Last August, my tank broke. I got a quote over the phone from the owner which included the tank…read more After I spoke to him, I realized the tank's warranty was about to expire the end of the month. I called that company & was told to bring it to Home Depot for a partial credit. I called the owner right back to let him know. He actually asked me if I could drain it & bring it to Home Depot. I told him no I couldn't. He relented & stated that he'd need another guy to go help the one installing. On the day of, his installer told me that my current expansion tank was on the wrong side & would need to be removed, capped & placed on the correct side. This would be an additional charge & I agreed. I called the plumber who originally installed the expansion tank to inquire why he had done that, let him know it needed to be replaced & request compensation for this extra charge. When I told the current plumber who it was, he said that guy used to work with them & should have known better. When I told that installer that it is his former coworkers that pointed this out to me, he denied ever working there & wanted to come see the tank himself & fix it if it needed to be fixed. The current plumber asked if I could go with them to Home Depot to return it. I agreed, my credit was about $150 & I decided to upgrade my tank to a better one. I paid for the new tank myself. When we got back home the installer for the old expansion tank met us & started flipping out about how it was correct, even though the directions on the new tank (same one) said otherwise. He also suddenly remembered that he used to work for this company, became verbally abusive to the current workers, refused to honor my request for compensation & stormed out. Once everything was installed & I was given the bill, aside from the additional charge for the expansion tank, the price was the same even though I purchased the tank myself & Home Depot had the old one. I questioned this & the plumber had to speak to the owner...which he did outside in his vehicle & returned about 10-15mins later. He said the owner stated it was because they had to go to Home Depot to exchange the tanks & that was added time. I told him I didn't agree since I paid for the tank which should come off the bill, however I paid it in full.
I called the owner & he restated what he told his employee & added that a second guy was needed to go exchange the tanks. I said we weren't gone no more than 35mins total. He says well no, usually it's only one guy, we would've brought our own tank & not have to leave to exchange yours. I said, but you knew that beforehand & didn't mention any extra charge. I said wouldn't you need 2 guys to get the tank out of my basement up the stairs & through the bulkhead anyways? He say it's because they also had to drain the tank. I said, don't you have to do that anyway? It was excuse after excuse.
Then we discussed his former employee & I told him that I will have to file a complaint against his license since he improperly installed the expansion tank & refused to return the cost for this new install. The owner had the audacity to tell me that "he's known the installer for a long time & sometimes he works for him but he's a good guy, besides, the state won't do anything about it, you'd be wasting your time." I proceeded to tell him that I have had to report a contractor to the state for his shotty work & won my case. His reply, "well then go ahead then, but I wouldn't waste my time on that.". Then I asked when the inspector will come to check everything? He said he'll call them. After a few weeks of back & forth calls to Inspectional Services & the owner, come to find out he had never submitted the permit application & when he did, he didn't submit payment. Now I had to keep calling to request a refund for the permit fee since he wasn't doing his part & he kept dodging my calls. Finally he submitted a permit for a gas tank when mine was electric. His response was, "oh the installer chose the wrong one, it's fine, I'll fix it, when they come to look at it, they should know the difference". I also told him that I need to know when they are coming so I can be available. He says, oh any time, I was just with the inspector & he told me he was just there but no one was home. I said that is false, my vehicle is in the driveway & no one has come today! He replies, oh, I'll call him right now & tell him to call you. I asked if he can just give me the name & number & I can call myself. He never did & after numerous calls & 2 in person attempts, it took about 3-3.5mos for me to finally get the work "inspected" by the city.
This owner reaps of dishonest practices & dodge calls once he's been paid. If you are charged for a permit, you better make darn certain, one is pulled because had I not persist, he would've just scammed me out of that fee. I would never use his company again if I was paid to!
