SCOTTSDALE, AZ — Sun State Pools, a Scottsdale-based pool company, has had its contractor's license revoked, leaving customers with unfinished projects after paying thousands of dollars.
The Arizona Registrar of Contractors says it has received 85 complaints from homeowners and subcontractors against Sun State Pools since September 2025. The ROC revoked the company's license on June 25, 2026, after it said the company failed to file a written answer to a citation. In a news release, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors says:
“AZ ROC continues to investigate the complaints it has received and strongly encourages any other impacted homeowners to file their complaints with the Agency as soon as possible. Following adjudication, those whose complaints result in discipline of the license are able to file a claim with AZ ROC’s Residential Contractors’ Recovery Fund, which is available to homeowners after a contractor has been found to be in violation of Title 32, Chapter 10 of the Arizona Revised Statutes.”
Faith, a Phoenix mother of two young children, tells the Let ABC15 Know team she signed a contract with Sun State Pools back in January to renovate her backyard pool. The contract stated the project would be completed in 10 to 40 days, but six months later, she says almost nothing has been done.
"They drained it the night before they did the chip out, and that's the only time, essentially, that the company or that they sent subcontractors from another company to do any work in the pool," Faith explained.
She says she really didn’t hear much from the company after she paid her deposit, which was over $6,000.
"Basically, once they had our money and we paid the deposit, communication essentially stopped from the company," Faith added.
Faith says she received vague, mass emails from Sun State in response to her attempts to get answers.
"We received a few kind of mass emails from the company stating that they're backlogged with work, they're actively working to do our project, nothing direct. We tried calling, we tried emailing, texting, all of those things. There was really no direct communication. We never like really met a project manager or anything like that," Faith explained.
She’s frustrated that she’s stuck with an unusable pool and no accountability from the company.
"We're now sitting with a pool that's completely empty, shelled out," Faith said. "We have no pool for the summer, kind of no end in sight of anything."
Faith is far from alone in her experience. The Let ABC15 Know team has received complaints about Sun State Pools from six different viewers in the past few weeks.
Edgar, a Scottsdale homeowner, tells us he contracted with Sun State Pools back in 2024 to build a pool in his backyard. He says he planned to use the pool for physical therapy as he battles pancreatic cancer.
"Being physically active is a challenge, you know, especially after chemo. So, I thought, okay, in the pool, you know, I can swim. I can float around, do a little bit of activity. It's going to be great, right? But… it never happened," Edgar explained.
He says the company was supposed to start working on his pool in July of 2025, and according to the contract, the work was supposed to be completed within 90 days. Edgar says the project started off strong but stopped abruptly once payments reached 85% of the total cost.
"The biggest red flag was when we were making the payments on schedule, and when we hit the 85% point... all of a sudden everything stopped, and that's when we started having problems," Edgar added.
He says the company continued to offer excuses.
"Give me a couple weeks, we're having labor issues, etc. And we said, okay. And then a couple weeks go by… couple more weeks go by, we're into November, and still nothing," Edgar said.
Edgar filed a complaint with the Arizona Registrar of Contractors in December. Before ROC investigators could inspect the pool, he says Sun State sent workers out to perform a few hours of tile work. Edgar says that was enough to cancel the ROC inspection and prevent his complaint from meeting the threshold for abandonment.
"I said, well, they obviously know the system. They came out for a few hours, and then they disappear again," Edgar said.
Edgar has since filed two more complaints with the ROC, but he says none of them have produced any results.
"It's just disappointing," Edgar added.
Like Faith, Edgar is also stuck with an incomplete project after paying Sun State Pools more than $100,000.
The Let ABC15 Know team reached out to Sun State Pools by phone and email, but we haven’t received any response. We went down to the business, and while we were there, the landlord was posting an eviction notice and placing a lock on the doors. We were told the company was delinquent with rent.
There are currently more than 30 open complaints against Sun State Pools, according to the Arizona Registrar of Contractors website.
The Let ABC15 Know team also encourages any impacted homeowners to file a complaint with the ROC because this is an important step in the process for accessing money from the ROC's Recovery Fund.
In a news release about Sun State Pools, the Arizona Registrar of Contractors says:
“The Fund can provide a maximum payout to each homeowner of up to $30,000 but the maximum amount available per residential license is $200,000. If all valid claims exceed the $200,000 per license limitation, the Registrar will pay claimants on a pro rata basis. In cases where there are numerous complaints, there is a possibility that the monies available in the Fund will be exhausted before all eligible homeowners submit a claim for a payout from the Fund. This is why it is crucial for homeowners to submit their complaints to AZ ROC right away.”
Learn more about the ROC Residential Recovery Fund here.
We also asked the ROC what customers should do if they have already filed a complaint with them about Sun State Pools.
“If a homeowner previously filed a complaint that was closed because Sun State Pools was complying, they can contact our office to request a review and reopening of the complaint by the ROC. If there are new issues that were not included in their initial complaint, the homeowner should file a new complaint.”
The Arizona Attorney General's Office confirmed with ABC15 that they have opened a criminal investigation into Sun State Pools. They are also encouraging any affected customers to file a complaint with their office.
File a complaint with the AZ Attorney General’s Office here.
If you need help with a consumer problem, Let ABC15 Know! Email consumer@abc15.com.
