ComplaintsforMillard Sprinkler, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  07/22/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have been a customer with Millard Sprinkler over 8 years. They installed a new system & have always done winterization and Spring turn on. On July 15, 2021 technicians came out to turn on & I paid $*** for the services that day. On Sunday I woke up to 3 sprinklers just running & had been for hours. The only thing that would stop the water was turning off the source. I went down to the basement and found that there was a faint drip from the pipe that had been going since they turned on the system until I found it on Sunday. The floor was soaked & wood soaked After complaining, they said the pipe was corroded and it could have happened from the time they turned on the water on Friday to Sunday but that's a plumbing issue and they aren't responsible for it. Never in the 7 years or on the date of service was I told pipe is bad & tech said nothing. As soon as water turned on it dripped so technicians failed to advise & never said why I had 3 heads running for hours

  Business response

  09/03/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/08/02) */ Regarding case ********* Millard Sprinkler performed a system activation per customer's request on 7-9-21. It is not uncommon for some components on systems to drip for a very short time during initial activation as water is reintroduced to the system. Should this occur while the Technician is still on the property Homeowners are notified and buckets or an alternate catch basin provided by the Homeowner is put under any dripping component. In this case there was not an immediate drip. Nor was one detected prior to the Technician leaving the property. At the time of this activation appointment a faulty valve was diagnosed outside in the valve box and replaced. Millard Sprinkler returned to the residence on July 14th to check a zone in the back yard that would not stop running. The Customer had turned off the water to the system to prevent the zone from running. The Homeowner was not present for this appointment, her son was there and provided access to the Technician. A video call was made to the Homeowner to be sure we were working on the problem being experienced. The Homeowner also mentioned a "slight drip" from the drain in the basement. Millard Sprinkler cannot work on plumbing inside the home as this work requires a licensed plumber. There was no water beneath the drain at the time of this appointment and a towel that was sitting on the shelf was picked up and found to be dry. As a prevention, a bucket supplied by the son of the Homeowner was placed under the reported leaking drain by the Technician and the son was informed to let his mother know she needed to call a plumber if that drain was leaking. Again, by code, Millard Sprinkler cannot repair indoor plumbing. The valve that had been replaced outside needed to be tightened allowing it to properly seat resulting in the zone running properly. This appointment was warrantied and there was no charge to the customer. There was no water dripping from the drain while our Technician was on the property and the bucket was left under the drain should a leak develop. On July 16th Millard Sprinkler returned to the residence to check water damage from a leaking drain valve in the basement. At that time there was no drip coming from the drain. In summary, at no time while a Millard Sprinkler Technician was on property was a leaking drain witnessed. A bucket was placed under the drain and the notification given to call a plumber if it began to leak as the work would require a licensed plumber. Respectfully, Bill ****** Chief of Staff Millard Sprinkler Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/08/10) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) All this information is the first I've heard. When I called Millard Sprinkler back to find out 'why' sprinklers would not shut off, etc was advised there was no notes about the visit - NOW - suddenly after I file a complaint they provide a long elaborate explanation but take no ownership or acknowledgment that the person I spoke to said "the pipe could have experienced corrosion sometime between Friday & Sunday". Also want to clarify I talked to Technician when he came back - it was not just my son I spoke to him directly. I also requested when he was done to give me a call and let me know what was the problem I heard nothing never got a call or provided any information on what the problem was. THIS after the fact explanation is questionable at best. There is NO way the light drip I saw on Sunday could not have filled up the pot in just a few hours - the drip was so faint, it was dripping for days to get to the point whereby I found it. No technician came back into my home after they did the initial turn-on to verify no leaking - that's a LIE! Millard Sprinkler bears some responsibility for their part in this. Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2021/08/23) */ Our apologies to the customer, when she called back following the original July 9th turn on appointment Millard Sprinkler would not have been in possession of records regarding the zone running continuously. We learned of this condition at the time of the second call. The zone was not continuously running upon completion of the turn on appointment 7-9-21. This problem developed sometime between July 9th and July 14th. It is common for water pipes to experience calcification (not corrosion) over the course of time. This calcification does not develop in days, it is a gradual process caused by hard water. We are in agreement that our technician did speak with the homeowner via video call prior to work on the 14th. It was the customers son who allowed admittance into the home and to the water source that day. There was no water dripping at the time of the appointment, and the technician checked that the drain valve was closed tightly by hand. We are not plumbers and are not allowed to do plumbing work inside a home. When interior plumbing work is required, our customers are advised to call their plumber or given a referral if needed. Our technician did inform the customers son of the need to call a plumber should the drip reappear but did not call the customer back immediately as there was no drip present and no need for a plumber. When called to check a drip and water damage on July 16th, again we found no water dripping from the drain valve. We are unclear as to what responsibility we bear in this situation.

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