Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Company, Inc.

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below
My Response to Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Company’s Reply Letter to the Revdex.com: 5-18-15 It is ironic and true to form, that it took Jason Wells, President of Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Company, three (3) weeks to respond to repeated requests by the Roanoke Revdex.com concerning my Revdex.com letter dated 4-17- To clarify some of his statements in his response letter:“My helper and I went out the same day to check out the problem.” This is not true His two helpers came the day I called and assessed that the pump was pulling too many amps Jason Watts was not present He did come the following day in the afternoon with his two helpers to replace the pump.“We were never asked by the customer to get a price to resize the pump for their current uses.” I am not an expert on pump sizes All I knew is that I had a problem here *** *** was told that there were four houses running on that pump He was supposed to be the expert and should have easily spotted that the pump was not adequate for that situation I was not informed nor given any choices.I apologize for it taking so long to get back to the customer but we were very busy at the timeI try to service the customer on the same day I receive the call Same day service? After repeated calls and e-mails, I finally sent a certified letter to get their attention It took Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Company over four (4) months to respond and offer to check the pump “I do not feel that I did anything wrong, other than it taking too long to get the itemized invoice to the customer.” It took over four (4) months of repeated e-mails and calls and a certified letter before the pricing invoice was received.“I am not in the business to negotiate what the customer feels is an adequate dollar amount.” This customer was never offered any indication of pricing before the work was done, nor any sort of a contract Therefore, this company is in direct violation of their Virginia Board for Contractors license that requires a contract be offered in advance of work to be done The following is quoted from the Virginia Board for Contractors website:“…requiring all Class A, B, and C residential contractors, excluding subcontractors to the contracting parties and those who engage in routine maintenance or service contracts, to use legible written contracts including the following terms and conditions: General description of the work to be performed; Fixed price or an estimate of the total cost of the work, the amounts and schedule of progress payments, a listing of specific materials requested by the consumer and the amount of down payment; Estimates of time of commencement and completion of the work; and Contractor's name, address, office telephone number and license or certification number and class.” “I am a *** certified dealer.” An e-mail received today on 5-18-15, from *** ***, parent company of *** Pump Company says that “Watts Pump and Well/Bedford Well DRLG is a current GPDA member.” However, a past phone call confirmed that there are no dealer records shown under the name of Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Furthermore, there is no listing in the phone book nor on the Internet in the state of Virginia, for a “Watts Pump and Well”, or, “Watts Pump and Well/Bedford Well DRLG” nor is there any website named accordingly There is a website for “Bedford Well Drilling” If you wish to do business with Bedford Well Drilling and Pump who may also trade as Watts Pump and Well, or, Bedford Well DRLG or, Bedford Well Drilling, or Bedford Well Drilling and Pump CoInc , please keep the following things in mind: Most likely, you will not get:• follow up service and if you do, it may be delayed because they are “very busy”. • a fair price for the work done as compared to other companies who do the same work • completely truthful answers to questions, problems or concerns • any pricing information before the work is done • a contract in advance of their service, even though it is requiredWhat is really involved here is a matter of ethics Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Inc has little concern nor care about their customers If all this does not bother you, then by all means, do business with them.Bottom line? Nothing got resolved I have now employed another company to do follow up work.
Regards,
*** ***

This letter is in regards to a complaint that was made on my company. On 12/29/14 I received a phone call from the complainant that they had no water. My helper and I went out the same day to check out the problem. We checked over the system and found the pump to be inoperable. We were...

never asked by the customer to get a price to re-size the pump for their current uses. We Installed the exact same size pump that was already in the well. I don't make it a practice to upgrade unless the customer requests it.  Why would I turn down an opportunity to price a larger pump? If we would have installed a larger pump, the wire running the pump would have to be replaced with a heavier gauge. This would have made the invoice quite a bit higher.  The supplier that we purchase pumps from gives us the list price of the pump. This customer was charged a fair price for the pump. When I left the site everything was working properly. I apologize for it taking so long to get back to the customer but we were very busy at the time. I try to service the customer on the same day I receive the call. Iam a [redacted] certified dealer and I have attached a copy of that certification with this letter. This customer implied that I was not a certified dealer. [redacted] is the brand of pump I use because they offer a five year warranty and are a much better pump. A lot of the other brands of pumps only offer a one year warranty. I am sorry that the customer is upset about the price that was charged for this job. It would have been much higher if I had to use a bigger pump and heavier wire, can you imagine how upset the customer would have been if the invoice had been higher than what was charged?I do not feel that I did anything wrong, other than it taking too long to get the itemized invoice to the customer. I have already paid the invoice for the pump and the other items that were used. My employees have already been paid for their time at this site. I do not feel that I should have to offer a significant amount off of the invoice. This customer was charged a fair price for the work that was done.  I am not in the business to negotiate what the customer feels is an adequate dollar amount. I know the price of all of the items and there was very tittle mark up. I install a lot of pumps and have not been challenged by other customers for the amount that was charged for their pump work. I am a certified [redacted] dealer and I am a board certified master water well systems provider. In order to keep these certifications, I attend classes and seminars to stay on top of the water and pump industry. Attached you will find a copy of each of these certifications. I am also licensed to work in the entire state of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.Sincerely,[redacted]

Review: In late December 2014, this company came to replace a faulty well pump. The original pump was very old and there was one house on the property at the time. Now there are four houses on the property that use this well. This was discussed. But a similar model 5 GPM pump was installed. Even after just a day, there was a noticeable decrease in water pressure and volume. This was brought to the attention of the company through 7 e-mails and four phone calls with the office manager and still, with no help from them, I sent a certified letter on 4-3-15 after waiting for service for over 3 1/2 months. In addition, I had repeatedly asked for an itemized pricing bill which up to 4-14-15 had not been shared. The original bill they sent was higher than it was originally indicated and I wanted to know why.In talking to the factory [redacted] water pump rep, I was made aware that the size of the pump installed was significantly undersized for the application used. Furthermore, this company is not a certified, registered dealer with the [redacted] pump company.On 4-15-15, they sent an itemized pricing bill and offered to come look at my pump. I declined. By this time I had lost confidence in their ability to service, was displeased with the pump being the wrong size and very unhappy with amount of their bill. I asked for a substantial reduction of the bill. They offered a total of roughly $17 off for two plumbing parts that I was originally billed for but not used.They have never apologized for their lack of follow through, nor indicated they might have made a mistake.My advice to anyone reading this is to steer clear of this company. Very unprofessional.And, I am stuck with an undersized pump and a $1500. bill to pay.Desired Settlement: I request a significant amount off my bill given the situation and excessive charges for the pump. I would like the correct size pump installed but am not very willing to have them do it. I would question if that new situation would also bring more excessive charges and/or delays.

Business

Response:

This letter is in regards to a complaint that was made on my company. On 12/29/14 I received a phone call from the complainant that they had no water. My helper and I went out the same day to check out the problem. We checked over the system and found the pump to be inoperable. We were never asked by the customer to get a price to re-size the pump for their current uses. We Installed the exact same size pump that was already in the well. I don't make it a practice to upgrade unless the customer requests it. Why would I turn down an opportunity to price a larger pump? If we would have installed a larger pump, the wire running the pump would have to be replaced with a heavier gauge. This would have made the invoice quite a bit higher. The supplier that we purchase pumps from gives us the list price of the pump. This customer was charged a fair price for the pump. When I left the site everything was working properly. I apologize for it taking so long to get back to the customer but we were very busy at the time. I try to service the customer on the same day I receive the call. Iam a [redacted] certified dealer and I have attached a copy of that certification with this letter. This customer implied that I was not a certified dealer. [redacted] is the brand of pump I use because they offer a five year warranty and are a much better pump. A lot of the other brands of pumps only offer a one year warranty. I am sorry that the customer is upset about the price that was charged for this job. It would have been much higher if I had to use a bigger pump and heavier wire, can you imagine how upset the customer would have been if the invoice had been higher than what was charged?I do not feel that I did anything wrong, other than it taking too long to get the itemized invoice to the customer. I have already paid the invoice for the pump and the other items that were used. My employees have already been paid for their time at this site. I do not feel that I should have to offer a significant amount off of the invoice. This customer was charged a fair price for the work that was done. I am not in the business to negotiate what the customer feels is an adequate dollar amount. I know the price of all of the items and there was very tittle mark up. I install a lot of pumps and have not been challenged by other customers for the amount that was charged for their pump work. I am a certified [redacted] dealer and I am a board certified master water well systems provider. In order to keep these certifications, I attend classes and seminars to stay on top of the water and pump industry. Attached you will find a copy of each of these certifications. I am also licensed to work in the entire state of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina.Sincerely,[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

My Response to Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Company’s Reply Letter to the Revdex.com: 5-18-15 It is ironic and true to form, that it took Jason Wells, President of Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Company, three (3) weeks to respond to repeated requests by the Roanoke Revdex.com concerning my Revdex.com letter dated 4-17-15. To clarify some of his statements in his response letter:“My helper and I went out the same day to check out the problem.” This is not true. His two helpers came the day I called and assessed that the pump was pulling too many amps. Jason Watts was not present. He did come the following day in the afternoon with his two helpers to replace the pump.“We were never asked by the customer to get a price to resize the pump for their current uses.” I am not an expert on pump sizes. All I knew is that I had a problem here. [redacted] was told that there were four houses running on that pump. He was supposed to be the expert and should have easily spotted that the pump was not adequate for that situation. I was not informed nor given any choices.I apologize for it taking so long to get back to the customer but we were very busy at the time. I try to service the customer on the same day I receive the call. Same day service? After repeated calls and e-mails, I finally sent a certified letter to get their attention. It took Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Company over four (4) months to respond and offer to check the pump. “I do not feel that I did anything wrong, other than it taking too long to get the itemized invoice to the customer.” It took over four (4) months of repeated e-mails and calls and a certified letter before the pricing invoice was received.“I am not in the business to negotiate what the customer feels is an adequate dollar amount.” This customer was never offered any indication of pricing before the work was done, nor any sort of a contract. Therefore, this company is in direct violation of their Virginia Board for Contractors license that requires a contract be offered in advance of work to be done. The following is quoted from the Virginia Board for Contractors website:“…requiring all Class A, B, and C residential contractors, excluding subcontractors to the contracting parties and those who engage in routine maintenance or service contracts, to use legible written contracts including the following terms and conditions: 1. General description of the work to be performed; 2. Fixed price or an estimate of the total cost of the work, the amounts and schedule of progress payments, a listing of specific materials requested by the consumer and the amount of down payment; 3. Estimates of time of commencement and completion of the work; and 4. Contractor's name, address, office telephone number and license or certification number and class.” “I am a [redacted] certified dealer.” An e-mail received today on 5-18-15, from [redacted], parent company of [redacted] Pump Company says that “Watts Pump and Well/Bedford Well DRLG is a current GPDA member.” However, a past phone call confirmed that there are no dealer records shown under the name of Bedford Well Drilling and Pump. Furthermore, there is no listing in the phone book nor on the Internet in the state of Virginia, for a “Watts Pump and Well”, or, “Watts Pump and Well/Bedford Well DRLG” nor is there any website named accordingly. There is a website for “Bedford Well Drilling”. If you wish to do business with Bedford Well Drilling and Pump who may also trade as Watts Pump and Well, or, Bedford Well DRLG or, Bedford Well Drilling, or Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Co. Inc , please keep the following things in mind: Most likely, you will not get:• follow up service and if you do, it may be delayed because they are “very busy”. • a fair price for the work done as compared to other companies who do the same work • completely truthful answers to questions, problems or concerns • any pricing information before the work is done • a contract in advance of their service, even though it is requiredWhat is really involved here is a matter of ethics. Bedford Well Drilling and Pump Inc has little concern nor care about their customers. If all this does not bother you, then by all means, do business with them.Bottom line? Nothing got resolved. I have now employed another company to do follow up work.

Regards,