Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Date 8-17-2023 Replace Main water line from house to street water meter.******** advised serious water leak calle Aventra They came out worked two and half hours discovered leak in yard and when shovel it leak became geyser had to cut water supply to house.Advise it would cost anywhere from ten thousand to possibly more because trenching is very expensive and offer to replace next day. I took them at their word, the distance was short only 60 feet. With water geyser having to shut water to house down I took them at their work on the cost .The next day they had sub contractor show up with them trenching worked 2 hours to replace while my plumber sat and watched doing nothing , The bill was$ ***** a total of 5 hours work between two days . I found out next day from two other plumbers that returned my initial calls that thetotal cost should have been only ***** to a little more that they took advantage of my wife being 81 senior citizens. I also upon hearing this checked with web site home guide that reaching cost per foot is 500 to ***** for 100 feet.and total with water line is $800 to $3,000 total job.I contact the aventra plumber Mr. ********************** and his comment was the price was fair and I accepted his quote.I explained I felt like he was giving us his expert opinion of the cost which ended being a lie. His sub that did all the work he paid ***** so he said leaving with a profit of which over two hours he did nothing $3,000. He would not give the name of sub that did work That is confidential. He took advantage of the situation with seniors and made over 1,000dollar per hour. He said it came less than ****** and he gave us a senior discount of $60. I have a copy of bill but do not know hoot attach to internet.

  

  Business response

  02/02/2024

  I apologize for the delay in my response, but I thought the calls about this matter were from a telemarketer. I am a senior citizen myself so to be accused of taking advantage and profiting off of a senior citizen is not in my nor my companys character. I have been a plumber for over 40 years. As for the complaint about me sitting and doing nothing. I have a team who all handle different aspects of plumbing work, my experience as a master plumber and the owner of the company ensures that my team and I can provide quality service. I personally oversee all complicated jobs to ensure that quality work is completed. As for me overcharging and taking advantage because of age, you can contact 20 different plumbers of varying experience and get 20 different prices. To my point, theres an article on Forbes that I read the other day, HYPERLINK "*****************************************************************************"*****************************************************************************. For the entire water main replacement cost, the amount ranges from $1,500 to $12,000. The national average is reported to be about $3,750 for a 25-foot-long main water line made of galvanized steel using a trenchless installation, which is a popular choice of installation material and method for water lines.

  On 8/15, myself and a plumbing helper went to the subject property to detect a leak and were on site for 2 and a hours. We dug up where he told us to dig, but could not find a leak where he estimated it to be. We used a leak detection device to search in between several large trees and found the leak about 5 feet down in the ground. I explained to the homeowner it was too many roots to dig to try to repair it. I explained to him and his wife that to replace, it would cost $9500 because we have to go under the walkway and around the trees-not a straight path. Homeowner agreed to quote of $9500. I did not shut the water off to the house, the homeowner had the water off prior to our arrival due to how bad the leak was. He said if he hadnt turned it off it would be running down the street. My team was not available on 8/16 so we returned on 8/17 to complete the repair. The job had 2 master plumbers and 3 helpers in order to complete the job in a timely manner. My team ran a new water main line from the meter to the house with a brand new shut off valve. Plumber did not measure the distance of the water line because we could not go straight. We had to go around the walk way and trees so the 60 feet he mentioned in his complaint is far from accurate. That work around was closer to over 100 feet. In advance, the homeowner understood there would be additional cost if we hit any sprinkler lines that were underground because we could not see them. We hit 2 sprinkler lines and fixed both sprinkler lines without any additional charge to the homeowner. I quoted the homeowner $9500 and charged him $7600. When we left the job, the homeowner was totally satisfied. He and his wife both thanked me. When he contacted me days later, he wanted me to give him contact information for my workers. This was a ridiculous request. What I pay my workers is not his business. No business would provide their workers contact/pay information. The homeowner lied about me giving my workers $4600. I never told the homeowner that. He and his wife agreed to a quoted price of $9500, but I charged them almost $2000 less. It was understood that hitting underground sprinkler lines would call extra and I repaired them for free. That is why I would not refund him any money based upon him saying other plumbers called him and told him he was overcharged. The amount of work done between both days was comparable to average cost for the subject repair.

  I am appalled that the homeowner did not take the time to express a FULL picture of the repair vs his perception.

   

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