ComplaintsforCanadian Western Mechanical Ltd

• Initial Complaint

  27/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Feb.24th, 2023 Total amount $626.99 I called them in after previous plumbers inspected my sewer roof vents were completely frozen and they could not do the job as they didn't have the right equipment. They would have to be thawed out with a hot steamer from the top of the roof of our home. ********* ********** did not charge me for the inspection. I called Canadian Western Mechanical (CWM) and explained to them what the problem was & what the previous company told me what the problem was. The plumber said that my toilet line was frozen (which it was not) and proceeded to uninstall my Toilet and use a powered auger snake down about 30'. He found that he did not have the right auger end and left my residence to go and look for one for about an hour. Then he wanted us to boil kettles and pots full of boiling water and put down the drain to help thaw the blockage. I explained to him again that they won't drain because of the frozen roof vents, but he said that's not the problem. After 3hrs. I told him that I could get a trap from outside the ******** cleared the way of all the snow and he inserted more hot water from multiple kettles. I used my own shop vac to **** up the sewage and water (after which I had to throw it away). After 5 hours he gave **. In the end he, 1. did not have the knowledge to do the job & did not listen to me when I told him what the problem was. 2. He came ill equipped and did not have the right tools for the job. 3. I had to go out and buy toilet caulking to install the toilet after he left as he didn't have any. Later that day I had to call in ******** with the steam truck & explained the problem. They immediately went on the roof with the steamer & thawed out both roof vents and everything was fixed in 1-1/2 hours. They did not even enter my residence. This bill was $1233.75. So, as far as C.W.M. is concerned, I received absolutely nothing for my $626.99

  Business response

  16/08/2023

  When Mr. ******* originally called in for our services after hindsight had been there-my suggestion at the time was to phone ********. his response is that he had phoned and they had told him there was a flat rate for an amount that I can't remember. The customer thought it was too much. we told him that we could try and fix it but could not guarantee that it would work, he said yes. We made a work order and went to his house. we were unsuccessful.

  ***************** has refused to pay his bill for the hours of labor spent trying to resolve the issues even after fair warning that it may not work. Eventually ***************** responded with an email outlining his complaint- i have tried to contact him through the phone since then to discuss billing options with no luck, and no return phone calls. we understand the issue was not resolved, but he had a warning that there could be issues, not only from us but other companies as well and yet he still decided to contact us- we thought that there was a possibility that we could fix it. 

  at the end of the day our services are charged out at an hourly rate, not a guaranteed fix. some things cannot be fixed- that does not mean that we are expected to work for free. if ****************** would have answered the phone one of the multiple times we tried to contact him, we were more than willing to work with him on his outstanding bill. 

  after four months without a response or payment from ****************** we charged the credit card that he provided us in the total amount of the bill ($626.99)

  Customer response

  21/12/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  When Mr. ******* originally called in for our services after hindsight had been there-my suggestion at the time was to phone ********. his response is that he had phoned, and they had told him there was a flat rate for an amount that I can't remember. The customer thought it was too much. we told him that we could try and fix it but could not guarantee that it would work, he said yes. We made a work order and went to his house. we were unsuccessful.

  Partially correct, ******** quoted me $1500 which I thought at the time was to much. They did state that they could try. The biggest issue was, that I did explain to the Plumber multiple times that another plumber (********* **********) crawled up on my roof in over 4 of snow and found that both front and back vent pipes were completely frozen. They were my first call. They left and did not bill me anything as they stated that they couldnt fix my problem. I Then called ******** and was quoted a minimum of $1500. I then contacted Canadian Western Mechanical (CWM). I explained to them multiple times that the vents were frozen and that was verified by ********* **********. He disagreed and proceeded to enter my House and Remove one Toilet and used an electric power auger for about 75 of line. He mentioned that he did not have the correct end on the auger to do the job. I again mentioned that the problem was on the roof with the frozen vent pipes to no avail. He then left and went driving around to get the proper end, which he could not find. So then he had me use our personal electric kettles and 4 pots boiling on the stove for a few hours pumping boiling hot water down the toilet with no success. We then went outside and found a cleanout on the ground and then proceeded to pour ***** pots of boiling water in the ground. I used my own equipment boiling water and destroyed my personal Shop Vac sucking raw sewage out of the drain for aprox 3 hours and pouring it into my yard.  Again I asked how is this going to help with the frozen air vents on the roof, but he said that my sewer was frozen, which it was not. After his leaving, I had to go out and buy my own silicone to re-seal the toilet (which should have never been taken off in the first place). When ******** arrived I explained to them what ********* ********** explained to me and what transpires with CWM. They proceeded to go up on the roof with their steam truck and melted all the ice from the 2 Vents. They also sent a camera down the exterior cleanout, and I was able to see every single foot of sewer pipe all the way to the end of my property, which was not frozen and working normally. The outside temp was -25 degrees. ******** had it fixed in about 1-1/2 hours of arrival and never did enter my residence at anytime, stating that what ********* ********** stated was 100% true. It was a total waste of their time trying to fix something that was in good working order and totally ignoring the actual problem. They could have spent several weeks with no resolve. that we could try and fix it but could not guarantee that it would work, he said yes  Being a Friday afternoon and not being able to flush toilets or shower or wash dishes for 2 weeks, I was desperate. This is the confusing part They didnt try as they went in a different direction, totally ignoring the actual problem. Which was frozen air vents on the roof top. Being a professional plumber, they knew that they couldnt fix the actual problem, as they didnt have a steam truck and should have explained that to me.

  ***************** has refused to pay his bill for the hours of labor spent trying to resolve the issues even after fair warning that it may not work. Eventually ***************** responded with an email outlining his complaint- i have tried to contact him through the phone since then to discuss billing options with no luck, and no return phone calls. we understand the issue was not resolved, but he had a warning that there could be issues, not only from us but other companies as well and yet he still decided to contact us- we thought that there was a possibility that we could fix it. 

  trying to resolve the issues ??? Pardon me. The issue was frozen air vent lines on the top of residence as stated from a previous Plumber. Never in a million years would there approach work as they were 1. Not listen to what I explained to them and 2. There was no issues with the pipes below the residence.

  at the end of the day our services are charged out at an hourly rate, not a guaranteed fix. some things cannot be fixed- that does not mean that we are expected to work for free. if ****************** would have answered the phone one of the multiple times we tried to contact him, we were more than willing to work with him on his outstanding bill. 

  after four months without a response or payment from ****************** we charged the credit card that he provided us in the total amount of the bill ($626.99)

  I have also have a fraud claim against them through my credit card company, due to the fact that I did not authorize them to charge my credit card for any amount verbally nor written.

  Thank you

  *************************

  *** ******.

  *********************** *******

  ************

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business response

  03/01/2024

  Hello, after reading the complaint I am to be honest at a loss.

  we have explained our position - ***** was directed to use a company with a jet truck - by not only our competition but ourselves as well. he did not want to pay the money to do so. he decided to hire us to try and thaw the pipe manually without hiring a jet truck to do so. we informed him that it may or may not work but we could try. at no point in time did anybody ever tell ***** that this would be free or that we would not charge him for our time. i understand that it was unfortunate that we could not fix the problem. during one of the many times we tried to reach out to the customer to collect payment or even go over the bill, i would have been more than willing to discount the overall total. he did not answer the phone one time or reply to our outstanding invoices. he ducked our calls as he did not want to pay his bill. We got to a point where we had an over due invoice that clearly stated "Interest @ 2% per month(24% per *****) charged on overdue account" that we did not put into effect, we instead charged the card that ***** had provided us in the total amount of his invoice as it was on the first day of issue.

  as for the "fraud claim" - when ***** booked his appointment he provided us his credit card to be charged if an invoice went unpaid for 90 days. yes ***** phoned his credit card company and yes they reclaimed the money - but after a brief explanation of the circumstance they once again returned the money to us. 

  so as of now - ***** is paid up and we have marked on his account that we will not be returning to his residence in any circumstance for future work 

   

   

  Customer response

  03/01/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:  C.W.M. knowingly fully understood what the problem was (frozen roof top vent pipes) chose to at their discretion to go into a totally different direction to where there was no problem.  They, being professional licensed Plumbers should have accessed the situation and told me that there was absolutley no way they could fix my problem and left my premises as is. Why would they try to fix something that isnt broke? I do not expect anyone to work for free. Period.  What I do expect is when a customer calls them for a problem is that they work on THAT problem, (remember these are ****** professional's). not go off into soemthing else. If thats the case, they could have worked on the entire plumbing system, doing what ever they wanted and could have stayed on site for several days or weeks. But at the end of it all, the original problem as to why I called them in the fist place was completely ignored. They admitted that they could not fix the problem right from the beginning, so why would they continue? It makes absolutley no sense. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

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