I entered into what I understood to be a fee for service contract with this business to replace a leaking kitchen faucet with a new faucet which I was to purchase
I was NOT advised either verbally nor in writing that it is their business practice to BILL customers BOTH an hourly rate and a fee for service rate for their services
Had I been notified either verbally or in writing I would not have entered into any service contract with them as that seems to be unprofessional and unethical to me as a customer I have never had any licensed or unlicensed professional CHARGE BOTH HOURLY AND FEE FOR SERVICE RATES FOR A SPECIFIC SERVICE
When the employee was here to perform the service I contracted for which was to replace the leaking faucet with the new one I purchased he removed the leaking faucet then found the new one was BROKEN and unusable
He appropriately gave me the choice to put the leaking one back in or to put in a temporary used one until another NEW one arrived and he would then return to complete the service I had contracted for
After the first visit I received a bill for the service I contracted for with their set fee for installing a kitchen sink faucet $
Then after he came the second time and finished the service I received another bill from the company charging me the same fee for service rate to install $effectively charging me twice for one service
I contacted the owner who informed me that in effect, whether or not I was aware or had been notified by any of his employees, the business practice is to charge customers a flat $140/hr FEE for coming out to the homeAccording to him since the installation took two days I was either going to pay for two separate installations or for TWO $140/HR FEE because the someone came to my house twice
Of note the billing statement is a fee for service amount which includes a materials fee
This business practice seems to leave the customer open to being taken advantage of as it seems to border on fraud not to tell customers that they will be charged for the number of days it takes to complete a service NOT for the service
The business charges a flat fee for service to install a kitchen sink faucet of $[ I received two charges for that flat fee]
AND they charge customers a minimum $140/hr fee to come to your home, apparently even for time to assess the work or give an estimateI was not given anything in writing from the worker about the agreed work to be done and no receipts of work accomplishedNothing stating that I would be charged by the day and not for the service contracted for
An employee actually came here times the first he was here for approxmins to advise me about purchasing a faucet so I did not purchase one that would not have worked and was charged 1/hr or $ I accepted that charge without question though thought it was an unusual business practice to charge a customer for assessing the work to be done
I would like for this company's business practices of billing customers BOTH HOURLY AND FLAT FEE FOR SERVICE seems to be double dipping
I would have expected the business owner to be more customer oriented and only charged me the $flat fee for service instead he was willing to charge me for TWO HRS at $ 140/hr and the materials fee included in their company's fee for service rate to install a kitchen sink faucet of $
So I was charged an hourly rate and part of the fee for service rate which combined totals approx$to have ONE NEW kitchen sink faucet installedThis is legal robbery and I hope this business OWNER will be investigated for it's business practices
The employee who came to my home was excellent
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/02/10) */
We were called out to the customers home to check for a leak through the ceilingThere was evidence of an old leakWe checked tub drain and waste and overflowThe plumber determined it was possibly a leak through the grout or tile
We were never requested to give an estimateWe were requested to repair a problemWe charge a minimum fee of $and we gave the customer a bill for only a half hour of service as we did not make any repairsThe bill is for $and the customer made a payment of $We are willing to waive the additional $balanceOur ad states all repair work is charged on a time and material basisAnd free estimates are given upon request
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/02/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not accept the response from the business because they fail to admit that their ad is ambiguous and deceptive so they can charge for an initial visit without actually telling the customerI have called plumbing business in San Francisco yellow pages that had ads for free estimates and they all said that they do not charge to come to your house to determine the cause of a plumbing problemAnd as with any other contractor I have used in the past with a yellow pages ad that said "free estimates", not a single one has charged for their assessment whether or not they went on to do the work
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2016/02/18) */
When our plumber went out to the job he did all the testing he could without opening the ceilingHe could not see an apparent leakHe told the customer that the leak could possibly be from the tile and/or groutWe do not repair tile or grout problemsAny further evaluation would have had to had the ceiling opened
We were never asked for an estimateIf we had been asked for an estimate we would have stated that the ceiling would have to opened to correctly gauge the problemOur ad does state free estimatesIt also states repair jobs done by the hourWe billed the client for hour minimumHe called and complained and we reissued a bill for 1/hour charge although our minimum is hourIf the client had called and said he wanted the ceiling opened we would have gone back out and taken care of it
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/11/20) */
When the client call she was quoted $to provide and install a gallon water heaterIt was explained to her that a gallon water heater would cost $to installThe cost of JUST THE WATER HEATER WITHOUT installation
is $The client called and we explained the misunderstanding and gave her a $credit for the misunderstandingI received an email from one of her children on 11/requesting a break down of the bill and an explanationThis was immediately sent outWe have had no other communication from the client
I entered into what I understood to be a fee for service contract with this business to replace a leaking kitchen faucet with a new faucet which I was to purchase
I was NOT advised either verbally nor in writing that it is their business practice to BILL customers BOTH an hourly rate and a fee for service rate for their services
Had I been notified either verbally or in writing I would not have entered into any service contract with them as that seems to be unprofessional and unethical to me as a customer I have never had any licensed or unlicensed professional CHARGE BOTH HOURLY AND FEE FOR SERVICE RATES FOR A SPECIFIC SERVICE
When the employee was here to perform the service I contracted for which was to replace the leaking faucet with the new one I purchased he removed the leaking faucet then found the new one was BROKEN and unusable
He appropriately gave me the choice to put the leaking one back in or to put in a temporary used one until another NEW one arrived and he would then return to complete the service I had contracted for
After the first visit I received a bill for the service I contracted for with their set fee for installing a kitchen sink faucet $
Then after he came the second time and finished the service I received another bill from the company charging me the same fee for service rate to install $effectively charging me twice for one service
I contacted the owner who informed me that in effect, whether or not I was aware or had been notified by any of his employees, the business practice is to charge customers a flat $140/hr FEE for coming out to the homeAccording to him since the installation took two days I was either going to pay for two separate installations or for TWO $140/HR FEE because the someone came to my house twice
Of note the billing statement is a fee for service amount which includes a materials fee
This business practice seems to leave the customer open to being taken advantage of as it seems to border on fraud not to tell customers that they will be charged for the number of days it takes to complete a service NOT for the service
The business charges a flat fee for service to install a kitchen sink faucet of $[ I received two charges for that flat fee]
AND they charge customers a minimum $140/hr fee to come to your home, apparently even for time to assess the work or give an estimateI was not given anything in writing from the worker about the agreed work to be done and no receipts of work accomplishedNothing stating that I would be charged by the day and not for the service contracted for
An employee actually came here times the first he was here for approxmins to advise me about purchasing a faucet so I did not purchase one that would not have worked and was charged 1/hr or $ I accepted that charge without question though thought it was an unusual business practice to charge a customer for assessing the work to be done
I would like for this company's business practices of billing customers BOTH HOURLY AND FLAT FEE FOR SERVICE seems to be double dipping
I would have expected the business owner to be more customer oriented and only charged me the $flat fee for service instead he was willing to charge me for TWO HRS at $ 140/hr and the materials fee included in their company's fee for service rate to install a kitchen sink faucet of $
So I was charged an hourly rate and part of the fee for service rate which combined totals approx$to have ONE NEW kitchen sink faucet installedThis is legal robbery and I hope this business OWNER will be investigated for it's business practices
The employee who came to my home was excellent
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2016/02/10) */
We were called out to the customers home to check for a leak through the ceilingThere was evidence of an old leakWe checked tub drain and waste and overflowThe plumber determined it was possibly a leak through the grout or tile
We were never requested to give an estimateWe were requested to repair a problemWe charge a minimum fee of $and we gave the customer a bill for only a half hour of service as we did not make any repairsThe bill is for $and the customer made a payment of $We are willing to waive the additional $balanceOur ad states all repair work is charged on a time and material basisAnd free estimates are given upon request
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2016/02/15) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I do not accept the response from the business because they fail to admit that their ad is ambiguous and deceptive so they can charge for an initial visit without actually telling the customerI have called plumbing business in San Francisco yellow pages that had ads for free estimates and they all said that they do not charge to come to your house to determine the cause of a plumbing problemAnd as with any other contractor I have used in the past with a yellow pages ad that said "free estimates", not a single one has charged for their assessment whether or not they went on to do the work
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2016/02/18) */
When our plumber went out to the job he did all the testing he could without opening the ceilingHe could not see an apparent leakHe told the customer that the leak could possibly be from the tile and/or groutWe do not repair tile or grout problemsAny further evaluation would have had to had the ceiling opened
We were never asked for an estimateIf we had been asked for an estimate we would have stated that the ceiling would have to opened to correctly gauge the problemOur ad does state free estimatesIt also states repair jobs done by the hourWe billed the client for hour minimumHe called and complained and we reissued a bill for 1/hour charge although our minimum is hourIf the client had called and said he wanted the ceiling opened we would have gone back out and taken care of it
Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/11/20) */
When the client call she was quoted $to provide and install a gallon water heaterIt was explained to her that a gallon water heater would cost $to installThe cost of JUST THE WATER HEATER WITHOUT installation
is $The client called and we explained the misunderstanding and gave her a $credit for the misunderstandingI received an email from one of her children on 11/requesting a break down of the bill and an explanationThis was immediately sent outWe have had no other communication from the client