Gregg's Plumbing & Heating Ltd.

I am being charged $4432.24 for a plumbing job that would cost around $2200 by any other company. There was also a $109$ service consult fee that I was not told about initially and just found out about today (the job has just been completed.) [redacted]. When [redacted] came and did the initial assessment he told me that the pipe going out to the city lines was lead. When I asked him if that needed replaced, he said yes. When the plumbers came to do the job, they only broke out a little piece of cement from the basement and replaced that piece. I then called Gregg's, only to be told that no, they weren't replacing the line to the city. This is why I figured that it would be so expensive. I had to fight with them to get a breakdown of costs, and they only broke it down to $525 for parts and material and $3700 for labor. The first day they came, there were two plumbers and their apprentices, and the were here for 5 hours. Today, they came and finished the job. There was one plumber and his apprentice, and they stayed less than four hours. So a total of 9 hours of labor breaks down to $411/hour. O[redacted]. [redacted]. I have already paid $2200 before the job started as they required a deposit of half the price. I have no intention of paying more as I feel I am being overcharged substantially. [redacted] I have had to fight to get a breakdown, and they refuse to return calls or try and settle this matter when I talk to them about rates, breakdowns and fees.Product_Or_Service: Plumbing JobDesired SettlementI would prefer not to pay the remaining bill, as every other plumbing company that I have spoken to about this job would charge me around $2200 which is what I have already paid to Gregg's.Business Response With regards to the complaint as filed by Ms [redacted] we would like to offer the following comments regarding her concerns:1. I have no idea who or why she would have been told there was a $109 service consult fee. There is not a charge other than for the work that was quoted and done of $4,432.242. Regarding the pipe going out to the city lines being lead. [redacted] did confirm that the lines going to the city were lead, however he did not say that we would change or even offer to quote on changing them. That would require digging up the yard with a backhoe. This is a service we do not or have never offered as a company. [redacted]. We did quote on breaking the required cement in the home by the laundry drain, stack and water meter. Then relocating them and reconnecting the water meter with copper line and fittings.As for the time on the jobs. When we have given a quote for work to someone the price is just that a quote not an hourly rate, regardless of how long the job takes. Back at the office we will have estimated the materials and time to complete the job and priced it according to that. If it takes us twice as long to do the job as we thought (and calculated in our quote) we never go back to the client and say we need to charge them more or alternatively if it goes better than we anticipated we do not go back and charge the client less. A quote is just that a quote. Even if it was an hourly rate based on what Ms [redacted] states on the first day there were two plumbers and their apprentices there for 5 hours totaling 20 hours (4techs x 5 hrs). The second trip there was one plumber and his apprentice for 4 hours totaling 8 hours (2techs x4 hrs). That is a total of 28 hours or $132.14/hour ($3700/28hrs).Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)I am not satisfied with this response for several reasons.1) When a quote states "copper pipe and fittings to connect water meter (from street and to house)" it states as though the pipe is being replaced from the street to the house. [redacted] This is why I assumed the quote was so high. Had I known it didn't include this, I would have known I was being grossly overcharged and wouldn't have signed the contract.2) This is the only company that I know of that charges out their apprentices. Hourly rates from other companies include an apprentice if one is coming out. Charging me $132.14/h for an apprentice doesn't make sense at all. I have spoken to the plumbing union of Saskatchewan and other companies, and they all say the same thing: Their hourly rate includes the apprentice and that charging out an apprentice, especially at $132.14/h, is not really heard of. Therefor, the total amount of hours charged by Gregg's (28) is inaccurate. $3700 for labor for 14 hours is not only unfair, but it is a company trying to make up a reason for highly overquoting me for a job. As stated in my first statement, the 5 other plumbing complanies would have charged me anywhere from $1600-$2200 for the same job. The highest hourly rate for labor was $125/h and that included the apprentice. I am not paying double the price for a job that any other company would have charged me $2200 or less for.[redacted]Final Business Response Firstly I would like to explain the difference between an estimate and a quote/proposal. As defined by Business Dictionary.com"Estimate - Approximation, prediction, or projection of a quantity based on experience and/or information available at the time, with the recognition that other pertinent facts are unclear or unknown. An estimate is almost the same as an educated guess, and the cheapest (and least accurate) type of modeling.""Quotation - A formal statement of promise (submitted usually in response to a request for quotation) by potential supplier to supply the goods or services required by a buyer, at specified prices, and within a specified period. A quotation may also contain terms of sale and payment, and warranties. Acceptance of quotation by the buyer constitutes an agreement binding on both parties."[redacted] s[redacted] Most people prefer to be given a guaranteed price, then there are no surprises. The clients are then able to compare quotes between companies and know the price without a shock at the end. If we were to give an estimate for $1000 and the client goes with our company and then when we are done we said "Oh sorry that took longer than we thought so now I am charging you $1500" the client would be very upset and would be thinking I could have gone with ABC Company as they were only going to charge me $1200, but I went with you because you said $1000.Regarding the scope of the quote it stated "copper pipe and fittings to connect water meter (from street and to house)" . This is referring to the copper pipe and fittings needed to reconnect the water meter which comes from the street to the house. It does not state that we were replacing anything. When the client refers to our quote being high and that is why they thought that was included, they could not have checked out the price to replace the lead pipe from the street to the house with anyone or they would have known our price would have been grossly underpriced. We spoke with a company that does this work and they said it would be a minimum cost of $7500 which does not include the work we did inside the home or any landscaping repairs. Assuming the price of $2200 the client is stating for our work plus $7500 to change the lead pipe the total cost of the job would be $9700. It is unrealistic for the client to have assumed we were quoting this total job for $4221.18.In summary, although we do not feel we are wrong in anyway, this is clearly a lack of understanding and communication, we are prepared to write-off the balance of the invoice and consider this account paid in full. [redacted] Final Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Professional and efficient","pos-6

Andy M. of Gregg's Plumbing and Heating did some plumbing work at my house on August 16, 2016. He was helpful and knowledgeable, and very professional in his work. In addition, he was pleasant and friendly, so it was very comfortable to talk to him and ask questions. The women I spoke to on the phone, to set up the appointment, were also very pleasant. ","pos-7

We had Andy M. fix our jacuzi. He was very polite and personable and was able to fix the jacuzi. He was extremely professional, explained what he was going to do, getting our OK before proceeding with the repairs. I would highly recommend Andy and Gregg's Home Services. ","pos-9

work was done well but items were 4 times what they were worth.","neu-1

WE HAD EXCELLENT SERVICE BY TECNITION AND WOULD RECOMMEND TO ANYONE LOOKING FOR SERVICE.","pos-5

Jansen M. is a very pleasant,knowledgable technician in his field.He pointed out to me,during an annual assessment of my furnace,that there was a potential hazard in the heat exchanger. This would need to be monitored closely.I asked many questions and Jansen took time to explain his concern and suggested that I consider a new,high efficiency rented furnace which could be installed soon. Again he was willing to satisfactorily answer my questions about the rental process and follow-up Maintainance.
I was satisfied with this experience and would definitely request future follow-up with this technician.","pos-2

I have been using the services of Gregg's Plumbing, Heating and Electrical for a couple of years now. I have always been impressed with the professionalism with which they approach each visit and the work that needs to be done. Blake, the plumber and Kelsie, office staff, were particularly helpful and pleasant to deal with.","pos-1

Gregg's does not stand behind their work. Paid more than $500 for them not to fix my drain problem. They want another $189 just confirm they did not fix the problem. I must say they are cheery in their incompetence. Avoid this company. ","neg-1

Excellent customer service and lovely young technician seemed very knowledgeable.","pos-8

I've always had excellent customer service from Gregg's staff. They are always very helpful and friendly and the work they do has always been excellent.","pos-10

Excellent, professional service.
I have experienced a positive, caring, efficient contact with them every time spread over a number of years.
They do it right and I am a very loyal customer because of it.","pos-4

The technician was very professional and courteous ","pos-3