One of those customers, Sanford homeowner Rebecca Yingling, said, "Since we started having kids, this is our dream." A dream that Rebecca and her husband Moses say has been a nightmare.
"This waterwall is supposed to be three feet high with an actual waterfall that goes into the pool, but unfortunately, they haven't come back to finish this either," Moses tells ABC11. The Yinglings say the unfinished work includes missing parts of their job, like a pool ladder and a handle, along with other items.
Their job is with Backyard Leisure, which previously had a storefront in Raleigh but has since closed, and now has a storefront in Kernersville, NC. The contract was signed in June 2024. Moses says, "All right, we are pulling the trigger. We're going to go with you guys." He said his sales representative with Backyard Leisure said, "No problem, we will have you done by September."
Delays and problems pile up
At first, the Yinglings said there was a delay due to permitting issues because of their septic tank lines, but that got resolved, and the permit was approved in October. They started digging a hole and putting in the plumbing and the electrical, and then they ordered the shell, and they dropped the shell in November, put water in it to level it down," Rebecca adds. The couple says Backyard Leisure said the rest of the job, like the pump, heater, and filter, would not be done until after the holidays, but months later, still nothing. Rebecca says they were told. "The week of March 21st, your equipment is in, and it's going to be installed sometime this week." However, they say no one from Backyard Leisure showed up that week, and they didn't even get a phone call. Meanwhile, their pool sat and got dirty along with other creatures.
Moses adds, "We have pulled over 70 frogs out of the pool so far. We've had all sorts of larvae and stuff hatching and dragonflies."
More dissatisfied customers
The Yinglings are not alone. ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson has heard from several Backyard Leisure customers who say they also have unfinished work when it comes to pools.
- A customer in Pink Hill, NC, says he paid in full for an inground pool also in 2024, and he did get the shell of the pool installed; he says Backyard Leisure did not return to finish the job.
- A customer in Lillington said she was left with an unfinished pool job contracted with Backyard Leisure in January of this year. She says she paid in full more than $50,000 and says she was promised the job would be completed in May, but says Backyard Leisure did not complete the work, and she said she eventually paid another company to finish it.
- A customer in Creedmoor says Backyard Leisure did dig the hole for her pool job that she paid $36,000 for in February. She says she was promised several completion dates, but it didn't happen.
- A Backyard Leisure customer in Clayton says she was also left with an unfinished job. She says the company installed the shell of the pool in April, but that's it. She says the rest of the job is still not done.
Troubleshooter's previous investigation
This is not the first time Wilson has investigated Backyard Leisure. In the spring of 2024, Wilson heard from several customers who ordered hot tubs, but they weren't delivered by the promised delivery date. After ABC11 got involved in 2024, Backyard Leisure said those customers were told delivery dates by mistake, and after our involvement, several of the customers did get what they ordered. During that investigation in 2024, the North Carolina Attorney General's office said they were reviewing just under twenty cases.
Fast forward to now, more than a year later, the state's attorney general's office says they have more than sixty complaints, some of those cases have been resolved, and the office says they are investigating Backyard Leisure, but has not taken action yet.
When Wilson reached out to Backyard Leisure on the most recent cases involving unfinished pools, the owner said that with the Creedmoor job, where only a hole was dug, he blamed the customer changing the job, along with permitting issues, and all the rain we've had. However, his company did go back and fill the hole, and the customer says she was promised a refund, but she says she is still waiting for it. As for the other jobs, he did not answer specifically for each case but said that while they have had issues in the past, this delay is due to abnormal rainfall. They have had success in installing about 80% of their pools this year, but have several projects that keep getting rained out or are just muddy to work in.
Crews return
As for the Yinglings, Moses says, "So frustrating, but for us, the worst part is that every time we turn around, they're giving us another date." The Yinglings said they were given a date from Backyard Leisure that crews would be at their house on August 18th, but the couple says no one showed up that day. The next day, crews did show up and delivered some welcome equipment like the pump, filter, and heater, which were all installed. They say they are still waiting for the electrician and for some pool equipment, along with the waterwall, to get completed, and the pool does need to be cleaned. The Yinglings say they are hoping that happens soon.
While the Yinglings did see some progress on their job, other customers say they heard nothing from Backyard Leisure and eventually gave up and paid another company to finish their job. The best advice when it comes to big jobs like this is not to pay in full until the job is done. The customers we talked with said they were hesitant too, but since they saw progress, they paid in full as they said Backyard Leisure promised their jobs would get done right away.