Drain Surgeon Plumbing & Heating

Review: Approximately 2.5 months ago, after a home inspection, my realtor invited a plumber ([redacted]) from Drain Surgeon heating and plumbing to take a look at replacing 3/4" corroded copper piping. He sent an estimate to my realtor, which I believed was overpriced at the time, but did not prevent me from closing on the property.

Last week, after closing on the property I independently got quotes from two plumbers, Drain Surgeon, and a second party, for installing a water heater to a new location along with replacing the corroded piping. I verbally asked that a new quote be emailed to me for the entire job. The second party was not willing to drill into the existing chimney, but said that the cost should be approximately $1100. Drain Surgeon quoted $1400 for the job. The quote included line items for "new 3/4" copper piping". I hired Drain Surgeon, and met with them as they came out.

Approximately 1 hour into the job, after the water heater was physically moved and a hole was drilled in the chimney, issues arose that meant they would not be able to finish that day. Drain Surgeon asked for a $2000 deposit. I inquired why a $2000 deposit was necessary for a $1400 job. At this point, [redacted] of Drain Surgeon told me replacing the corroded piping would be an addition $1900 on top of the $1400 quote, for a total of $3300. When I said this was not my understanding of the quote, and that I did not want the rest of the work performed until I had a second quote from another plumber, he became increasingly agitated and aggressive towards me. He refused to leave my house until a payment of $395 was rendered for his work during the 1 hour there. I stated that this charge is well in excess of typical hourly rates for plumbers and balked, but he remained insistent and said that the price included him capping the pipes to return the house to a safe condition. I paid the fee.

After he left, it became apparent the pipes were not capped, and whenever a faucet was turned on, water escaped uncapped pipes from the mudroom flooding onto my floor. In the end, I hired an independent plumber who came out and performed all of the work I had requested (including installing the water heater AND replacing the corroded 3/4" pipes) in a matter of 4.5 hours, for a total of $875.Desired Settlement: I believe [redacted] of Drain Surgeon did one of two things. In the best possible case, he is guilty of attempting to exorbitantly overcharge for a job and leaving the job site without properly capping my pipes. At worst, he is guilty of either outright misquoting or quoting in a very misleading way (e.g. including a line item for "new 3/4" copper piping") in a goal to hit me with additional fees after the job was already started.

I would like two things. Firstly, I would like a refund of the $395 to my credit card considering that the pipes were not properly capped and the unsafe condition my house was left in. Secondly, I would like an apology for the situation.