Couple questions safety of pool net

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Mike and Carrie Krug are swimming pool owners who also have their hands full with their 2-year-old triplets.

Given that an estimated 400 children younger than age 5 nationwide die from drowning each year, the couple wanted to make sure they could enjoy their backyard pool and keep their toddlers out of harm's way.

So they spent $2,300 on a mesh safety net for their pool from a company called Katchakid.

"The salesperson told me that if our children got out on the net they would never get wet," Mike Krug said. "They would just be out suspended on the net and you could retrieve them that way."

But one day one of the kids, Cash, went out on to the net.

"He just went face down," Krug said. "He went completely in the water, it scared us. I was able to reach down and grab him out of the water and he was completely wet."

Now, Mike and Carrie want their money back, saying the assurances the company gave them didn't hold up. Katchakid says no, insisting that the product complies with the code for pool safety covers set by the American Society for Testing and Materials.

Furthermore, Katchakid told KXAN, the company has a 100 percent safety record that dates back 30 years.

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The Krugs are not convinced, and they called the KXAN Tipline to share their story.

"I was scared to death," carrie Krug said, recalling the incident with Cash. "I thought we were going to lose him to a drowning. Exactly what we bought the net for so that wouldn't happen."

Mike Krug said he contacted Katchakid.

"They said the standard is if they put a 30-pound weight on the net it can sink nine inches," he said. "I said that isn't up to my standard because my children weigh 30 pounds. And if they went in nine inches they could drown."

Katchakid disputes any assertion that it has a nine-inch rule and sent KXAN a copy of national standards, which do not contain any such rule.

But that's not how Krug remembers it.

"I said I wanted my money back because that's not up to my standards and your sales person never told me about these standards," she said. "The sales person told me they would be dry. He said there's no way you're getting your money back."

That's why the Better Business Bureau says it's best to get all agreements in writing.

"Just so in cases like this one we don't get into a he-said, she-said situation," said Erin Duffner of the BBB.

Mike Krug now acknowledges he was ill-prepared going before the purchase. "I didn't educate myself on what the rules were because I just trusted when the sales person said your kid is not going to get wet. If he can't get wet, he can't drown," Krug said.

Katchakid salesman Bob Blankenship said he joined the company after first being being one of the company's customers. He wasn't involved in the Krug's sale, but here's his advice:

"Don't leave your pool alone. It's the safety of the children, that's the number one thing. And adult supervision, that's going to be most important."