Friday March 9th 2012. Plumber arrived to repair leaky valves under the tap for our rental apartment. Asked for a quote to replace the valves and he quoted $189+taxes to "pack and refurbish" and more $ to replace. He said he won't be able to get to it until after the weekend. Followed up by saying that he could "stop" the leak by tightening the valve then come back on Monday to "fix" the problem.
I asked him if he could tighten the valve now since we are paying him $89 already but he said not until we agree to putting down the deposit to "pack and refurbish" the valve. Seriously, if we have already paid $89 for your travelling fee, the least you can do is to tighten the nut, instead of holding us hostage. FYI, the time it takes to actually replace the leaky valve with a compression valve is about 5 mins with another $10+ in parts.
WHAT A RIP OFF! This not the 1st time that I have dealt with this company, and sad to say THIS IS THE NORM AS TO HOW THEY DO BUSINESS. Can only imagine what this company would charge an unsuspecting senior.
Can't believe this company is still in business. SHAME ON YOU.
* EDIT: We found another plumber who replaced the valves for us in all 5 suites for $560 (taxes included) as compared to Always Plumbing which would have cost us $1034 ($945 + $89) plus taxes to "repack and refurbish" (whatever the heck that means). Anyone can do the math and realize how far off pricing really is. BTW, if this company has the audacity to overcharge a commercial client, just think what they will do to anyone else...
- Approximate cost of services:
- $89.00
- Company Response
Jeff I’m sorry you feel this way . I have pulled your records and have seen you have used our services on 4 separate occasions including your last visit. We have been your plumber of choice on August 29, 2011 / November 12, 2011 / December 19, 2011 and your most recent visit on March 9, 2012. On every one of these visits you were aware of our diagnostic fee this only covers the cost of us to come and assess what is happening in your apartment. On every visit you have paid this fee plus the cost of repair or replacement to complete the job (except on your last visit). On this occasion you had called us out to look at 4 separate apartment units and we only charged you a Diagnostic Fee of $89.00 for one unit but did assess all four. like the other trips we have made to your apartment you are correct in saying that there is a cost to repairing or replacing the valves or any work we do. From my understanding Our technician had offered to repair the valves that evening which is a charge to you the customer for the work that we do, however you decided to decline that work as you did not want to pay for the repair .Our technician had also suggested to replace the valves as it would be the safest thing to do in your apartment, You had declined this work also as you had wanted us to Repair all four apartments for the Diagnostic Fee trip charge. Our Technician advised you that for this evening he can do the repair again at the cost he quoted you and then he can come back and replace the valves for you and credit you back the money you would pay to complete the repair once we come back to replace the valves in the next week or two and you had paid for the replacement. I’m sorry that there seems to be some miscommunication however I have called you and left messages to speak with you about this matter but I have not gotten a returned call form you . I also responded to your concern that was placed with the BBB and I have yet to receive a response to that reply either .I would like to clarify this matter with you and discuss with you at your earliest convince to ensure your concerns are properly addressed and we can come to a reasonable solution for you. Please be advised that we use a 10 level Repair straight forward pricing system and a replacement Straight Forward Pricing System to ensure our prices are fair and reasonable for all our customers. We don’t have a hourly rate because it would be unfair to charge someone for a hours’ worth of work when some jobs don’t take a hour to complete. Also if we are completing a job in which we run in to some difficulties with and we need to be there longer or need to get additional parts to complete the job, you the customer are not charged for the extra time and materials to complete the original quoted job. This method is designed to save our customers the time and frustration of calling a Plumbing or HVAC technician to the home. We strive to ensure all our customers are treated in a fair and professional manor and we look forward to discussing this matter with you . Please also be advised that we do have a Diamond Club Membership program in place to help our regular customers receive priority service as well as discounts on all our services and reduced call out fees. We also offer seniors a 10% discount on all our services and call out fees. We ensure we thoroughly diagnose the situation and inform the client of all the possible options and solutions we can to ensure they choose the best option that meets their needs.