Sharon S.
09/11/2018 12:00:00 SA
DO NOT use this company! We had a minor natural gas leak under the house that our HVAC company found and informed us about. I made the mistake of calling TECO Gas first and they turned off the gas to the entire house at the meter and locked the lever so we could not turn it back on. This meant that we were in a jam and had to get a technician out ASAP. After calling several other companies that could not have a technician out in less than a few days, I found A1 Plumbing on the internet and called them. They told me they could get a tech out that afternoon and that the trip charge would be $79 and that it WOULD NOT be applied to the cost of the repair. I asked what the cost of the repair would be (expecting an hourly rate because the repair had to be diagnosed first) and was told that the folks who schedule the tech could not discuss any further pricing other than the trip charge and nor could they connect me to anyone else who could. This should have been a BIG red flag, but I was desperate so I scheduled the tech who came out even sooner than expected (a good thing). Once there, I explained to the tech where the leak was (based on what the HVAC guys told me) and he said that there was a flat $350 charge to diagnose where the leak was and what repair was needed and that this amount would also NOT be applied to the cost of the repair. I asked him why I was not told that over the phone initially and he said that the staff that schedules the techs cannot quote any charge other than the $79 trip charge.... But, I persisted, it's a flat charge so there is no reason the customer cannot be told about it just like the flat $79 trip charge. Apparently, that's just company policy. Anyway, I was desperate so even after asking him to call into the office to try to ameliorate the $350 flat fee (to no avail), I agreed to pay the $350 to diagnose the leak. The tech crawled under the house and came back out after maybe 5-10 min and showed me pictures of an apparent gas leak at two adjacent fittings at a T in the gas pipe. After some discussion, he told me it would cost $175 to repair the leak in the two fittings. So, once again, being desperate and already into this for $429, I agreed to go forward with the repair. The tech was under the house and out in maybe 10-15 minutes, charged the system to make sure there was no more leak, and took my payment and left. Total bill - $604!!!!! All in all, without all the discussions over the charges, the tech spent maybe 45 min - 1 hour (at the most) from the time he arrived at my house to the time he left. $604!!!
After the fact (end of April 2018), I called A1 Plumbing 7 or 8 times trying to reach the owner to discuss the (in my opinion) exorbitant amount I had been charged and was told over and over that he was out and would call me back. Once, I actually spoke with him (Toby) and he said he would review the matter and call me back. He never did and after a few additional calls from me, I was told by Office Manager (Ashley) that Toby was not the owner and that she would review the matter and let me know what if any adjustment could be made. Never heard back from Ashley or anyone else.
Yes, I was quoted the $79 trip charge and told it would not be applied to the repair work. No, I was not told during my initial call about the $350 flat fee (also not applied to the repair cost) to diagnose the leak and quote me the cost to repair. The $350 flat fee to diagnose the problem was only made known to me once the tech had arrived and I had agreed to pay $79 just for his trip over (that would not be applied to the repair work). So, only after I had agreed to pay $429 (none of which will be applied to the cost of the repair) was I told that the repair would cost $175 (arguably reasonable amount for the repair and time involved).
Bottom line, if you have ANY other option, DO NOT use A1 Plumbing and if you don't have any other option, at least you now know what they won't disclose up front.
