ComplaintsforMark Brew Plumbing & Heating

• Initial Complaint

  02/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On the morning of 02-17-2022, My wife and I contacted Mark Brew plumbing to look at or well system due to the fact it was not pumping water and tripping the breaker for the well pump. she asked Taylor (in the office) for an estimate for replacing the well pump and the wire for the pump. Taylor advised the plumber would need to inspect the system before an estimate could be given. My wife confirmed she would like them to look at are well and give us an estimate, Taylor took our phone # and said they would arrive between 12 and 4pm. Upon arrival of the plumber, I repeatedly asked for a written estimate and never agreed to have any work done before being given a written estimate. Despite this the plumber still tried to install the wrong pump with the original wiring. I told him that this was a dishonest attempt to over charge me for an improper repair and told him to take his pump and leave. We have received a bill for 1,097.37 that I never agreed to verbally or written.

  Business response

  03/14/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/03/14) */ We just received by mail this complaint!I just read this HO complaint and it is not accurate. On 2/18/22: We received a call from a new customer saying they have no water in their home. We explained our hourly rates to the customer to come investigate the problem.She (the wife) OK'd us to send someone out. We sent the supervisor, Chris, out to investigate. Our supervisor 1st found the control box was bad so couldn't test pump. he picked up new control box and installed 230v 1/2 HP control box and tested. He Found the pump was locked up - we needed to pull pump. He explained to HO's we need multiple people to pull the well pump. We provide this service regularly for our customers who's well pumps go bad so we are very familiar with this work. We have done well work for over 40 years, Our supervisor Chris has done well work for 18 of those years with us. After explaining to The Wife what needed to be done, she called the office and asked for an estimate to replace the pump. Taylor explained it was difficult to give an exact cost because until we pull the pump up out of the ground we have no ides what we will find, but after explaining this, we gave her an approximate cost of 3000.00 to supply and install a new pump and wire,explaining the wire would be checked after pulling to determine if it needs replaced, and she said they need their water on and agreed for us to complete the job. We Informed her we could get crew out this afternoon to pull the pump and repair or replace it (depending on what was found)- HO (the wife) OK'd us to send crew and pull pump. Our crew pulled the pump and found it needed replaced, but the wire was good. We got info off the existing pump and called supplier to order pump- while waiting to get pump the husband came out and asked to chris to change out the pitless and also stated he wanted an identical pump. Chris explained to the husband that it would require additional work and time to change out the pitless (its two parts) and the HO argued that this info was not true. HO went inside and didn't return until the new pump arrived to the job and crew was ready to drop new pump. HO (husband) came back out and questioned Chris (our supervisor) about the pump not being identical to the one that was pulled. Chris explained it was a comparable pump and due to supply issues we were unable to get an identical pump on this day. HO said he will wait, Chris explained that we didn't know if we would have a crew available within the next few days to return to install, and they would have no water for that entire time. They were unable to agree, the homeowner then spoke to our owner Mark over the phone and Mark confirmed this pump is completely comparable to what was existing and our goal was to get them water back today suggesting while our crew is here and the pump is pulled let us install this new pump. The HO became agitated by the answers given,he wanted an identical pump, and he wanted the pitless changed out with new, which we could do neither at that time, and he decided he didn't want us to finish install of new pump. We explained we only Needed approx 30 additional minutes to complete job. HO refused, told us to leave, and went inside and crew left. We Left old pump pulled in yard per HO and sent crew away. The balance due for the work that was completed is 1097.50. This includes investigating and replacing the control box, and our crew pulling the well pump. HO has not responded to requests for payment for the work that was completed, stating he was contacting the general attorneys office. We are unsure why. We have never received a written complaint. We came out and did the work based on conversations with the wife and her request to get their water back on and we were 100% prepared to install the new pump and get them water which would be warrantied for one year. We are not sure why this job went sideways as it did. We have never had an issue like this in our 40 years of business. We feel that we did our due diligence to get this HO water back on to their home and this is normally appreciated by our customers. We feel as though our experience and professionalism speak for itself in this matter. If the Homeowner had informed us up front he wanted the pitless adapter changed,the wire changed, as well as demanding an identical pump we would have ordered the materials that were needed for that specific request, given them an appropriate estimated cost for that work, and scheduled it at a later time when we could get an identical pump, according to their needs and wants. None of this was known until the work had already begun. We can't see underground, and we can't know what specific pump a customer has unless it is one that we installed previously. We do have the call recording from the wife and Taylor, in our office that states she agreed to the cost of 3000.00 for pulling and replacing the pump and wire - explaining that this is just an estimate and we would know more once the pump is pulled. The wife explained that it was fine as she had family who previously had similar work done and she believed that amt sounded about right. We certainly would not have done all of this work knowing this HO was going to change the scope and not allow us to do what it is we do, which is getting his water back on and working in his home. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/03/15) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I never changed the "scope" of the job my wife and I clearly stated what I wanted from the beginning and simply would not accept the job being done improperly. I explained I would wait however long I needed to for the correct pump (having water from my neighbor) and the plumber (Chris) promised me it was the 5gpm that I wanted, the reason he did not knock on my door or call my cell phone, was so I wouldn't notice the 7gpm pump he was using with the old wire. The tag on my outside well pump has the necessary information on it (depth, recovery rate) something an experienced well company should know. The Well company that came the next morning had my well diagnosed with a written estimate and repaired with the correct pump and new wire in less than two hours with two people for $2,700, they also installed a new sealed cap, new conduit for the outer wire, new barbed fitting at the bulkhead and sanitized the well per code. They also removed the control box that was not defective, I have it to return in its original box. A way to avoid this in the future is to give an estimate before the work is done especially when the customer request one! I will not pay for the misdiagnoses of the control box, as a plumbing company you should have the knowledge to diagnose this scenario properly and not just throw parts at a problem. I will not pay to have a crew stand around when 2 experienced workers did the job in less than 2 hours. I will not pay a company for lies and disseat in order to obtain the most money possible. Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2022/03/28) */ ***Document Attached*** We stand by our initial response. We had to diagnose the well issue. Chris B. was the supervisor that went out to the home. He is a Licensed Master Plumber which over 20 years of well experience. He explained to the HO that the well needed to be pulled after replacing the Control Box that he was not able to get working. He replaced the control box and it did not solve the issue of no water so he explained we needed a crew to pull the well pump. The wife is the one that our office spoke to on the phone and the conversations with our office ARE Recorded. I will attempt to attached the phone recording. SHE agreed to the quoted approx cost of 3000.00 to pull and replace the pump and get their water back on. They would not have been charge any more than that unless other work was found that needed to be completed. The 3000.00 WAS our quote to pull and replace the well pump, and we were standing by that amt. The total amt, had we been able to complete the job would have been just under 3000.00 if no complications had shown up which we don't expect would have happened. Mr. ***** never stated he was insisting on an identical pump, OR that he would like his pitless adapter replaced until after we had already pulled the pump out of the ground. Regardless, Whether we had two men OR 10 men on site, the cost would not have increased for pulling the pump. Chris and our owner both conversed with Mr. *****, and explained while we were on site to that using the exact pump was not necessary and it's not uncommon to use a slightly different pump. The pump we had to install was not an exact match, but was a very comparable pump and wouldn't have affected the usage, or the cost in any way. We replace wire ONLY if the wire needs replaced. Had we found the wire needed replaced, we would have certainly replaced the wire within the quoted amt. The job at NO time was done by us incorrectly in any way. We - Mark Brew Plumbing - Pulled the well pump, and it was LEFT out of the ground - so any other plumber or well company that would come out to quote this job would already have access to the pump and the wire and all accessories because it was OUR crew that pulled it,and we should certainly be paid for this work! It was at minimum saving this customer the cost to have the other company Pull the well pump which is timely and requires more than one or two people typically. It is a labor intensive thing to pull a well, this is why Homeowners don't typically do this themselves. Did we need all the men we had there on site? Not necessarily, these crews were available and we wanted to get this customers water back on before the end of the day and we did not have the availability to return the following day (Friday) meaning the HO's would have been without water all weekend until we could return the following week with the exact pump they currently had. The amt of people we had on site, had no bearings on the 3000 we quoted them to pull and replace their well pump. We at no time ever ever ever purposely overcharge, milk, or take advantage of our customers in any way shape or form. We are a stand up, upfront plumbing contractor who have our customers best interest always at the forefront of our minds. We gave them a quote of approx 3000.00 because that was the average cost of this type of service from beginning to end. Had the job come in at under the 3000.00 (which this one would have) they would have been charged that lesser amount. We were never giving the opportunity to complete the project because the HO was not happy that we were not able to give him an exact replacement. We would have never expected this to be an issue and we are still dumbfounded as to why this happened. Regardless, we still have the labor costs to diagnose and pull the well pump out of the ground. We expect to be compensated for this work that was done as the HO would have paid the other plumber for this work had they had to pull or re-pull the pump which would have taken their cost much higher than the homeowner paid to them. Our total amt for the work we did do is 1097.50 and we stand by that. However, we would be willing to accept payment in full to close this matter in the amt of 900.00. I would like to reiterate had the other company had to diagnose and Pull the well pump, the cost would have ended similarly to the quote given by us or likely much higher. They paid another plumber 2700.00 yes, but the issues was diagnosed by us, and the pump was pulled by us. We are attaching one of the phone conversations regarding the cost quoted with Mrs. *****. Please take into consideration our reputation as a qualified, independently owned licensed plumber in the state of MD for over 40 years with just as many years and experience with pulling well pumps. Consumer Response /* (4200, 13, 2022/04/01) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) First of all, your company is failing to provide the most important phone call where we called your company for service. When I spoke with Taylor, I told her that we wanted the wiring and pump replaced I was not asking I clearly stated it. I asked for an estimate that I was told could not be provided until they came out. Taylor did not provide fees of any kind in this phone call. In the fact only person asking for fees was me. The very fact that your company is only supplying the last phone call taken by Taylor is yet again proof that your company is trying to take advantage of your customers and creating a false narrative. We asked for a written estimate multiple times by myself in person and my wife on the phone "confirmed on your recording" and never received one. We asked to have the wire and pump replaced and would have paid 3K if that was done properly. (I would like a copy of the first phone call to confirm my wife clearly stated the wire and pump would need to be replaced.) We never agreed to pay 3K for a pump only. I absolutely told Chris I wanted the same pump and would wait before accepting anything else and he absolutely lied and said it was a 5GPM pump. Again A way to avoid this in the future is to give an estimate before the work is done especially when the customer request one! I will not pay for the misdiagnoses of the control box, as a plumbing company you should have the knowledge to diagnose this scenario properly and not just throw parts at a problem. I will not pay to have a crew stand around when 2 experienced workers did the job in less than 2 hours. I will not pay a company for lies and disseat in order to obtain the most money possible. Consumer Response /* (3000, 21, 2022/04/29) */ I would like this case reopened so that the first phone recording between my wife and Mark Brew plumbing can be submitted. This is important information for further action in court and with the Attorney General. I would also like to submit my final Offer to remedy the situation before court. Business Response /* (4000, 26, 2022/05/11) */ ***Document Attached*** Hello, In regards to Mr. ***** re opening this case. This is absurd. After this case was closed by BBB, we made a valid attempt to settle this matter for a significantly reduced amount. Mr. **** called the office and was extremely unprofessional and aggressive towards me personally as he threatened to sue me personally as well as our company for "fraud, for lying to the BBB" He insisted that I personally was responsible for lying and making up stories to the BBB in my responses and he would hold me personally responsible for this. I explained to him that we understood his right to file legal action in court against the company and if he felt he needed to do this that is his right as a consumer. I then explained to him that since we could not come to a reasonable resolution without threats being made, we would be sending this to our attorney to let him handle it and that the case would be filed for the full amount to include any legal fees. This case has been filed and is being handled by our attorney at this time. We are no longer able to deal directly with Mr. ***** and it is very unfortunate that we were not able to come to an amicable resolution. I will reiterate that it was and never is our intention to have any job we do become this hostile and unable to be resolved professionally. We respectfully ask that BBB stand by there initial findings that we have responded and given all necessary information in regards to our expertise in this matter and close this case permanently. At this time we feel Mr. ***** has crossed the line in calling our office and making threats to an individual employee who was just doing her job in collecting money owed, per the owner of the company. With that said, in regards to the 1st call that Mr. ***** is now demanding, we are attaching the initial call here, there are two recordings as the call was initially taken by our estimator Chris, and transferred over to our scheduler Taylor. Again, Mrs. ***** is who we spoke to each time before sending a crew out, and at no time were we ever asked for an upfront quote prior to sending a crew out, but again, as explained earlier we do not give an exact quote for an out of water call, because there is NO feasible way for us to give a cost on something we don't know and can't see. IN the recording previously sent over to you it was made clear by Taylor to MRS ***** that we don't know what the exact cost will be, but we estimated it at approx 3000.00 (that did not happen until AFTER we send a crew out) We were called for a no water emergency call. We explained we would send out a plumber to investigate the no water call between 12-4 (we had to pull our plumber from another already scheduled job which is what we try to do when a Homeowner has no water), We sent our supervisor, a master plumber with over 20 years of well experience to diagnose, and make repairs to get water back on to the home ASAP. it wasn't until our crew was in route that Mrs. ***** called back (the previous recorded conversation that we had send regarding this complaint) and asked us for an estimated cost to do the repairs, and we gave her an "estimate of about 3000.00 to pull and replace the pump but it would depend on what our supervisor found and IF we needed to pull the pump etc etc)" She agreed as you can hear on the recording previously sent to you all. Chris (our supervisor) arrived and found the control box was burned out and he replaced the control box, it didn't get their water back on, which means the pump had gone bad (likely causing the burned out control box), OR it was possible the wire is damaged or broken, we cannot determine the reason until we pull the pump out of the ground which requires several people, so we we sent who we had available at the time to pull the pump out of the ground, the wire was found to be in good shape but the pump was burned out and needed replaced, Supervisor called around to find a pump, and we sent a man out to pick up a comparable pump for replacement. It was not until after WE pulled the well pump out of the ground, and started install of the new pump that Mr. ***** had issues and told us to leave his property. Regardless of Mr. ***** claims of demanding a quote before coming out to the home - which clearly we can prove is NOT accurate at all - NOR would we have been able to given him an exact quote - and we NEVER give a written quote for something like an emergency call, OR his insistence that he demanded wire be replaced, this work was done by us, although not completed - we fully intended on completing this job and getting the HO water back to their home, but we were not given the opportunity to do so. The total cost had we been permitted to stay and complete the job would have been UNDER our estimate of 3000.00 regardless of how many people we had there working. The control box WAS replaced - it WAS burned out and needed replaced! Any other plumber would have needed to replace the control box, The pump WAS pulled out of the ground by us, requiring several men to pull it out (this is normal), any other plumber would have needed several men to safely pull this pump out of the ground. Mark Brew Plumbing did all of this work, why would we not expect to be paid for it. It was all items that needed to happen when a home has NO water. We did this work, and we should be paid for this work. Again, we are dumbfounded as to why this all happened in the way that it has happened. We have NEVER had any issues such as this for trying to assist a customer in their time of need. Clearly a lack of communication has occurred along the line. It is very unfortunate that we are spending this much time on trying to be paid for work we did to try to help these homeowners. We stand behind everything that we did as a plumbing professional in regards to this call.

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