We found the heat was not working on the upper level zone of our home. We contacted this company…read more The company said they charge $95 for the visit over the phone, but when the plumber came he said it was a $100 deposit to do the work, we agreed and gave our debit card information.
The plumber found a leak where the zone box that needed to be replaced. He said he didn't have the part in his truck but would check with the other mechanics. He said he could hook us up with a guy selling heaters to keep the pipes warm until he gets the part otherwise the pipes will freeze overnight. We declined. He later calls and says he could not find the part and would get it from the store in the morning. He tells us we can purchase four space heaters for $100 from his girlfriend. After being unable to find a heater on our own, we agreed to purchase two space heaters for $50 from him. We set them up in the garage and in room above the garage.
The next day, the company actually deducted $125. When the plumber arrived, went to inspect boiler and let it slip that he just went straight home because his priority is to have dinner with his family every night. After installing the part, he had to wait for an assistant to bring a defroster because the pipes were frozen, (determined by only looking at the boiler in the garage). Once, the assistant arrived with the defroster they only attached it to the pipes in the garage.
After forcing water through the system, they told me to check the pipes up stairs. We found water coming out from the baseboard heating. The assistant immediately replaced the pipe with a blowtorch. When I came back into the garage the plumber showed me that one of the black valves in the garage started leaking and went to the store to get it replaced and left. I began making small talk with the assistant, he told me that he doesn't even work for the company he is a friend of the plumber. When the plumber came back, he replaced two valves very quickly and I didn't realize it until I saw all the valves were now red instead of black. I asked him why he did that and he said both were leaking. I told him I only saw one leak and he said he can show me where it was leaking from.
After the plumber used the defroster again, two more pipes burst on the opposite side of the room. After the third time, one of the previous pipes that was just replaced had also burst. By this time my husband texted me back saying that he spoke to his coworker's friend who's a plumber and that the whole thing could've been avoided if they had just drained the system and used antifreeze. I asked the assistant if this could have been avoided with antifreeze and he said "yeah, maybe."
My husband called some time later and I gave the plumber the phone, he told plumber to stop doing what he's doing, to drain the system and put boiler antifreeze in. The plumber replied that it wasn't a good idea, that the job is almost done and that he will have to do it on another day. My husband complained that would cost more money as it would be a whole new service charge. The plumber said he would check with the office an handed me the phone, while I asked my husband what transpired, the plumber ran the water through the boiler one more time stating the system was fixed and service was completed. He showed me how to use the thermostat properly and said everything was set.
In the final walked through with the plumber, we heard water coming down and saw that almost the entire ceiling had collapsed in the back bedroom!!! I was in total shock and began to cry. All of my things were soaking wet with patches of debris from the ceiling and insulation. The plumber tells me that it's not as bad as it looks.
They replaced the pipe in the ceiling then went to the truck to call the owner of the plumbing company. When they returned, they gave me a bill for over $1900, stating they found 9 split pipes with no other details and left. The bill didn't include the $125 they already took out!!!
After my husband came home we started cleaning up the ceiling damage, we later realized upper level was still not working, they merely turned the system on downstair and left the upper level off. We had another plumber come the next day, in ten minutes he determined the issue, properly drained, defrosted, and had the upper level working.
We called the owner the next day, we requested an itemized bill, informing him the system was not fixed by his mechanic, the ceiling was damaged, the busted pipes could have been avoided, and the conflict of interest with the plumber selling heaters on the side. The owner replied that he knows what his guys do and was okay with it.
Looking at the itemized bill, we realized it was inflated. We were charged for additional hours, the "assistants" labor, and the materials listed were four times the retail price. The owner's response was he can charge whatever he wants for materials.
