ComplaintsforNational Economy Plumbers, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  11/01/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I requested National economy Plumbers, through the BBB website, send a plumber to repair my pedestal sink. On Friday October 29, 2021 the plumber arrived. During the first two hours, the plumber tried twice to tell me the sink was fixed. The sink was obviously not repaired. The plumber had never repaired a pedestal sink. He then called another plumber who came out and instructed him on the repair. The repair was complete in an hour. They were here 4 hours. I was billed for 3 hours of labor. It does not seem I should be responsible for the first two hours of labor, as the plumber did not know how to repair the sink until he was trained by another plumber. I respectfully request a refund for 2 hours of labor (approximately $348). Thanks, ***** ****

  

  Business response

  01/12/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2021/11/18) */ Contact Name and Title: **** ****** /Marketing Ma Contact Phone: XXXXXXXXXX Contact Email: ****@nepmem.com We appreciate our customer's feedback, as it is always welcome and valuable to our team. We take matters such as unsatisfied customer concerns very seriously. As per the customer, "others" installed a new lavatory faucet and attempted to right this pedestal basin to no avail. The pedestal for the basin sits on a fabricated wooden box also built by "others". This wooden box is not level to the floor and by design it's too small for the large pedestal basin. Our plumber disconnected the pedestal basin from the wall, removed the bracket, realigned the bracket and drilled the holes for the correct anchors. After we reset the pedestal basin the customer stated that she wanted the fixture to be sturdy enough to support her elderly mothers' weight where she can pull up on the fixture. Before sealing and reconnecting the plumbing, the technician called a senior technician out to check assess the situation. The senior technician advised the technician that if the customer does not want to remove the wooden box that it will not sit level without shimming etc. However, the pedestal basin cannot be used in the manner requested. It is not designed (with or without the wooden box) to support weight. A different style of basin and or safety grab bars would be required. We offered our services to furnish and install ADA grab bars and the customer declined. The technician was on the job for four hours and reduced the charges to only three hours. This was the best discount we could offer considering all circumstances. Consumer Response /* (3000, 9, 2021/11/20) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The opportunity to engage in a dialogue is appreciated. Please allow me to clarify: 1) As per the customer, "others" installed a new lavatory faucet and attempted to right this pedestal basin to no avail. This is correct 2) The pedestal for the basin sits on a fabricated wooden box also built by "others". This wooden box is not level to the floor and by design it's too small for the large pedestal basin. This is partially correct. The pedestal does sit on a wooden box. The box has functioned perfectly for about 20 years (since it was installed). If the box has become somewhat out of level in that time, consider that the home is 101 years old. Much in this home is not perfectly level. 3) Our plumber disconnected the pedestal basin from the wall, removed the bracket, realigned the bracket and drilled the holes for the correct anchors. Possibly partially true. New holes were drilled, but I am not sure it was required, as the since was not fixed after this was done, and easily tilted by placing one hand on the sink. 4) After we reset the pedestal basin the customer stated that she wanted the fixture to be sturdy enough to support her elderly mothers' weight where she can pull up on the fixture. This was NOT stated. When the plumber showed this to me as "finished" work, I placed my hand on the sink and the entire basin immediately moved significantly. I explained this was not safe. This sink has been rock solid for about 20 years (when I had it installed). I have no expectation of a sink to support the weight of an adult or pull up on the sink, but it should not be easily moved with one hand. This is dangerous. 5) Before sealing and reconnecting the plumbing, the technician called a senior technician out to check assess the situation. The plumber did not know how to repair the sink. He had never repaired a pedestal sink. There was a one hour delay while he called an experienced technician and we waited for him to arrive. This was why I was not charged for the 4th hour of labor. I cannot imagine why a plumber with zero experience with a pedestal sink was sent to repair my pedestal sink when I was very clear that a pedestal sink needed repair. 6) The senior technician advised the technician that if the customer does not want to remove the wooden box that it will not sit level without shimming etc. There was NO discussion of removing the wooden box. That was never presented as a suggested remedy. 7) However, the pedestal basin cannot be used in the manner requested. It is not designed (with or without the wooden box) to support weight. A different style of basin and or safety grab bars would be required. We offered our services to furnish and install ADA grab bars and the customer declined. There was NO discussion of installing grab bars. Again, the sink has been rock solid for about 20 years, so it is adequate for the job. 8) The technician was on the job for four hours and reduced the charges to only three hours. This was the best discount we could offer considering all circumstances. This was NOT a discount. It was the time waiting for the experienced technician to arrive. Although this issue is not resolved, I look forward to this dialogue leading to a resolution. I respectfully request a refund for 2 hours of labor (approximately $348).

• Initial Complaint

  07/28/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  July 13th 2021 I paid National Economy Plumbing $1,226 to clear a sanitary sewer line at my apartment complex. They were unsuccessful in clearing the line. July 24th 2021, one of my tenants send me an image of waste coming up from their toilet. They did not clear the sewer line. National Plumbing returned back to the property after I sent their employee (*******) an image of the waste coming up from their toilet. It's July 27th 2021 and their sewer machine cable has been STUCK in the apartment sewage drain going in 4 days now. I have photos, tenant testimonials and camera footage of it still in there as of today. It is now causing problems with surrounding units that we're not experiencing problems before. I may have to take civil action against this company. I have not heard anything from them since.

  

  Business response

  09/14/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2021/08/27) */ Consumer's Original Complaint: July 13th, 2021 I paid National Economy Plumbing $1,226 to clear a sanitary sewer line at my apartment complex. They were unsuccessful in clearing the line. July 24th, 2021, one of my tenants sent me an image of waste coming up from their toilet. They did not clear the sewer line. National Plumbing returned back to the property after I sent their employee (*******) an image of the waste coming up from their toilet. It's July 27th, 2021 and their sewer machine cable has been STUCK in the apartment sewage drain going in 4 days now. I have photos, tenant testimonials and camera footage of it still in there as of today. It is now causing problems with surrounding units that we're not experiencing problems before. I may have to take civil action against this company. I have not heard anything from them since. Consumer's Desired Resolution: Finish the job; Repair; Contact by the business We appreciate our customers' feedback, as it is valuable to our team. We take matters such as unsatisfied customer concerns seriously and we would love the opportunity to resolve Mr. ******'s issue. However, we have provided Mr ****** a verbal description and the opportunity to repair his defective drain on a time and material basis to be as fair and transparent as possible to correct the sanitary sewer drain. The customer has refused to authorize the necessary repairs needed. July 9, 2021: We answered a service call for a stopped-up sewer with sewage backing up into the apartments. We attempted to clear the main sewer pipe with a cable with a head and then a high power jetter but could not get past 60'-75'. It was agreed upon that we stop work and return during regular business hours to continue to clear the sewer pipe. July 12, 2021: We returned to the job and used camera equipment for a visual inspection of the pipe and stoppage. The camera hit a complete stoppage at 95' and could not go any further. We located another clean out under a stairwell and began working with the sewer cable heading backwards toward the building and the cable stopped at 20'. He removed the cable head and began cabling again. We were able to clear the drain of baby wipes, sanitary wipes and various other sanitary items. He tested his work by flushing the toilets and running water in the apartments where sewage had backed up. Everything tested good and was draining at that time. This job was billed at $1,226.00 and paid by Mr. ****** on July 13. July 24, 2021: We answered an after-hours service call for the sewer backing up into some of the apartments. Please note: this new service call has absolutely nothing to do with the service performed on July 12, 2021. We reported that the cable with the head could not get through the pipe. We removed the cable head and attempted to clear the sewer with the cable. The cable itself became jammed and would not reverse back into the drum. Once again, we were asked to stop working and return during regular hours to finish to avoid after hour charges. July 26, 2021: We returned to retrieve the cable and attempt to clear the sewer and the cable broke inside the sewer pipe. It is also noted that we were on site in the sixth month of 2020 and cleared this sewer line of cloth towels, sanitary wipes, and a broken cable left by others. We also cleared this sewer line in January of 2021 of sanitary napkins and wipes. Each time we cleared the line and most recently when we had to remove the head of the cable to get through the line, we were met on site by the property maintenance, and it was explained that this drain is defective, damaged and in need of repair. This information was relayed to Mr. ******. Lastly, out of courtesy we contracted a third party to attempt to clear the defective sewer with a commercial jetting machine which cleared part of the system but would not clear what is determined to be a broke down line in need of repair. The offer to Mr. ****** to repair the sewer line was rejected with the accusation that we only wanted to retrieve our broken cable.

• Initial Complaint

  07/23/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Professional plumbers scammed us, knowing that they couldn't guess where a water leak was. The plumber misled me into believing he was in the right area to drill a big hole in the foundation. Cutting the floor base of the wall, cutting my carpet, digging up wet dirt, and didn't find the water leak. The plumbers pretended to work at finding the water leak for 3.5 hours. Finally admitting that he couldn't reach the leak, and still charged me 729.00. I'm left with a big hole in my concrete foundation, wall base, and carpet damages. We were was scammed by professional plumbers, and we want to be reimbursed. Please help us, and we still have the water leak.

  

  Business response

  09/13/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2021/08/25) */ Consumer's Original Complaint: Professional plumbers scammed us, knowing that they couldn't guess where a water leak was. The plumber misled me into believing he was in the right area to drill a big hole in the foundation. Cutting the floor base of the wall, cutting my carpet, digging up wet dirt, and didn't find the water leak. The plumbers pretended to work at finding the water leak for 3.5 hours. Finally admitting that he couldn't reach the leak, and still charged me 729.00. I'm left with a big hole in my concrete foundation, wall base, and carpet damages. We were scammed by professional plumbers, and we want to be reimbursed. Please help us, and we still have the water leak. Consumer's Desired Resolution: Refund First and foremost, we apologize for your negative experience with our firm. For over eighty years we have prided ourselves in providing our customers with reliable service at affordable rates and ensuring that we are honest and transparent. For this reason, our rates and costs are provided to our customers in advance allowing the customer to accept or decline our services. In this case the customer accepted our charges before the work commenced. Lastly, with the understanding that the leak was below the concrete slab foundation, we specifically recommended to the customer multiple times that a leak detection company should be hired to locate the leak. In an attempt to save time and money, the customer refused the recommendation and insisted for us to start exposing the area which the customer had marked.

*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. ↩