Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  08/08/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On January 29th, 2023, I experienced a plumbing emergency for which I notified Kingdom Plumbing. The incident was due to a damaged shower handle which subsequently also damaged the cartridge behind the shower. Their plumber arrived shortly thereafter and first turned off my water from the outside. Afterwards, he proceeded upstairs into my bathroom to diagnose my shower. After inspection, he determined that the cause was in fact due to a damaged shower cartridge, which would need replacing and he had one on-site. I gave the approval and he began the work as I left him to go downstairs. A few minutes later, he came down with some bad news. While he was attempting to remove the cartridge, somehow the entire valve system was damaged, which also needed replacing. His new cost would now be over $1K. I was surprised and disappointed and so I told him I would need a few other estimates. I had several technicians come by from different plumbing companies and all told me the same thingThe plumber from Kingdom UNEQUIVOCALLY damaged my entire valve system due to NEGLIGENCE. They did agree with him that the entire valve would need to be replaced (see ************* assessment). So what would have costed me only around $300 for a simple shower cartridge replacement + labor (according to *****), now costed me $800 + an additional $300 or so in order to get my drywall repaired (the only way to change my entire valve was to go through the drywall of my spare bedroom). Kingdom did offer to fix their mistake the following day supposedly without having to replace the entire valve system. But due to the obvious extent of the damage, the fact that their first plumber himself agreed that the valve system would need to be replaced and that he himself more than likely caused the damage, I respectfully declined their offer as I had NO reason to believe they would somehow manage to put a new cartridge in without sacrificing the valve. Thank you BBB.

  Business response

  09/15/2023

  Kingdom Plumbing 
  To whom it may concern, 
  This is in response to the complaint from ******************* about a shower valve he claims ************** broke. I have 3 testimonies from employees that either went to the residence or spoke with him on the phone. He claims the tech that came out originally didnt have or use the proper tool to remove the cartridge and thats why it broke. I am including pictures of the actual **** tool being used on his valve, it shows the cartridge broken on the tool, he claims the other company says this was negligent on our part. For one when these cartridges get old they become brittle and can break, I have been plumbing for over 36 years and this has happened more then once to myself. I will allow the testimonies of the 3 witnesses tell there personal dealings with *****, the one is our office manager who spoke with him a few times on the phone, those calls are recorded and can be referred to as well. More then once did ***** admit to them that the cleaning lady acutely broke the valve that morning. 
  
  This is from ******* the first technician on the job. 
  As is displayed in this customers recollection of the date, so are the rest of the details mentioned his account misconstrued. Firstly kingdom plumbing has picture, signatures, and an invoice referring to the correct date which is June 29th 2023. This isnt the heart of the issue but is only an example of a careless relaying of details. We arrived at the customers house- as was properly explained- to a running shower valve that was stuck in the on position (the cartridge was damaged and would not turn off due to age, calcium build up, and his cleaning ladies pulling on the handle instead of rotating it). This is why kingdom plumbing always stresses the importance of having a water softener to protect appliances, fixtures, valves, and other plumbing products in the house. Upon customers own admission the valve/cartridge was old, original, and damaged. My first step was to help the customer by turning off his water. Secondly I gave him a couple of options, one to replace the valve, and another to replace the broken cartridge. He agreed to the latter. Upon signatures and agreement I inserted my **** puller (a tool used and developed by the manufacturer specifically his cartridge, also the same tool that other companies blamed me for not using *see picture below*) and attempted to pull cartridge out of the valve. The old, stiff, brittle, plastic cartridge cracked perfectly in half. Unfortunately theres no way to get a stubborn cartridge out apart from simply pulling with the designated puller. As I made my way downstairs to make a trip to the truck he asked how it was going. Desiring to be transparent with the customer I told him the situation and gave an option to replace the valve or otherwise I was proceeding with cutting out the cartridge to replace it. He asked what the procedure was for replacing the valve and I told him we could either cut a small hole in the drywall or we could cut through the shower and put a trim plate over that fits the hole. Keep in mind, the valve was not damaged. The cartridge was damaged from the moment we arrived, the cartridge was stuck in the valve. Kingdom plumbing isnt responsible for damaged parts in customers homes neither is kingdom plumbing responsible for the opinions of other diagnoses of other plumbing companies who are in competition with kingdom plumbing. Kingdom plumbing, in attempt to further assist this customer sent another technician to complete the job by cutting out cartridge. The customer agreed and the technician got to work. While working, this customer had ************* show up, the technician from ************* threatened to charge a $350 restocking fee for showing up and leaving without doing any work so therefore kingdom plumbing was finally kicked out of the house not to return again. 
  
  This is from ***** the second technician on the job who doesnt even work here anymore but was willing to tell his truth. 
  I ***********************, was dispatched to ***********************, to take a look at a **** Positemp, **** shower cartridge that had broken inside the brass shower valve.  
  
  Upon arrival ************ was telling me how displeased he was with our service due to out the previous technician breaking the cartridge in the valve. And that he called a second company and they quoted him for a whole brass shower valve replacement. But he wanted to give our company a second chance.  
  
  ************ stated that the the cartridge broke due to the carelessness of the technician, he was too rough and did not have the proper tools.  
  
  I apologized to ************ and proceeded to diagnose the broken shower cartridge. I told him and reassured him that I can extract the cartridge without damaging the shower valve.  But if the valve is damaged then we would have to replace it. He of course was unhappy to hear that but again I reassured him that I can take out the cartridge without damaging the valve. 
  
  This is from our office manager 
  ******************* called Kingdom Plumbing on June 29 2023, in need of emergency services. He stated his tub valve wouldn't shut off and water was continuing to run. *************************** was dispatched to this emergency. Once ******* arrived he took a look at the valve and gave ***** the estimate. ***** approved the estimate, but when ******* attempted to remove the cartridge it was broken inside the valve. ******* then told ***** it was broken and very hard to remove. ******* called the office to let me know what was going on and said he gave the ***** another estimate to replace the shower valve, but the customer wanted to get a second opinion. ******* left the appt. The next day, ***** called Kingdom Plumbing again to say that he contacted another company to give an estimate and also that the other company (*************) technicians told him ******* did this on purpose and was negligent. I told ************ was not interested in anything a technician from another company had to say, because they are going to say anything to get your business and at the end of the day, Kingdom Plumbing operates with professionalism and integrity. He stated that he could get multiple companies to say ******* did this intentionally and didn't use the proper tool. Each call after that got more aggressive with him. He said he received another quote but he wanted us to send another technician to do the repair before the other company came. That's when *********************** was dispatched to the property. Once ***** arrived and met with ********************** took a look at the valve and went over the options with *****, (the same Options from *******).  As ***** was about to start the work, ************* showed up to do the work and he shewed ***** away because ***** had already approved the ************* quote. It was at this time ***** called the office to say ************* did the repair because if he had cancelled their appointment they were going to charge him a restocking fee (for the parts). He then demanded we absorb the cost for ******** negligence. I asked him " if the cleaning company was accepting any responsibility in this matter since they broke it in the beginning?" He said he was going to contact them as well. He told me he needed to explain his background to me saying he is a cargo pilot that makes $175.00 an hour and if he missed his flight that day, we would have to pay for the loss. I assured him that no person, or Kingdom Plumbing would be paying any portion of his salary at any time. As the calls from him were getting longer and more aggressive after his repair, he stated he wanted Kingdom Plumbing to pay him for this repair or a portion of it, or he'd take it further. All correspondence with ******************* were recorded.  
   
  
  --  
  ***************************;
  Kingdom Plumbing 
  Office Manager 

  Customer response

  09/24/2023

   
  Complaint: 20440702
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Kingdom plumbing is engaging in pure deflection.
  
  The business claims that the shower cartridges get old they become brittle and can break. This is a sideshow and they are simply neglecting the reality that 1) this shower cartridge had only been in service for EIGHT years 2) The vast majority of the time, this house has only been occupied by only ONE person (myself) and I was gone a lot from home due to work. In other words, it has not even been used that much and therefore, should not have been subject to typical wear and tear. 3) The manufacturer, ****, guarantees these valve and cartridge system viability by offering a LIFETIME warranty. This cannot be overstated. A LIFETIME warranty. The reason why I was not able to claim this warranty was simply because of the fact that I was not the original homeowner. The original lived in this house for only ONE year. This cartridge, should not have been old and brittle but should have lasted a LIFETIME according to *********
  
  They mentioned the housekeepers who caused damage. Yes, they did so, but again, they did not damage my entire shower valve system. They only damaged my shower handle and the subsequent cartridge behind it. *******, the Kingdom technician, made that clear to me when he arrived. He aggravated the situation.
  
  ******* claims that Upon customers own admission the valve/cartridge was old, original, and damaged. This is false. Again, I never claimed that this system was old. The ONLY thing that was damaged was the cartridge from the housecleaners who came by earlier. The ***** system, behind the cartridge was just fine until it wasnt, due to ******** work on trying to dislodge the cartridge. This was THE PROBLEM that greatly increased the work and associated costs.
  
  *******, also noted that that the valve was not damaged. That was in complete contradiction to what he relayed to me at the time telling me that I would either need a replacement valve system or a new trim kit. This was also the assessment of other plumbers with one exceptionThe reason being was in their assessment because of ******** work. They all claimed that this was due to negligence on the plumber who tried to remove the cartridge....not of the original housekeepers. 
  
  ******* also stated that Unfortunately theres no way to get a stubborn cartridge out apart from simply pulling with the designated puller. Im sure thats what any negligent professional in this situation would say. I for one am not a plumber. Why didnt he express that to me earlier before he began trying to dislodge it by telling me of the associated risks? However, other plumbers explicitly expressed to me that, YES a cartridge should be able to dislodge without too much difficulty with a designated puller and WITHOUT any subsequent damage to the rest of the system. Anything else stated is whats referred to as Smoke and mirrors.
  
  The office manager stated that He (*****) stated that he could get multiple companies to say ******* did this INTENTIONALLY and didn't use the proper tool. Again, FALSE. Although I did (and still do) believe that the technician (*******) MAY possibly have done this intentionally, I gave the benefit of the doubt that this was ONLY due to negligence. I specifically mentioned that in my original complaint. By the way, if this damage was THEORETICALLY done intentionally, Im sure it wouldnt be the first time in history that a company has used their professionals to act maliciously when no one is looking in order to extract more costs and further work. This was very convenient for Kingdom and suspicious that while working to try to dislodge my shower cartridge, it somehow broke (when I wasnt looking) and that he could now fix the entire system now at a much higher cost than what he originally gave me. But again, benefit of the doubt; Im claiming he was just NEGLIGENT not MALICIOUS.
  
  ***** (Kingdoms second technician) did tell me that he could extract the shower valve without damaging the cartridge. Whereas I do appreciate the offer, I had to make an on-the-spot decision to either go with 1) a representative from a company who was not able to remove my shower cartridge without breaking the system and then tried to extract a higher concession from me or 2) go with a new company who had no such a record. I had to go on a work trip the following day and so I elected to go with the new. Again, I no longer had ANY reason to trust the work provided by Kingdom. For all I knew, even if ***** could theoretically extract the valve, how was I to know that he would actually perform a satisfactory job and not just put a temporary band aid on a gushing wound? It was about TRUST at that point. I no longer had any reason to trust Kingdom plumbing.
  
  My salary or pay that Kingdom mentioned is irrelevant and is just another deflection from who is to blame. Smoke and mirrors. Its the principle of the matter in that their technician was negligent in his work that cause hundreds of dollars extra in damage to my system.
  
  The office manager stated that Kingdom Plumbing operates with professionalism and integrity. Talk is cheap. PROVE IT!  Their technician caused damage to my cartridge which required replacing my entire shower valve system, not to mention cutting a whole through my spare bedroom in order to reach the shower to fix it.
  
  I am reasonable. Because I am (again to reiterate) offering Kingdom plumbing the benefit of the doubt that this was just a workplace accident due to negligence (maybe these things happen), I am willing to be reasonable and negotiate. I first mentioned an $800 compensation from Kingdom. I would be willing to half that (only request $400) if they are willing to settle. I think this is more than fair and again its based on principle. Either figure is not going to make or break me financially in any way. Otherwise, I firmly reject their response and will consider any legal options going forward. I hope that Kingdom plumbing will also be reasonable and take this as a positive ****** learned going forward. Thank you BBB.

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

*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. ↩