A New Jersey family is embroiled in a dispute with a pool company based in New York. A consumer attorney tells Kane In Your Corner that the case could serve as a cautionary tale for people who undertake home improvement work.

Beatrice Menendez says her backyard pool has always been a gathering place for her kids and grandchildren. So earlier this year, Menendez dove into a renovation.

She signed a contract for $20,000 with a New York company called Pete’s Pool Service to repair the pool and install a new deck. The business arrangement went sour, and Menendez kicked the pool company off her property. By then, she had paid $16,000 of the $20,000 total bill, so she asked for a refund to cover work she says was unfinished.

“Out of the $16,000, I was asking him to give me $10,000. And he said “no,” that he didn't have to give anything back,” Menendez says.

The owner of Pete’s Pool Service, Pete Pantoja, tells Kane In Your Corner that he doesn’t owe Menendez a refund, because he feels he already completed 80 percent of the work. He also accuses the family of failing to return some of his tools.

The Menendez family aren’t the only customers with complaints. Kane In Your Corner heard from two other dissatisfied customers, and the Better Business Bureau gives Pete’s Pool Service a rating of “F.”

Consumer attorney Ken Vercammen says when home improvement deals go bad, customers are left with few options other than taking a contractor to court. He advises consumers to head off problems by researching the contractor in advance and ensuring that the contract clearly specifies what work the contractor should complete before each payment is due.

Vercammen also advises hiring a contractor from state where you reside. Menendez lives in New Jersey, but her contractor is based in New York.

Vercammen says, “it's almost like crazy to hire someone from out of state,” because the legal process becomes so much more complicated. “You could sue the contractor and get a judgment… but then you have to domesticate that judgment in another state.”

Menendez says the experience has been eye opening.

“I learned that you can't trust people. It's very sad, but you got to just check them,” she says.