MasterTech Inc.

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
I take direct issue on at
least six points in this response1) The initial MasterTech technician left a
four-foot root wad in my drain pipeThat MasterTech error turned a slow drain
into a totally blocked drainMasterTech DOES have responsibility for that2) On
February 3rd, ***/the dispatcher called before he came to our
houseThis has ALWAYS been standard operating procedure for MasterTech in the
past to call me before coming to my houseThat makes good business senseOn
that first visit *** assumed the blockage might be a collapsed pipeHe
offered a “further diagnostic” involving a smaller scope which was in the shop
At no time did he offer to resnake the line to snag any blockage, which, as it
turned out, was left in the line by the previous MasterTech technician, ***
(Incidentally, *** did offer a $reduction in the snaking bill for his
equipment damaging my basement stepsI have photos)3) Further, *** said
his smaller camera was in the shopShortly after he left, water backed up in
the basement during the weekend, and we were desperateI was faced with a
decision: wait an indeterminate amount of time for MasterTech to get their
camera back, or take actionAs with any prudent consumer, I called for a
second opinion, and the second plumber, trusting ***’ diagnosis, jackhammered
the floor to find the problem: the
4-foot twisted root wad left in the pipe by the first MasterTech visit4) ***
said he showed up on Monday, February 6th, “and found another
plumber onsite breaking up the floor to access the pipe.” If this is true, why
didn’t he call before he arrived? Why didn’t MasterTech home office call before
he arrived? They ALWAYS have called before on previous visitsHe did not knock
on the doorHe did not ring the doorbellMy wife, who sat near our front door
the whole time can verify this5) I wrote to *** ***, owner of MasterTech
on March 11, I received no response addressing my letter, so I wrote a
second letter to Mr*** on June 20, 2017, three months laterStill no
response from Mr*** until I consulted the Revdex.com6) The Revdex.com forwarded a
response to me on October 5, more than EIGHT MONTHS after the MasterTech
technician left the 4-foot twisted rootwwad in my drain pipeMasterTech’s
response-not signed by Mr*** or anybody, blames me, the customerMeanwhile
MasterTech makes no counter offer to correct the initial MasterTech error…no
offer of a refund for the cost of the failed initial visit, and no offer to
refund the $monthly charge MasterTech continues to assess me, now eight
months of charges
My
opening letter, direct to Mr***, was courteous and factual, to wit: “Your
staff always has been professional and responsiveThat’s why our household has
retained the $monthly contract with MasterTech for the past three yearsOur
family appreciates your forthrightness, and we’ve given you glowing reviews on
Facebook.”
After
eight months, two letters and the help of the Revdex.com, I finally received an
unsigned response which assigns the entire blame to me for a problem caused by
the initial visit from MasterTechDuring my years as an ombudsman for the
state of Missouri, I always urged good businesses to respond to the consumer,
and find a mutually satisfactory resolutionI await a reasonable response from
*** *** and MasterTech
Sincerely,
*** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
Sincerely,
*** ***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/09/18) */
Upon initial inspection, there was water BOTH above the floor level and BELOW the floor levelWe installed a sump-pumpThe sump pump performed as expected and removed the ground water below the floor levelThe water was definitely not sewage
water aloneIt's possible it could have been a combination of mainly surface water entering the home and a leak on a pipeThere was no obvious leak on the pipe but there was obvious water under the home
We explained that when we jackhammered the floor there was so much water under it that it was difficult to dig out for the pit because the water kept filling in the hole and that after the sump pump was installed it ran for several hours on and off pumping out all the water that was under the basement floorSo a sump pump was definitely needed even if there was also a pipe leaking somewhere else
Owner called TWO months after the installation of the pumpSaid he already had a leaky pipe repaired and wanted a refund for the sump pump
The sump pump works as designedHad there been a second problem, there would have been an additional charge to fix a broken pipe
We would have gladly responded to the problem had we been informed in a timely mannerWe offered a partial refund in good faith but it was refused

Tell us   Mr. [redacted] continues to say that the problem was caused by MasterTech. The problem is roots growing into the sewer line and causing it to not drain properly. In 2015 we snaked out his sewer line and ran a camera and informed him at that time that he had a lot of roots growing into his sewer. We gave him several options to repair or replace the sewer line to prevent roots from getting into the line, which he chose not to have done. The reason he contacted us in February is because the sewer would not drain properly. We again snaked the line and got it flowing again but the snake cannot retrieve roots from the sewer line and we are only able to remove what becomes entangled around the snake. Mr. [redacted] states that he was desperate over the weekend because the water started to back up in the basement again, yet we have someone on call 24 hours a day, seven days a week, but he did not call us to re-snake the line.  MasterTech or [redacted] did not call before he arrived on Monday because he did not have an appointment with Mr. [redacted] and did not have the camera back from the shop but was in the area on another appointment and decided to stop by to check if the sewer was still flowing.   Mr. [redacted] is asking for a refund of $189 from the initial visit and a refund of the $5 monthly charges for the past eight months. I would agree to refund those two things for a total of $229.00.  If Mr. [redacted] would go ahead and have us permanently repair his sewer line as outlined below from 2015, I would honor the 2015 pricing and take off a credit for half of the amount paid to the other plumber.  Dig from the house to the street, install new sewer pipe, outside clean out and reline the sewer under the street. Install 2 Way Clean-Out (1) PVC sewer line REPLACEMENT With Schedule 35 Pipe (30) 20 foot of 4" sewer pipe RELINING. (1) Professional Excavation and Installation EX12 (1)         $4,885.67 why here...

On Friday afternoon, February 3rd, 2017 our camera tech [redacted] ran a camera in Mr. [redacted]’s sewer line as stated. Also as stated in the complaint, [redacted] informed Mr. [redacted] that he couldn’t determine the nature of the blockage of the pipe and needed to return with a different camera to...

assess the situation further before any work was done. He gave Mr. [redacted] an estimate to break up the floor and repair the pipe if necessary but did not schedule that work to be done until a more thorough evaluation of the pipe was completed with the other camera.   On Monday, February 6th, [redacted] went to the home to check with Mr. [redacted] and found another plumber onsite breaking up the floor to access the pipe. Mr. [redacted] did not wait for us to get our other camera back from the repair shop but apparently called another plumber to have them do work at his home.   MasterTech has no responsibility in this matter. We clearly informed Mr. [redacted], as he stated in his complaint, that we could not discern the nature of the pipe blockage and would need to return for further evaluation before anything else could be done. Mr. [redacted] decided on his own to have another plumber out, who apparently did not do a further diagnostic as we recommended but proceeded to break up the floor without knowing what was going on.   I would suggest that Mr. [redacted] contact the other plumber who did the work and charged him for the work without diagnosing the problem first.