ComplaintsforKB Plumbing, Heating & Cooling, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  08/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In October 2022 I had a sewer back up in the home, I contacted KB Complete to assist and resolve the sewer problem. KB Complete representative ran a camera and identified a blockage, he used a device to locate the camera and marked a spot on the ground depicting the blockage. He never tried to use a snake to remedy the problem. He just said that this will cost around $7000 to remedy the problem with a drain cap and a outside access to the drain, with the monies paid upfront before excavation begins. I paid for the work to start and while the work was going on I verfied that they were putting in an outside access with the replacement pipe, and the gentlemen confirmed that it will be done. The excavation and replacement was installed and the ground was cover up and the gentleman told me upon completion that he contacted his boss and his boss said the outside access could not be installed that close to the easement after I had paid for that to be included. Seven days later I had a water back up in the same area that I had accumulated over$18,000 worth of damage not including the $7000 I paid KB Complete. I called KB Complete to come out and resolve this issue, the rep came out with a snake and worked hard to finally get the drain to start to drain. he allowed me to talk with the upper echelon manager, I complained to him about paying for this work being complete and the problem still exit and the outside access that never materialized. The manager looked into it and send someone out to excavate and put in the outside access to the drain line. Two months later the same line backed up again, I call KB Complete and they came out and looked at my drain with a camera and said I had rocks in my line. I requested for them to jet the rocks out and the gentleman stated they didn't have a jetter. They left without a resolution to fix the problem and I was promise a return when the mound settled, they will come back and cut the drain to ground level. That has yet to happen

  Business response

  02/22/2024

  We did perform service for ******** ***** back in October of 2022 and identified a blockage, which was mud in his sewer line, with our camera. The customer told us we were the third company to come out and identify the blockage and neither of the first two were able to remedy the problem with a snake, so we did not feel it necessary to run a snake. With it being mud, it was obvious there was a break in the sewer line, and we did not want to put our equipment at risk of breaking by trying to snake a known broken sewer line. 

  The customer was quoted for a repair of $4,419.14 (not $7K) and he did not pay until the work was completed. We do not ever charge a customer up front. We excavated the spot in the yard and performed the work, except for the fact that we did fail to install a clean-out as promised. We took responsibility for our mistake and did return later to re-excavate and install that clean-out at no additional charge. 

  One week later we did return to the home because the sewer did back up again. We then discovered that there was another break in the sewer line further down that we could not originally reach with our camera due to the initial break. To repair this break would require removing a section of his driveway, which the customer told us he did not want to do. We successfully snaked the line, but told the customer that this was only a temporary fix and in order to reach a permanent solution would require another sewer line repair (another excavation and driveway removal). 

  We were never made aware of any personal damages to the customers home or property. Had we been and determined we were at fault, we would have provided some form of compensation as we have done in the past with other customers as needed. 

  We did not have the jetter equipment in our department at the time of the request, so we could not provide the service he requested, however, when we did leave we did determine that the mound was settled and the drain was cut to ground level. 

  During this time the customer had never been charged additional amounts other than the $4,419.14 he paid after completing the first service. KB Complete did make a mistake by not installing the clean-out initially, but we did go back and complete the work. That mistake is not the reason the customer continued to have additional back-ups due to additional breaks in his sewer line. 

   

  Please let me know if there is additional information, invoices or photos needed for this claim. Thank you. 

  Customer response

  03/14/2024

  I have receipts of payments when they were paid and when the work was accomplished.  I do not agree with the statement that were provided and the timing the extended delay to respond to the BBB request to this matter as a replicable business.  They ended their statement with a lie that they have return to my home to lower my clean out that they left high for the dirt mound to settle.  We are in 2024 and they have never returned to completed the service.  I was contacted last by KB Complete with questions about what it took to rectify the problem in September 2023.  I had to pay an additional $14, 000.00 to completed the work, KB Complete said they will reach out to me with some form of restitution and since September of last year, I have not hear from them.  They used that information they got from me to respond to you to pretend they are a legitimate business.  Since they have lied with their response, I will reach out to the Kansas and Missouri Attorney General to let them know that this is how they treat American Veterans that provide business opportunities, they complete a job and charge you and one week later they realize that what they once completed did not accomplish the job, instead of continuing to provide services, they left me to hire another company to complete the work they failed to complete.  If they were a company that value customers with outstanding reputation they would have stay with me in my demise and help me resolve my plumbing problem.  They had been caught up in lies and their fixes didn't work, they had been paid so they tried to get away from me as soon as they could.  Just didn't make since for me to rehire someone to do the same job that they do on a daily basis.

  Business response

  04/25/2024

  KB Complete stands by our previous statement. I have attached invoices regarding this matter with the customer which proves that during our visits, the customer has been charged 1 time for $4,419.14. All other invoices are $0 charges. These invoices also show proof that the work we did was not a long-term solution, but an exploratory dig, which the customer agreed to us doing. The invoices specifically state that the issue was known to be roughly 50 feet out, but the work we performed was done at the 5 foot mark. All of these discussions were noted by the technician on the invoice and signed by the customer. The invoices also state that KB is not responsible for landscaping. It is standard practice to leave a dirt mound above the work we perform because naturally, the dirt will settle over time. As noted and signed upon, we were not responsible for further landscaping after the soil settled. 

  Where KB Complete did not meet our mark for service is by not following up with the customer after the June 2023 visit. As far as I can tell, that June visit is our last correspondence with the customer. Our drain team should have followed up and had a technician get back out there to work through a permanent, long-term solution with the customer. The additional $14,000 paid by the customer to another company to complete the work sounds to be about right for what a long-term permanent solution would have been charged by KB Complete to do the rest of this project. KB Complete is at fault for not following up to bid and perform that additional service. 

  I also would like to address the statement on our treatment of veterans. Our GM at the time of this incident is an Army veteran, as well as our plumbing manager mentioned in the invoices (Dewey) who is a Marine veteran, who still is our plumbing manager today. I am the current GM, who started in November, but I am an Army veteran as well. We employee numerous other veterans across our company though all of our trades. I thank the customer for his service, and I apologize for our failure to communicate after the June 2023 visit, but all I can go off of is our past invoices before I started at the company, which back up our side of the story. 

   

   

  Customer response

  05/03/2024

  KB Complete signed on given me assurance that they were very capable of doing the job with lying impressive resume of all the work they do in various communities.  I was vulnerable to believe that they would complete the assignment after I was told that they had to excavate the ground and cut and replace pipe.  Complete was part of their business name and I felt they had the integrity to do a stellar job on what they made me understand that the company do this on a daily basis.  The work I recall was done on a Monday excavating the ground and communicated with prior to digging and assured me that they would install a cleanout to prevent from having to access a in-home basement clean out.  Upon completion of the work the two gentleman assured me that they had flushed the line and everything was in working order with the exception of a clean out installed.  I was told that the boss informed them while they were doing the job they could not install a clean out with in so man feet from the easement.  Clearly that was a lie, because the excavation was closer to the house than to the road.  I felt that this was my first interaction with this company and it started off with me having to make my payment upfront and they immediately did not deliver everything that was promise.  Faith had it, Friday four days later I had another water backup that I had already paid to remedy by KB Complete. I call KB Complete and I was upset that I had paid for services that placed me back to the original reason I call them.  It took the serviceman quite some time inside the home to unclog the drain, had the outside cleanout was installed at the first onset, the job would not have taken so long.  This gave me the time to talk with the one of the managers because the serviceman had to find out do he charge me for service or not.  After talking with the manager he made it as though their was a misunderstanding about the cleanout.  He clearly understood that I was lied to and he also understood that they feel to have done their job for them to be back after four day of a supposedly completed job.  Fortunately arrangement was made for the re-excavation to install the cleanout.  I was told the line was cleared and everything was in working order.  Two months later the exact same things happen again and I call KB Complete to investigate the situation to determine what could be the cause of the problem.  A representative came out with a black guy who talk as though KB was a credible plumber service.  The main representative begin to tell me that the initial representative that came out and gained my business really didn't know what he was doing, he ran a camera but apparently discovered where a potential blockage were but could have look at the line more intention to determine more of the problem.

  I knew then that I was dealing with journeyman that was not that credible, more importantly I wanted now what do we need to do to get the fix that I was promised.  There were no exploratory anything, I had a problem and I hired them to fix it.  The gentlemen stuck a camera in the cut out to go beyond the repaired area and found gravel in the line and I remember asking were the able to use a jetter to remove the gravel.  He responded they did not have a jetter and the problem were beyond their capabilities.  This is the kind of work that I was sold on that they do in the communities. I was left high and dry with no intention of helping to remedy a solution to the job.  I received a call from the owner after I filed a Better Business Bureau complaint, he question me as to what I had to do to get the job complete.  I shared with the additional $14,000.00 I had to pay and all it took to finally get my sewer system back in working condition.  He told me he was going out of town on a trip and when he come back he would contact me for possible reimbursement, To my surprise he gain information from me to formalize a response for the BBB.  If KB Complete was credible and they do this work often they surely could have at least given me a bid as to how much it would have cost for them to completed this job.  They have gone on record with you saying they have return to my property and lowered the cleanout like the said they have done and assured me that they would and have fell to do.  They say they have Military Veterans working for their establishment, they apparently use them to gain business for them and direct them to do shady business like was done for me.  Having manager sharing with me about the incompetence of other managers are what put me in this predicament.  I wanted a completed job, instead managers choose to walk away from helping me and the owner was fine with this outcome.  I have come to find out from veterans and former KB Complete employers and plumbers that KB Complete goals are to make a million dollars a day and that's seem to be there drive force and customers have to suffer with shawdy services.  I see that I need to raise the stakes and take this matter to the Attorney General with both Kansas and Missouri and perhaps consider small claims court or consider Class Action Settlement if to find out how many customers have issues similar with the company.

   

  Business response

  05/09/2024

  Thank you for the latest updates on this claim. I will have our plumbing coordinator, Rachel, contact the customer and set up for a day and time to follow up on our verbal agreement from June 2023 to lower the clean out. Barring scheduling conflicts, I expect this to be handled by the end of next week.

   

  Tyler Hines

  Customer response

  05/16/2024

  Rachel from KB Complete called Tuesday 5/15/2024 and agreed with an 8:00 a.m. appointment on Thursday 5/16/2024.  I received a text on Wednesday that a technician from KB Complete was on the way to my house and I was heading to a doctor appointment at the VA Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri.  That was unusual because I had agreed with a Thursday appointment at 8:00 a.m.  I called KB Complete immediately after I received the text and made them aware of my Thursday May 16, 2024 at 8:00 a.m., I would have allowed them to come out Wednesday but no coordination was made and I had an appointment shortly after I found out that a Manager with KB Complete decided to sent out a technician to my home with out prior coordination with me.  It is  now 9:30 a.m. Thursday May 16, 2024 the day of the appointment and I received a text message from Rachel indicating the technicians are running late.  I sent a text back thanking her and ask for her to inform me when a technician were heading my way.  I feel as if they are playing with me emotionally regarding this matter, I will remain optimistic and await their arrival to complete this matter.  I wonder how they can remain a superior company with the Better Business Bureau.

  Customer response

  05/16/2024

  Mr Daniels showed up at 10:23 Thursday May 16, 2024 and went strait to to clean out and begin to lower the cleanout as he was sent out to do.  I came out to cut my yard at 10:32 on Thursday May 16, 2024 and interacted with Mr Daniel and ask him why he did not knock on the door or use the doorbell to inform me that he was there, he of course was apologetic and stated that he was doing what he was instructed to do.  I understand that he was instructed to do exactly what he did by not alerting me of his arrival.  My concern was to safeguard the additional $14,000.00 repairs that has been made above the cost that KB Complete charged.  Due to lack of trust of their company I wanted to ensure that no sabotage on their part was done.  I will go back to view the camera, when I made it out the technician had already had the cleanout top off actively engaged in the repairs.  It has been very close to two years since this work suppose to have been completed.  I do not understand why they fail to extend the courtesy to let me know they was outside to finalize the repairs.  This let me know that they tried not to interface with me as a customer.  This incident is a indicators of what I have had to deal with while doing business with this company.  My thanks to the Better Business Bureau for getting involved and getting this much accomplish, I will see if the owner will reach out for some sort of restitutions.

  Business response

  05/23/2024

  Good morning,

  KB Complete went out to the customer's home on Thursday 5/16. We gave the customer a call ahead of time and spoke to him, confirming we were on our way and would be there soon. The technician did not ring the doorbell, like the customer stated, which is not our policy - we ask our technicians to ring the doorbell and greet the customer on every call.

  KB Complete takes full responsibility for not following up with this customer like our documentation stated we would back in June 2023. The lack of customer service is totally unacceptable. I also wish our technician had greeted this customer at the door on 5/16, however, the way the customer treated him is certainly off-putting. The manager of this department was terminated on 5/21/24 for a variety of reasons, but this incident and how it was handled was one of the contributing reasons. This incident with this customer should never have reached this point, and in the future, it will not be tolerated. 

   

  Tyler Hines

  GM

   

  Business response

  06/07/2024

  Our new Plumbing Install Manager introduced himself to the customer and they have come to a resolution. KB Complete sent the customer a check on 5/31/24 for a full refund of our work in the amount of $4,419.14. Both the customer and KB Complete are satisfied with the restitution, per the phone call that was had. We have not received confirmation from the customer that he has received the check, but we do consider this matter closed and all loose ends are taken care of. The customer also was adamant that a weapon was not involved in KB Complete's last visit, and without video proof, we cannot confirm that there was a weapon present. Therefore, we cannot say with certainty that there was a weapon present with the customer and we would wish to retract the previous accusation that there was. 

• Initial Complaint

  07/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Bought a service plan for both AC and Heat, used the heat tuneup, had troubles with KB Complete before I could use the AC tuneup. Asked for a refund of the AC portion, they haven't processed my refund, instead the want to send me a small portion of the refund only

  Business response

  09/22/2022

  The consumer was refunded on August 12th. 

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