Hilltop Plumbing & Heating Ltd

Dear Matthew,

We find that your review above is inaccurate and that your comments misrepresent our General Manager and our company

You made similar comments on another review site that we will also address below as well.

Unfortunately, after I expressed that I felt they overcharged for the work, a call from the general manager made it clear that this happens on a regular basis

• After reviewing the invoice, you were not overcharged. Furthermore, our technician met your spouse in your building lobby to discuss three options with you. Your spouse then called you to discuss the options and you chose the more expensive option. You were both made aware of what our rates are. Our employee was on site for 57 minutes according to our GPS.
• Our GM did NOT express that overcharging “happens on a regular basis”. There is no truth to this claim. Our rates have not changed in over a year.
• We charge by 30 minute increments, not 15 minute increments
• Additionally, your initial complaint to us was that you thought our rates were too high, not that you were overcharged. Not to belabour the point; however, our rates haven’t changed from when our technician was in your home back in September of 2019.

They indicted they charge $165 for the first 30 minutes and $60 for each 30 minutes thereafter. We used 45 minutes and that was verified by the employee that completed the work. The GM (Daniel) defended charging us the full hour by stating the rates are in line with the competitors since he has called them all

• This is another inaccurate statement. All competitors in our industry cross reference charges so that we all stay competitive. So, yes, we do check with our competitors what their rates are. Again, our GM did not use this as an excuse to justify our rates because there is no need to justify them, especially since the rates were explained to you before the work began.
• As mentioned above, we charge by 30 minute increments, not 15 minute increments.

In the end, we paid $30 extra because Daniel notes the GPS showed the vehicle was at our location for 57 minutes. I have used this business twice and after this instance, will be going elsewhere.

• Again, you were not charged extra. It is unfortunate that you feel you need to take your business elsewhere; however, we wish you nothing but luck with your future plumbing work.

Gouging by adding time over and above the job is poor. Daniel and Hilltop appear to have the gouging bug during COVID

We take great offense to this statement. We do not and we have never taken advantage of our clients.
• Some of our technicians had to be laid off during the beginning of this pandemic.
• Our technicians put their health and their family's health at risk everyday with every home they enter.
• Our rates have not changed in over a year.
• We give back to the community as often as we can. To emphasis this point, we are giving away a furnace and the labour to install to a needy family this winter, valued at $6000.
• You can see this offer in the Peace Arch News Interesting that we have a coffee shop on the main level.

Imagine if the employee that was honest to us about time it took to do the job (45 minutes) was in the coffee shop grabbing a coffee prior to leaving in their vehicle

• I am not even sure what you are talking about. Are you implying that our technician charged you for an imaginary coffee? Another false accusation. Plus, our technician is very loyal to Tim Hortons.

Read other reviews and you will see similar stories on adding time. Unfortunately, I should have done so even though I used them previously.

• I am not sure what reviews you are looking at, as we have almost 500 GOOGLE reviews with an average rating of 4.8 stars, which we take great pride in.

Thank you, Hilltop Plumbing Management