ComplaintsforWilson Brother's Plumbing

• Initial Complaint

  02/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On or about February 4th, I discovered the main water supply line to the home, which ran under the driveway, had broken under the paver driveway. Called Wilson Bros They said the waterline would be around $4,000 to repair and the shower heads would be $500.00 to finish and they needed half down to schedule it. I wrote him a check for $2,275.00. He told me he did not have his clipboard to write me an invoice/receipt or contract but that as soon as he got back to his office he would email it to me. He never did that. So all I have is my cancelled check. On Feb 10th I received a text that 811 had been called out to mark lines. On Monday Feb 13th at 11:10 I received a text saying they were at the house and needed access immediately so I sent one of my friends, who was representing the buyers of the home, down to check things out since they did not give me any notice that they were on their way and I was not on the premises when he texted me. At 11:53 AM on the 13th, My friend called me and said they had hit and destroyed about 20’ of the irrigation system pulling it completely out of the ground, not just breaking it or cutting it. They pulled it out and set it aside. Ricky Wilson, owner of Wilson Brothers Plumbing told my agent that they would not be responsible to repair that line. My friend handed the phone to me and I questioned him about why he would not repair it and I asked him if he could take a little money off the price since I now had to hire another company to repair his damage and he said absolutely not. He yelled at the phone -I’M DONE HERE” Then he left. He will not answer his phone and will not return any of my money. I had to hire and pay another company for finish the waterline and repair the irrigation system. Copies of the check I wrote to Wilsons and the checks I wrote to the new plumbers are attached.

  

  Business response

  03/07/2023

  *** ***** ******** contacted us about completing a job that another respectable plumbing company
  failed or refused to finish. The day before we had scheduled our meeting, *** ******** contacted us to say that a major leak had appeared underground. As a result, we gave *** ******** an estimate for repairing that leak as well as finishing up the company’s work for $4,500.00, to which she agreed.
  We accepted the job, and *** ******** paid a deposit of $2,275.00, and we scheduled the work to be done the following Monday. The job required us to excavate approximately seventy (70) feet from the meter to the home while avoiding a gas line that intersected the route of the new water main that we were to install.
  Come Monday, we arrived on time as scheduled and immediately started the job. During our excavating, I hit an existing irrigation line. Typically, I feel resistance on the machine whenever I get into something; however, in this case I did not. The materials used on this irrigation line are improper for underground installations. This was a thin-wall PVC that is not suitable for underground (or any pressurized) applications. We were just barely scratching the surface, going ever so slowly as to avoid the existing gas line. The irrigation line, which had been in the ground since 1999, pulled clean from the couplings it was connected to on both ends. All the while, I felt zero resistance. The pipe flattened out and pulled free from its connections.
  I feel that we as a company did our due diligence. We had the utilities located, marked, and walked the property to locate above-ground sprinkler heads before the excavation process began. Private irrigation, private storm drains, and private electrical lines are not located.
  Upon speaking to *** ********, she asked if we were going to fix the irrigation line to which I responded that we would not. Before I had a chance to suggest that we have an irrigation company come out to assess the damage and provide us a cost for repair, *** ******** immediately raised her voice to a shouting volume and explained that the cost to have someone repair the line would be $2,000.00. *** ******** generated the exact cost of the repair on the spot, over the phone, and without ever setting foot on site. *** ******** said, with no uncertainty, that this $2,000.00 would be deducted from my remaining balance of $2,225.00 at the end of this job.
     
  I feel that we as a company are not liable nor responsible for anything underground that is not marked by TN One Call (811). There was no way this irrigation line could have been located with the absence of a tracer wire. We do our best to work with customers when things like this happen. In fact, I wanted to work toward a resolution with *** ********, but I could not seem to get a word in due to the tongue-lashing that I was receiving. From my perspective, the only thing that *** ******** cared about at this point was beating me out of $2,000.00. At one point, I was unable to get a word in for what must have been three straight minutes.
  We did not finish the job because *** ******** had said she was going to deduct $2,000.00 and we believed we would not be paid for the work. I felt that any preexisting verbal agreement was null & void upon *** ********’s threat to withhold payment. Before we left the site, I asked Mr. ***** (someone who *** ******** sent down and referred to as her “agent”) if he would like us to backfill the ditch. He told us to leave it open. I also left three square bails of straw that we purchased to dress up the yard upon completion of the job. At the time we left, the job was well over 50% complete; therefore, I retained the initial deposit of $2,275.00 to cover the cost of equipment rental and labor. We had a total of 18 man hours on this job (3 men x 6 hours).
  I hate how this one ended. This is the first time as a business owner that I have ever had a conflict where the other party did not want to find a common resolution that would be fair to everyone. We very well could have found a solution that worked for everyone, but *** ******** did not want to discuss solutions.

  Customer response

  03/09/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I have read Mr Wilsons scenario of what he says happened in his mind. He has many statements that are just not true or skewed. 

  His first paragraph is correct in his analysis of what was originally agreed upon even though the cost he quoted me was almost double what the Tennessee averages are to replace a waterline, I was under a timeline constraint so I agreed. The job required a trench of aprox 55-60 feet, not 70 I measured today from the meter box to the house including elbows. The average cost in Tennessee to trench 100 FEET is between $800- $1200, not $2,200, and that is for 100 feet not 60 feet. 

  Ricky Wilson says they arrived on time, when in fact he was supposed to call me to gain access to the home. He called me at 11:10 AM and said he was at the home and needed access, see text message attached. I was planning on being present when they were doing the work which is why I requested a call prior.  At Aprox 2PM that same day I received the call from my agent that was overseeing the job in my absence that they hit the irrigation line. He handed the phone to me and yes I was a but upset since no one said they might hit and destroy irrigation lines/system and that I would have to pay to have it repaired/replaced. The irrigation line is the same type put in all throughout the community in the year 2000 when the system was put in, I do not dispute that he could have hit the line, but the 2nd excavation company said they would have had a man in front of the trencher to stop the activity once they saw the irrigation line and not torn it completely out of the ground. Either way, His partner told me that they would mark all utilities including irrigation. I was not calling him a liar, I was only asking him why he told me that if it was not true, and that maybe he was new. I did not call the initial man stupid, just asked if maybe he was new. I NEVER raised my voice to him unless I was trying to talk over equipment or something. 

  Mr. Wilson stated in his email that I intended to "With hold" $2,000 from his payment", this is totally untrue. I simply stated that if the waterline repair was $4,800 then would the irrigation replacement be $2,000? I asked him if he would "Take some money off for the repair" my exact words, and he said "Absolutely not", his exact words. 

  I asked him....not yelling, why should I have to pay for his machine tearing out the irrigation system, and that is when HE yelled....a** * ***** * ***** ***** ****** *** ****** *nd then I heard him tell his boys to "pack up and lets go".

  He tossed the phone back to my agent who was overseeing the job and left. The only thing they accomplished was to dig a 50-60 foot trench ( I told my agent to tell him not to cover it up since he was leaving and I didn't want him to charge me for that too.) Nothing else was done. They left shortly after 2 pm and never came back I send him Multiple texts and called his office. He says he wanted to come to a resolution but would not text me or call me back...ever. I told him I was going to report him to the State of TN and the BBB and he still never contacted me back. I asked him id he would return any of my money,....Nothing. I also texted his partner and again ...Nothing. So his statement about wanting to resolve the issue is untrue as well. They were at the job from 11-2 so 3 hours each not 6 hours each. And a 60' trench only should not cost $2,275. 

   

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  Karen Millikan

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