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Dattile & Sons Plumbing TAKES ADVANTAGE OF PEOPLE IN THEIR TIME OF NEED ~ Coral Springs Florida
DO NOT USE !!!
Clearly these people are SERIOUS PRICE GOUGERS, and do not care in the least about the customer.
We discovered a soggy carpet on 4/9/13. We looked up "leak detection", and Dattile and Sons showed up. They were a husband and wife team. We were told the cost to come out and determine the problem, would be $29. Keith Dattile stated that if he had to open the wall, it would now be $250.00. He rammed his saw into the drywall and cut out a square, and found the wet pipe underneath. He then said, in order for him to repair the pipe and stop the leak, it would now be $850. We, did not know the hourly rate for plumbers (and have since found out it is $65-$120/hr.), and happy to get the leak stopped, said Okay. Keith then cut off the four inches of pipe, that seemed to have started leaking, given it's age, and old techniques that were used at that time. He then welded a new copper elbow back in place. Start to finish, all of this took place in approximately thirty minutes.
Having now shown all this to another licensed plumber, a repair handyman (drywall, paint, plumbing and electrical), our Citizen's insurance adjuster, and our private adjuster, they all concurred that upon seeing the receipt from Dattile, the money charged was unconscionable. The job should have been considerably under $200 total, in all of their opinions.
We began contacting Keith Dattile and Christina, his wife, and requested some sort of refund, in light of all that was being revealed. She argued that "we agreed to" the price and that we were "paying for his expertise". She said she would call back, and she never did. My husband called twice on Monday, May 6th, and left two messages for Keith to call back. He never did. My husband called back again on 5/7/13, and spoke with Christina, and she offered to give us back $50. We refused such a meager offer.
the first LICENSED plumber that came to the residence, could not detect where the leak was coming from. I have a proposal from them (after the fact) stating that to OPEN THE WALL, AND REPAIR LEAK IN THE WALL, would be $85 per hour plus charges for materials used (copper elbow). Before we determined to start demolishing the wall and pulling up carpet, we called Dattile for a second opinion. They previously stated there was a $29 charge to come out. Once they were here, we were again told it would be necessary to pull up the carpet, and then to open the wall, where the pipe was discovered, that was leaking. He began to plunge a knife- like object into the wall in several places and stated that the cause of the leak was behind the wall. He quickly changed his price to $250. Once the leak was confirmed, he stated the repair would NOW be $850. He was in and out in 30 minutes. When I received the estimate from the first licensed plumber, as I had already assumed, we were GOUGED drastically. Upon further research, on line, I read reports of several others who had gone through the same experience with Dattile.
During the insurance adjusters evaluation our suspicions were confirmed when they stated that they thought that the plumbing bill was excessive. Up until this point, we had no idea what the true cost of a plumbing repair should be. As rebuilding commenced, various other LICENSED repair people stated what a fair price should be, and they all stated a billable amount for a plumber should be between $85-$165 per hour.
4 Updates & Rebuttals
Not Keith's Fool
Hollywood,Florida,
UNbelievably POOR excuses
#5Author of original report
Thu, May 30, 2013
FIRST, is it fair "IN TODAY'S MARKET" to charge $850 for a 30 minute PLUMBING job ? WHO charges that for any profession?? SECOND, their "price upfront" was quoted and nothing at that time was agreed upon, only acknowledged as understood. After the husband (Keith) of the husband and wife team, had slashed gashes into the wall, we wanted the water to STOP. As to any "prior plumbers not figuring out anything", we previously stated that they had wanted to start tearing up carpet and opening the wall, but we wanted more opinions before any demolition was to begin. We signed NO invoice, only the work order that any company requests, upon completion.
Keith Dattile
Coral Springs,Florida,
Dattile & Sons Plumbing- Great reputation
#5REBUTTAL Owner of company
Wed, May 29, 2013
In response to the customer's complain, Dattile & Sons Plumbing would like to comment the following: We believe the price was fair for the job in today's market. Customer was given the price upfront and they agreed. They were not forced and they signed invoice. We have been in business for over 40 years and our customers are very important to us but we have no tolerance for the people who are trying to say bad things about us just because their plumber, who originally could not figure out he job, believes the price was too high. We have thousand and thousands of customers who appreciate our professionalism and good work. Thank you for everyone's understanding. Sincerely, Keith Dattile/President
Not Keith's Fool
Hollywood,Florida,
DATTILE PLUMBING ~UNCONSCIONABLE GOUGING
#5Author of original report
Wed, May 29, 2013
A rip off is a rip off, any way you want to try to justify it. When someone goes from $29, to $250 to get into a wall that they have already poked large gashing holes in, to tearing open your wall to expose a leak, and now it will be $850 to repair it, (the pipe, not the wall!) all in 30 minutes...that is highway robbery. The customer is in a state of shock already. And Dattile was a fast-talking, high pressure SALESMAN. It's clear they have NO concern for the customer.
ramjet
Michigan,They are correct
#5Consumer Comment
Mon, May 27, 2013
You agreed to the price before they did the work.
The fact that you got quotes after the work was done doesn't mean anything. You need to get quotes BEFORE they start.
If you think they charged too much, just don't use them again. That's how it works.