Hidden Fees

[Glados]

I had to have a plumber out to my home today to try and clear a drain. They assured me that the total cost was 99 dollars and promised that there are no other fees and that the cost covers all drain clearings.

The plumber arrives and after a glance says that 99 won't cover it because the pipe is in a crawl space. I advised them of this on the phone and was assured it is covered and the pipe is still accessible with both feet on the ground. It is o5nly 18 inches back so you don't have to crawl in. Anyway, he calculated the cost of "difficult access fee" and gave an estimate of 651 dollars. That equates to a 552 dollar charge because he has to lean forward slightly to do the job.

I spoke to a higher up and got a reduced price of 189 dollars. Still not the promised price but I agreed. After a minimal effort he declared that he cannot clear the drain and we will need to have the pipe replaced at a cost of 5,000 to 7,000 dollars a day to dig up and replace the pipe.

He then claimed that his company will not do this one job alone and we must agree to allow them (and pay them) to fix anything that they determine is a problem (even though everything else is working fine). He said it's an all or nothing bid.

I promptly sent him packing and his supervisor is coming tomorrow to either confirm this hogwash or give me a proper estimate and attempt at clearing the drain. If the supervisor is this much of an ass I will have to search again and find another plumber.

[blas87]

I agree, I hate that, too.

I am anxious to move out next year, because I have heard that this property management company tries to pin the cost of paint/new carpet on tenants moving out even if they didn't destroy it, just because it's a part of the rules where they have to replace the paint and carpet every x years.

I know I'm not getting a cent of my security deposit back because of the greedy pigs, in my previous experience renting that taught me the hard way, but I will be ready to go straight to court with them if they want to charge me thousands of dollars for something that isn't my responsibility.

Other hidden fees that I hate....too many to name.

[HYHYBT]

I'd be suspicious of any plumber who gave, or pretended to give, a definite price without at least seeing the job in person first. There's just too much that can turn up.

A suspicion that's only confirmed when the price makes that kind of a jump over apparently nothing at all. But that last business... "agree in advance that we can do anything we want, no limits, and you will pay whatever we decide to charge for it?" Too far in the other direction. Sounds like a scam either way.

[DrFaroohk]

There needs to be a law that you can only offer one price. This will make them be more careful in their pricing, and not sucker you in with false promises of a low price.

It would also protect you from the crap you see from your mechanic, where they're like "Yay oil change 10 dollars!" And then its done, and then you find out you owe 100 dollars, because the 10 dollars only actually covers the act of the mechanic doing the work. He forgot to mention the price of oil and filter and disposal fees and all that...

Bullcrap. New law should say you can't do that. You get one shot to offer up a price, and if you didn't plan ahead and it turns out the job will cost more, tough shit, you still have to do it, at the original offered price.

[Glados]

This fiasco was all one company. They offer a local promotion for drain cleanings for 99 dollars. There are supposed to be no extra fees unless that have to do more than the drain which they did not.

They may have to do more but I am still waiting on the estimate and need to get a 2nd opinion before I commit. I do not trust this company with their promises of no extra fees and then adding fees and trying to insist on doing work that does not need done.

[Andara Bledin]

Try reporting them to whoever handles truth in advertising regulation.

If they pull the bait and switch on that $99 dollar price, they need to be called on it.

^-.-^

[Glados]

I will look into who handles complaints in my state.

Update: I had a different plumber come out this morning and the drain is collapsed not blocked. Thankfully, the first did honor the part of the deal that they charged nothing since they could not clear it. New plumber was fantastic and honest. I decided to have all new plumbing put in because they are willing to give a firm price upfront. I got a quote in writing for $12,000 and a lifetime warranty on parts and labor to redo the plumbing for almost the whole house (all except one pipe that was replaced 3 years ago) and will include professional restoration and sanitation to clean the basement and bathroom that flooded. They also decided to run the vent in the walls (which should cost more) because it looks better and are still only charging the quoted price.

I did not want to spend so much but the issue requires excavation anyway and in the long run it will cost less to only do the excavation once.

If the original plumber had been upfront and honest like this guy he would have had this business from me. Since he tried to bully me into a decision instead of just laying out the options he lost a huge job. The work that is being done is the same work that the first guy tried to strong arm me into agreeing to.

[Andara Bledin]

Glad to hear your second opinion came from a company that was nice and honest up front.

That whole ordeal with the first crew was just slimy and I hope you get somewhere with your complaint about them.

^-.-^

[Akasa]

Make sure you call and talk to a supervisor or manager and let them know that the tactics used are the reason you went with another company to do the work as well. Its possible its not the company's usual practice its the plumber's usual practice.

[DrFaroohk]

Your stuff reminded me of the water heater situation I had...

The only guy I could get to actually come look at it wanted 700 dollars. The way he billed it was 300 for the heater, 4 hours labor at 60/hr, and a bunch of other random bullshit including the most expensive pipes cuz that's the kind he uses, and kerosene for his heater to keep the pipes from freezing while he worked on it.

I ran this buy a handi-friend of mine and he called fowl. Me and him did it, without nearly all the ease of access tools this plumber had it, in 2 hours, no kerosene or heater needed. If we'd done it at his price, it'd have been about 400 dollars. The extra 300 was just to pad his pockets.

[BlaqueKatt]

I will look into who handles complaints in my state.

department of trade and consumer protection, here in my state it's a subdepartment of the dept of agriculture, I have no idea why. You could also contact the licensing board for plumbers in your state.

[bainsidhe]

You may also want to contact the attorney general, they should at least be able to steer you in the right direction. The one around here has been trying to go after scammer contractors and plowing services (when there was snow, obviously).

[HYHYBT]

Bullcrap. New law should say you can't do that. You get one shot to offer up a price, and if you didn't plan ahead and it turns out the job will cost more, tough shit, you still have to do it, at the original offered price.

And how do you fairly reconcile this notion with the fact that in many situations you CANNOT know what all will be involved until after you've started work?

[Boozy]

Don't make price guarantees based on wild guesses and crossed fingers?

Something tells me that when these companies discover that a job is cheaper and easier than they thought, they don't reduce the price unexpectedly. Sorry, but if your advertised prices can benefit you, they can also cost you. Such is the risk they are taking with price guarantees.

[Glados]

The company who is doing the work for us did it, IMO, in a very fair way. They advised me upfront that they would do a detailed inspection/estimate for $65 but would waive that fee if I were to hire them to do the work. They spent 2 hours running a camera through the lines and looking over all of the accessible pipes (which were most as they are in a crawl space). For the two or three that they are replacing that could not be viewed without cutting a hole in the wall, they asked my husband for a detailed description of the issue. They wrote up and priced out the cost only after knowing as much as possible about the job.

The guaranteed price is for the specifically contracted work. If they run into problems on those jobs then they do not charge any more. If they discover an unknown issue that is unrelated to the work that I hired them for then they will bring it to my attention and I can choose if I want to hire them for that as well.

For example, if I hire them to replace pipe A and they discover that pipe B is cracked then they will ask me what I want to do with it. However, If I hire them to replace pipe A and they discover that the job to replace it is more difficult than they thought then they will still do the work for the agreed upon price.

IMO, this model of pricing is very fair. I knew upfront what all needed done, what should be done but could wait, and what is would cost. I was able to make an informed decision about what I wanted to hire them for.

I agree that it should be illegal to give an estimate and then charge significantly more for the agreed upon work or do additional work without obtaining further consent from the home owner.