ComplaintsforPlumbing 911, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  08/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am a senior citizen. On 8-22-23, I contacted 911 Plumbing to schedule a free estimate the next day (8-23-23) to check my hot water tank. I provided explicit instructions to contact me for approval of any repairs while I was at work. I indicated that someone would be available to provide access to the home, but that person would not be able to authorize any repairs. The person who is only authorized to provide access is my husband, ******* ********* (also a senior citizen). On 8-23, a plumber from 911 Plumbing arrived at my residence and engaged to contract with *** ******* *********, who has an official diagnosis of vascular dementia and possibly Alzheimer's disease. A plumber did not contact me for pre-approval on August 23, which would be supported by phone records. The plumber replaced the hot water tank and asked *** ********* for payment. *** ********* indicated that he did not agree to pay the amount requested. The plumber contacted the ********* police department who were summoned. There is no doubt that with all of the experience of this company, they are fully aware that this is a civil dispute and that the police cannot resolve the matter. I was contacted about the situation while I was at work. I felt intimidated that the police were called. I was also told that the new hot water tank would be removed and that I would no longer have a hot water tank, which would mean that the company's mistake would result in not having hot water (my old tank was working). There is no model # or hot water tank cost listed on the receipt. After further investigation, I found online that the hot water tank (******** ********) costs about $900-$1000. Therefore, the company is suggesting that the installation was approximately $814 in labor costs, which would suggest that the hourly rate of the plumber was about $270-$300. The company states the contract with *** ********* (who has dementia and no authority) was a binding contract (no resolution).

  

  Business response

  08/28/2023

  To Whom It May Concern: 
  
  We have every phone call recorded from the start of this call and unfortunately this customer in our opinion is a scammer.

  All estimates are given up front and must be signed before any work is started. This is our policy and has been since the start of our business. 

  Upon completion of installing the water heater, the customer pushed our plumber out of the house and said he would not pay. We contacted the wife who said that the husband was the only one with the credit card. We were able to connect them on a recorded phone call and she was telling the husband, which credit card to use. He said that none of the cards were working so they asked us to take a finance credit app. We have the recorded call that the wife applied for finance and unfortunately it was declined. 

  Because the contract was agreed and signed, this was considered theft towards our family business. We called the police to gain access to the house to remove our water heater and to reinstall the old unit. We were not going to charge the customer anything but simply we wanted to take back our property, since customer was not going to pay. 

  Upon arrival of the police, the cops informed our plumbers that they have these types of issues at this house all the time and knew where the wife worked. The wife had continously told us over the phone, which we have recordings of that she did not have the credit card and that it was with her husband. We explained to the wife that since they were not able to furnish payment, we would have to put back her old water heater, because it was our property. 

  Once she heard that we were taking away the hot water heater, she changed her story - which we have on recording that she had the credit card with her and that she could in fact pay. She begged us to come to her place of work and that she would give us the credit card information. The cops drove us to the location, because of this being a reocurring issue and she paid our plumber with a credit card. 

  The discussion of pricing is up front, that is why estimates are given up front and beforehand. Our prices are extremely competitive and inline with industry rates. 

  The person who submitted this complaint is the not the customer, but the son of the customers. Our advise to him and to these types of situations is to not try scamming businesses.

  Customer response

  09/07/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  Plumbing 911 is non-responsive to the complaint.   It has been explicitly stated that ********* ********* is the customer and did not provide authorization for the work BEFORE the work was performed.  ********* specifically instructed Plumbing 911 to only speak to her or her son (see attached text message to her with address redacted).  There is no response from Plumbing 911 to this allegation.  The complaint stated that contrary to ********* *********'s request to contact her only, ******* ********* (who has dementia) was requested to approve the work by the plumber (Mr. ******).  The contract (attached) is a best effort of a triplicate signature of ******* ********* who has dementia.  The signatures on their face show Mr. *********'s condition.  There is no response to the fact that Mrs. ********* ********* is the customer named ON THE FIRST PAGE OF THE CONTRACT, the signatory is not ********* *********, and the signatory has dementia and is not capable of legally executing contract.  Indeed, only ********* and her son were to be contacted for authorization.   Both ********* and her son are the only parties programmed to receive text messages from the company.  All text messages have been recorded and saved.

  Turning to the response from Plumbing 911, the company states that: "We have every phone call recorded from the start of this call..."   Question:  Did customer (********* *********) tell Plumbing 911 to contact her at work for preapproval of work?   It is recorded so Plumbing 911 has the answer.   Second, Company states "all estimates are given up front and must be signed before any work is started."   Question:  Who did Plumbing 911 provide an estimate to?  Plumbing 911 implies that it provided the estimate to Mr. ******* *********, an unauthorized party who has dementia.  If there is a different answer, Plumbing 911 is invited to indicate otherwise.  A negative inference may be drawn against Plumbing 911 if no answer is given.  

  Plumbing 911 acknowledges that the husband and wife were connected on a "recorded phone call" to discuss payment options.  There is no mention that Mrs. ********* ********* was apprised of the work before it was done.   She was simply told that the work was completed and payment was necessary.  This is not relevant.

  Plumbing 911 states, "Because the contract was agreed and signed, this was considered theft towards our family business".  First, Plumbing 911 is reminded that an agreement cannot be made with a person with dementia.   As stated over and over again, Mr. ******* ********* has dementia.   Plumbing 911 made mistakes and instead of being accountable for those mistakes, is now accusing an elderly man with dementia of theft.   

  Plumbing 911 further states: "Upon arrival of the police, the cops informed our plumbers that they have these types of issues at this house all the time..."  Indeed, Mr. ******* ********* has dementia and there are problems at this home because of Mr. ******* *********'s medical condition.  Is Plumbing 911 raising this in an inflammatory way to cast a negative shadow over the customer?  This is not a fact that favors Plumbing 911; it only shows that Plumbing 911 continues to ignore that Mr. ******* ********* has a medical condition which does not allow him to enter into a contract.  It is probative to Mr. ******* *********'s condition and the reason why Plumbing 911 was instructed to contact only Mrs. ********* or her son.  It is also noteworthy that Plumbing 911 refers to the police as "cops" on a public record.  

  Plumbing 911 further states: "Once she heard that we were taking away the hot water heater, she changed her story - which we have on a recording that she had the credit card with her and that she could in fact pay".   English is not ********* *********'s first language.  While it is believed that there is a misunderstanding over the "credit card" (Mrs. ********* was at work as acknowledged by Plumbing 911), it is not relevant because Plumbing 911 was never authorized to do any work.   Now, they are disparaging ********* ********* with irrelevant facts; these facts do not show that a valid contact was made.   They intend to undermine the credibility of ********* *********.   Plumbing 911 is changing the subject because it will not acknowledge that they made a mistake and attempted to transact with an unauthorized person with dementia.  Now imagine an elderly woman (age 73) who has just learned that a new hot water tank may be taken away, she may not have hot water that evening (which she did have that morning), and the police have been called to her home while she is at work. 

  Plumbing 911 further states: "The cops drove us to the location..."   For this public record, Plumbing 911 is stating that they were driven by the ********* Police Department to the location where ********* ********* works.  In fact, ********* *********'s manager at work drove her home to make payment.   Who is telling the truth?   ********* Police Department has been contacted and will not substantiate the claim they drove anyone from Plumbing 911.  However, ********* *********'s work manager would substantiate driving her home.  Based on a conversation with a police officer, the incident of August 23, 2023 explicitly reads that ********* ********* came home because ******* ********* has dementia, was not aware of what was going on, and could not remember anything.  Now imagine an elderly woman (age 73) who has just learned that a new hot water tank may be taken away, she may not have hot water that evening (which she did have that morning), the police have been called to her home while she is at work, and her work manager has to drive her home in the midst of everything.   ********* ********* was completely embarrassed.   Who is responsible for this?

  Plumbing 911 further states: "The discussion of pricing is up front, that is why estimates are given up front and beforehand".   Question:  Who did Plumbing 911 provide the pricing to "up front and beforehand"?  Did Plumbing 911 provide the pricing to the man with dementia who did not have authorization to permit any work?

  Plumbing 911 further states:  "The person who submitted this complaint is not the customer, but the son of the customers".  Indeed, the son of the customer ********* ********* has submitted this complaint and is explicitly permitted by the Better Business Bureau to do so as a representative of the interests of the customer.   

  Finally, Plumbing 911 has accused various parties of "scam", opening the company up to additional exposure.  Plumbing 911 is reminded that the only defense to defamation is the truth.  Interestingly, Plumbing 911 has failed to tell the truth in ways that can be substantiated independently of their so-called "recorded call".  

  In conclusion, Plumbing 911 has deliberately skirted around the issue of requesting an unauthorized man with dementia to sign a contract.  It is also noteworthy that Plumbing 911 has been apprised of Mr. ******* *********'s medical condition by an attorney who has first-hand personal knowledge about Mr. ******* *********'s dementia.  Yet, Plumbing 911 continues to skirt the issue as if it is not true.  Plumbing 911 has not requested any additional information about Mr. ******* *********'s dementia (e.g., medical records) and appears  to be proceeding willfully and ignorantly blind.  The customer ********* ********* has never suggested that the services should not be paid for.  The customer ********* ********* is willing to negotiate a settlement of the matter through her son as representative.  Since this is a public record, if the public has any questions about this complaint, a representative of the family can be reached at ********************** 

• Initial Complaint

  08/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  1. Company overcharged for a service to replace a water shutoff valve at $324.96. $157 to make a 4" x 4" hole in the drywall, without even repairing it. $167.96 to replace a $20 ball valve. The cut in the wall to reach the pipe should be part of the same repair. 2. After the repair I noticed that my washing machine hose was punctured and that issue incurred additional $264.35 paid to an appliance company. The problem did not exist before and 911 plumbing refused to take ownership of the issue. 3. And my biggest complaint...I'm trying to recoup some of the charges through my Home Warranty company and 911 Plumbing refused to call them, thus sabotaging the claim with the warranty company. This experience has been very frustrating!

  

  Business response

  08/28/2023

  To Whom It May Concern:

  All prices were given up front with customer and are extremely competitive and in-line with industry rates. In addition, we upfront explained to the homeowner that we do not deal with home warranty companies, which is our policy. All phone call conversations are recorded as this was explained up front as well. In addition, we told the customer that we do not service appliances. We did the repair on the hot side washing machine shut off valve. The issue that he is describing is a drain hose, which is attached to the appliance itself. We did not touch this and did nothing to his washing machine. 

  We stand behind all the warranties of the work and job was priced fairly and upfront. 

   

  

  Business response

  08/28/2023

  Lastly, regarding his question for the drywall repairs. Our plumbers are highly skilled in the trade of Plumbing. Unfortuntely, they do not do dry wall repairs and this is disclosed up front and in our terms and conditions on our invoicing. As much as we would love to provide this service, it is not our trade skill so we recommend a carpenter by trade or a painter for this professional trim work.

• Initial Complaint

  03/07/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On March 3-2023 , My rental house has water backup and I called plumbing 911 and the plumber came the same day and told me over the phone, the condition was so bad and said, he could not snake it he have to used power jet to clear the pipe, the services come with 90 days 1 return trip warranty on all Labor. he charged me $658 for the services. after they did power jet . the plumber told me that he can not give the warranty because the pipe was broken and he asked me another $240 to identify me where the broken pipe is. I told the plumber that I will call the City of ***** to come and check my sewer pipe, then he left. I made the appointment with the City of ***** and they come out today on Monday March 6 2023 , they put the camara in the sewer about 40 foots without finding any broken pipe, but they did find 1 piece which is blocking the sewer pipe, their camera can not go pass that blocking piece and told me to call the plumber who did the job at my house to come out remove that piece then they will come out and check the remaining about 10 foots of pipe . I called Plumber 911, they said, they will identify the pipe by them self. they don't want hear what I have to say . when ever I call , they said, they will call me back, but didn't . they Plumbing 911 charged me for $658 for services , the pipe should be clear as they promises , but it wasn't . I don't know what to do and hopeless . I decided to reached out BBB for help contact the owner of Plumber 911 to make them aware of situation. Thank you

  

  Business response

  03/08/2023

  To Whom It May Concern: 

  We have documented records and voice recordings of all our correspondence with this customer. We did complete services of both a video camera inspection and Hydrojetting services for customer and upon these services, discovered that the customer has a broken sewer line. The city came out and did their own video camera inspection and verified that they found a piece of broken clay in customer's sewer. 

  The next step of this process is to complete a location service, which is technology that pin points exactly where underground the break is and how deep it is so that we can estimate costs to make the pipe repair. We came out a second time and gave him this information but customer declined. He wants us to Hydrojet again; however, this is not the solution and our first attempt with Hydrojetting shows that the piece that is broken within his pipes cannot be removed without further excavation. 

  We have documented and explained all this to customer several times. We also offered that if he would like us to continue further work of the repair on the sewer, that we would apply $500 of his initial costs to this the further work, as we understand that jetting hasn't helped to bring the solution and is our way of helping towards the costs of these further services. 

  The attachment that the customer initially sent to the BBB was just the estimate; however, attached I have the invoice that spells out everything that was discussed by our plumber to the customer and that customer paid and approved. I have also included the pictures that we captured from the video camera inspection, which shows the broken pipe. 

  At this point, our company has fulfilled our obligations of contract and are happy to offer $500 to be applied to the cost of the sewer excavation, if customer desires us to make the repair; however, in order for us to give an appropriate estimate of the services we do have to complete the location technology so that we can accurately pinpoint the exact break and save customer time, money and yard repairs, getting right to the source of the problem.

  Sincerely,

  ***** ******

  Plumbing 911

   

   

  Customer response

  03/09/2023

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  The plumber come out inspect the sewer line again and charge me another $240 . On the phone , the phone operator told me $120 for plumber to come out. But I am end up paying $240  .All want to know from him  whether he can remove the blocking piece in the sewer or not , But he did the inspection any way and charge me again . The city of ***** already done the camera inspection and pinpoint location where is blocking. The city employees  put big mark where the blockage was . I will get other contractor or  I will pull permit from ****** county building department by my self . I will find out soon whether there will be broken sewer or not . 

  I will not spent another $ 5800 more with plumbing 911 .  Because the city employees said. They didn’t find any broken pipe but plumbing 911 plumber said. There is broken pipe and gave the cost estimate $5800 . I already paid around$900 without getting blocking piece out . I will not spent more money with  plumbing 911.

• Initial Complaint

  01/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  911 plumber tried to first of all bait and switch me after a formal estimate was given. They tried to almost double the estimate to 1675 from 875 which was in writing. After looking over the entire job **** gave us a formal estimate for 875. Then they came back and said sorry it will.be 1675 or we cannot do this job I said NO the estimate was 875 and **** then told me he would just bill me for work done! He did nothing and charged me 475! He actually did more harm than good removing pipes without replacing them! This was fraud and deception. I would tell everyone do NOT TRUST 911 plumbing at all. They are con artists preying on people. Trick no good! Do not trust them at all.

  

  Business response

  01/26/2023

  To Whom It May Concern:

  We have called this customer and worked out a satisfiable solution to his request. We have call recordings, pictures of the job, as well as a statement by our plumber that contradict this customer's claim. However, instead of fighting with the customer on ways we disagree on this job, we want to walk away from this amicably. The customer said that he would remove all negative complaints on his social media posts regarding our company. Please let me know if you need anymore information.

  ***** ******

   

  Customer response

  01/26/2023

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

• Initial Complaint

  11/21/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  WOW had there tech come and snake my kitchen sink he brake the snake in my drain then tell me they can fix it for 1100 hundred dollars so i asked to speak to the owner get this he walk out get in his truck and leave didn't even put the sink back together good luck if you choose this company ??

  

  Business response

  12/12/2022

  To Whom It May Concern:
  
  Upon arrival, our plumber went over service options to cable the customer's clogged drain. As part of our services, we do fully disclose on all our contracts that if a cable gets stuck, that we would stop the job and give options for repair, which would be in addition too. It is never our desire that our equipment gets stuck for the mere fact that if the customer doesn't agree to us completing additional work, we lose our drain cable equipment. Also, the job is left incomplete unless we are approved by home owner for additional repairs. In addition, the risk for us as a company in our losing our drain equipment and the risk to this being an unfortunate possibility is gone over, as there are additional drain equipment services, such as Hydrojetting that although is more expensive, does eliminate this risk.
  
  Regarding this particular job, in order to remove the snake would require to repipe the kitchen sink drainage to the price that we gave. Unfortunately, at this point of the job when our technician gave options and prices, the customer became incredibly upset and became hostile towards our technicians. The supervising plumber that was at the job site has been a plumber in the field for twenty years and goes into peoples home daily. However, he felt threatened and used his best judgment to leave the job site. 

  The sink was unable to be put back together because the cable from our snake machine was stuck in the drain, unless the customer decides to put the drain back together with a cable stuck in it, we would highly advise against this as viable solution. 

  At this time, this of course is not a result that we wanted for our customer or our plumbers; however, our company policy is to ensure the safety of our plumbers always and if they are feeling threatened in anyway, they have our full backing to leave the job site immediately.

  Sincerely,

  ***** ******

  Plumbing 911 

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

• Initial Complaint

  11/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Oct. 29 - I called 911 Plumbing due to my water being backed up in the sinks and toilets. They set an appointment for the next day. Oct 30th - The employee (plumber) came and offered me the option of either snaking the line ($328) or using a hydrojet ($688). He told me that his snake only went up to 100 feet, but if the blockage was within 100 ft, it should clear it out. I asked him if he tried the snake and it didn't work, if I would still have to pay the $328. He told me if he couldn't get it, he would charge me like $195. I went with the snaking option, and at around 30 ft in, he hit tree roots, and pulled them out. I believe he went in the whole 100 ft after, but I'm not sure because he was having issues with his snake not winding right after that. He had me flush the toilet (flushed 15 to 20 times) while running the bathtub and bathroom sink for about 10 to 15 mins. I also flushed the upstairs toilet a few times. He said it was all clear. He even told me about some root killer I can put down the drain in the future to stay ahead of the problem. Seemed like a nice guy. I paid the $328. Before he left, he told me that he would come back out and re-snake if I had an issue within 30 days. One week later, Nov. 6th, the water started backing up again (toilets, tubs and sinks). The employee came back on Monday and snaked the line, but couldn't get anything else out. He told me that I needed to have him do the hydro-jet for $688 (offered me a $50 discount). I told him I would call someone else with a longer snake. I called the office to see if I could be reimbursed $100 since they only fixed the problem for 1 week and I was having to have someone else come out. I also reminded them that the employee had told me he would give me a break on the price if he couldn't fix it with the snake. The owner offered me a $100 discount to have them hydrojet ($588 on top of the $328 I paid already). I have a local company coming tomorrow - $180 to snake to 150 ft or $280 to hydrojet.

  

  Business response

  11/09/2022

  To Whom It May Concern:

  We are happy to refund the customer $100 on his original invoice. This refund was processed yesterday afternoon (10/8) and should have been communicated to our customer. Our front office will be calling him again today to confirm this refund, which takes anywhere from 24-48 hours from credit card merchant services. 

  Sincerely,

  ***** ******

  Plumbing 911, Inc.

  p. ************

   

  Customer response

  11/15/2022

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

• Initial Complaint

  11/09/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had a leak in the pipes under my garage sink. It is a sink that is seldom used but when u turned it on the water ran out on garage floor. I asked Dennis to fix leak and he said that’s an easy fix. Also asked him to relace old corroded sink which on line costs 87.00 at Lowe’s and other home improvement stores. This sink just sits in spot it is not built in or anything so labor was minimal. I asked him if u fix leak how much will it be and if u replace sink how much? He said 240.00 to just fix leak and 700.00 if sink is replaced. He added a NEW FAUCET which I told him I did not need and do not replace it. I SAID DO NOT REPLACE FAUCET AND HE PUT A KOHLER FAUCET IN that’s nicer than the faucet in my kitchen. He said he thought it looked better!! And then charged me for that. When I came out and he said job finished He charged me 889.00 !!! He said he could not leave without a check so I gave it to him just so he would go away and I now realized I got screwed. I called this business and talked to Brandy ( office ) extensively about the outrageous amount charged but she said owner felt comfortable with what was charged. This company is dishonest and seems to just pull figures out of the air! Cost of sink 87.00 Fixing leak—240.00——— 327 00 total When u add labor to that it could not be 889.00 which is what was charged for the total job!! They hide behind the fact that they are a FAMIMY BUSINESS but they are a DiSHONEST Family business. Do NOT USE THIS BUSINESS!! DO NOT MAKE THE MISTAKE WE MADE TRUSTING THIS BUSINESS!! We know that it is not likely that we will ever see our money again but we are writing this so that the same thing won’t happen to anyone else!!

  

  Business response

  11/29/2021

  To Whom It May Concern:

  Please refer to the invoice that was included as it clearly shows that our Plumber explained all services up front as is our company policy. The $89 was a diagnostic charge that was provided in advance over the phone and explained to be waived with any service. This is all included in the "Service Authorization" portion of the invoice, which clearly shows that the customer was aware and authorized us to complete services. Our plumber would never complete any services without authorization from the customer. This simply is not how our business is setup, as we go over all pricing before completing any work. If there are questions about services or prices, we provide opportunity and clearly go over this with our proposal before beginning any work.

  To be honest, this customer's complaint is not warranted.

  As a family business, we especially are aware that paying for plumbing is never any fun. In fact, that is why we are not only extremely competitive within our market, but go above and beyond to explain everything and give pricing up front. We also take great care of our customers to ensure their satisfaction; however, it is very difficult for us as a fair business to provide any type of reimbursement when we have done nothing wrong.

  We are happy to reimburse the customer $50 if she removes and shows proof removing all her negatives reviews about our business from all social media sites.

  Sincerely,

  ***** ******

• Initial Complaint

  10/21/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  10-12-21 I called the company regarding a clogged drain. Their technician ***** came out and gave a quote with pricing between $350-$700. He then required an $89 estimate fee which I paid with my bank card. CLEARLY on the front cover of the local telephone book it states FREE ESTIMATES. I called the office to dispute this charge and requested a refund. The female stated she would check with the owner and get back with me. I still have yet to hear from them. THIS IS FALSE ADVERTISING. This man was there maybe 10 minutes at most and did absolutely nothing. I DEMAND A FULL AND COMPLETE REFUND IMMEDIATELY!

  

  Business response

  11/02/2021

  To Whom It May Concern:

  We have completely reimbursed this customer the diagnostic charge of $89 as it should not have been assessed. This fee was disclosed during the customer's initial call to schedule the plumber by one of our customer call representatives. While we give free estimates there are certain jobs that require special diagnosis and inspections. However, this job required none of these inspections and therefore should not have been charged. We apologize for this mistake and am pulling up all the call records to find out how the mistake occurred and to retrain our employees of not allowing this issue to ever reoccur. 

  The credit has been fully refunded as of 11/2/2021 and the customer should have received an email and voicemail to this effect. With refunds, the banks can take 48-hours to process. Please call us with any other questions or concerns.

  Blessings,

  ***** ******

  Co-Owner

  Plumbing 911, Inc.

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

*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. ↩