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Our problem was some water damage on the garage ceiling; nothing major, just some staining and paint peeling. My husband resealed the bathtub and before we had the ceiling damage repaired, I wanted to make sure that there were no more leaks. I called Plumbing Professors because it was advertised in Glenn Haege (The Handyman Show)'s website, the ad makes them seem knowledgeable and honest.
The woman that made the appointment assured me that there would be no charge to come and see what the problem was (A "Free Estimate").
When the plumber came, he did not introduce himself ( no name to tie him to anything), not everyone is a people's person so I let it go. I showed him the garage ceiling and then the bathroom that sits above it. He looked at the bathtub for 2 secs. (did not even look at the toilet nor open the cabinet doors to check under the sink, etc.) and then said that he did not know where the problem was and that if I wanted to know, he could do a "Diagnostic for 195". I asked what he meant, he said that he would rip the drywall and then check the pipes and try to reproduce the leak. Then he would be able to tell me what was wrong and give me an estimate of how much it would cost to repair it.
So the free estimate comes after they rip the drywall and you pay them almost $200. I said no, thank you. So he tried to charge me $59.00 for coming in to tell me that he did not know what was wrong or where the leak came from (not that he even tried to look).
I told him to just leave, that I was not supposed to pay him a thing and he could not dispute that, so he left. He did tell me to have a nice day, but I suspect he was trying to be sarcastic.
Be careful! Don't trust Plumbing Professors. The plumber they sent fit the bad plumber stereotype to a T, promising not to charge for an estimate, coming in and telling you nothing except that you have to let them rip open your walls (for a fee, of course) and then who knows? charging you much more for whatever he says the problem was. There were no guarantees of anything, no discussion of what the most likely cause and possible repairs entailed, etc. A very obvious scam. Very dishonest.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
They only wanted to sell me a new water heater.asked to come hours before my appt to get the model # to order a new one..I didnt need a new one.It was the thermocouple like i told them .They wanted to charge $1100.00 to replace the water heater.I contacted the 1 800 # on the water heater did a test over the phone they also said it was the thermocouple. I ordered it had it shipped overnight, installed it myself with the instructions that came with it and the new gasket for a total of $116.00... Tried but failed to rip me off...
THEY MANAGED TO CHEAT ME AND THEY WEREN'T EVEN WORKING FOR ME. AFTER MAKING A WRONG TURN THEY ENDED UP ON MY DEAD END STREET. THEY LACKED THE ABILITY TO BACK UP THE TRAILER THEY WERE HAULING A BACKHOE ON. THEY BACKED 20 FEET ONTO MY FRONT LAWN, NOT JUST ONCE BUT MULTIPLE TIMES IN ORDER TO TURN AROUND, CAVING IN MY LAWN. MY NEIGHBOR CAUGHT THEM AND POINTED OUT THE DAMAGE. THEY DIDN'T COME TO MY DOOR, GIVE THEIR NAMES OR INSURANCE COMPANY OR THE OWNER'S NAME. I HAD TO HUNT THEM DOWN. THEY SENT A SNEAKY SALESMAN OUT WHO ASSURED ME THEY WOULD "MAKE ME HAPPY" I ASKED FOR $350 FOR THE DAMAGE TO MY LAWN. THEIR COUNTER OFFER WAS TO THROW A FEW SHOVELS OF DIRT IN THE RUTS AND SPRINKLE SOME GRASS SEED IN THE MIDDLE OF JULY. THIS MADE ME ANGRY, SO NOW THEY JUST WON'T CALL ME BACK. THEY ARE CROOKS AND THEIR OWNER HIDES IN THE SHADDOWS! I GUESS THEY FIGURE THAT THEY SHOULD BE THE ONES TO DETERMINE THEIR OWN PENALTY FOR PROPERTY DAMAGE. EVEN THEIR NAME IS DECEPTIVE. A PROFESSOR HAS A PhD AND TEACHES AT A UNIVERSITY. PROBABLY A MORE FITTING NAME WOULD BE "PLUMBING GEDs" OR IF MY GUESS OF THEM USING CHEAP LABOR IS CORRECT, "PLUMBERS ON PAROLE". THE WORKERS' BEHAVIORS SEEMED VERY PRACTICED, LIKE CAR SALESMEN. THEY DO THIS KIND OF STUFF ALL THE TIME. CALL AMBROSE INSTEAD AND SAVE YOURSELF GRIEF!
in addition, nothing was ever said to my daughter about a service charge until they were ready to leave. that information, i believe, should have been relayed to my daughter before they even came out.
these people went to my daughters home to thaw her pipes. they wanted to charge her over 200 to thaw a pipe. 300 if they used a heater. we paid them the 59 service charge and sent them away. had someone else do it. he charged 120. this was not a 200 or 300 dollar job. these people are price gougers.
I am a licensed builder. I have used this company twice and found them professional, knowledgeable and courteous. I highly recommend them; the master plumber came out to discuss the direction of the sewer connection, he did so on a timely basis and charged me nothing for his opinion. The technician who did the cleaning in my other house charged a going rate for an beyond-call-of duty job. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED COMPANY. 4 stars of 4.
There is nothing to sue them for. You dont have a leg to stand on. Ive worked for another plumbing company for a long time and we charge almost $300.00 to snake a sewer up to 100 feet. Sucks that he didnt cable line with full size cutter, I agree but thats when you ask for a supervisor and a free cleaning even if theres no warranty given. Trust me theres nothing a lawyer can do for this.
When you have tree roots in the sewer, a company should always recommend the permanent fix, which it sounds like they did. Obviously it cost more than just the snaking. Besides them missing an appointment, what is there to sue them for?
I had them look at a sewer drain backup in my home. They told me it would not cost more for an weekend or holiday job and I scheduled a appt. for the 26th. They never showed and so I called and they told me they had scheduled the appt. for the 27th. Come to find out the Tech that came had an pre wedding party and so they took it upon themselves to just come a day late. Causing me to take a day off work and then when they got there tried to charge me the entire price not the phone quote. Well he ran an 3 inch auger and said the proper one was with his boss had the 6 inch and so he couldn't use that. In the end my drain had roots or so he said near the drains hookup to the city. He said well I cant give you any guarantee and charged me 125. He also told me we can run a camera for 650 and to fix whole drain would run over 3000. I could not believe to begin with they never showed up then the secretary insisted she scheduled for the 27th. I was pissed because I knew she said she would be the 26th. well it lasted two weeks the drain backed up again and I will NEVER call these people again. I will be reporting them to the Better Business Bureau. Don't call them unless you want sewage to keep coming in your basement. And I had to tell him over and over not to try to remove this drain plug which he almost ruined trying to remove and have had my house for 30 years I knew the problem was farther out and had already seen the proof of that with the main plug off and a flashlight. Lesson learned and I hope they can understand how pissed I was to pay them for a very poor job trying to put the blame on me for their appt. scheduling. If they do a job and know they need a bigger auger they should have used it before doing anything. When I get the money I am entitled from a house I am selling a have a good mind to sue the company for all I can.
iT'S NOT FREE TO DO WORK ARE YOU ###ED ...
WHY WOULD ANYBODY PERFORM WORK
YOU CAN'T DIAGNOSE A LEAKE WITHOUT DOING WORK AND WORK ISNT FREE!
A FREE ESTIMATE IS TO COME OUT AND LOOK AT A PROBLEM
THERE IS A COST TO DO WORK, REMOVE DRYWALL AND DUPLICATE A LEAK AND DIAGNOSE A PROBLEM WITCH COULD TAKE SEVERAL HOURS ...
usually a free estimate is to look at a problem that doesnt need to be diagnosed or work to be done to see where the problem is
it is very hard ti give a free estimate on a leack in a ceiling and most companies will not spend hours trying to diagnose where a leak is for FREE
Ive been in the trade for over 15 years ... and there is a mis understanding when giving a free estimate ... a free estimate is to come out look at a problem and give a price ... how would anybody know what was leaking if its concealed behind dryway, panneling or even cement ...