ComplaintsforAirstream Plumbing & Heating

• Initial Complaint

  01/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had ****** move our plumbing around for a shower remodel. He was super rude the whole time. He showed up without the correct parts and had me go to their supplier and get them for him. Now that we are putting everything together, there are loose pipes and one of the valves is missing all of the internal parts to make it work. I have a video of the loose pipe but it won’t let me attach it here. We tried contacting them and they won’t do anything to make it right. They want us to take our ceiling off so they can fix the loose pipe but we now have all the walls tiled up to the ceiling so it’s not possible. We had plumbing done before we did tile for a reason. I would appreciate a partial refund as we paid $2000 for loose pipes and missing parts.

  Business response

  01/29/2024

   

   To Whom It May Concern:

  
     We are a small family – owned company that takes our business very seriously and we do our best to ensure satisfactory installations and repairs for all clients. I believe this was a situation of miscommunication and I will accept responsibility for my part.
       The homeowner was quoted a price that included relocation of an existing wall hydrant, removing, reusing and installing an newer, existing shower faucet, installing a standard shower head, installing an owner supplied transfer valve for a "Rain" type shower head, cutting and extending an existing shower drain and relocating the existing plumbing vent into the interior wall.  All fixtures, faucets and shower trim were to be supplied and installed by owner with the exception of the **** shower faucet which was relocated and a **** transfer valve that was to be furnished by owner and to be onsite at the time of rough in.
       A **** shower valve was furnished instead of the **** transfer valve and that was the item that the miscommunication was over. I was not there, so at this point it becomes a “He said / She said” story and most stories have two sides.  At this point the homeowner became unhappy so our plumber offered to leave and come back when the right **** valve was there. The owner felt we should have had one with us, but we had no idea whether the trim would be Chrome, Oil Rubbed Bronze, Brushed Nickel, Brushed Stainless or some other finish. The valve cartridge and trim come together as a trim package.
       Our technician did say he would go get one, but there would be an additional charge. That statement was not well received.
       The shower head fitting ( drop ear ell ) was secure when he left, they are held in place by three screws into a 2”x4” backer. Perhaps one of them snapped when the rain head was installed by owner, I do not know as I was not there.
       The rough in was done and finished on September 22, 2023 and I did not know of any issues until December 22, 2023 when the owner called demanding a refund. I thought perhaps it was a scam call, so I told him I would come out and see what faucet trim kit would be necessary and to see what could be done to secure the shower rain head. ( The shower rain head and arm did not leak, it only moved back and forth.)  I mentioned removing one or two ceiling tiles to re-secure the shower arm, but was told it would not be possible. I then said that perhaps the "Rain Head" shower arm could be secured with expanding spray foam. I had not seen the job, so it was just an idea I thought might work. 
        I was on my way to their  home when the office received a phone call from the home owner stating that I did not need to come out, they would do it themselves. The office called me and told me to come back. I didn't think too much more about it as I thought that was what they were going to do.
       I saw a review on ****** a few days later, but did not respond, as we usually do, because I felt there were several inaccuracies to the complaint and they did not give me an opportunity to make a repair or to see which trim kit would be necessary.  I went back through our call log ( our software tracks and records all incoming calls and saw no record of calls from September 22nd to December 22nd.
       A BBB complaint was filed in mid January, again demanding a refund. I first offered to pay a tile setter of their choice and also pay a plumber of their choice - to make repairs to their satisfaction, but they said they did not want to be inconvenienced again. I then offered a refund of $ 919.50 which is half of the invoice ( $ 1839.00 ).   That offer was promptly refused as they were asking for a refund of $ 1,400.00.
       I am still willing to refund half ( $ 919.50), but I do not think we are entirely at fault and I feel $ 1,400 is not a reasonable request. If they feel that is not enough, my other offer is to pay a tile setter of their choice to remove and reset one or two tiles and a plumber of their choice to secure the shower arm is still on the table.
       I have never had a BBB complaint before and  hope this can be resolved in a way that works for both parties as I think this complaint is largely based on emotions more than facts.  

  
                             Thank you for your time
                               **** **********

  Customer response

  02/01/2024

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

  
  The delay between September, when the work was done, and us contacting **** in December was due to our shower not being complete until then. I don't know anyone who uses all of their shower plumbing in the middle of building a shower.
  On the first phone call, **** offered to put spray foam in our ceiling to tighten the pipe that is loose. I am not okay with someone coming in to patch an already botched plumbing job with spray foam. The pipe was loose before we installed the shower head, although I'm not surprised that **** would try to blame us due to his lack of accountability and professionalism through this whole thing. We decided to go our separate ways at this point as it was clear that he had no interest in fixing this. He constantly interrupts you while on the phone to talk over you and even went so far to say that I was "rude' to his employee and I never was. His employee was incredibly rude to me and all I did was not allow him to speak to me in the way he was. At this point, I left a review on ******, of which he claims he did not responded to, I have attached his response. I did not hear anything further from the business until I filed a complaint here several weeks later.
  **** actually called us and asked how he could make this right. He said to "name your price" and had agreed to the $1400 refund as I told him I was willing to pay for the labor which I estimated to be around $500-$600. This was if we took the reviews down of course. Obviously he doesn't care to "make this right" and only wants to refund us to get us to take our reviews down. It is wild to me that he is willing to pay a tile setter and a different plumber to come in instead of just refunding us and we can go our separate ways. I have no interest in having any further dealings with this company. I would appreciate a refund as we will have to pay to have this repaired, but I am not willing to dedicate any more time, energy, or my peace towards this. If you want to refund us because it's the right thing to do, great. If not, that's fine too. My reviews are staying up either way as they're honest and say exactly what happened. I'll actually add a new one on Facebook as well because people should know that this is the kind of work they're getting. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ******* 

   

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, the consumer must give a reason why they are rejecting the response. If the consumer does not provide a reason the complaint will be closed Answered]

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