ComplaintsforJohn The Plumber

• Initial Complaint

  29/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On May 12/23 I called John the Plumber for a possible clogged toilet. They sent a plumber that day. I was told that he would try augering and that would cost $250. If that didn't work, he would have to bring the commercial auger which would cost $650. I said ok. He didn't do an inspection of anything before he started to auger. He tried for an hour with no luck. He then told me he would be back the next day with the more expensive option. He augeed for 3 hours the next day and still couldn't clear the clog. He called his boss a couple of times. The boss told him to give up, I guess because he packed up his stuff. Before he left he told me they might have to rip up my front lawn at a cost of $15000. It finally occurred to him just before he left to inspect the pipe he was trying to clear. My house is a century home with some cast pipe. He finally realized that one part of that pipe had crumbled and was clogged at that part. A competent plumber would have done his due diligence before resorting to expensive options that weren't going to work. The next day I got an invoice for $791. When I emailed them to inquire about this, I was ignored. They then sent me a quote to replace 40' of pipe for $4800. I had two more plumbers give me a quote. I ended up paying only $783 for the replacement of the crumbled cast and the pipe that was clogged. Not the 40' they claimed needed replacing. The pipe that was replaced wasn't anywhere near 40'. I sent them an email to tell them what had happened. I was called immediately by *******, the office manager, who proceeded to give me excuses as to why competence and due diligence isn't part of their plumbers job. She told me that she had to speak to ***** ******, the plumber that was here and would call me back the next day. That was two weeks ago. I gave them an opportunity to make it right a couple of times since and they've ignored me.

  

  Business response

  10/07/2023

  As discussed, the plumber went out to clear a clogged toilet, the issue that was presented to the plumber.  He did discuss the pricing with the client as to what it would cost to do the work.  After many hours of work, it was determined that the client had more than just a  clogged toilet.  The diagnosis was made based on the expertise of the licensed plumber would had dealt with this issue before.  The client asked why the plumber took so long to determine that perhaps the issue was in the basement.  I advised the client that she presented a clogged toilet, and we attempted to clear that.

  Our plumber presented a no obligation quote to repair the issue based on his diagnosis, from what he saw.  The client's complaint about the issue not being resolved came in over a month after the work had been completed by our plumber, and she stated the toilet had never been cleared, nor usable since our plumber was there.  I did ask the plumber to contact the client to discuss the issue, as he is the expert.

  Customer response

  10/07/2023

  
  Complaint: 20256078
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  

  Their claim that I waited a month is untrue. I had been in contact with them a week or two later through their website and on the phone, after I had other companies come take a look and give me a quote. They have ignored me since the initial contact. I have the emails to prove it.

  *****, the plumber they sent, also didn't secure the toilet on one side and it has been leaking under the flooring. Videos attached. Now, I have to pay someone else fix it. He also sprayed gray water all over the bathroom.
  I maintain that competence, due diligence and good business practices are sorely lacking.
  Here's a link to all the bad reviews on ****

  *********************************************

  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ****

  

  Business response

  03/08/2023

  We would be willing to discuss a partial refund based on the improper reinstallation of the toilet.

  Customer response

  04/08/2023

  
  Complaint: 20256078
  
  I am rejecting the complaint because;

  **** ****** issued a full refund of $791 to my credit card yesterday after weeks of me trying to resolve this. 
  
  He refused to pay the $284 for the toilet to be reattached by another company as it was left by their plumber just sitting on the floor. It had been leaking under the flooring for weeks. 
  

  The company took the refund back today and is now trying to offer me a partial refund based on the toilet not being attached after **** telling me that wasn't their responsibility, it was the responsibility of the company that did the pipe replacement. I'm currently discussing my options with my credit card company. 

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ****

  Customer response

  04/08/2023

  
  ****** ******** *******
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 20256078, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ****

• Initial Complaint

  01/09/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired John the Plumber to repair a leak in in the foundation seal of my sump pump discharge line. **** came out and told me he would be able to fix the problem, my realtor was also here and mentioned that it would be a good idea to buy blue seal to add on the flundation wall once **** was finished, to go above and beyond his work. I booked him for the job and he came out on 30 Aug 22. When he arrived he told me he was only replacing the line and that I would have to seal the foundation wall when he was finished. He cut out the old line (which was working fine) and added a new line. (Also at this time, cutting through my heat line that prevents my line from freezing). He then told me to use what I bought to seal the hole in the foundation wall. What I bought is not designed to seal the hole, it's designed to add a thin layer of water proofing on the wall after the hole is sealed. He then helped me tarp the area off as it was starting to rain. It's rained for two days and I've had water draining into my house ever since. I've called their office and they said they do not seal foundation walls and they were only hired to replace the discharge line. A month earlier, a different plumber from John the Plumber was here inspecting the sub pump, and said the line was not cracked. When I had **** come out to give me an estimate, he did not say he would not seal the foundation. I assumed that he needed to replace the line in order to reseal the wall. I have called foundation repair specialists, who have told me that it's crazy they did this and they wont take on the job because they dont want to be tied to their work. John the plumber is refusing to finish the job and I still have a hole in my foundation. This company advertises sump pump installation on their website and guarantee their work...I don't understand how you install a sump pump and not seal it.

  

  Business response

  22/09/2022

  We are working directly with the client in question to resolve their issue.

  Customer response

  26/09/2022

  
  Complaint: 17813093
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  This company has refused to complete the job and habe given me a numbe of excuses as to why they are unable to finish the job they quoted and guaranteed they could do. I have contacted a number of other plumbing companies and foundation experts who have all stated it is the plumbers responsibility so seal the foundation wall. 

  Due to the weather I have had to go out of pocket and complete the work myself to avoid my house flooding further. I no longer require them to complete this job. 

   

  However, I will be submitting a supplemental complaint, as while they were working on my original work order they damaged my sump pump system and have refused to correct the problem properly. They have found a cheap solution, vice correcting the damaged line as they guaranteed they would. They have verbally acknowledged they are using a cheap solution due to the cost to correct properly. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *****

  

  Business response

  24/10/2022

  To this very day our management has been in contact with Mr. ***** to attempt to resolve his issue.  We are still working with him to have this resolved. 

  Customer response

  24/10/2022

  
  Complaint: 17813093
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  There response is a complete lie.

  I have not been in or received contact from John the Plumber since 27 Sep 22 when I was told by **** ****** that they were satisfied with the work they completed and that nothing else would be done. I informed him and sent him multiple photos and videos that water was still leaking into my home through the broken cable and he disregarded the issue. He stated that their electrician confirmed everything was working at the time of install. 

  I contacted him on 24 Oct 22 and left a voice mail stating that my circuit breaker has been tripping when I turn on my heat trace cable and now have proof that it was not repaired properly. I am now in fear that my house will flood this winter due to my broken heat trace cable or that my house will catch fire due to the faulty electrical work. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** *****

  

  Business response

  09/11/2022

  The ****** *****e situation is unique.  As much as ****** claims that we have not been in touch with him, he has communicated with **** most recently through emails.  When John the Plumber went to his home to complete the work we encountered the heat trace cable that was inside the pipe, and not outside the pipe as it should have been.  It was completely accidental that the heat trace cable was cut, and our plumber notified the office immediately.  I first spoke with ****** regarding the situation as there was much dispute over what was to be done by our company and by what Mr. *****e was responsible for.  I advised Mr. *****e that we would look into a solution to repair the heat trace cable.
  We hired an electrician to complete the work.  While the electrician, our plumber and our apprentice were there, Mr. *****e was less than pleasant (to remain impartial as I was not there, I will not delve any further).  At this stage, the owners of the company are involved and are dealing with the situation.
  We have acted in good faith with Mr. *****e, but I believe his expectations of what needs to be done are outside of what we are responsible for.  At this stage as well, I am no longer involved in working with ****** *****e, and there may be updates that I am not privy to.
  

  
  

  Customer response

  10/11/2022

  
  Complaint: 17813093
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  I only just finally received a responce via email from **** ****** on 7 Nov 22. This is the first contact I had from anyone at John the Plumber since September. I believe i only received this email due to the fact i called **** several times over two weeks and contacted the front office to always be told he was in a meeting and would call me back (which never happened). This email was not anything other then telling me a series of inaccurate information relayed from their plumber that worked on my system. The email brought forward new lies they were told by their plumber, such as my father being present during the initial quote, which is not true and now shows the plumber really did provide them a series of inaccurate information to cover the fact he was in the wrong and accepted a job that was out of his depth.

  I was pleasant during the site visit with the electrician and simply expressed my concerns and unsatisfaction that the work was not being done as I was promised. You can imagine my shock when I saw the cable was being repaired by someone that had never repaired such a cable (verbally stated he had never this before) and was using an instruction manual and making up ideas as he went along. If I had not been there, the initial fix would have created a blockage in my discharge line and luckily I was able to convince them to change their installation. My behavior was pleasant and positive. I even encouraged the workers against spending extra time moving rocks and smoothing my yard after the hole was back filled and told them not to worry about it as the weather was cold and they'd been outside long enough.

  I was initially promised by **** ****** that they would be replacing the cable and was asked a number of times for the distance needed. Once they did their research, they discovered the repair was too costly for them and they found a solution that was cheaper. **** literally said over the phone they were trying to save ask much money as they could and they were happy with their solution. Even though I'd informed him it was not a proper solution as I still had water entering my house and risking fire damage due to water being in my electrical outlet from the severed cable.

   

  John the Plumber has not acted in good faith, that statementis laughable. They have ignored my phone calls and voice messages, they have disregarded my concerns for my family's safety. I expressed my concerns several times and was told they needed to save money and they would not be doing anything else further to resolve the issue. They have used excuses and continue to blame my system for how it was installed 20 years ago instead of solving the issue they caused. I sent them video confirmation of the water entering my electeical system as requested and it was ignored and I was told they were moving on. Telling a customer good luck and hanging up the phone is not acting in good faith. 

  I completely understand that severing the cable was an accident. I've made that clear several times. I have only ever asked for the repair to be done properly so that my house doesnt flood during the winter and that my house doesnt catch fire. A company trying to save a couple thousand dollars while putting a family and their home at risk is not a company that should be in business. This is such a simple solution and its extremely unprofessional this has gone on so long. 

   

  I am now being cast in a negative light by this company in their reaponses to help convince readers of this saga that I am the issue. That's also laughable. Please John the Plumber, just fix the issue so that I can feel safe in my home. 
  
  ****** ***** (No e on my last name) 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩