A Harlingen family says they’ve been saving up for a backyard pool.

“It was something that we've been saving for years and years and years for" Amanda Lopez said.

When Lopez started looking for builders, she saw the work done next door.

“They seemed very satisfied with the work, they've had the pool already for almost three years," Lopez said.

After doing some research, Lopez said they decided to allow Gildardo Nunez — the owner of Nunez Pools — to build theirs.

At first, Lopez says things went smoothly, and the pool was being built in a timely manner.

"Pretty much since June 29 until Thursday, we really haven't heard anything from him,” Lopez said. “We would call and he'd be like, ‘oh yes I’m in the pool store, I’m buying your chemicals,’ and then he would never show up."

A pump, filter, and lights were missing from the pool.

After not hearing from Nunez, the Lopez family paid another contractor nearly $7,000 to finish the job.

Lopez said Nunez had already been given $39,000 for the incomplete pool. She then contacted 5 On Your Side for help.

5 On Your Side contacted Nunez to find out what he did with the money.

Nunez met with 5 On Your Side off camera, and said he had a family emergency and used some of the money Lopez paid him for medical expenses.

Nunez said he is willing to pay the money back in increments every two weeks.

Lopez says she will accept his refund, but she would have appreciated honestly from the beginning.

"Just tell us the truth, “Lopez said. “If you can’t do it or if you're not going to do it, just tell us so that we can start planning. But instead we've been waiting on him, and now we’re stuck with thousands of dollars extra we’ve had to pay out of pocket."

5 On Your Side reached out to the Better Business Bureau, who said they don’t have any records of issues with Nunez's company. 

The BBB said Lopez did everything right as far as researching and speaking to references before hiring Nunez. The BBB said they recommend Lopez gets a refund agreement in writing.

Watch the video above for the full story.