A Quebec swimming pool installer who made headlines for threatening customers who refused to pay huge surcharges set up a “system to rip off and overcharge consumers,” the Supreme Court has just ruled.
• Also read: Ruined by her new swimming pool: greedy plumbers threaten her
Piscines Élégance and its owner, Dominic Flamand, “clear and voluntary […] “We implemented a system of overbilling to enrich ourselves,” Judge Carl Lachance said in a ruling issued Monday following a civil lawsuit.
The company’s regular subcontractor, Excava Plus, owned by former drug trafficker Patrick Laurendeau, was also part of the “plan to dig deeper to charge its customers for extras,” the court supervisor added.
The court considered the case of Simon Comtois, who contracted the services of Piscines Élégance to repair his damaged swimming pool in September 2021. The work was valued at around $18,400 at the time.
The work took place from October 4 to 13, 2021, after which Piscines Élégance issued an invoice for almost $145,000, or $80,000, for the excavation.
“The final price is seven times higher than the initial price,” emphasizes the judge.
Excavation “not necessary”
Simon Comtois refused to pay the entire bill. In court, Dominic Flamand demanded $103,000 from his client. Piscines Élégance claimed that its subcontractor had to continue digging during the work and had to fill no fewer than 37 trucks with contaminated soil. According to him, this was an “unexpected” extra.
However, “the expert reports demonstrate that the excavation work to an excessive depth and width was unprecedented and unnecessary,” the magistrate wrote.
By comparison, Mr. Comtois’s first pool installer would have dug to a depth of five and a half feet. Piscines Élégance would have required six feet more digging. The excavations resulted in a lake forming under the swimming pool and water continually accumulating there, an expert said.
In addition, the work carried out did not solve the customer’s original problem. The pool is still sagging and it will take about $22,600 in additional work to correct everything, we can read.
“Tactic” for overloading
Patrick Laurendeau from Excava Plus monitored the construction site. The latter was conspicuous by his absence from court.
“Laurendeau most likely did not testify because her version would have been damaging, especially since several clients have complained to the Régie du Logement du Québec about Excava Plus’ tactics for billing extras in similar cases,” Judge Lachance wrote.
During the trial, it was mentioned that the RBQ had conducted an investigation into Excava Plus’ practices, meeting with customers from eight locations that opened between 2020 and 2022.
“In any case, the facts are similar […] The excavation pit is too deep and too wide than required […] The extras sometimes amount to more than double the asking price,” writes the judge, who recalls that the RBQ has now suspended the approval for Excava Plus.
“Wrongdoing”
According to the court, Dominic Flamand’s testimony is “unreliable and its credibility is questionable.” Piscines Élégance should have adequately informed its customers about the amount of the extras; the opposite would constitute “reprehensible and unlawful behavior”.
The judge concludes that Dominic Flamand “violated his duty of good faith” and “devised a system so that his company could abuse its customers.” The court therefore dismissed the $103,000 lawsuit brought by Piscines Élégance and instead ordered the company and its owner to pay more than $42,000 to Simon Comtois.
Recall that earlier this year the Bureau of Investigation revealed that Piscines Élégance and Excava Plus allegedly threatened customers who refused to pay tens of thousands of dollars in invoiced extras without warning or explanation.
Piscines Élégance is currently facing a dozen civil lawsuits related to customers who feel cheated. In one 2022 case, the company billed $177,000 on top of an invoice for $92,000.
The tax office demands almost $60,000 from him
Debts and worries are piling up for Piscines Élégance, while Revenu Québec is now demanding almost $60,000 from him.
According to documents obtained by our Bureau of Investigation, Piscines Élégance owes the Quebec tax authorities more than $56,000 in taxes and approximately $2,300 in taxes for 2022 and 2023.
In June, our investigative agency also revealed that the state had taken over the residence of the owner of Piscines Élégance, Dominic Flamand, as a guarantee. Quebec’s attorney general then sought more than $14,000 from him for six unpaid traffic tickets in recent years.
Recall that Piscines Élégance made headlines earlier this year for causing a nightmare to several customers who had sought its services to install their in-ground pool.
The website, Facebook page and company premises are closed today. At the end of March last year, Dominic Flamand founded a new company called “Fibre de verre Pro”, which specializes in the installation of swimming pools.
With Philippe Langlois
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