Roy's Plumbing, Inc.

Review: I called Roy's Plumbing on a Friday (5/27/16) to unclog a toilet at my rental property. Dispatcher assured me that the job could be completed that day, although it was after 3:00p and they close at 5:00p. I was told that the cost would be between $85 and $125. When the plumber arrived, I informed him to contact me once he completed his inspection. I re-stated that the cost would be $85, was told that with tax the cost would be $90. Instead of calling me, the plumber decided to tell the tenant that he would have to take the toilet off to get to the clog and was leaving. My tenant literally had to run to get to the plumber so that I could speak to him. I informed him that I needed him to complete the job. He advised that it would now cost $165. I approved the increase. After only a few minutes my tenant called to tell me that the plumber had left, stating that he would return the next day (Saturday 5/28/16) to complete the job. From the plumber's actions it was obvious that he was attempting to not work past 5:00p. He got to my home a little after 4:00p and left before 5:00p. I called Roy 's Plumbing's office to make sure that I would not be charged an additional $50 trip charge and also to see what time the plumber would be showing up to complete the job the next day. I was told that I would not be charged an additional trip charge and the total cost of the repair would be charged once the job was completed. I was also told that the owner would have to approve completing the job on the next day because it was a Saturday. I did not receive a call to complete the job, instead I’ve rec'd calls that evening and today (Wednesday, 6/1/16) stating that they were not able to run my credit card for the trip charge. No mention of completing the job. I feel that Roy's Plumbing should have honored their contract to complete the job and not just attempt to collect the trip charge.Desired Settlement: Due to the urgency of having this repair done immediately, I'm not sure if it would be reasonable to have Roy's Plumbing finish the job. Since this would probably be the case, I request no further contact by the company in any form, which includes attempting to collect the trip charge, which was to be added to the total cost of the repair that they did not complete.

Business

Response:

My name is [redacted] and I am the scheduler of jobs for Roy's Plumbing, Inc. I took the work order from this customer who stated that she had a clogged toilet. I told her that a normal price to unclog a toilet was between $85 to $125.00 if we were able to snake out the toilet. I informed her at that time that if we needed to pick up the toilet to unclog it the cost would be more usually ranging from $150 to $175.00 if we have to pick up the toilet and re-secure it to the floor. She said she hoped it would not cost any more because she only had about $125.00 and would need to give me two credit cards to come up with this amount.I had obtained the owner's credit card ahead of time to secure the service charge fee because she informed me she did not live in Milwaukee and would be unable to meet the plumber on site. However, I informed her that we do charge a $50.00 service charge whether or not the job was completed which she agreed with. The $50.00 service charge would be deducted from the $165.00 fee if the owner proceeded with the work within 30 days. We attempted to reach the owner to tell her this but she did not answer her phone afterward.We attempted to run her credit through for the $50 service charge, but the card was declined.

Consumer

Response:

I work in the service business, and I've never seen such unprofessional work. After informing them I have no hot water and them assuring me they'd be out Wednesday morning, we ended up waiting until Friday at 5:02. Roy was the one who introduced himself to me, and he barely speaks passable English. After less than 5 min of half looking at it, he ended up wedging a ball point pen in my gas line to keep it on. With promises of him showing up the next day bright and early to solve the problem, he has yet to return. How is this guy a professional plumber and how does he own a plumbing company in this state?

This is my 2nd negative experience with Roy's Plumbing (shame on me). The first was the installation of two toilets and a sink where the install price went up significantly from the initial estimate. It was a routine job that I could have done myself, but didn't want to deal with. Only after threatening to cancel the job was the original estimate honored. The workmanship was good. I had an emergency and decided to deal with a known evil rather than call someone new. As stated previously, they did good work. I was scheduled for an afternoon appointment. At around 5:00 I called to get an ETA and was basically told that they forgot. Two things that a supposed service provider needs to respect if they want to stay in business - 1) your customer's time and 2) their money. Roy's has no respect for either and will not get a 3rd strike.

Review: Oct 2015 my water heater went out so I called [redacted] and informed them and they informed me that I have a six year warranty and they would be able to cover the water heater. April 1, 2016 the water heater went out again! Serial number MA35512671 and Model number M440T6FBN. I called [redacted] and spoke with [redacted] and she indicated that my warranty expire on Jan 2016 and they wouldn't cover anything on the water heater. I advised [redacted] that was incorrect because when they replaced the water heater in Oct I had a six year warranty; she said that began from 2009. I informed [redacted] that something is wrong with the water heater that they provide and that I was going to contact consumer protection because I cant afford to keep replacing water heater. [redacted] then stated that she would be willing to cover the parts but if the water heater need replaced I would have to pay for it. Roy's Plumbing ###-###-#### came out to look at the water heater and the gentleman informed me that if was rust around the burner and he cleaned it off and my problem is solved. I asked the gentleman how often do I have to clean the burner to avoid rust and according to him he stated that I shouldn't have to do that at all; I might have a bad water heater and to contact [redacted]. The guy from Roy's Plumbing left the next day [redacted] from Roy's Plumbing stated that I owe them $125.00 for the gentleman cleaning off the burner; I advised I have a warranty and I just paid Roy's plumbing $300.00 in Oct 2015 and if I owed $125.00 the gentleman didn't have a work order or anything so I assumed everything was okay and covered. Now Roy's Plumbing is harassing me everyday for $125.00 in which I feel I dont owe.Desired Settlement: I want Roy's Plumbing to be responsible for the $125.00 ; not me!!!!

Business

Response:

Mrs. [redacted]c/o Revdex.com of WisconsinRoy's Plumbing, Inc. has been been serving Milwaukee County and its surrounding areas for over 25 years. We take pride in providing customers with quality service at affordable prices. We value your business and you as a customer. We apologize for the experience you are having with your manufacturer's [redacted], hot water heater. As you stated, in your complaint [redacted] from [redacted] informed you that your hot water heater was not covered under warranty. We informed you that [redacted] provided us with the same information and we advised you prior to sending the plumber, and that you would be responsible for the labor. [redacted] would pay for your parts if any were needed. You agreed to sending out the plumber, and we informed you all payments are due upon completion of the job. We also stated what our service charge and our labor charges, upon your request. Our plumber, did come and complete the job, and he did not request the payment at that time. Not because of what you believed it was free or under warranty, but because he was under the impression that it was covered by another hot water heater company, in which the customers do not pay anything. However, immediately after we discovered he did not collect from you we tried calling you and you never answered and/or returned any of our phone calls. At that point, we called Mr. [redacted], and he would state he was not aware of anything and he would have to speak with you. This went on for several days and/or weeks of follow ups because we were not getting any response from you. We never received questions or concerns about the amount charged, but it was always about the warranty. We mailed you a bill at your husbands requests, and several days later you came into our office to pay the bill.We apologized for our plumber not collecting the payment when he completed, which made the transaction confusing. We are pleased to know that you do have hot water and your hot water heater is working properly. We believe the concerns you have about having to pay and the malfunction of a relatively new hot water heater, should be addressed with manufacturer, and not Roy's Plumbing, Inc. Sincerely,Roy's Plumbing, Inc

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,

I have nothing but positive thing to say about Roy's plumbing. I will used them again.

Our hot water heater broke and we called our regular plumber on an emergency basis. He was already booked on a job but said he would send a colleague and the cost would be $225.00 (we already had a replacement new hot water heater that we purchased ourselves and we just needed it installed). [redacted] (owner) called and said his plumbers were arriving soon. Two employees of Roy's Plumbing showed up shortly after. They ended up breaking two valves on the hot water heating and stated they had to be replaced (the bill now went up by another $90.00). They also had to turn off the water main on the other (finished) side of the basement to continue working. After installation, they opened the main valve again, we paid the bill of $330, and they left. The next afternoon, my husband went down in the basement after work and stepped in a puddle of water. The finished side of the basement was flooded. The water main valve wasn't closed properly and it had dripped a steady stream for almost 24 hours. We had to mop, throw down towels, move items, take items to the dump, and do our best to contain the damage. We immediately stopped payment on our check to Roy's.

Our biggest damage was to a mattress and box spring, as well as 11 formal gowns whose bottoms were soaked. The dry cleaning bill was $380.00 and we had no recourse for the mattress and box spring because we didn't have the receipts from purchasing them...our loss.

[redacted] (owner) called when he was informed payment was stopped and he was angry and wanted us to pay him. My husband explained we had a flooded basement and [redacted] (owner) insisted we should have called him and allowed him to come over and do cleanup. After the way the employees fumbled things up, we didn't want any of them in our house again, doing more damage. There were 3 valves involved in this project, and they broke 2 and failed to close the 3rd. My husband closed it when we discovered it was leaking, and he's not a plumber.

[redacted] (owner) then showed up at our house with a much nicer demeanor and said he would like to see the basement. My husband said I have nothing to hide, and allowed him inside. [redacted] (owner) walked over to the valve and pulled out his wrench and said oh, it's still leaking slightly (we still had a bucket under it and it was a very slow leak that we didn't even know about) and he closed it completely. This was 10 days later, and it's still fine now.

[redacted] (owner) tried to get us to "settle" with him and pay a portion of his bill. My husband told him we had more damage than the amount of the bill, but we were fine with "calling it even" because the amounts were close. The owner shook his hand and left.

A few weeks later, we received solicitations in the mail from a local attorney, indicating we were being sued in small claims court. Sure enough, Roy's Plumbing was suing US! We were not served, so thank God for lawyer solicitations or we would have lost the case by default by not showing up.

Long story short, [redacted] (owner) wasn't qualified to represent the company according to legal guidelines and our case was adjourned to another date. Today we showed up for the new date to produce evidence of our damage, and the owner again didn't bring the required employee or attorney to represent his company so we couldn't proceed. The judge said he had the option of adjourning (last time), dismissing his case (with the option to refile later), or settling. I offered $100 just to avoid having to come back again but I do not feel this was a fair settlement, since my dry cleaning was $380 and with the additional $100 settlement, I now paid $480 to install a hot water heater that was supposed to cost $225 to install. Not to mention the other damaged items that I could not recover for.

I asked the owner why he wasn't filing a claim with his insurance company for the damage he caused, and he mumbled something about having a lot of jobs, so I suspect he may not have insurance. Regardless, his repeated defense was "I am a master plumber" so it seems he feels he shouldn't be responsible for damage caused by his employees since he is a master plumber, although he didn't do the work and wasn't even there that day. Even doctors and lawyers are responsible for damage they cause ... why wouldn't a master plumber and business owner?

Oh well, I'm glad to have it over with now, case dismissed, lesson learned. I would never use Roy's Plumbing again, although we didn't call him in the first place (and we wouldn't have hired him, after seeing some negative reviews on the internet).