Dear customer, I have looked into this matter; all three invoices; and I do not believe that all of the facts have been mentioned. I would like to break it down into two criteria, procedure and insurance issues. Procedure first. Upon arrival, our serviceman noticed fecal matter and toilet paper on the broadloom; covering a large portion of the basement. He tried to remove the obstruction through the floor drain, to no avail. The floor drain was in broken and the equipment was unable to pass. With there being children in the house and the basement not fit for human occupancy; an excavation was required there first. A price was agreed upon and we were given authorization to go ahead with the work. Upon removing the broken floor drain, a camera was inserted the following morning. Inspection showed us that the building trap in front of the house was broken as well. With a camera unable to go beyond a trap; it also had to be removed. A price was agreed upon and we were given authorization to go ahead with the work.(the building trap, no longer part of the building code, requires removal, once it is not functioning properly) Once the exterior excavation had been performed, a camera was once again inserted to see if there were any other future potential problems. Upon the secondary inspection from the outside excavation, we observed more cracked clay tile pipe being infiltrated by roots. A price was agreed upon and we were given authorization to go ahead with the work. With your house being situated in the Bloor West Village, an older region in the city, this is not an isolated problem but rather a neighbourhood problem. The houses are old and clay tile drains, being their lifelines, are sick. When they are sick, the house vomits raw sewage all over the basement. This is not only a residential problem; it is a municipal one as well with their underground infrastructure also crumbling. The simple reason for inspections is to inform and educate the customer on what future potential problems could arise. This gives the customer the knowledge and then the ability to make a decision. It is also our policy to provide the customer with a flood and restoration company to remove and start sanitization procedures as soon as possible; especially with children being present. I can also assure you that there are no rewards from the restoration company.
Regarding insurance, there are insurance companies that do cover most of the expense for this work. It is your insurance company that has misinformed you. They cover all of the costs; except the cost of the material. We have done thousands of these replacements with insurance companies covering the brunt of the bill.
I am glad that you have no complaints with our workmanship as we pride ourselves on being the best full service plumbing and drain company in the G.T.A. We were called to your house with raw sewage all over the basement. We kept you informed along the way and upon authorization, proceeded with the work required. We informed you to check your insurance policy and inquire to see if your policy covered the brunt of the costs, unfortunately in your case not. I empathize with how you feel, but please, do not shoot the messenger.
