Dishonest plumber charging extra as a way of doing business.
I contracted the services of Mr.Rooter plumbing for connecting a new faucet in the kitchen and adjusting the drain pipe (copper pipe). The ad for this business says we always give you the total price ahead of doing any work, that sounded good to me.
Brian showed up and from the start I had bad feelings about his honesty, here is why:
The copper drain pipe that was used to connect the drain basket under the 2 bowl sink he said "is all garbage and has to be replaced", all. I disagreed since it was replaced just over a year ago. He had to agree. I asked how much it will cost everything and he did not provide a total, he said "90$ + 20 for 2 braided hoses + some small dollars potentially". This is not what the company is advertising as their process. I repeated, loud and clear "so the total cost is 90 + 20 + maybe a few more bucks ?" and he said Yes. My wife was present and she later confirmed she heard the same thing.
When the job was done he filled both bowls with water then removed the plug and told me he needs to snake it as well. I asked why (nice trick) since with the plugs removed and water fully open there was absolutely no sign of slow flow. Even a single bowl full of water drained really fast. He had no explanation so I declined what was an obvious unnecessary work. I asked though how much would that be, just because at this point in time I was getting curious to see how much he would charge. Then the shocker came, he said "I can do it all for 415$". I thought I was not hearing right so I asked him to explain where is the 400 number coming from since he started from "90 + 20 plus a few more bucks potentially". Brian said then "Oh .. I said 290 + ..." which is absolutely not true, later that night I spoke with wife and asked her what she heard and she confirmed my version, "90 + 20 + maybe a few dollars".
I told him that is not what he said and given that I was pressured on time so I put the money on the table. Only at this point in time he entered the authorization for payment in the electronic pad and produced the invoice. He did not care to explain at all how he got to this amount, despite my request. I paid and let him go but by now I new I was a sucker and was not feeling well for being taking advantage of.
I spoke a day later with someone from office who called to ask for feedback and I asked her what is the process with the quoting, she confirmed that contractor is supposed to enter authorization in the electronic pad with full amount and only AFTER start the work. This is not what he did and customer service said that is strange.
Today I got a phone call from someone else (some supervisor that supposedly was to follow up) and the guy basically told me that everything is good. I asked him how can it be good if he said thing that had no truth resemblance and did not follow the process for quoting that would have avoided any issue. He said that he has no problem with that.
He also said that a basket strainer is 40 dollars (I asked Brian to use one of his instead of what came with the sink to minimize work, since one that came with the sink was deeper and was not fitting with current drain pipe assembly because of that).
The arrogance in telling me that such a basic basket strainer assembly cost if 40$ tells it all. It is 12$ at Home Depot, see attached image) and of course a franchise business like Mr. Rooter gets them at further discount.
In summary Brian aimed to extract (again, there is a different word that better apply but is banned on this website) money he did not deserve from me and he was successful. Great for Brian, not so great for many other vulnerable people that people like Brian or Mr. Rooter may aggressively corner into charging (there is a different word for this but apparently is banned on this website) of hundreds of more dollars. I happen to be able to pay that inflated cost but this may not be true for seniors on a budget.
I will not do further business with Brian nor with Mr. Rooter. Unfortunately these days is quite difficult to find an honest contractor so my advice is to always have the contractor write down the total amount before any work is done. If then the contractor tries to pressure you into paying 3-4 times that agreed price simply tell him to leave the house without paying one cent. Management will come around and will have to agree with the written amount, they would lose any argument in any court of law in this country.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $335.00
- Company Response
Hi Adrian, At Mr. Rooter, we live our code of values by acknowledging that everyone is right from their own perspective. We have been in business for over 20 years and have an extremely satisfied customer base. We use a menu pricing guide, which is displayed on our i pads to price our tasks accordingly. We also use quality parts that our supplied by plumbing wholesalers, not box store parts which in our professional opinion, are sub standard. that is why we only give guarantees on the parts that we supply. Your total bill came to $296.92 + HST. Your call came in on Sunday of the Thanksgiving long weekend; Brian showed up at approximately 4:00 pm. You had a new under mount kitchen sink installed by someone else to your new granite counter top, your kitchen faucet was just there on the counter, you had duct tape on your existing brass drain which was not connected and there were no water supply lines to hook up to the new kitchen faucet. Once everything was hooked up and Brian tested his install, he noticed that your drain was running slow and recommended a snaking, to which you refused. "she confirmed that contractor is supposed to enter authorization in the electronic pad with full amount and only AFTER start the work." This statement is not true. If that were the case, we could be unethical and charge more. We require an authorization signature prior to starting the work. once the work is completed, we require one more signature stating that you are satisfied with the work. We have both of your signatures on the invoice.