Hydra Service, Inc.

I have maintained a maintenance contract with Hydra Service, Inc. since 2010 for the grinder pump at my property in the Mobile, AL area. Per this agreement, the pump was undergoing maintenance two times a year. Hence, the issues I encountered with Hydra are not due to neglect by the home owner. I leave it to the reader of this review to draw your own conclusion regarding the integrity and competence of Hydra Services, Inc. As for me, I've fired Hydra Service, and they will not set foot on my property again.

3 years ago . . .

9/2/13 - Grinder pump alarm light on.

9/4/13 - Hydra Service went out and replaced float. $78 parts and $250 in labor.

9/21/13 - Grinder pump alarm light back on. Hydra says we need a new pump! Costs $950 for pump plus $300 in labor.

This year . . .

10/4/16 (Tuesday) - Grinder pump alarm light on. Hydra Service went out and replaced float. $78 for parts and $300 for labor. (The labor to replace the float is minimal. Rather, they charge for driving time starting as soon as they leave their facility.)

10/9/16 (Sunday) - Tenant reports alarm light on again. Hydra called out and charges $600 labor and says we need a new pump! (Sound familiar. It's the same sequence of events that happened 3 years ago. I'm starting to get suspicious at this point.)

10/10/16 (Monday) - Hydra replaces pump. Costs $1350 plus $400 in labor. (Pump costs have somehow gone up 42% in 3 years!)

10/13/16 (Thursday AM) - Grinder pump light on again. Tenant turns it off at the breaker so the pump will not burn out. (Note this important fact. Because the pump is off, the tenant has no functioning plumbing in the home until resolution 5 days later!)

10/13/16 (Thursday PM) - Hydra goes out and says pump is okay, but there must be a blockage in the plumping line on the property going from the pump to the street or at the city main itself. (Note: Hydra techs are not licensed plumbers, so they cannot troubleshoot the system to confirm this. I was very surprised to learn that fact and am left wondering why I am paying plumber's rates then.)

10/14/16 (Friday) - Dyson Plumbing called out to check the line. Finds no blockage or breaks in line on the property. They call the city. City reports there are no other home owners in the neighborhood calling in regarding high pressure issues with the main line. Dyson successfully gets the city out at 7pm on a Friday night to dig up the street since the tenants are still without plumbing in the house. They video tape the back flow, which confirms there is NO blockage or high pressure issue from the city lines. We have these videos as evidence. Everything now points back to a faulty pump. (This costs me $562 for real plumbers to chase a phantom blockage or high pressure issue that Hydra Services non-plumbers said was the reason the alarm light was on. Only problem is they are wrong and no such issue ever existed!)

10/17/16 (Monday) - Hydra Service comes out and determines that pump has in fact dead headed. They replace the pump, and now the system is functioning. They take the original pump, make a repair in their facility and "put it back into inventory". (This latter statement was taken from their final invoice. Hence, it confirms they use refurbished pumps, which are inferior. So do not be misled by their "great prices" on pumps. Believe me, you will more than cover the costs of a new pump by their ongoing labor charges trying to get a functioning sewer system. Stick with a real professional.)

11/12/16 (Friday) - I received the bill from Dyson Plumbing today, so I asked Hydra Services to reimbursement me for the $562 in expenses I incurred having to hire actual plumbers to chase phantom issues they said were the reason their pump didn't work. They refused. (They also continue to insist it had burned out due to a blockage. As indicated, there was no blockage or high-pressure issue found and we have the evidence to prove this. Nor could it burn out since the system was turned off and the tenants didn't have plumbing for 5 days and were showering and doing laundry in another location. I guess Hydra Services thinks their clients are stupid and we're going to believe their lies. But I don't.)