All West Plumbing

Dear Revdex.com,Attn:  [redacted]In response to the complaint that you received from [redacted]  1/6/16.  Please see the attached invoices and notes.We received a service call from [redacted] on 12/1/15.  She stated that her sewer main was backed up and needed...

our services.  We were extremely busy that day and I advised her that I would send my technician out as soon as he was available.  She said she was going to call someone else if we couldn't come.  When my technician came available I called her and asked if she still needed help and she said yes, that she couldn't find anyone else.  I sent my technician [redacted], right over to her address at [redacted] used our large sewer drain machine from an outside cleanout.  He indicated that the yard had sewer backup and that it appeared to have been seeping quite a while.  He ran the cable machine down the line 3 times each time going about 80 feet of cable.  The first two times came up with some wet wipes and a few small roots.  The 3rd time down the line it unplugged and there were no more signs of debris on the cable.  It was dark out by that time and below zero, so my technician didn't take pictures of the debris he pulled from the line.  However, In our industry we call that a successful mainline unplug..  He then packed up the machine, invoiced the client with invoice number 10099 and she happily signed that it was all clear and paid the invoice. The bottom signature line says:  "I hereby acknowledge the satisfactory completion of the above described work."[redacted] signed it there because the sewer main was unplugged and she was happy with the service.On 12/15/15, I received a call from [redacted] indicating that her sewer main had plugged up again and was concerned that it was only 2 weeks since we were there last.  I advised her on the phone that this was a new plug as it ran for 2 weeks with no problems and that we don't guarantee sewer mains for more than 48-72 hours maximum.  I advised her that any time after 48 hours we cannot guaranty it because a lot can happen in two weeks. We can't guaranty what people are putting down their drains.   I also advised her that if it was still plugged from the previous visit that she would have been calling the same day or next day because her sewer would NOT have been working at all, she would have plugged and flooded her yard again and her toilets and all drains would not have been working at all.  But they DID work for 2 weeks.   I asked her if she still wanted the technician to come out and she said yes that she needs him to come as her sewer main was backed up and they couldn't use any toilets.  I again advised her that this would be a new service call.  She said ok just send him and how soon could he be there.I then dispatched [redacted] who was at her location within an hour.  He then ran the same large sewer drain machine from her outside clean out and each time pulled out several wet wipes (baby wipes) see picture.  [redacted] indicates he ran the line about 80'-100' 3 times total, but the drain came unplugged on the 2nd run.  He ran it again a 3rd time to make sure it was clear.  He said no more baby wipes came up on the 3rd run.  Both technicians were onsite at her location about the same amount of time.  [redacted] just spent more time with the client explaining to her that the plug was new and that it was not possible for the wipes to be from the last plug or backing up from the city sewer system.  [redacted] also discussed with the client that he recommended that we run a sewer main camera down the line to see if there are any compromised or rough spots in the line where debris can get caught up and cause a back up.  She took it as advisement but didn't indicate she wanted to pursue that avenue.When [redacted] presented the client with an invoice, she said she was not going to pay for it and that she didn't want him to leave it with her until she spoke to someone at the office.  [redacted] advised her that he is required to collect for the service call. She refused to sign or pay.The next morning I called and  I spoke to [redacted] on the phone. She said she didn't think she should have to pay for the invoice because she felt the plug was not completed from the first visit.  I advised her it was impossible that it was from the first visit as her sewer main ran fine from the first visit and if it wasn't unplugged the first time that she would have had problems immediately.  I reminded her of the conversation that we only guarantee sewer mains for no more than 48-72 hours.  72 hours is pushing it but I would honor it if it was still within that time frame.  She said yes that's what I said but she still believed this was not a new plug.  I told her it was a new plug and sent her a picture of the wet wipes we pulled from her line.  She said they were not her wet wipes, that yes they did use them prior to the first plug, but haven't used them since we unplugged it the first time.  She was adamant that those were not her wipes. I reminded her that she was there when my technician pulled them from her line and he showed them to her.   I again advised her that the work was completed and my technician once again got her mainline unplugged and she is now responsible for paying the invoice. [redacted] then yelled at me, "she will pay the invoice, but will never use our company again."  I said, "I'm sorry she feels that way, but I will look forward to seeing her check in the mail. Wished her a nice day, and end of conversation.On 1/6/16, I still had not received payment from her and I called [redacted] and asked when we might be receiving the payment because our invoice clearly states that after 15 days we will charge a 1.5% finance fee on unpaid balances.  I told her I was trying not to have to charge her for that.  She then said she was going to pay the invoice, but she was going to deduct for the cost of a sewer cap because she then said our technician broke the sewer cap and she had to buy a new one.  I questioned this and asked her if he broke the cap why didn't she tell me that the next day when I talked to her on the phone, or while my technician was on site that day because he stood at the sewer cleanout and he showed her the wet wipes and she visited with him while he was working.  She didn't have time to call me or deal with it she said.  I told her that I would not allow for her to deduct from the invoice and if it was broken, I would send my technician over to replace it.  She said she would not allow us to come back. I asked her to send me a picture of the bro[redacted] cap and she refused.   I then said I was trying to be fair and nice by calling trying to not have to charge her but now she was making a claim that we broke something.  I advised her that I would have to send her to collections if she didn't pay the invoice at its face amount of $164.00 and after the 6th it would be going up to $168.46 after I charged the 1.5%.  She said again she would pay the invoice but was going to deduct for a cap. I said ok, I will be sending this to collections if I didn't receive a check by the end of that week.  and I told her that she isn't the type of customer that we need because she is making claims against us that are not true.  She wanted to have a service performed and is making false claims in order to get out of paying the bill.  I ended the conversation abruptly as she was yelling at me profanities. I then adjusted the invoice to add the 1.5% and sent her a copy in the mail indicating it was past due and required immediate attention.Now I see she is submitting this to Revdex.com. The customer still owes for the service call of $168.46 and each month the bill goes up if she doesn't pay it.  I have aligned our company with a collection bureau and I am in the process of sending her to collections.  If she doesn't pay it then I will file a mechanics lien on her house in which we have every right to do.As you can see that the only two complaints that we have ever had with Revdex.com arises from people who don't want to pay an invoice.  In the past we have simply just written off these type of unpaid invoices.  However, we now have a policy that we are not going to write off invoices.  They will be pursued for collections as any company would do for services performed..I have paid my technician for the services and the customer now needs to pay our company for this service that her performed.We do guaranty our work. Sewer mainline and any other drain plugs are only guaranteed for 48-72 max after the initial call. It is standard to run the line as many times as possilbe but once it is unplugged we run it one more time to make sure.  They can come unplugged in as little as the first run, or within a few minutes or can take many hours to unplug.There is no specific time frame or number of runs or how many feet.  Once its unplugged it is unplugged.  Sewer mains can plug again and again in some homes due to the pipes, size, pipe material and also the products that are non biodegradable that people use and also low water flow.  There are many variables in drain cleaning.Any other service work for labor and material is guaranteed for 1 year from the time of service.  We honor our work and we do right by our customers.  .This claim is simply a claim derived due to a client not wanting to pay their bill for the services that we rendered.Please let me know if you require any additional information.Thank you.
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[redacted] Dear [redacted],In addition to the [redacted] complaint.  The complaint said the client is asking for a "refund of the second bill".  There is no refund because the customer has not paid the bill.  Our company is not willing to compromise on this bill.  It is due and payable and will be pursued. I just wanted to clarify that this customer has not paid the invoice number [redacted] at this time.  There is no refund due.Thank you. 
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Dear [redacted],We are in receipt of your additional information from the claimant [redacted], ID [redacted]. Please refer to the new attachments and the quote from the technician.Please see the verbatim response from my employee [redacted], the last technician that worked on the sewer main:    I responded to a service call to clear a main sewer.   I knew going over that we had ran it a few weeks prior as well.   When I went to remove a 6" irrigation valve box cover to access the main sewer clean out I noticed it was missing a small piece on the side and was cracked.   I didn't think to much of it since I felt it would go back on ok when I was done.   I cabled the sewer line and retrieved wet wipes from sewer line and cleared it.   I bagged the wipes to show the customer.   During the cleaning work I did put my knee down on the 6" lid and it cracked worse than it was when I first found it.   I no longer felt it would go back on properly and after I showed the customer the wet wipes from the sewer I explained that the lid was further damaged by me and that I would bring them a new one the following day.   Customer was adamant that would not be necessary and was generally unconcerned about the lid.   This didn't surprise me since I knew the lid to be a 3 dollar part and not a hard thing to find.  The whole visit was very friendly and the customer was very surprised to see the wet wipes since they claimed to have stopped using them after the first service call apx 10 days before.   We talked about the history of the sewer and I was told it had also backed up 2 years ago.  The home was really new so we spoke about there maybe being a problem at the street connection that should be looked at with a camera if the problem persisted.   The bro[redacted] lid was the final thing we discussed before I left.  (end of verbatim)As per my discussion with Ms. [redacted], she indicated that we broke the sewer clean out lid.  That is when I adamantly denied that we broke that lid.  The sewer cleanout cap that I thought she was referring to looks like the cap of the cleanout plug that I attached a picture of.  She did not tell me it was the lid to an irrigation control box.  (see the picture that [redacted] sent)As per my discussion with [redacted], I asked him if he broke the sewer main cap and he said he did not.  The lid in question is an entirely different lid than a sewer main lid that we would have to remove before we can clean a sewer.  In the attempts to resolve this issue, as I mentioned I offered to have my technician go back to her home and replace her lid.  She refused to let us do that.  After asking [redacted] about his interactions with this customer, you can see in his written statement that he also offered to bring her a new lid for her irrigation box.  She also declined to let him do that.  The matter here is not a bro[redacted] lid, the matter is the bill that Ms. [redacted] still owes for our services that were rendered in the amount now of $170.99. The picture that Ms. [redacted] sent us is of the Irrigation Lid, not of the sewer clean out lid.  I was not aware at the time she was referring to an irrigation lid.  They are two different thingsIf this can be resolved by having us replace that Irrigation Lid, we would be happy to do that as I had already agreed to replace a sewer cap.  And unbeknownst to me, [redacted] agreed to replace the Irrigation Lid. Through this time that this customer has been disputing paying her invoice, it has now accrued 2 months worth of finance fees, which has now increased her bill to $170.99.  I have deducted the cost of an Irrigation Lid which is a mere $1.58, and can be purchased at any local hardware store.  I will agree to adjust the invoice from $170.99 and deduct for the cost of the lid in the amount of $1.58, which leaves a total now due of $169.41.  The invoice will continue to accrue finance fee at 1.5% each month.  However, I am prepared to send this to our collection agency for collection purposes if we do not receive payment in the amount of $169.41 by Februay 15, 2016.This is our final offer on resolving this issue.  We are saddened that with the hard work and the diligent efforts of our technicians that we have now a customer who wants to bad mouth our company on social media an wherever else she says she is bad mouthing our company.  We did nothing wrong accept to provide excellent customer service and we cleaned out her plugged sewer main as agreed.Please consider this our final response in this matter.Thank you.Regards,[redacted]All West Plumbing[redacted]

Revdex.com:I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]Regards,[redacted] I have attached the pictures of our drain cap and the condition it was left in.  I have read over thier response and have several discrepancies.
1.  They didn't run line 80-100 feet, we don't have that much line. 
2. The 2nd tech never asked me to sign and invoice.  I simply told him I would call office the next day, since it was late, and discuss it. He said   not a problem. 
3.  I will have another company come and camera the line.  Certainly not using them.
4.  Yes, they did pull out wipes.  I told him we had not used them since the first plug.  So, I am saying they were still in the line and not cleared,  I DID not say they weren't ours!!
5.  I did NOT say they could not come replace the cap.  And she NEVER asked for a picture. (which I have attached)
6.  I DID NOT use profanities when speaking with her, I just hung up.
So,  I guess when my cap is replaced, I will send check.  I will never use this company again.  And I have put it out there on social media for others to consider hiring other companies and NOT ALLWEST.  They do not complete their work and the front office lady fabricates stories.  The worst kind of advertising is word of mouth of unhappy customers.  I am not one to skip out on paying my bills, but I also expect to have the job done right.  And this was not done right the first time.  So, I will excercise my freedom of speech and put the word out.