Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/18/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date 02/17/2025 Invoice was never viewed -according to Varsity Home Service they will e-mail the bill after the service of toliet tank was done -Fill valve was replaced .Once the bill was e-mailed there was no information of what each parts and labor- costed us just total and tax Something didn't feel right when the technician said Labor was $600. per hour Job was done in less than ***** min.He arrived at 10:30 and left approx. 10:45 when he finished .We have video to prove this Office refused to provide detail of what we asked for a break down of the parts and labor-we called 3x **** will not comply our request This is unethical of a business to do this towards senior citizens.Futhermore when Called to make the appointment it was Sayville Plumbers who dispatched us that the company would reach out to confirm the time they would arrived never mentioned the HOURLY COST OF THE TECHNICIAN of $600. per hour plumbling ????? Our medical ** doesn't even get that amount per hour .Thank you for helping us

  Business Response

  Date: 02/19/2025

  As a trusted local business of more than 60 years, Varsity takes claims like this very seriously and has completed a thorough investigation into this matter. Our investigation concluded that the claims made by this customer are invalid, and this complaint is a retaliatory action due to buyer's remorse. 
  
  
  Varsity visited this home in response to the customer's request regarding issues with a constantly running toilet and faulty toilet handle. We provided same-day service and sent an experienced plumber with a fully stocked truck ready to help restore functionality. GPS records show that our technician arrived at the home at 10:11 AM and conducted a full evaluation. He then discussed his findings and recommended solutions with the customer and provided pricing for each of those options, which included our standard 5% Senior Citizen Discount. The customer chose the solution they wanted to proceed forward with, and our technician prepared the invoice before any work was conducted. The customer provided their signature to authorize the work for the agreed upon price, and then provided a second signature to authorize the payment. This invoice with the customer's signature is attached here, and it clearly shows that the customer was well aware of the pricing in advance of the work being done.  After the paperwork was completed, our technician conducted the repair, tested it three times to assure the problem was resolved, and notated "Customer was happy with the work". He left the home at 10:52 AM. Our GPS records thus prove that the customer's claims of the arrival and departure time are inaccurate, and that the alleged labor rates are inaccurate. 
  
  
  As context, Varsity does not charge an hourly labor rate. Our pricing model is flat-rate because we do not believe it is fair for our customers to feel the pressure of a ticking clock or to have the cost of a project vary from person to person due to the difference in the speed at which individual technicians may perform the work, or due to one home's systems being more complex than another's. Once our technicians are in a customer's home, they are dedicated to being there for as long as it takes to complete the job satisfactorily and to serve as a resource for any and all questions or concerns pertaining to that home's plumbing, heating and cooling systems. Our pricing is structured to provide value through offering high-quality professionals who undergo ongoing training programs and are backed by licenses and insurance - all to ensure jobs are done the right way in a safe and code-compliant manner while protecting a customer's home. This is also why it is our policy to provide upfront pricing requiring homeowner approval prior to performing any work to ensure there are no surprises. 
  
  
  We understand that businesses and customers will not always agree on pricing based upon how important this type of value is to them, but we can assure you that we would not be in business for more than six decades if we had an intent to rob people as the customer claimed. The price was completely fair for the services performed, and the customer agreed to that in writing. Unfortunately, Varsity was not given the opportunity to rectify the customer's issue as claimed. Our phone records indicate that the customer called only one time for our Customer ********************** Supervisor ****, and we have attached the call recording to this response. The customer did not give **** an opportunity to rectify the issue as they would not stop screaming. Because this verbal abuse was inappropriate behavior, **** decided it was necessary to escalate the call to our General Manager, ****. **** immediately called the customer and left a voicemail that we have also attached to this response. To our knowledge, the customer never returned ****** call. 
  
  
  Additionally, Varsity Home Service has no affiliation with *****************. We are unaware of, and not responsible for, anything that transpired between this customer and any other company. 
  
  
  This customer is unfairly demanding a full refund for a service that was performed in good faith with the customer's full knowledge, participation, and authorization. This complaint is a retaliatory action due to buyer's remorse. We regret that we were not able to come to a mutual understanding with the customer and sincerely wish them all the best.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/21/2025

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  [Your Answer Here]Please be advise the ** **** did not read our request properly .We never asked for a refund.We contacted the office to submit a DETAIL BREAK DOWN OF PARTS CHARGED AND LABOR THUS TOTALING THE AMOUNT >WE LIKED TO SEE  BOTH ITEMS COMPLETE AND NOT JUST THE the total  amount .**** claims that their company don't provide a breakdown of the bill  and hung up when asked to speak to the manager. 

  Once again We are only asking for an itemized bill *** there a resaon they are evading to provide us one??? Read the request no where did we ever ask for a refund how shameful of a 60 years business to not read properly our request .We are confiident that *** **** will see this clearly thank -you ****** *************************** ************** *** *** ******* 

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

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

  Business Response

  Date: 02/28/2025

  Please rest assured that all matters related to this situation have been examined by our leadership team in their entirety. All evidence supports the conclusion that the company acted reasonably and fairly. No representatives of the company have made any attempt to withhold information as this complaint falsely alleges. As previously explained in great detail, our company-wide pricing model is flat rate, which means we do not bill based on any breakdown of labor or materials. As such, we are unable to provide this type of information to any customer, for any job. This customer continues to demand information that is simply not available. Further, the supporting invoice documentation previously submitted by the company clearly showed that the customer was in full understanding of this flat rate pricing model without any labor or materials breakdown as they provided their signature acknowledging all pricing details before the service had been performed.

  
  Upon trying to explain this to the customer on the phone, they became verbally abusive to our employee. Because we take the mental health of our employees very seriously, we train our staff to have the discretion to end a phone call if any caller becomes aggressive, threatening, or exhibits any other inappropriate behavior. As the call recording submitted by the company makes clear, that is what happened in this situation. Our Customer ********************** Manager was attempting to assist the customer, but ultimately needed to end the call because the customer would not lower her voice. The company also provided documentation showing that our General Manager personally called the customer back as soon as possible after that hangup to help the customer as well. That is not the behavior of a company that attempted to evade, as this customer unfairly claimed.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/02/2024

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Work was sold to an unathorized person. My mother was on site to show the technicain the product to be quoted for servce. They proceeded to pressure and scare her into spending $5400. She signed a document from them. This documents explicetly states " i represent that i am either the owner of the property or the owners agenet, and have authority to oder said work". My mother is not the owner of my house, she is not on the deed and i did not authorize her as an agent. the apointment for an estimate was made by me, and i was contacted by this company to confirm as shown in my document attached. when they arrived i was at work, and they changed the account to be under my mothers name

  Business Response

  Date: 07/08/2024

  After investigating this complaint, we have concluded that the company acted reasonably and fairly in this situation. Multiple facts stated in the complaint are inaccurate. In the complaint, ********************* claims to have made the appointment personally and claims that the account was changed to be under his mothers name (*********************) after the technician arrived at the home. This is false. Our phone call recording history identified that the appointment was made by ********************* directly on June 24th, 2024. During this phone call, she represented that she just moved into a new place and would like to have her hot water heater looked at. Our Customer ********************** Agent pulled up the address in our system and noted that we have previous contact information under the name of ********************* from an unrelated appointment for a completely different system. ***** noted ***** is her son and requested that her own contact information be put on the account because the equipment for which she was making the appointment was her own water heater system. As standard practice, our Customer ********************** Agent left ****** contact information on the account and also added ****** per her request. This disputes ****** complaint claim that the account was changed later. It is common to have multiple points of contact on any customer account, and it is standard practice to contact everyone on file for appointment notifications. Thus both ***** and ***** would receive communications since they were both on the account. For this particular appointment, ***** made it clear that she was responsible for the work relating to the water heater both on the phone and on-site. ***** chose the appointment date and time per her own schedule availability. When our technician arrived at the home, ***** greeted the technician and welcomed him to conduct a diagnosis and then present recommendations. ***** considered the recommendations, told the technician verbally she was authorized to approve the work she had decided on, and signed paperwork that states she is authorized to approve that work. She also paid for the services with her own credit card. Under these very normal circumstances of a customer signing documents representing authorization and paying for the services personally, the company has done reasonable due diligence and would not be expected to go to extreme measures, such as pulling the deed of a home to determine if all occupants are listed as homeowners. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/08/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# ********, and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

  All of their statements from varsity are false. Again my mother did not make this apointment, the account was under my name,  and she has no legal standing in this property. I have phone records and emails that proove i was the point of contact. Varsity should be responsible for ensuring they are dealing with the home owner and not any person that opens the door. As a business they should not be engaging in commerce with any person that does not have legal standing in the property they are servicing. Again my Mother lives in my house and she has no right to make any purchases in this home. Additionally this company has multiple compaints of a similar nature and has consistenly participated in price gouging. Please review their Yelp reviews for a true synopsis of their conduct. I have documentation from my home inspection and qualified witnesses I can provide that will attest to my statement that this heater had no issues and was not in need of any of the repairs sold. This company provided false claims and fear to convince my mother to purchase repairs under false pretenses and should be stripped of their BBB status. Other consumers should not be lead to believe they are dealing with an honest and respecatble BBB orginaization. I have also filed compaints with the ** Attorney General and Suffolk ***************** of ****** The company has made it clear they will not refund my mothers money, so i want to atleast make sure no other senior citizens fall victim to their predatory business practices.

  Additionally 

   

   

   

   

  In order for the BBB to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

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