Piper Plumbing Heating & Drain Cleaning Inc

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/06/05) */
[redacted] recount of aforementioned incident
-I received a new client notification on my calendar to go and diagnose a leaking toilet problem.
-Arrived, first thing I noticed was swollen drywall on the ceiling from the leaking...

toilet (water damage)
-I told [redacted] that I can pull her toilet up and re-set it as I didn't know what the problem was until I did so.
-I notified her that considering her ceiling had swollen so much, that it would have to be replaced regardless and I needed to potentially cut into it to replace toilet flange and possibly the 90 degree elbow below the flange.
-She did not want to go that route until I pulled the toilet.
-She gave me the go ahead to pull the toilet and re-seal the toilet
- pulled toilet, noticed the flange was completely destroyed and disintegrated.
- I physically brought [redacted] upstairs to show her the state that the flange was in
- she indicated that some of the plumbing work was done by the previous homeowner.
- I repaired the flange the best I could with a brass repair kit.
- I again told [redacted] that we have to cut open her ceiling and give her a new flange to permanently fix the issue at hand. She again said it wasn't on the top of her priority list.
- I told her it now has to be pushed to #1 or #2 on her priority because I didn't believe the wax seal was going to permanently fix the issue.
- I left the house that day only charging her a set and re-seal charge. Not a repair the flange charge
- Another tech [redacted] and I came back that following Saturday to try and convince her to let us cut her ceiling open to fix the issue of the still leaking toilet.
- She then told us that the toilet was clogged
- we hand augured the toilet as well as plunged it and still couldn't get the toilet to flow smoothly.
- In the process of plunging, we flushed toilet several times and it did get a bit better.
- During the time that we were flushing toilet, [redacted] halted the process by telling us it was leaking badly in the ceiling space.
- Progress stopped as we told her a final time that the ceiling had to be taken down as there were no other options.
- She agreed
- we told her that some stuff had to be moved (plants, kitchen table, pictures and such) before we could start with the remedy
- [redacted] and I went over pricing as I only gave her pricing on a set and re seal.
- when [redacted] gave her a price, she was astounded that we were charging her for in her words 'fixing the same problem that I was supposed to fix in the first place'
- [redacted] stated that I gave her pricing on a set and reseal and not a flange rebuild.
- She agreed on the work and proceeded to reschedule as there was still things in the way. We agreed that on the following Saturday (June 7) that we would come back and fix it as she worked long days during the week.
-We went over other estimates for her hot water tank as well as a new furnace and she was happy with our information from what I could tell
- After confirming that we would send her estimates on the hot water tank and furnace, we told her we would see her on Saturday to fix the problem with her toilet.
[redacted]
[redacted]
[redacted]'s recount of aforementioned incident
I arrived at [redacted]'s around 8 pm [redacted] to see for myself. Upon arriving at [redacted]'s, the first thing she said was "welcome to my home, completely falling apart". Proceeded to the kitchen, observed the area of plastered ceiling damaged by the leak, noting it takes a while to leak through this material.
Moved on to the toilet upstairs, which [redacted] had informed my through an email was 14 years old. While in the bathroom looking over the toilet she stated she wasn't sure how old the toilet was, probably the original. I informed her that toilets do in fact wear out and the jets get clogged with minerals and calcium over time resulting in a lazy flush. The toilet was extremely lazy, old and full of bathroom tissue. [redacted] informed me that he drain cleaned it and plunged it resulting in a slight improvement. The real issue was the broken flange which was more than likely causing the leak. We would know more upon opening the ceiling.
The invoice so far included a toilet reset/ reseal and the standard travel fee, as well as a 10% discount and no charge for the drain cleaning. While in the bathroom with [redacted] I offered her a new toilet at cost, installed while we were already here repairing or replacing the toilet bend in the ceiling which she was booked in for Saturday June 7. She continued on about how we were playing with the toilet for hours and must have broken it in that time, stating it worked for 14 years and how my guys are [redacted]. At that point I had heard enough and proceeded to walk away suggesting she call someone else.
[redacted]
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/06/11) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I am absolutely appalled that [redacted] would come to my home to fix a leak from toilet & not fix it. I had no idea the flange was completely distroyed. What kind of a plumber would remove your toilet see that the flange is distroyed and not replace it.
But instead he replaces the ring that holds the toilet to the floor & the wax ring & leaves behind a distroyed flange.
Who does that ?? Certainly not a professional. Then the Saturday [redacted] & [redacted] came back , they wanted to charge me $600 to replace a flange that should have been done the first time.
[redacted]
[redacted] This toilet has hardly been used. And it has worked fine until these plumbers used it. This toilet is not an original from the house.[redacted]
Being without a toilet that does not work is causing us a lot if anxiety. If they don't want to fix their mistake I will have to take legal action.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2014/06/23) */
Upon reading [redacted]'s [redacted] statement, I, [redacted], Office Manager/Reception /Dispatch for Piper Plumbing would like to clear a few things up. I was the first Piper employee to speak with Ms [redacted] and in our first contact she was friendly and easy going. She informed me that she was [redacted] in need of a plumber to help with her leaky toilet, I proceeded to get a bit more detail from her regarding the exact problem. She stated there was a leak somewhere in her upstairs toilet and the leak had gone as far as to have left a wet spot on her main floor ceiling and the toilet was flushing slow, [redacted] I'm a diligent note taker and have my notes from our first call present to write this statement as accurately as possible. Also the technician who first went to her house made it very clear to me that he fully informed her of everything he did and he did in fact lift the toilet and perform whatever work he was able to at the time without cutting the floor (as per her decision not to go deeper into the issue) and he made sure to explain in detail what he was doing and what problems he saw while taking the toilet off. We also had her booked in for the following Saturday (to accommodate her schedule) to repair/replace the flange. My finishing point, the stop payment check she had originally paid with had a memo reading "fixed toilet" on the bottom, [redacted] Thank you for taking the time to take in my account of the story.