Charles H. Burns Incorporated

Review: I contacted C.H. Burns Inc (plumbing and heating company) on 7/04/13 and requested a quote for service to clean a drain at my home. The woman who answers the phone provided a quote of $85 for the first hour, which was to include the service fee. The plumber arrived and cleared the drain in approximately 40 mins and left. I have two witnesses who supervised and timed the service. I was not told that they charge for travel time to and from the job, however, C.H. Burns shop is 9 miles from my house, which 10-15mins to drive. I was expecting a bill of approximately $85 as quoted. I received a bill for $175 with no accounting for time, just a list of service fees that I was not informed of at the time of the service request or when the plumber showed. They are detailed below:

EEL Rental Fee $30.00 (never was informed of this)

Service Call $25.00 (was informed but was told it was included in the $85.00)

Service to run electric eel $120.00 (This was detailed as an unit of time but as flat fee. I was not told but assumed that this fee was $60/hr '$85- $25+ $60)- service tech was here for approximately 40 minutes and it takes 10-15mins to drive from the shop, so approximately)

I visited C.H Burns personally in 9/25/2013 and was told by the bookkeeper there was nothing she could do about it and that the owner would call me. The owner has not called to date.Desired Settlement: Adjustment of the bill to reflect what was quoted $85.00

At no time was I informed of the Eel rental fee or the flat $120 service fee as indicated in the bill nor was I informed that I had to pay travel time.

Business

Response:

October 4, 2013

Dear [redacted]

In reference to [redacted]s complaint I feel this bill is very ligament and at this point I have no desire to negotiate on the balance due. Had another commercial company that opens drains been hired this bill would easily double in the amount. C.H. Bums, Inc. charges a $25.00 service call fee and $60.00 an hour, per technician. The first hour of service is charged whether we are there that full hour or not, which basically makes the first hour of service $85.00. Any additional time after that first hour will be broken down into increments. This was explained to him when he called requesting our rates.

[redacted]s call for service came in on Wednesday, September 4, 2013 and was serviced the same day, per his request. As a courtesy my company offers this service to homeowners. It is an extremely unpleasant, unsafe, unsanitary job with multiply risk factors that co-inside with it Two technicians were sent to the job site, winch is necessary. One must man the electric eel and work the controls as the other tech controls the eel as the line is fed into the drain. In [redacted]’s situation the job was completed within the first hour of sendee and the drain line was successfully opened. Which means we charged our standards rates that he was given on the phone. Below is a basic break down.

$25.00 Service call fee $60.00 First hour, tech #1 $60.00 First hour, tech #2 $30.00 Electric eel rental fee $175.00 Grand total

[redacted] did make a trip to C.H. Bums Inc. on Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2013 and spoke to an employee. At that time she did inform him that she does not have the authority to just negotiate bills but she would talk to the owner. This is standard company policy. During his visit his mannerism and attitude was demanding and he bluntly stated that he wras NOT paying the bill, that we could take him to court. With those terms in mind, I again have no desire to negotiate on his bill.

However, it is only my and my companies best interest to get this resolved as soon as possible. If you have any further questions or need any further information I would be happy to work with you. You may call me at ###-###-####.

Thank you for your prompt attention in handling this matter.

Sincerely yours,

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

Thank you for followup to my Revdex.com

compliant. I would have preferred that [redacted] called me personally to

resolve this issue as his office worker said he would. I took time

out of my day to pay a visit to your office to discuss the matter.

It was seem a matter of common courtesy and good business to follow

up personally on customer complaints.

It is irrelevant what other plumbers

charge for their service. What is relevant to this

dispute is what the estimate C.H. Burns provided me when I inquired

about service. It would be one thing if did not request an

explanation of charges before hand and they handed me a bill.

However, when I contacted the firm, I specifically requested the fee

schedule for service before requesting the service. This is so I

could make an informed decision about value and whose service to

procure.

As I stated previously, I was quoted

$85 for the first hour of service, which included the service call

fee of $25. The woman explaining the fees to me did not say 'in

addition, there is an eel rental fee of $30' and ' we must

send two technicians in two different trucks at a rate

$60/hr each to do this job' and 'we charge from the minute

they leave the shop to when they return'. Had she informed me of

this, I would have passed on your service.

The information revealed in [redacted]'s letter

affirms my position with regard to what I owe them. It appears that

the job took exactly one hour or less since your invoice itemized

labor at $120 (two men at $60/hr each) and the $25 Service. From

this, it is clear where the problem lies; firstly, the 'eel rental

fee' is an erroneous charge that has no merit as I was never informed

of the charge nor have I ever heard of such a charge. Additionally,

the service technician never indicated before service was performed

that there would be such a ridiculous fee. Secondly and more

importantly, they sent two technicians in two trucks to do what is a

one technician job.

I am a professional home builder of 30

yrs and a plumbing and heating contractor as well. Being quite

familiar with plumbing work I understand what it takes to use a

drum-style drain cleaning machine and root a 4” lateral for 100'.

I have been using professional Rigid drum machines for my entire

career. In fact, just before I contacted C. H. Burns, I rented the

drum machine from Heller's Home and Hardware of Newport, PA. Unfortunately, their

machine only extends 50' - (20' short of the machine that you brought to do the job). Nonetheless, as my rental agreement shows,

I checked the machine out and brought it home in less than an hour

during which time I transported the unit to the site, rooted the

drain to 50', packed it back up and returned it to the rental center

without any assistance and at the age of 52. The drum machine is

equivalent to a Rigid K-400 in size and weight. Even if they had a

larger one, the task would still be able to be completed by one

person.

I do not know what machine C.H. Burns' technician used but in reviewing the Operator Manual for all of

Rigid's Drum Machines, from the smallest to largest that will go

250', no where in those manuals does in indicate that the use of a

drum machine requires two technicians. They all indicate one technician as they are specifically designed

to transported and operated by one technician. I am sure you will

agree that Rigid is a recognized standard in the plumbing industry.

Furthermore, there are no unusual or

difficult circumstances at my home that would require two technicians

to transport a drum machine to where the clean-out site was located.

The terrain is fairly level and there is only one 8” step to enter

and exit the house. No digging was involved. Having installed the

4” lateral myself when I built the house, I know it is straight

shot out to the septic tank - there are no 45 or 90 bends, usual

depth or other complications that might require a second technician.

If you subtract the erroneous 'eel

rental charge' and eliminate the $60 for the unnecessary second

technician, we do not have a dispute, we have the original quote

provided to me by C.H.Burns: $85.00.

As to what other contractors charges, I

have a solid example of what other contractors in this area charge for similar

service. My next door neighbors recently had 150' of 4” lateral cleaned AS

WELL AS a 1000 gal septic tank and 500 dosing tank pumped and cleaned

for $195.00 TOTAL. Baker's Septic Service usually charges approximately $120 to pump tanks and that leaves a balance close to your original quote.

I will be happy to pay the $85 immediately, otherwise I will be

happy to contest your unfair bill before a Judge.

Regards

I am rejecting this response because:

Regards,

Business

Response:

[redacted]S COMPAINT WAS THAT HE GOT RATES OVER THE PHONE AND WE CHARGED HIM TOO MUCH.

HE THEN WROTE TO THE Revdex.com AND RATHER THAN FIGHT OVER THE BILL AN AGREEMENT WAS MADE.

[redacted] AGREED TO LET HIM PAY THE $85 AND WE WOULD WRITE OFF THE REMAINING BALANCE.

WE RECEIVED HIS PAYMENT ON OCTOBER 26, 2013 AND THE REMAINING BALANCE WAS WRITTEN OFF.