying the manufacturer was struggling to get her pool’s exterior to Melbourne.

“It was all just smoke and mirrors, it was c**p,” she said.

Shaz was then told the grenade would arrive in May, but a few weeks later she received an email saying the company had closed.

She then learned that Pools R Us had never applied for a permit to build her swimming pool and therefore no insurance could be taken out.

Shaz said she knew about 80 people affected by the company’s closure, and questioned claims that the owner was sick in their latest email.

“I believe they used that as an excuse, and as for the threats if you don’t give people their money back, people will always be unhappy,” she said.

Shaz said she went to the Victorian Managed Insurance Authority (VMIA), but they told her there wasn’t much they could do because she didn’t have insurance.

Another Polish R Us customer, Laura, is in the same boat.

She fears she lost $27,000 to the company after signing a contract for a pool in the middle of last year.

Laura said she wiggled back and forth between a few different pool companies, but said Pools R Us had “promised the world” and vowed to build it in a few months, while other companies had said it would take more than a year. to last.

She said the company charged her three payments upfront, totaling just over $27,000 and equaling 50 percent of the deposit.

Under Victoria’s Domestic Building Contracts Act 1995, a down payment for construction work cannot legally exceed 10 percent if the total price is $20,000 or less, or five percent if the total cost is more than $20,000.

She added that she and her husband had been very understanding throughout the process and had confidence in the company as it had won awards and received positive reviews online.

After signing the contract midway through last year, Laura said she was told the pool would be ready by the end of the year.

“Once we paid the deposit, we didn’t hear from them again,” she said.

“We talked to them, but it was always us who made contact, we didn’t get any work schedules or even a start date.”

In February of this year she was told that the pool could be ready in June or July depending on the weather.

“We gave them a wide berth. We were very understanding. We know every industry struggles with employee turnover and things like that,” she said.

“We understood there would be delays, but we definitely didn’t expect what happened.”

Laura claims that as of April this year, the company stopped responding to her altogether and appeared to have a “massive victim mentality” in the latest email sent to customers.

“It’s just so unfair that they could possibly get away with this and not pay us a dime,” Laura said.

Others have shared similar unfortunate experiences online.

“Yes, I lost over 15,000,” one customer wrote.

“I can’t even explain the disappointment with this company,” said another.

“The total lack of communication and months of unanswered calls was so wrong. Years of saving for us, and so many others, are just gone,” said one customer.

Others revealed that they had pools made by the company without any problems, but admitted that communication was sometimes lacking.

In a glowing blog post, the team said the company was “multi-award winning” and committed to “quality and customer satisfaction.”

“Whether you want to create a $5,000 or $50,000 pool — no job is too small or too big,” the owners said.

“Behind every Pools R Us pool is 20 years of experience in commercial, industrial and residential construction. This is used on every pool project that Pools R Us undertakes. It gives our clients peace of mind to know that they are dealing with a real builder!

‘Pools R Us provides one-on-one guidance from start to finish on every project.

‘You can go to Pools R Us for anything and everything: from plans to permits, from swimming pools to landscape design, paving, concreting and tiling to the construction and design of water features.’

A former employee of the company declined to comment when approached by Daily Mail Australia.

Daily Mail Australia has contacted Pools R Us and GS Andrews Advisory, who have been appointed as liquidators, for comment.