ComplaintsforLippincott Plumbing, Heating & Air-Conditioning

• Initial Complaint

  02/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The owner of the house [**** ***** ***** ******] lives out of town. He asked me to get estimates for a plumbing issue July/August 2022. I looked online and found Lippincott advertised Free Estimates, I called them, and they responded. Once the man completed looking and writing down information, he left saying the estimate will come in the mail. When the estimate came to me, [8/2/20 or 8/8/20] I called Lippincott saying I'm not the owner of the house and he will not renovate. Then I asked why they are billing when they advertise Free Estimates. Lippincott sent that bill to Fawcett Collecting Company. I don't own the house and they advertise free estimates.

  

  Business response

  03/21/2023

  Ms ***** *********** called in and asked us to check the vent stack at *** ** *****. But she said we would be billing someone else ( persume the owner). Our scheduler explained that he would have to call us personally. She said that he was unable to and she was told we would have to bill her. She said" never mind" and hung up. 4 or 5 days later she called back, 7-18-23, and said for us to come out. She was told 3 or 4 times she would be charge for us to come out. She said okay. The tech went our 7-25-23 and diagnosed the problem and told her that he would figure up a quote for her. He wrote: Quote: Replacing cast iron vent stack/soil stack with pvc pipe only. No lateral drains to be connected. *Customer will connect Kitchen sink, washer, bath drains. She was sent a bill for 1 hour with no trip charge which is $20.00.  A bill was sent for $90.00. We do do Free Estimates BUT when we have to diagnosis a problem 1st we charge for that and she was told that 3 or 4 times. And she did not give our tech an address to send a quote and to send the quote to her.

  Quote to be sent to ***** ***********.  Materials and labor to replace vent stack only: $1750.00.

  No laterals included. Total: $1750.00  

  Sometimes IF we get the job we waiver the 1st service call. When she call back and said the owner would not renovate is when she was sent the billed for the service call on July 25, 2023, which she agreed to on July 18,2023.

  She has not paid the bill so it was to collection this year. 

  Customer response

  03/24/2023

  [BBB Transcription via Email]

  March 22, 2023
  
   
  
  Complaint ID: ********
  
   
  
  I read the response from Lippincott Plumbing, Heating & Cooling and dispute their response.
  
   
  
  Why would I (***** ***********) tell Lippincott to bill me, for work that was supposed to be: 1) free ( an estimate),  2) I don't own the property that they looked at, which was explained to the woman I spoke with, and 3) if Lippincott asked to speak with the homeowner, I would have provided the owner their phone number. I had only one phone conversation with the Lippincott representative. I never had conversations with any Lippincott rep regarding being charged for an estimate.
  
   
  
  Lippincott never said a diagnosis would be chargeable. The owner knew the problem, he wanted an estimate of what it would cost to repair. The company rep said he'd take what he wrote back to the office and would mail an estimate for repairs. As in my original letter to the BBB, I asked that Lippincott remove my name as the responsible party. The City of Lima has records stating who the owner is, and it is not me. I have no legal right regarding that property.  
  
   
  
  Lippincott was never told they had a job. It was a call for an estimate for repairs only.
  
   
  
  Thank you,
  
  ***** ***********

• Initial Complaint

  08/06/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I called Lippincott electrical to get an electrician to come out to my house and see about rewiring my second floor. They told me someone would "call me when they can do the work". About 2 weeks later I got a call from a man who said he was already on the way to my house without previously scheduling. When he arrived all he did was tell me to change all my lightbulbs to LED and left. He did no work. I have now been contacted by Lippincott this morning and asked why I haven't paid a bill that I never received. The woman I spoke to was incredibly rude and implied that I was lying about not receiving the bill. I then asked why I was being billed when there was no work done and she continued to condescendingly repeat my name and address to me. I will not be paying a bill when zero work was done, and I expect it to be cancelled forthwith.

  

  Business response

  01/01/1900

  Business Response /* ****** *** **********) */ I personally took this call which was 6-28-21 about the A/C breaker tripping because of the upstairs wiring. I told her that the tech would call first when he was on his way which was 6-29-21. The invoice was sent 7-8 & I did call to tell her the invoice was now due on 8-6. She said she never got the bill. I said, "I will send it again and let's confirm your addres. She said, "You figure it out!" I said pardon me and she said, "Your a big girl, you figure it out!" and hung up on me. At no time did she ask how much it was. ($105.00) She then calls me back yelling at me that the tech did nothing and just told her to change the lights to LEDS to see if that worked instead of costly changing the wiring. She wasn't paying he bill. I asked if she changed the to LEDS twice and she said that was besides the point (meaning she did what the tech diagnosised for her to do). So yes we did diagonised her problem and after she was screaming at me and never asking how much the bill was and threating to sue us and I finally had had it and told her to forget the bill and never call us again and I did hang up on her after 5 minutes of listening to her. She calls back and my husband answered. He says she started the conversation out mad, talking extremely loud and using foul language that it would make a sailor blush. He had never heard that kind of language out of a woman. He said, "I was accused of lying and of being a man that liked to talk over a woman and he could barely get a word in. Granted the tech did not do any physical work as he is a licences journeyman electrician and was trying to save the woman money by not jumping to wire the whole upstairs first to solve her problem. We are sorry that this woman was having a very bad day and seemed to take it out on my husbanc and I. He problem is solved as we wrote her off as a bad debt.

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