Invisible Excavations

I called Invisible Excavations because of a leak in my tankless water heater. When the tech arrived I showed him the fitting causing the leak. He never asked to turn the water on to see the leak. He looked at the unit for a few minutes and went out to his truck to call his supervisor. When he returned he said there would be a service charge of $89 and an estimate for repairs of $579. When I questioned the amount he said he may have to disassemble the entire unit and put it all back together again. Since I had no water I agreed to have him do the job. He disconnected the fitting I told him was leaking, replaced the o-ring (which was in a packet inside the unit housing), and put it back together. Total time one hour; total parts, zero since I had the part. I expected the estimate to be adjusted based on the time and material of the repair. No adjustment was made. The total bill was $668. I contacted Invisible Excavations to discuss the matter. The service manager told me several times I agreed to the price prior to the start of the job. He stated he would speak to the owner and call be back with a resolution. To date I have not heard back from him.

I called *** plumbing and they answered “Certified Services” and told me a technician would call me back. I received a call back from another company (something contractors). I asked if this was *** plumbing and he said yes, the name had changed. I initially called about a deal they offered on a magnet $189 for snaking the drain. They agreed to honor that but said there was also an additional $89 service call fee. I agreed. The “plumbers” came out this morning. They were wearing T-shirts from ‘Invisible Excavating’, another company.
I recognized one of the guys. He came to my home a couple years ago, from a company with another name, when the furnace wasn’t properly working and he insisted that it needed to be replaced. He claimed it was leaking carbon monoxide into the house. I told him I have a carbon monoxide detector which has never gone off and he told me to get another one. He also said if it wasn’t currently leaking carbon monoxide, it would later. My friend’s husband is an HVAC technician, who I wanted to avoid calling because he refused to charge me. I gave in and called him and he came out and replaced a control panel (the part was40 bucks), said there was no leak and the furnace looked really good for its age. It has continued to work without a problem and does not leak carbon monoxide. I now wish I had followed my first instinct, when he came back and just asked them to leave.
Now he and another young man, were here as plumbers today. They said that the drain was working and did not back up. I told him it only backs up sometime and that I routinely pour liquid plumber into the drain, to keep It from flooding the basement. They moved the lint trap to a place where it had been earlier and the water went into the drain without backing up. I reiterated that it did not always back up and I had tried it there earlier and it did not solve the problem. They said that their snake would not fit into the drain (the holes were about half an inch which I had not realized). They told me they would have to charge me over 500 to snake the drain because the toilet would need to be removed to snake the drain (an additional 227 on top of the 189 plus 89). do it. I declined.
Now they charged me $159 for “diagnostics “because they moved the lint trap to a place where it had been earlier and didn’t work. I HAD NOT ASKED THEM TO DIAGNOSE ANYTHING. (They later gave me a verbal estimate on replacing a disposal and installing a dishwasher). I told him that the service call was only supposed to be $89 but apparently moving the lint trap was an additional $70 (diagnosis). The second technician told me to sign the work order, saying “this just shows that you paid” where it actually said “work was completed satisfactorily.” I did not argue. I also remember paying them for nothing the first time they came but I am unsure if the company name was the same.