Pocono News Section

I-Team: Pool Contractor Leaves Customers High And Dry

I-Team: Pool Contractor Leaves Customers High And Dry - Wednesday, April 16, 2008 at 5:51PM EST

Reported by: Jeff Chirico
Wednesday, Apr 16, 2008 @ 05:51pm EST
PLYMOUTH, LUZERNE COUNTY- Today's warm weather may have some families thinking about getting backyard pools. But before you do, read this next story. Four customers paid a pool installer more than $40,000 dollars but were left high and dry.

The warning: be careful who you hire to install a pool. These customers were referred to Mark Foley by friends. But after taking their money and not doing the job, he's making some enemies.

Mark Foley took off when he saw our camera. He did the same after digging Joanne Burn's pool. “This is the hole that was dug for my in-ground swimming pool 9 months ago."

After paying nearly $10,000 last summer, this Plymouth grandmother is left with a caving hole that she worries could damage her neighbor's foundation. “I have not heard a word from him since October of ‘07. I have a niece and nephew, they asked everyday, 'When's the pool going to be in?' Nothing ever came about with it," she said.

"He's a thief. He's a criminal," said. Kim Ollendyke. She and her husband of Moosic paid Mark nearly $9,000. She says he breached their contract. She's since hired another business to install a pool.

The Ollendyke's sued mark for their $8,750. A judge ruled in their favor but a year and a half later, they haven't received a dime from him. Kim Ollendyke says “I would really like my money back but if I can't. I would like to see him pay for it. I would really like to see him in jail because I think this is theft."

Wednesday afternoon, Mark thought he was meeting a new customer. Instead it was the I-Team. Jeff Chirico asked, "We want to know why you're taking customer's money and not doing jobs, Mark."

But Foley sped off. He refuses to talk to us but immediately calls his customers for the first time in months. "I'm not going to back off this story because of this story. This is why you called me," said Burns.

He left a message for Kim promising to pay up in three weeks. But she doesn't believe it. "I think everybody is out there who's looking for a pool should know not to contact Mark Foley because he's not a man of his word," she warned.

Law enforcement is investigating these cases. The lesson here is don't hire a contractor, even if he's a friend of a friend, unless you see examples of his previous work and talk to his former customers.