American Residential Services Plumber Big Rip Off! ADDISON Texas
ARS is a big rip off! Don't use them! The water in my hotwater heater was not getting hot so my husband said that it was probably the termostat and called ARS to come out with their "free estimate" quote. Once ASR got to our home the plumber said that it was indeed the thermostat and said that he would fix it for $250.00. My husband told him that it was too much and would call another plumber so the ARS guy said that he would give my husband a discount and charge him $175.00 instead. My husband said he would think about it and give him a call back. Being that my husband is mechnically inclined he called APEX Supply company and asked how much a thermostat would be for a Bradford White water heater... guess what? The thermostat was only $18.00! So he bought it and replaced it himself. I wonder how many other plumbers are major rip offs.
F
TEXAS, Texas
U.S.A.
2 Updates & Rebuttals
Sewerratz
Naperville,Illinois,
U.S.A.
Company's need to make profits
#3Consumer Comment
Sun, August 17, 2008
$175.00 to change a thermostat on a water heater is a very good price. All contractors need to charge a minimum amount to be able to pay for their overhead. My company needs to charge a $60.00 service call and $80.00 per half hour labor, to cover their overhead. I bet if you called a half dozen other plumbers their prices would be with in the same range. (every plumber should base their charges on their overhead not what other contractors charge)
Kara
Indianapolis,Indiana,
U.S.A.
Its a for profit company
#3UPDATE Employee
Fri, August 08, 2008
ARS isn't ripping people off, they are like every other major company out there and charging overhead. You are paying for time and labor combined, otherwise known as flat rate. You COULD be paying someone to sit around fiddling with the water heater for 3 hours, charging $60/hr plus the cost of materials, but ARS charges one lump sum. Yes its expensive, but that's the price you pay when you have a licensed plumber do repairs. In our state its the LAW to use a licensed plumber, so unfortunately the price reflects the workmanship and skills of the company.