A complete waste of money

Our pool cover cost R14,000 - admittedly we have a large irregular-shaped pool, but spending that amount of money on a piece of plastic was not pleasant. When they came to measure, I was told they'd need to provide it in two pieces. I asked them to cut it so that the smaller piece would be in the shallow end, so we could easily remove it for a quick swim, which was jotted down in their notebook. When they came to install, I wasn't around and they cut it so the small piece is in the deep end. First disappointment. Then, because of the two pieces, the wind easily picks up the flap and blows it off the pool (it got a nice big rip on one occasion). I was told I could get weights stitched into the seams, but the cost was way too much (would have liked to know this before buying), so instead I built a PVC frame to weigh down the joint.

It's now been one summer since we installed it, and it's wearing out incredibly fast. Whether it's taking it off / putting it on the pool / folding it over or whatever - there are now quite a few holes in the cover, so water seeps through. Today I took it off to store it for winter. The storage bags they provided (initially, they didn't provide them, and I had to ask for them to deliver) seem to be a standard size, so I can only fit about half of the big piece into the bag. The bags are really thin, effectively just a large ******* bag - not good quality at all. We actually had to cut the end off both bags as they were sealed on all four sides.

Spending R14,000 for this has been a very unpleasant experience. My daughter's laptop (with all the different parts, software, etc.) costs about half the price of this piece of plastic. In terms of environmental impact, I can't imagine making and disposing of all this plastic after about 3 years is any better than using the additional water.

Definitely not happy with the product or the service.