"This company sells portable swimming pools of many varieties and sizes online. They also provide pool pumps and other parts. They also do business as http://www.pools4less.com

On June 23, I placed order number 1903 through their web site. The total charge was $511.19 for a pool, pump upgrade, and shipping. I sent email to verify the order and asked about shipping time, since the pool was for a birthday party July 3. I was told by Sue that there would be no problem getting the pool by then.

On June 25, I inquired as to when the pool would ship, as I had not yet received a tracking number. I was informed by Sue that the order was waiting for one item, but that “even if it ships out by Friday [June 27], you should have it by Tuesday [July 1]”.

On June 27, my credit card was charged $511.19 for order number 1903. However, the order did not actually ship until Monday, June 30, according to the shipper.

On July 2, I contacted the shipper with a tracking number I got from Arthur’s. It turned out that they don’t deliver direclty to my area. The pool had been shipped to Ontario, CA and was not scheduled to arrive until July 7. Needless to say, this was not going to work. The order had shipped out a week later than expected. I was never contacted with any notice of delay, nor was I notified that the order had to go from central California through southern California in order to be shipped to northern California. I discovered all of this to my horror the day before the party.

I called Arthur’s and spoke to Kevin, who apologized profusely for the confusion and assured me that I should have been told when I placed the order that it was not going to ship for a week. Kevin cancelled the order and assured me that I would receive a FULL REFUND immediately.

In the succeeding weeks I have called and sent email several times to find out when my Visa would be credited with the full amount. I have received no reply at all. I recently checked with my credit card provider and find that my card was credited with $293.75 on July 21. It is a mystery to me where this number came from, but it is $217.44 short of the total.

When I inquired, I was told that due to their "policy" I was required to pay for shipping of $108 in each direction, which accounts for the figure. We never even saw the pool, it was their employee who cancelled it with apology and false promise. I don't think I should be required to pay for their poor communication and shipping policies, but they do not respond to any of my letters or emails."