Kathleen C.
02/03/2016 12:00:00 SA
2/3/2016 The employees at Adams Plumbing and Heating do not give price estimates ahead of a job nor doe their technicians disclose their pricing unless specifically asked. Therefore, I think it is important for the public to know about the extremely high pricing structure of this company. I was recently charged $437.00 for a zone valve replacement and was shocked to get the bill at the end of the technician's 1 hour and 15 minute repair job (which included a $125 part). The technician said the owner was proud of his pricing structure.
I had called the office earlier and they said he would not be available for a week, so when the technician showed up at my door, I thought he was from one of the other companies I had received quotes from, who typically had a $40-$60 initial trip charge.
I asked for a call from the owner, Mr. Harvey Adams and he explained I was the one in error for not specifically asking for pricing information. Mr. Harvey refused to change his bill, as I had requested because of their errors in disclosure of their pricing and discrepancies in the written invoice from when the technician actually started the job. So I told him I would let the public know, so others do not get surprised as I did.
This company charges $125 for the first 15 minutes of time, or $500/hour. They then add 15 minutes to the bill as a minimum charge, so at $125/hour, you will not even get an estimate for less than $125+31.25=$156. The 1 hour and 15 minutes of work done by this company amounted to $250/hour. In checking around with 4 other heating contractors, there is no one with this high of a pricing structure.
Although this company started to work on my zone valve replacement at 11:30 am, they justified the 11:00 time put on the invoice as that extra 15-20 minutes trip time we put in, plus the time it takes to get tools out of the truck, and I believe this practice to be deceptive and wrong, along with no quote estimate or pricing structure volunteered by either the office or the technician who arrived at my doorstep.
While Mr. Harvey himself and the technician were both pleasant people, I would advise anyone looking for an affordable honest plumbing and heating company to look elsewhere.