ComplaintsforEmergency Plumbing & Rooter, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  09/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Emergency Plumbing & Rooter, Inc. was contracted by American Home Shield to come and fix our kitchen faucet. On June 15, 2023, a technician named *** came over from Emergency Plumbing and he replaced our broken faucet. The faucet he installed leaked and had very low water pressure. We requested that they repair or replace the faucet they gave us. ***, the same technician from Emergency Plumbing, did come back to check on the leaking faucet. He said he could not fix the faucet and would have to come back to replace the defective faucet. In the process of checking the faucet he did something to cause a leak under our sink because it was flooded under the sink and leaking onto our laminate flooring. I called them to tell about the leaking under the sink and under our kitchen floor. On June27, 2023, a technician by the name of ***** from Emergency Plumbing came out. He looked at the faucet and said there was a seal that was not in place in the faucet and that was causing the leaking. He put in the seal and left the defective faucet in our sink. He said that he had fixed the faucet but would have to talk to his office about the leaking on our kitchen floor. After he left we immediately saw major leaking coming through our kitchen laminate flooring. We turned off the water and haven't used the kitchen sink since that day. On July 1, 2023, American Home Shield sent another plumber, ****** Plumbing, ***************************************************************. A technician named **** turned on the water and said he needed to cut into wall under the sink, which he did, and he found that the drain pipe was broken/severed and that was the cause of the major leaking under the sink and flooring. The damage was caused by Emergency Plumbing and they are liable. They need to fix the drain pipe and our damaged flooring. ****** at Emergency Plumbing is denying that they broke our drain pipe and is refusing to repair the broken drain pipe and replace our damaged flooring. Please help us

  Business response

  09/17/2023

  Hello, thank you reaching out.

  We have talked to ***************** and her warranty company regarding this complaint. The service timeline (dates of service to the property) is correct as described, 6/15, 6/23 and 6/27. The final visit was by our supervisor on 6/27 that corrected the faucet repair and stated that the cabinets and floor were currently dry and solid accompanied by a couple of pictures of the area as well (attached). You can see that there was some cardboard covering some old water stains. you see the spots rising from floor not from above where the fresh water lines come from. As stated by ***************** in her complaint, another vendor came to service the drain, which is not connected to the faucet; in addition, if wall needed to be opened to correct a broken drain, that would more than likely have been leaking for a long time, since the spots on the bottom of cabinet would show at a later time. If you were to consult with other professionals they would agree the two are not connected nor related. Perhaps the drain damage was already present prior to our visit but the claim we serviced through the warranty company was for a faucet, not drain, we are not allowed to service anything not listed.

  We explained this to the homeowner and her warranty company as well.

  Customer response

  09/22/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  There was no leaking before Emergency Plumbing came out to replace the broken faucet.  The drain pipe was broken by their technician *** on his second visit to look at the damaged faucet he installed.  There was NO leaking or prior damage before Emergency Plumbing replace the faucet and they caused the water damage to our flooring and the broken drain pipe.  We have been unable to use our kitchen faucet since *** broke the drain pipe and our flooring has major water damage.  Just because they replaced the faucet and said it was working doesn't mean that *** did not break the drain pipe when he was pulling on the hose of the damage faucet he installed..  They are 100% liable because no one else touched the faucet after it was installed by Emergency Plumbing and, as stated above, there was NO WATER LEAK before they came in and damaged the drain pipe while trying to examine the damaged faucet they initially installed.  They have to have their insurance company fix the broken drain pipe and repair/replace our water damaged flooring.  

• Initial Complaint

  10/27/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had this company chosen by my warranty company to fix my water heater. After they determined I needed a new water heater they made false/fraudulent claims to my warranty company. They have written in their report to the warranty that they are “modifying” equipment so that it is no longer covered under the warranty. This resulted in forced out of pocket prices for their services. With a warranty, you cannot change technicians once they make a diagnosis. No modifications needed to be made, the company themselves required me as a customer to replace items at an up charged price or they would not install the water heater. These items included a hot water line, cold water line, gas line, and drip pan. All items were in perfect condition on the old water heater but they refused to use them or new ones that i purchased at the consumer price. They simply claim it is their policy as “liability” to replace these items however they are telling the warranty these are “modifications”. However the definition of modification and replace are different. To modify would mean to make a change to an existing part which they did not do. When confronted this company refused to change their report and refused to detail how they made any modifications. I am asking that this company update their report to the correct wording. They need to state they “replaced” the water lines, gas line, and drip pan as required equipment to replace my current water heater instead of the false wording of “modification”. In addition I am suggesting they consider a waiver for customers who would rather not replace these items and take the liability off of the company. To the BBB, I urge you to look deeper into this company and their business practices/policies as I am not their first victim. There are many Yelp reviews from customers who were scammed the same way as me by this company. I do not need to hear from this company, I simply want them to communicate the correct report with the warranty.

  Business response

  10/29/2021

  Hello,

  
  

  The report was submitted using the warranty company's terminology of repairs needed. The consumer claims of  "forced out of pocket prices" and "with a warranty, you cannot change technicians once they make a diagnosis" are inaccurate. Both Mr. and Mrs. *******, were made aware - via phone conversations of the non covered amount more than once; before scheduling the appointment to complete the repair. We also let them know they had the option to have other company complete the repair; the warranty company allows the homeowners to request a Second Opinion if they do not agree with a vendor's diagnosis. 

  
  

  Thank you,

  Emergency Plumbing, Rooter, Inc.

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

  Customer response

  10/29/2021

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  This is inaccurate. I spoke with the home warranty on multiple recorded conversations where they told me I could not get a second opinion from another vendor due to it being “too far into the process” nor could I use another vendor unless I wanted a “cash out” of 1/4 the price. I tried multiple times to change companies with the warranty and was told no. Trust me I would have much rather used any other company.I simply ask you change you’re wording. I’m not asking for any reimbursement from this company. The replacement of the parts were EPR policy not the warranty policy. It was forced as I say because this company refused to replace my water heater unless I also replaced these parts which I stated were in perfect condition and did not require replacing or “modifying” as they say. I have attached screenshots of other people on Yelp who have had the same problem as me. I urge the BBB to read them and investigate this company further instead of simply taking their word for it. The manager, ****** of this company is untrustworthy as she stated to me “we’re a business, if we were doing that do you really expect me to admit to that if that’s what we’re really doing”. Proving this company is not going to admit to any fault in these responses. We will most likely not see eye to eye on this situation. 

  Business response

  11/02/2021

  As required by the BBB, this response is to advise we do not have any further information to provide. Thank you.

  Customer response

  11/02/2021

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  I don’t need “more information” or responses from this company. I need them to take an action of changing their wording and making a correct report with the warranty. If they refuse to do this. I need the BBB to lower their rating and/or launch an investigation into this company. In addition with my last message I forgot to mention this company first came out to my house on a Wednesday, took 48 hours to complete a report required to be made in 24 hours, on Friday night I was told no one could come out from their company until Monday, never was I informed about out of pocket costs while I searched for someone else to complete the claim before Monday. When the warranty company refused to let me change companies I had to leave a message to schedule an appointment because they were already closed. It was not until Saturday morning did ****** finally mention the out of pocket costs. After multiple phone calls and a week and a half without hot water it took them 3 days to reveal their scam, making it too late for me to do anything else. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩