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Haley Plumbibg, Heating & Air Conditioning ripoff - over charging Friendswood Texas
Haley Plumbing employee, Greg, repaired a leak in my water pipe located in the attic on 12/31/05. He gave me a quote of $365.00. I thought the amount was exorbitant and I stated so. He said that was the rate the company charged but I could use a telephone book coupon of $25.00 to reduce the amount to $341.00. Since the water leak was causing more damage to my den and garage ceilings, (I had had a major water leak 9 months earlier in which I had to replace a pipe)I had no alternative but to have the leak repaired to prevent further damage.
It took him 10 minutes, if that amount of time, to repair the "pin" hole leak by putting a ring over the hole. He proceeded to tell me that I needed to replace all the pipes in the attic to the tune of about $4,700.00 as they were rusted.
Since I thought Haley's rates were not competitive with other plumbers, I had several come out to the house to determine whether I needed to replace the pipes and what they would charge for the job. They stated I did not need to replace the pipes as there was no rust but if they had to, they would have charged me $1000.00 less than Haley for the job. They also indicated that they would have charged me $200.00 less than what Haley Plumbing charged for the repair of the pin hole leak.
Consequently, on 1/9/06 I emailed Haley Plumbing with the above particulars and requested that they return $200.00 for overcharging me. I also told them that if I did not hear from them by 1/14/06 I would report them to the BBB. Obviously, I was not given the courtesy of a reply.
Given the fact their yellow pages indicate honest pricing, I call their exorbitant pricing false advertising.
Stephanie
Houston, Texas
U.S.A.
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Dave
Arcadia,California,
U.S.A.
You Did Have Choices
#2Consumer Suggestion
Fri, January 20, 2006
Let me understand you. The technician came to your house and quoted you a price, BEFORE he did the work? And you then accepted that price, and told him to proceed with the work? You could have said no thank you then. You did have the alternative to turn off the water and call someone else. Once you agreed to the contract price everything else became moot. The fact that you found others who would have charged less is also irrelevant. Had you looked hard enough you could have found someone to charge you more. What is competitive pricing? You cannot as a responsible business owner base your poricing (in any business by the way) on what others charge. Your accountant would string you up. You charge based on direct expenses, overhead, and your desired profit. I notice you have no issue with the actual work. Sounds like they performed their end of the contract in a satisfactory manner. Go to your state contractors website and educate yourself. There they will tell you to check references, check license status, and get three bids (which you could have done had you called three companies at the same time). Do it next time. Caveat Emptor