C.V. Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning

On the morning of April [redacted] my hot water heater started leaking incessantly. I called the number for [redacted], the original installers on July [redacted] 2007, from a label on the side of the unit. A [redacted] of CV Plumbing answered the call and explained that [redacted] had [redacted] and that he had taken over his business. As [redacted] happened to be in the area he said he would stop by within the hour, and he did. Upon coming in he had me write down the model and serial number of the unit and asked me to call [redacted] at [redacted] to see if it was still under the six-year warranty. [redacted] indicated that it was no longer under warranty as the unit had been manufactured in December of 2006. [redacted] then said that it might still be under warranty given the install date and took the warranty sticker off of the unit. [redacted] also asked me to try and locate the original receipt but if I couldn’t find it that would be OK because his office could make one up. [redacted] also brought in a hose and attached it to the heater to allow it to drain fully. He then quoted me a price of $1300 labor plus $50 for the warranty to replace the unit and then left in a bit of a rush to get to another job, taking the warranty sticker with him. At no time did he give me a written estimate or did I sign anything or give verbal approval authorizing him to proceed with any additional work. As the $1300 price sounded a bit high I began to make a few calls to see what other vendors would charge for this type of work. I also located the original invoice from [redacted] in the amount of $1937 for both the heater and the installation back in 2007. The calls to other vendors quickly yielded estimates of $875 and below to do the work. When I called [redacted] back on it he said that those estimates didn’t account for the 75-gallon size of the unit. I eventually got a quote for $650 and decided to proceed with that vendor. In the course of all this I also checked the manufacturer’s website and found that the unit was indeed still under warranty until April [redacted], however the original warranty sticker was required to get a replacement unit. When I called [redacted] back with the news that I intended to proceed with someone else he became somewhat belligerent and said that I would never get the replacement unit under warranty because he had the sticker. Upon reminding him that this was my property and he removed it without authorization he said it would cost me $225 for his “service” call and that I would have to drive up to his office in [redacted] and pay cash to get the sticker back. I felt this was unreasonable and offered to pay him $100 for his visit and return of the sticker and also indicated that I would escalate the matter to [redacted] and the authorities if necessary as he basically took a valuable item of mine without authorization. He then told me to go [redacted] myself and hung up. [redacted] Police were then called and an officer [redacted] stopped by to take a report. The officer wound up calling CV Plumbing himself and convinced them to drop off the sticker along with a receipt for $225, which they did later in the day. So my dissatisfaction and complaint against CV Plumbing can be summarized as follows: 1) When the original phone call was made there was no mention of a $225 service call fee. That number was dropped on me when they were informed that I didn’t want to use them to do the install. 2) My warranty sticker was removed from my house without express verbal or written authorization for them do any work, and no written estimate was provided or signed off on. 3) The warranty sticker was then “ransomed” back to me and took calling the Police to even get them to fulfill the courtesy of returning it to my home. With business practices such as these I do not feel an outfit like this should be licensed to do business in [redacted]. CV Plumbing unfairly took advantage of me, knowing the value of the sticker and that if they had it money could be extracted from me no matter what. At a minimum they should be required to return the full $225 charged given the aggravation caused not to mention my having to call police in order to get the sticker returned. In addition to filing this complaint I will make sure to take whatever other measures are available to ensure that this most unsavory of plumbing contractors does not similarly fleece other unsuspecting members of the public. If there are additional questions or issues related to this matter you may contact me in writing at[redacted] or by phone at [redacted]. Thank you.