DO NOT HIRE! DISHONEST, INCOMPETENT, AND UNETHICAL!
I called them to investigate a pre-existing water stain that my house had when I moved in several years ago. I had it painted over but the stain came back after a couple years, so it seemed like there might be a slow leak. I first had a bad feeling when I saw Should I send Steve or the boys on text message from the office. Sure enough, I get the boys - Angel and Alex. Upon arrival, I explain the history - how I've never felt any moisture or had any paint bubbling, but I wanted to make sure there was no leak. After touching the ceiling with their fingers, they say they feel moisture but they won't know until they open up the drywall. Foolishly, I agree, and they start cutting large pieces out of my ceiling. Everything looks dry but Angel tells me he sees a water stain on the pipe, and it must be coming from the upstairs laundry room. They then cut open large holes in my laundry room wall. He starts feeling around and everything feels dry. There's drywall dust everywhere, and he washes his hand. After briefly wiping his hand on his shirt, he feels the washing machine piping and says he's pretty sure he feels moisture. Really? But then after wiping his hands off more and the pipe, no more water/moisture. We've been running the laundry sink and washing machine nonstop for 30mins at this point, but everything is dry. Angel basically shrugs and tells me to call them back when I see water and find the leak. WHAT? I called YOU to tell me what the issue is, if there even is one. I ask if they have any special leak detection tools, and he said it involves sound, and they can't use it b/c we're looking at a drain pipe. Umm, ok.
So, they put back up a very small piece of drywall in my ceiling and leave everything else open and a dusty mess. They ask me if I want my other pieces of drywall or if they should take it. WHAT? Yes, I want the pieces of my house that you destroyed and I now need to patch up. I write my check for their $155 service charge, and am just shaking from the frustration of this experience.
I then call a 2nd plumber. He was SHOCKED. There was NO reason drywall should have been cut out. He explained there are tools you can use like a moisture meter, where you can check if anything really needs to be opened up. He also said if the old water stain was painted over without stain guard/primer first, then the old stain would actually seep through the new paint. He continued to investigate, but there is no evidence of any leakage, and I talk to him about Angel's claims of moisture by the washing machine piping. He says absolutely not - we would see evidence of some type of corrosion or discoloration, which we do not. He concludes that there is no active leak. There may have been one once upon a time, potentially in the attic, but there is no issue now. The cost of this visit? $0. An honest, helpful person.
Then came the drywall repair guy who does a lot of work with water damage. He too was SHOCKED. They should not have cut out all this drywall. There are tools, he explained. If they absolutely need to see behind a wall, you can punch a small hole through and use a snake with a camera and a light. More evidence that Angel was completely incompetent and not trained in this trade. My drywall repair and paint bill to come? $430.
I then, of course, call Aaron's Plumbing. I asked if they could simply just not cash my $155 check. I don't think I should be paying them for a service call when they really didn't know what they were doing and caused hundreds of dollars of damage to my house. The office person says she needs to speak with the owner and he would call me back.
Does Aaron Check call me back? No. Angel calls me back and is combative after hearing I don't want them to cash my check. I explained all of the findings of these other experts, and how he absolutely did not know what he was doing. After arguing back and forth, he finally says Fine, what if I write you a personal check for your $150 and the office doesn't have to do it? I say Whatever you want to do and He says Ok, I'll send you a check. Sorry for wasting your time. And, we hung up.
I call Aaron's Plumbing back the next day to ask if I can just speak to the owner since he never called me back. If I were the owner, I'd want to know this is how my business is being conducted. I told the office that Angel offered to personally pay me back, and is that really what a company wants an employee to do? I'm not even asking for them to pay for all my damages - just don't make me pay for a service call that created this mess. The office says the owner will call me back.
So where are we now, a week later? My $155 check was cashed. No refund check from Angel. No return phone call from the owner Aaron. I even texted Aaron's personal cell. No response.
I don't want to hassle with Small Claims, so I just want to WARN ANYONE READING THIS. DO NOT HIRE AARON'S PLUMBING. LEARN FROM MY $600 MISTAKE.
