A.B.P / All Bay Plumbing Inc.

Review: Refusal to return calls, follow-through on promises, accept full responsibility for damage caused by negligence, and honor stated warranty of work.

During a visit by the plumber on November 4th to snake my main drain out towards the street. The plumber pushed the snake the wrong direction in the pipes, ending up inside my toilet, and shattered the toilet from the inside. The company owner (via phone without anyone checking anything) advised this was a result of the plumbing being not to code, and they would only pay for half of a new toilet. He stated that if the clog occurred again within 6 months he would personally come out and snake it again for free. The plumber then left without questioning what we wanted and brought back the cheapest toilet they had. The toilet is much smaller than the previous toilet, and has left a 4 inch gap of tile with no grout that the old toilet had previously covered. We allowed this at the moment as we needed a toilet. The new toilet flushes very poorly requiring 2-3 flushes just to flush down regular toilet paper, let alone other things. My original toilet was a Kohler Memoirs toilet which retails at around $300.00.

Additionally the plumber failed to put the cap back on the washout. This is not a major issue, but is another indicator of the lack of proper attention paid by this plumber. We just found today a very small leak where the toilet connects to the water line.

I have since spoke with 3 plumbing professionals including 2 separate plumbers from different plumbing companies. All have indicated the plumber should not have broken the toilet and that if the plumber was paying attention he would have heard the noise the snake made inside the toilet before it broke and would have known the clog was much further down the line than his snake was at. A plumber from another company specifically referred to this as negligence and stated that a good plumber knows how to avoid this. This specific plumber has been in the industry for decades and made this statement while using a camera to inspect the line.

After sending an email to the owner on 11/05 to request a refund of the money we paid for half the cheap toilet, and a replacement of an equivalent size and quality toilet, the owner sent a return email agreeing to our request on 11/06. He additionally stated in his email that he would be gone for 2 weeks, but his team would order the parts while he was out and he would personally come out. Nothing was stated about cancelling the 180 day warranty he had agreed to.

2 and 1/2 weeks later on 11/22, the toilet backed up again. I called the company and they stated they would have to charge full price to snake the line again. I then asked for the owner, who stated he would not honor his original warranty because I had requested the replacement of the equivalent toilet that they broke. He advised on this call that they had not yet ordered the toilet, and that only he orders that sort of stuff, despite his email advising his team would do it while he was out. He stated he would order it Monday and call me back Monday. The following Monday 11/25 I had not received a call, and I called them at the end of the day. Was told by the owners wife that he was on an emergency call and would call me back that evening when he returned. The following morning of 11/26 after no call was received I called back and was advised he returned late the previous evening and left early that morning but that he would call me back that afternoon or the next morning at the earliest. The following day, 11/27, after no return call, I called again, this time the owners wife stated he had received my messages and that she would personally confirm that the toilet was ordered and would return my call that afternoon if the owner could not.

I have since received no further calls, and have waited another business day for a return call just to confirm the toilet is ordered and get a date for installation. He previously was returning calls within 10 minutes, now days have gone by with repeated promises of a returned call the same day or next morning at latest, and nothing.Desired Settlement: Replacement of the broken toilet with an equivalent quality and style toilet. Pictures of the original toilet can be provided to confirm that style/type of toilet. Also copies of his email on his letterhead advising he would replace the toilet as requested and would also have his team order it while he was out can be provided upon request.

I additionally now request that the plumber live up to his 180 day warranty and pay the cost of $237.46 that I had to pay for another plumber to come out to clear the line. A copy of that receipt can be provided if requested. If their intention when agreeing to replace my toilet was to void the original stated 180 day warranty, that should have been stated at the time they agreed to replace the toilet, and not at the point that I called to request they make good on the warranty.

Business

Response:

Contact Name and Title: [redacted]

Contact Phone: (408)-482-8275

Contact Email: [email protected]

good afternoon this is [redacted], the owner of all bay plumbing inc. We are not trying to ignore [redacted], the toilet has been ordered and do the thanksgiving week, is the reason the toiet did not get delivered in a timely fashion we have been extremely busy an have figured that since the office has notified him of that, that he would have some sort of understanding. we are a profeesional plumbing business thst stands behind our work 100% therefore his toilet will be arriving within the next 7-15 days, is what we have been told by the supplier. thank you so much, any further issues you can reach me at my ersonal cell phone listed below

Consumer

Response:

Per our phone conversation. Please find two links showing the price of the toilet that was broken. In addition I have available a picture of the original toilet which confirms that it was the model found in the links below. I do not see a link to attach the picture, however, can provide if via email or other desired method upon request.

http://www.homedepot.com/p/KOHLER-Memoirs-2-Piece-Elongated-Toilet-in-White-K-10...⇄ />
http://www.lowes.com/pd_335319-20602-98994-0_4294737230__?productId=50057975&...⇄

Refusal to return calls, follow-through on promises, accept full responsibility for damage caused by negligence, and honor stated warranty of work.

During a visit by the plumber on November 4th to snake my main drain out towards the street. The plumber pushed the snake the wrong direction in the pipes, ending up inside my toilet, and shattered the toilet from the inside. The company owner (via phone without anyone checking anything) advised this was a result of the plumbing being not to code, and they would only pay for half of a new toilet. He stated that if the clog occurred again within 6 months he would personally come out and snake it again for free. The plumber then left without questioning what we wanted and brought back the cheapest toilet they had. The toilet is much smaller than the previous toilet, and has left a 4 inch gap of tile with no grout that the old toilet had previously covered. We allowed this at the moment as we needed a toilet. The new toilet flushes very poorly requiring 2-3 flushes just to flush down regular toilet paper, let alone other things. My original toilet was a Kohler Memoirs toilet which retails at around $300.00.

Additionally the plumber failed to put the cap back on the washout. This is not a major issue, but is another indicator of the lack of proper attention paid by this plumber. We just found today a very small leak where the toilet connects to the water line.

I have since spoke with 3 plumbing professionals including 2 separate plumbers from different plumbing companies. All have indicated the plumber should not have broken the toilet and that if the plumber was paying attention he would have heard the noise the snake made inside the toilet before it broke and would have known the clog was much further down the line than his snake was at. A plumber from another company specifically referred to this as negligence and stated that a good plumber knows how to avoid this. This specific plumber has been in the industry for decades and made this statement while using a camera to inspect the line.

After sending an email to the owner on 11/05 to request a refund of the money we paid for half the cheap toilet, and a replacement of an equivalent size and quality toilet, the owner sent a return email agreeing to our request on 11/06. He additionally stated in his email that he would be gone for 2 weeks, but his team would order the parts while he was out and he would personally come out. Nothing was stated about cancelling the 180 day warranty he had agreed to.

2 and 1/2 weeks later on 11/22, the toilet backed up again. I called the company and they stated they would have to charge full price to snake the line again. I then asked for the owner, who stated he would not honor his original warranty because I had requested the replacement of the equivalent toilet that they broke. He advised on this call that they had not yet ordered the toilet, and that only he orders that sort of stuff, despite his email advising his team would do it while he was out. He stated he would order it Monday and call me back Monday. The following Monday 11/25 I had not received a call, and I called them at the end of the day. Was told by the owners wife that he was on an emergency call and would call me back that evening when he returned. The following morning of 11/26 after no call was received I called back and was advised he returned late the previous evening and left early that morning but that he would call me back that afternoon or the next morning at the earliest. The following day, 11/27, after no return call, I called again, this time the owners wife stated he had received my messages and that she would personally confirm that the toilet was ordered and would return my call that afternoon if the owner could not.

I have since received no further calls, and have waited another business day for a return call just to confirm the toilet is ordered and get a date for installation. He previously was returning calls within 10 minutes, now days have gone by with repeated promises of a returned call the same day or next morning at latest, and nothing.