Paul Flaherty Plumbing & Heating Company, Inc.

We have taken care of this customer’s sump pumps with noissues since until this occurrenceWe understand and sympathize with thiscustomer’s distress, and have offered her warranty service to assess andaddress any additional work that may be needed, with no response.Flaherty plumbing has
further stated that we will cover thecost of water damage expenses submitted by this customer at $We willalso refund the installation labor charge for the main pump, $where thefloat switch hit the side of the receptor due to the rising water, causing thebapump to come on and run continuously until the battery ran down, atwhich time it properly sounded an alarmWe did not charge this customer forthe emergency service on March 28thWe respect this customer’schoice to use another company, however we cannot warranty their work

The customer is correct in that our technician made the assumption that once told about a broken valve problem, and the opportunity to fix this problem was created [ the building water was shut down], the propertyowner would want this valve replaced. I cannot recall a time in 37 years of business...

being told not to replace a broken valve, just leave it for the next person to worry about. However, an assumption was made, and in the case of this customer, we were wrong.An additional misunderstanding seems to have taken place in the conversation between the customer and our [redacted]. The customer was told there would be an additional cost if the shutoff valve did not work. It only makessense, there would have been no need for us to even discuss this potential problem if we were going to do all this extra work for free.The extra cost involved, $289.00, is the time and materials used over and above a normal dishwasher installation. I think it would be fair to credit this customer half of this cost, $144.50, for the incorrect assumption made.

First, I will address the expenses related to thae flooding caused by this company's improper installation of both sump pumps.  Flaherty said in early April that they would pay these damages.  On April 23, 2015, I sent them documentation of the damages amounting o $242.99.  They did not respond to my letter.  The company then ignored my next four communications and refused to respond to me. Only AFTER I filed the Revdex.com report did they respond to me with a letter dated June 5, 2015 (but mailed on June 8) in which he said "As I already stated, we will reimburse you for the water damage expenses you incurred and submitted to us ($244.99).  However, there was not a check for this amount included.  They have failed to pay this, and think that just continuing to say they "will" is sufficient.  It is not.Second, their offer of $390 is insufficient regarding their failure to provide the services I paid them for.  I had to pay another plumber $149 to diagnose all the problems caused by Flaherty, and am paying them $1290 to fix and complete the work that I had paid Flaherty to perform.  I paid Flaherty in October 2011 to install a backup sump pump system.  This system sits above the primary pump, so that if the primary pump fails, once the water rises higher to reach the backup pump, the backup pump would activate and discharge water.  The primary pump always worked until it failed on March 28, 2015.  It was only then that the backup pump was called upon to perform, and it failed to operate and discharge water.  Because the backup pump does not work on a regular basis, I paid Flaherty once per year to come out and test the pump to ensure it was operating properly.  I paid them to check it in January 2013, March 2014, and again in February 2015.  In February 2015, I also paid them to replace the battery with a brand new battery to further ensure it was operational.  Overall, I paid them well over $2000 to have an operational backup pump.  Each time they told me they tested it and it was working properly.  However, the technician who responded in February 2015, said that there were wires loose on the pump, and he didn't think it had been operational.  He supposedly fixed it, but then it failed to operate on March 28, 2015 (when the outside snowfall melted and intruded into the basement).  Flaherty's technician who responded on March 28, 2015 said that the technician who did the work in February 2015 "did a crappy job."  That technician also said he couldn't figure out what was wrong with the backup pump, and said it was not working properly.  I then hired a plumber to come out and assess the work done by Flaherty.  He said that there were wires loose on the backup pump that cannot be removed on their own - they can only be removed by a person.  The plumber also tested the pump and found that it does not work and will not discharge water.  The plumber also found that that the alarm for the backup pump is not working, and does not activate to notify the resident that the primary pump has failed and the backup pump is being used.  So basically, every aspect of the backup pump was not working, yet Flaherty lied to me in February 2015 and told me that they tested it and it was working.I paid Flaherty a lot of money for an operational backup pump system.  It didn't work.  They claim it worked great until March 2015, but this is not true.  Because there was a primary pump that always discharged the water, the problem with the backup pump did not become noticeable until the primary pump (also installed by Flaherty) failed to work in March 2015.  As I mentioned, the primary pump worked fine from 2010 until 2015.  This pump was NOT installed by Flaherty.  In February 2015, I paid Flaherty to replace the primary pump with a brand new pump because I was worried the primary pump I had might burn out since I had it for 5 years, and there was record snowfall that was going to be melting.  Flaherty installed a brand new primary pump, and also represented to me that they tested this pump and it was working.  It was installed improperly and was not operational.  Flaherty managed to fix this pump when they responded to my flooded basement.  My new plumber confirmed this one is now working correctly.So basically, both pumps installed by Flaherty failed to work, causing my basement to flood.  It is insulting that Flaherty makes the comment that they didn't charge me to respond on March 28, 2015, to a flooding that was CAUSED by FLAHERTY's improper installation of BOTH sump pumps.  Flaherty proposed to pay $390 related to the labor they spent on the primary pump.  (Their labor breakdown is inaccurate, but I won't get into details since they are missing the point of what the problem is.)  They completely ignore that the problem is that the BACKUP sump pump is the problem.  I paid well over $2000 to Flaherty over the course of several years to install and maintain the backup pump, only to find out that their work was defective, and I have an inoperable backup sump pump with wires loose and an inoperable pump that won't discharge water as it should.  Since they accepted my money in exchange for supposedly providing a backup sump pump, they should be liable for the cost that it will take to pay another plumber to complete the work that they were paid to do, but failed to provide.Flaherty has demonstrated a complete inability to take responsibility for this problem.  They had a loyal customer for 5 years who believed them and trusted them, and believed they were doing quality work and testing the pumps to ensure proper operation.  I am appalled to find out that much of their work was deceptive and based on lies.  If they had properly tested these pumps as they claimed to, they would have discovered they weren't working.  They lied to me, and believed I wouldn't find out the backup pump wasn't working since they thought the primary pump would work.  I only learned about the problem with the backup pump because the primary pump they installed was ALSO installed in a defective manner, and because I refused to let them go back in after their technician on March 28 couldn't fix the backup pump and instead hired another plumber who did properly test the backup pump and diagnosed the problems.  Flaherty says they won't provide a warranty for another company's work.  This doesn't even make sense.  I'm not asking them to pay for defective work done by another company.  The new plumbing company I hired to fix the backup pump is going to provide a warranty for their own work.Finally, I have requested that Flaherty provide their insurance information on five different occasions.  They IGNORED the first four requests.  On my fifth request, sent AFTER the Revdex.com complaint, they finally responded but refused to provide their insurance information.  They stated that since they will pay the damages, they will not submit an insurance claim.  However, they have not paid ANY of my damages, and I sent them documentation of these damages almost 2 months ago.  They represent themselves as being "fully insured."  Their website clearly states this.  I would not have hired them otherwise.  I suspect they are falsely advertising themselves in violation of Chapter 93A of the [redacted] laws, and are thus unable to provide insurance information if they do not have it.  If they do have insurance, it is completely improper for them to withhold this information from a customer who has been damages.  By the way, they seem to believe that "damages" only includes the damages from the flooding.  However, paying for work that is either not performed, or is performed defectively also causes "damages."  I have been damaged by paying over $2000 for an operating backup sump pump, but I do NOT have the operational sump pump that I paid them for. [redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response submitted by the business and have determined that the response does not satisfy or resolve my issues and/or concerns in reference to complaint # [redacted]. Please add your rejection comments below. 
 I was not told there would be an additional cost if the valve didn't work -- I was told only that it would delay the install by approx 1 week until the building water could be shut off.  After the fact I was told by the customer service rep that I was charged not only for the unauthorized valve repair, but also for the the building water shut off.  2 problems with that: 1 - the water shut off charge was never disclosed in the previous conversations.  2 - we utilized a prescheduled water shut down that the building had planned completely independently of my dishwasher installation.  So they're charging me for a service that was never disclosed and never performed.  Unscrupulous at best.  The total unauthorized charges were $289 -- that is the amount that needs to be credited.  
Regards,
[redacted]