Jane C.
04/09/2021 12:00:00 SA
If I could give zero stars, I would. Long story short: We bought an older home and asked our realtor to arrange a sewer inspection. He chose US Trenchless. They came out, said we needed a clean out, but otherwise our sewer line was A-ok. We paid for the sewer inspection through escrow but I think it was about $200.
Once we moved in, we got the clean out. Then our toilets started gurgling every time we flushed them. We called Trenchless back and they came out, and said that we need either descaling of old pipes or (preferably) a brand new sewer line. Excuse me? This was less than a month after they did the inspection in which they told us we only needed a clean out. Abraham (the plumber) then told us that our line was functional ---as long as we didn't flush toilet paper. I'm not sure about most people, but it seems to me that having a sewer line that doesn't allow flushing toilet paper is NOT functional.
In the meantime, we were left with a sewer line that doesn't work. Abraham conveniently offered to replace the line entirely for about $20K or to descale it for $5K. By that time, we knew that US Trenchless was not to be trusted, so we declined. We called a retired plumber we know, who pointed out that if we descaled the line, we might as well just replace it, because it will need replacement sooner or later. He also told us that all of the big corporation plumbing companies pay their technicians on commission, so the more they get you to agree to, the more they get paid. He then gave us the names of five companies never to use because they price gouge. Guess which company was on the list?
We also have another construction project that will involve a connection to the sewer line at some point, so we wanted our contractor's input on the entire project (and he happens to be out of town for a planned vacation). In the meantime, we religiously threw away toilet paper (yuk) and used our dishwasher, garbage disposal, toilets, and sinks as little as possible.
Fast forward to today. We noticed actual sewage coming up almost to the top of our clean out in the driveway. My partner called US Trenchless to ask if they were willing to come out again to do another cleanout---considering they were the ones who told us that the line was (first) fine, and then (last week) functional (except for the small detail of not being able to flush toilet paper).
First, the man answering the phone started out by saying, You aren't going to get anything for free, and then proceeded to say we shouldn't be flushing toilet paper (yes, we know), and that we hadn't paid our bill for the first clean out (they had sent it to some email address that has only the vaguest of relationships to our actual emails). Since my partner hadn't asked for anything free-- although it does seem as if they should be offering it--- his statement came out of nowhere, as a defensive comment when she began to explain our situation.
After being sure to clarify our real email addresses (only so he could later send a $500 bill for that first clean out), he proceeded to yell at my partner that, again, we weren't going to get anything for free, that it would cost a minimum of $500 for a clean out, that they had done nothing wrong, and that they stand by their inspection. After he called my partner Darling, she ended the conversation. I'm not sure you could get a more rude, insensitive, accusatory, sexist, or condescending person to be your customer service rep.
Since it was now a public health hazard (with sewage bubbling almost into our driveway), we called a plumbing company our neighbor had recommended (Five Star Plumbing), just to do a clean-out. They came out promptly, did a clean out, and gave us some more recommendations to limp along with our sewer until our contractor gets home in three days (for Enquiring Minds: run water before you flush, continue to run water in the sink after you flush, double flush, do anything you can to increase the amount of water in the line so that waste gets carried away in that flow). Instead of the $500 US Trenchless charges for a cleanout, Five Star charged us $225. They also gave us a rough bid of about $10k to excavate our driveway, and lay new sewer line. US Trenchless had told us it would be $20k just to lay the line.
I don't have more to add to this, except to say BUYER BEWARE. We have already told our real estate agent about our experience, and he told us that not only will he never use US Trenchless again, he will be sure that none of his associate realtors do either (and this is a very large real estate firm with many associate realtors). He also told us that plumbers have licenses but are not regulated. So please be careful with whatever these people say to you, and get a second opinion and price. The last thing anyone needs when there is a sewer problem is a plumbing company that treats you as if you are sewage too.