Aqua City Plumbing

Take a look at Michael S's review of Aqua City Plumbing.  Mine is VERY similar.  This took place when my daughter and I both lived in Minneapolis (a few years ago).

Aqua City Plumbing (and Dave the owner in particular) is a classic example of a business that takes advantage of people who need plumbing work done NOW, and who trust that they will get an honest and competitive price.  Not the case with this company.  Others have noted that Aqua City will NEVER give an estimate over the phone (not even a rough ballpark figure).  And they charge about $79 just to come out to give an estimate.  What kind of business is that?   But people who have an Aqua City magnet on their refrigerator or phone book (like my daughter) still fall for this scam.  In my daughter's case, they came out and gave her a $700+ estimate to replace two shutoff valves on either side of the water meter.  She didn't know how much work was involved, and one valve connection was dripping on the basement carpet, so she accepted.  The work took about 1.5 hours.  I called later to complain about the outrageous charge, and I told Dave that the valves cost no more than $20 each.  I asked him how he came up with the $700+ price, and he basically told me that it was none of my business.  He said that my daughter accepted his price quote, so he did nothing wrong.  I told him he took advantage of her trust, her lack of plumbing knowledge, and her desperation to get the leak fixed.  I also told him I contacted two other plumbers, and they DID give me an estimate over the phone.  Both estimates were between $200 and $300.  My message:  Check out reviews before choosing a plumber, and don't just refer to the magnet on your refrigerator.  If my daughter would have done this, she would not have called Aqua City Plumbing to begin with.

Had a problem with a gas valve. They made time in their schedule to replace it and get us back online asap. Prompt, friendly and very professional. A pleasure to work with.

Main water valve need to be replaced... Had NO water. They came and fixed it in record time great company

I've had great experiences with Aqua City over the years, at three different houses.

At the first place, I had a leaky toilet and Aqua City's quote was $400 - compared to $2500 from the first plumbing company I tried. They worked quickly and the result was solid.

At the other two places, I had backed-up sinks/drains. Aqua City referred me to their drain guys, who came out right away and took care of the problems, on budget.

I've never had a problem with these guys; I've recommended them to friends and family and we've all been satisfied with both quality and price.

I signed what appeared to be a pre-work cost estimate.

Job ended up being much shorter and less complex than expected. Yet, the full price was still charged at end.

Plumber arrived and looked at work. He went on at length about how complex the job was, and how it would be a big job, if even possible at all. I was then presented with what I believed to be an estimated cost ($870), which I signed.

Nothing was stated at this time about FIXED UP FRONT PRICING. The plumber then performed the work, which took under two hours, and involved no complexity and very limited materials (2' of pvc pipe, a strainer basket, and a couple of fittings).

I was then asked to pay the entire $870 price (over $300 per hour work equivalent). I was surprised by this, since the job was so simple and quick (both of which I thought were good news).

It was at *THIS* point that I was told that the company uses fixed up-front pricing, and not time/materials/mark-up etc...

I have several complaints about this:
1) it was not explained at all (let alone in detail) up front
2) it makes no sense...it virtually gaurantees that every job gets over-bid
3) the company knows they have you on the hook for a visit fee, and that you have also taken a day off of work, etc....this puts you in a high-pressure high-stakes situation.
4) None of this is explained on the phone when you call them to ask for service.

The entire thing makes me very suspicious of a predatory, high pressure, unethical business practice. Even if I can't get my money back - I feel it is very important to warn future customers of what is happening with this company.

I was in  desperate need of a plumber and I checked around, called a few places, deciding on Aqua City Plumbing.  They were kind and very helpful on the phone so we made an appointment for the same day. They called before they got here and they were on time.  Brandon was my plumber. He was so quick and thorough, he was done in a jiffy!  Kudos to Brandon and Aqua City Plumbing.  I can't thank you enough!  Plus the price was unbelievably reasonable. I will use them again! Thank you, Sue Minneapolis, Mn

They have always been good to us. They can usually fit me in to open up our sprinklers in the Spring or to blow them out later in the Fall.

They bid their work by the job. I needed my dishwasher installed (replacing previous one) and a shutoff valve installed under the sink. They quoted me $300 more than the cost of the already expensive dishwasher. Ended up working with someone else for $267 for 90 minutes of work.

I had a wonderful experience with Aqua City Plumbing, referred to me by a friend.  I like to ask people who they would recommend.  

It was extremely cold out and my pipes were freezing up.  I knew I had to move fast to avoid a burst pipe and a much larger water issue.  I was surprised by how helpful Aqua City Plumbing was over the phone, giving me free advice to see if it would resolve the issue before I had to have someone come out.  I followed their instructions, and was able to resolve the issue temporarily. Due to the poor construction of my townhome, this would be an issue every time the weather got very cold.  

When I had them come out the next day and they looked at how my pipes were laid out, they had a great suggestion that would resolve the issue without rerouting my water pipes.  I had a circulator pump installed on my hot water heater.  It has a timer that can be set to run hot water through the pipes when I need it to.  I have to say I love this thing!  I have instant hot water at all my faucets.  I have it set to every 20 minutes when it's very cold out.  Then during warmer months, I have it set to circulate frequently in the morning when we are getting ready, and then again at night when we are getting ready for bed.  It is the best thing ever.  I can't emphasize this enough.

When the plumber came out, they called first to say he was on the way, then he was very conscientious of my carpet and put on booties over his shoes, worked quickly, cleaned up any mess, and even made friends with my dog.

I felt like they were very honest, courteous, and very competitively priced after calling a few other plumbing companies to compare service call prices.  

I would definitely recommend them, and have had family use them as well.