A couple has won their court case and must be compensated by Piscines Élégance, the Quebec company that allegedly threatened customers who refused to pay tens of thousands of dollars extra when they installed their pool.
• Also read: Ruined by her new swimming pool: the seller called for orders
• Also read: Ruined by her new pool: Greedy plumbers threaten her
Supreme Court Justice Sylvain Provencher last Thursday ordered Piscines Elegance to pay more than $18,500 to this Eastern Township couple who claimed they were wronged by the Dominic Flamand-controlled company.
This couple’s experience is similar to reports from our Bureau of Investigation, which revealed in late January that Dominic Flamand and his subcontractor Patrick Laurendeau, a former drug dealer who ran Excava-Plus, had given many clients a nightmare installing their inground pool.
According to the lawsuit, the couple purchased a fiberglass swimming pool, including installation, in April 2022 for $38,774.18.
As soon as work began the following month, Piscines Élégance demanded an additional cost of nearly $35,000, threatening otherwise to “leave the site with a hole in your course, an abundance of rocks, and a pool that will remain on your property.” [reproduction intégrale].
The customers, who were out of the country at the time, claimed they were being “held hostage” and agreed to pay $3,000. In the fall, Piscines Élégance lifted a statutory mortgage on their home, using it as security to pay the remainder of the utility bills. The owners denied the communication, calling it a method of intimidation. Not only did they feel they had paid what they owed the company, but they also wanted several thousand dollars in damages and reimbursement.
Judge Provencher agreed with the couple that Piscines Élégance would not have to pay a cent more. The judge orders the legal mortgage issued on the couple’s home to be canceled, a practice the ruling finds abusive and unlawful.
With respect to damages, Piscines Élégance was ordered, among other things, to pay customers a total of US$18,500 for abuse of rights, moral and criminal damages.
It should be noted that at least a dozen civil lawsuits related to Piscines Élégance are currently in court and pending resolution.