ComplaintsforNewell Plumbing Heating & Air Conditioning Inc

• Initial Complaint

  09/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Newell Plumbing was called in late March 2022 to have a cleanout access installed on a property. When they came to view the property, they said they would call back with a quote. We were quoted over the phone "less than $1000". As there were no cleanouts presently installed at that time, the needed to use a machine to locate the underground pipe. After locating the pipe, a camera was run and it discovered that the pipe needed replaced. Up until this point, I had become the main contact via phone. My fiancé was contacted by phone and told it would be more expensive than previously quoted. She agreed and they Came and did their job. My fiancé went to the property to inspect the work that was done, and noted that the floors were caked with mud. She spoke to an employee of the company, and was told that they would be back to clean it up. When this was not done, she contacted the owner, who told her that they did not do that sort of thing. They have uniforms that the workers left there that have not been retrieved. Reading the bill, I discovered that we were charged twice for using the machine to locate the underground pipe. This was explained away to my fiancé as it was not done correctly the first time. Upon 1st payment I spoke with the receptionist about it, and she said she would adjust the bill. The cost of the work done with the machine each time was listed around $700. She removed around $300 from the bill. The cost of labor was around $4000. Yet there was only one day when a significant amount of time (hours) was spent on the property. The neighbor informed us that there were around five or six workers there, some standing around, some coming and going. The mounds of dirt that were pushed back onto the trench where the new pipe was laid is covered in broken glass. A dog skeleton had been dug up and left on the lawn. We are being legally threatened for non payment. Total bill: $7000+.

  Business response

  09/22/2022

  On March 9,2022 Newell’s was contacted by *** ****t about an issue at location that she just purchased. The ongoing issue is that the gray water line was not working and has not for years. Techs arrived onsite no water to place, contacted the water authority in Emporium, PA. They said (see below). Got water turned on so that we could find the on-going issue. Techs ran high pressure jetter, could not get it past the concrete pad outside. Located 3ft down from the cement pad out in the yard. Needs dug up and install cleanout. So that we can clear line then camera remainder of line to see what is going on. This is where $1000.00 for this part. *** ****t agreed. Then Newell’s had excavator and operator onsite, dug line from house to cement pad. Installed clean out and pvc line to pad area on April 5, 2022 (2-Techs 10-1/4 hrs. each) in then we camera line from that point out. Found it was broken and running under the house. (No basement). At this point we informed homeowner of what needed to be done to correct issue. We kept homeowner updated on everything as we moved forward along with price of 6,000.00 up to 7,000.00. Homeowner agreed. Steve and homeowner agreed on so much down and then monthly payments. Homeowner did the first payment. Nothing after. So yes after 6 months of no payment or contact from homeowners we will file for payment. We need paid for all material and labor for work done at location. We paid all employees, taxes, excavator crew and so on. Why should any contractor have to incur the expense?
  Then on March 6, 2022 techs returned ran drain lines in crawl space under home to be rerouted outside. (1-tech 4.25) (2 Techs-9 hrs. each -outside with excavator and running pipe in yard/ ditch). March 7, 2022 (2-Techs 6.25hrs each returned to tie all plumbing together.
  As for the camera being charged twice. Yes, unable to see the remainder of line to see what was going on. It was not explained it was not done correct due to operation. It was because we could not get past the concrete pad to see the remainder of plumbing.
  

   

  EMPORIUM WATER COMPANY
  *** ******* **** ********* *** ***** ********************* ************ ******************************
  
  Emporium Water Company disconnected water services to ** ******** **. in June of 2021 for known sewage issues at the resident. We were contacted by owner and Newell plumbing asking for water to be turned on temporarily as they were fixing the sewage issue. Water was restored in April 2022.

  Customer response

  09/29/2022

  Tell us why here...Newell Plumbing sent two young kids who did not seem to know what they were doing to use a jetting machine and camera locator to find the problem. They did and left stones on the patio which I have pictures of where the issue is and how far down the clog was. After this I was quoted 600$ to get the job done but after they started, they told me with the excavator who they hired it would be more after ripping my yard up. They were also all on my porch hanging out as I pulled up doing no work. A total of six people and that’s not including the excavating man. I have neighbors who are witness to them taking so much time, they informed me that the excavator was the only one who appeared to be doing work. I was told 30 an hour for labor. The bill states 3886.25 for labor. I expected this company to clean up their mess which they did not, and I still have their hazmat uniforms sitting in my home along with the mud. The excavating company was very helpful but the kid they used to do the work did not do it well. They even put the main pipe in the way of the missing floor joist needing replaced that I had pointed out to them. When I complained about this, the owner then showed up to the property for the first time and told me there was nothing he could do.

• Initial Complaint

  12/23/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On June 30, 2021 we called Newell Plumbing out to our rental property because it did not feel as if the AC was blowing correctly. There was also about 2 inches of water in the bathroom vent. We were given a period of time in which they would arrive. When they didn't arrive within that time frame, we called. The person who answered the phone said "Whoops, we forgot to send someone. We will send someone out right now." The two young men arrived within 30 minutes. They did a few tests and assured me that nothing was wrong with the unit. They said that it had been too hot and the AC was working really hard. They suggested we drill a hole in the bottom of the bathroom vent to drain the condensation. They assured me that nothing was wrong! On July 8, they were called to the home again because the AC unit was frozen solid. At that point they ran a camera and established there was a crack in the ductwork. The note on the bill said "need to pull the insulation down underneath the furnace and tape up duct work for now." This makes it appear that the error was only fixed temporarily. We received two separate bills...totally $1528.62 for a "for now" fix. "For now" lasted until August 13 when we called another service tech to come to the house because the unit was frozen solid again. That tech told us there was no Freon in the unit and it was so dirty that there was no way it had just been cleaned on July 8--which is one of the things we were billed for. When this was addressed with the owner, he was very rude. Informed me that they had fixed the problem...though the bill states otherwise and told me it was the worst job he ever did and he wished he never would have came out. Incredibly rude and unprofessional.

  Business response

  01/25/2022

  Yes. On June 30,2021 we received a phone call from *** ***** *** **** stated that there was water in one of the registers in back room “like someone spilled water”, and stated that it doesn’t seem like much air was coming out of register. I stated that we would be there and give you a call when techs were ready to go to site. He stated that he did not have good phone service. I left him know that Techs had three jobs in front of them. One job took longer than expected it.  We did not say “WHOOPS, we forgot to send someone”.  When we asked for payment of $162.50 for service call. They stated that we don’t have any type of credit card or checkbook on us. We should have stopped there, but we did not we went back and now this. Still to this date we have not seen any type of payment.
  Keep in mind that this mobile home is not on a foundation. The only way under this home was removing a piece of skirting and doing a back crawl to do the duct repair. Only having about 2-2.5 foot of clearance. We did find cracks/ separations on ductwork. Yes, techs put back together and taped.
  Newell’s Plumbing & Heating Inc

  Customer response

  01/25/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

  Unfortunately what the owner of this business is saying is not true.  We were forgotten.  The secretary said "whoops.  we forgot.  We will send someone out immediately."  And they were there.  We were told to drill holes by the tech into our vent because there was NOTHING WRONG with the system, yet days later it was frozen solid.  And 1 MONTH later, frozen solid again.  The company who arrived at that point, said there was no way the AC unit was cleaned, which we were told it was.  And temporary fixes are not acceptable for the amount of money that was charged.  We are requesting a reduction in the bill equivalent to the first service call AND the money that we paid the other company who came out and truly fixed the issue one month later.  We have had no issues since this second company came out and actually did their job.  If that is agreed upon, payment will be mailed.  Specifically:  $162.50 credit.  $247.49 credit.  Total bill pay $956.13.  This is STILL AGAINST our better judgement BECAUSE the that money was a temporary fix!  The owner of this company is a very unkind person, which goes a very long way in the business field.  

  
  Regards,
  
  ****** ****

  Business response

  01/26/2022

  You were not forgotten. When Tech stated that he thought it was a suggestion (not the solution), do to fact that its right beside vanity. That maybe the renters over flowed sink or spilled water.
   Tech went to location on 7/6/2021- for ac not working.
  Turned unit back on at thermostat. When unit kicked on unit did blow cool air from register. Went outside to condenser. Took cover off- found coil to be dirty/dusty. So sprayed unit down with nu-brite front and back of coil. Then sprayed down. Put cover back on. Went back inside to do delta t (?T). Temp was 77. System was blowing out at 57 which gives a delta t (?T) at 20. Temp outside was 83. After doing delta everything was working. There was no need to break into the refrigerant at that point.
  There are couple reasons why a condenser would freeze over
  1-Unit is dirty (restricts air flow)
  2-Fan stopped working
  3-Dirty Filter (inside furnace)
  4-Leaks on refrigerant line
  5-Low refrigerant
  As for the other contractor stating “there was no way the AC unit was cleaned” Was the other contractor there prior to see what the unit looked like before?
  As for payment agreement. For the first invoice for $ 162.50. That I will take off. As for the $247.49. I feel that our Tech did his job. As a business owner and a homeowner, I get the frustrations. In being fair I will take the $ 247.49 off as well.
  Final payment $956.13 Thank you.

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