Mod Pools (Modpools) Suck

See Demand Letter at Bottom and STAY TUNED for the fireworks.

This company has always been annoying, especially if you need any help after the sale - I swear it's like a company of 4 people and their customer care call center has a young person or two taught in fine art of never actually answering your questions, passing the buck, or otherwise being unhelpful. I used to tell Trent in the office I didn't trust them, and I felt we were always a pool away from getting screwed somehow. Our clients never know what we have to deal with to get their pool delivered, or the 100% due before it leaves their shop. The site work, crane, logistics, etc... is all our responsibility, so the idea it's quicker, cheaper and easier, like most things modular, are mostly unmet promises. Currently these assholes have $85,000 of my money and my container pool, which they claim they can't ship because of new tariff rules and logistics.

Really, the company is about mis-representation - that pools are made in days (3 months more like it), that install is easy (getting a crane on a residential property is impossible in many cases), that they pay for tariffs (not from what we've seen), that they are helpful after the sale (hardly), that you can do it for under $100,000. The list goes on and on...

The question regarding criminality and possible fraud is how are they staying in business and selling pools when they openly admit they can't get them across the border. Knowingly promise what you know to be false is pretty much the definition of fraud, especially when it is not a one off action but your standard operating procedure.

One review, and I'm sure there are many like it -

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Jimbo macgraw

5 reviews·5 photos

Edited 5 months ago

Another unsatisfied customer…Purchased the pool for over $100kIt arrived months late in October 2025.Now the window cracked down the middle and Modpools will not cover replacement.Brand new never used.Run for the hills from these people. Looking forward to the next documentary about this shady company.Update:Local glass company replaced the window for $4k vs the $18k Modpool quoted. Glad we can use it now!But then heater manifold has a leak upon start up(video)If you decide to gamble against the house on one of these products highly recommend getting everything in writing. They decided to pay only half of tariffs as a cherry on top!Cool concept but they are still figuring it out which they clearly realize. I’ve had better warranties from pawn shops.

‍Another Review

Attention Future Modpool Customers:After our disappointing experience with Modpools, I feel obligated to share our story so others can avoid similar frustrations.Our Modpool has been installed for less than six months, yet we've only used it a handful of times due to multiple defects. What we thought would be a dream addition to our home has become a nightmare.Heat IssuesLiving in the desert, we expected Modpools, which are advertised for both cold and warm climates, to handle summer temperatures. However, our pool regularly reached 107°F, making it unusable during the entire summer. Modpools never informed us that a chiller would be necessary in order to safely swim during the summer. Adding a chiller requires reworking new equipment, increasing monthly operating costs, but Modpools has not offered any concessions. Not once did they tell us we needed a chiller for warm climates when we were selecting our pool. It’s false advertising to say the pool is usable year around in all climates.Paint FailingShortly after installation, the pool walls turned pink and began exuding a powdery substance. Although Modpools blamed algae, our pool company disagreed, noting the issue was likely the paint leaching into the water. Two local technicians confirmed the paint was faulty. Modpools refused to honor their warranty, instead offering to send more of the same failing paint or charge us for repairs by sending somebody from Canada when “they happen to be in the area.” They blamed us saying improper chemical use even though we had a professional service provider and chemical records indicating nearly zero chlorine at the time it started turning pink as we were relying on the UV system.Other IssuesThe pool’s window seals are deteriorating, water jets are leaking, and rust spots are appearing, all within six months of installation. Despite numerous attempts to address these concerns, Modpools has been unresponsive and unhelpful.We invested over $115,000 in this project, and now we’re left with a pool we can’t use. The lack of customer service and support is disheartening.If you’re considering a Modpool, I urge you to read reviews and research carefully. We regret being swayed by glossy photos and flashy marketing. Don’t make the same mistake.

Here's there website, which features a pool we delivered and installed. Easier to be a happy end user when you had nothing to do with the erraticness of the production and delivery process.

Modpools

November 2, 2026

VIA EMAIL AND TRACKED INTERNATIONAL COURIER

Andrew D.R. Delmonico, Kuhn LLP 100 – 32160 South Fraser Way, Abbotsford, BC V2T 1W5 adelmonico@kuhnco.net

Modpools Inc., Attn: Paul Rathnam, Authorized Signatory 5784 Glenmore Road, Abbotsford, BC V4X 1X7 customercare@modpools.com; levi@modpools.com

Re: Notice of cancellation and demand for refund — 20′ widened Modpool for 3 Rivka Road, Saugerties, NY. Agreement signed May 13, 2026; Purchase Price $[84,000], paid in full. Cancellation under Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §§ 2.711 and 2.616; notice under § 17.505; presentment under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 38.002.

Dear Mr. Delmonico and Mr. Rathnam:

As your firm requested, I am directing this to counsel, with a copy to Modpools. This is the last letter Catskill Farms will send before filing suit. It sets out the undisputed facts, the contract terms, and what it will take to end this.

1. The facts are not in dispute

• On May 13, 2026, [Buyer legal name, exactly as on Invoice no. ____] (“Catskill Farms”) and Modpools Inc. (“Modpools”) entered into the Agreement for one 20′ widened Modpool, built to Modpools’ Revision 2 drawings dated June 26, 2026, for 3 Rivka Road, Saugerties, New York 12477.
• Catskill Farms paid the full Purchase Price. On August 21, 2026, Modpools confirmed receipt of the final wire, wrote that “everything looks good with the CBP,” and offered to ship on August 28. On August 25 we confirmed delivery for the week of September 14.
• On August 27, Modpools put shipment on hold, citing a new U.S. duty on Canadian-made pools that it says took effect August 22.
• On September 10, Modpools confirmed in writing that the pool “has been manufactured and is complete.”
• Today the pool is more than nine weeks past its agreed ship date. Modpools has not shipped it, has given no delivery date, and has refunded nothing. Its only explanation is a pending request to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for a valuation ruling, with no timeline.

2. The contract puts the tariff on Modpools, and Modpools has agreed in writing

Section II9 of the General Terms makes tariffs in effect at the time of shipment the Seller’s sole responsibility, never charged to the Buyer. Modpools’ own August 27 email confirmed that the delay “does not change your Purchase Price” and that tariffs “remain the responsibility of Modpools.” Modpools’ website advertised that it absorbs all current tariffs for its customers, with no surprise charges [Exhibit F, dated screenshot].

Modpools’ October 23 email states the real reason for the hold: it is waiting “before proceeding with shipments that could otherwise be subject to substantial additional tariff costs.” The pool is finished and can cross the border now. Modpools is choosing not to ship it because a cost it agreed to carry has gone up.

3. Force majeure does not excuse this

Section IV covers delays caused by circumstances beyond Modpools’ reasonable control. Nothing is stopping this pool from entering the United States. Imported goods are routinely entered on payment of estimated duties, with any valuation question resolved afterward. A voluntary request for a ruling that might reduce Modpools’ own duty bill is a business choice within its control, not a border closure.

The Agreement is governed by Texas law (Section VIII). Under Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 2.615, increased cost does not excuse a seller’s performance, and a seller cannot claim excuse for a risk it expressly assumed. Modpools assumed this exact risk in Section II9. And even where a force majeure clause applies, it allows a delay of reasonable length, not indefinite retention of a fully paid product with no delivery date.

4. Cancellation and demand for refund

Modpools agreed to ship on August 28, 2026, for delivery the week of September 14. It did not, and it has given no delivery date since. The pool was ordered for a specific house on a specific schedule. That window has closed, and a pool delivered now is of no use to this project.

Catskill Farms therefore cancels the Agreement under Tex. Bus. & Com. Code § 2.711 for Modpools’ failure to make delivery, effective on your receipt of this letter. In the alternative, if Modpools maintains that its delay is excused under Section IV or § 2.615, this letter is Catskill Farms’ written notice under § 2.616 terminating the Agreement because of a material and indefinite delay. Either way, Modpools keeps the pool and returns the money.

We demand a wire of $[84,000] to the account the payments came from, received no later than [November 23, 2026]. On receipt, Catskill Farms releases all interest in the pool, which Modpools may resell.

Section II[6] does not change this. Its non-refundable language addresses a Buyer who walks away for its own reasons, not a Buyer whose Seller failed to deliver. And forfeiting 100% of the price for a pool Modpools still holds and can resell would be an unenforceable penalty under § 2.718.

If the refund is not received by that date, Catskill Farms will file suit for the full Purchase Price, incidental and consequential damages, interest, and attorney’s fees.

5. Notice under the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (§ 17.505)

This letter is also written notice of Catskill Farms’ claim under Tex. Bus. & Com. Code §§ 17.41 et seq.

• Specific complaint: Modpools represented on its website and in its Agreement that it absorbs all tariffs with no surprise charges. It accepted full payment on that basis. It is now withholding the completed pool to avoid that cost, neither delivering nor refunding, while (by its own October 23 account) telling new customers that tariff costs are theirs.
• Economic damages: $[84,000] Purchase Price, plus $[____] in costs from losing the pool for the 3 Rivka Road house [itemize: site work and pad already completed, redesign, substitute amenity, carrying costs].
• Attorney’s fees reasonably incurred to date: $[____].

If this is not resolved within 60 days of your receipt of this letter, Catskill Farms’ suit will include its DTPA claims, including the additional damages available for knowing conduct.

6. Presentment (Chapter 38)

This letter presents Catskill Farms’ contract claim. If the amount owed is not tendered within 30 days, Catskill Farms will seek its attorney’s fees under Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code § 38.001.

7. Forum

Section VIII requires that all claims arising out of or relating, directly or indirectly, to the Goods or the Agreement be brought exclusively in the courts of the State of Texas. Catskill Farms will file there. That clause binds both parties.

8. Preserve evidence

Litigation is reasonably anticipated. Modpools must preserve all documents and communications about this order; the pool’s production and completion; the CBP ruling request and all CBP correspondence; communications with its customs broker; its website statements about tariffs and their revision history; and every pool shipped to, sold to, or quoted for U.S. customers since August 22, 2026.

[Optional, recommended: “Catskill Farms’ public statements about this matter are limited to the documented facts set out in this letter.” Use only once the website page has been revised to match; see Case File tab.]

A refund ends this.

Sincerely,

Charles (Chuck) Petersheim Founder, Catskill Farms On behalf of [Buyer legal name] and individually [Mailing address] · [Phone] · charles@thecatskillfarms.com

Enclosures: Exhibits A–H (see Case File tab)

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