Camera inspection + Drain repair
Overall I feel that their prices are arbitrary and they may work to deceive you as to what is required.
I had Bartman plumbing investigate a leak and then excavate and replace a broken elbow in my drain pipe.
I initially had Bartman plumbing quote on a camera inspection to see what the issue was. Their quote was higher than than other quotes but then he called me and said he would match the other quotes I received for $350.
We booked a date and the worker failed to show up. I called Monday and they apologized profusely and offered to come back and complete the camera inspection for $250. I agreed.
Following this, there was a broken elbow in the drain that needed to be fixed and it required excavation. They quoted me $2,650. The worker who quoted me made it sound like it was significant work with multiple workers. Given this and the fact that another quote would probably require me paying for another camera inspection, and the timing, I agreed with this price.
It turned out that the excavation was super quick and it was really just one guy working. This was significantly less work than expected for the $2,650. At this time, we also found a drain backed up and the worker said it needed to be snaked and they would do that. I left and came back to the house a couple hours later as we discussed and they were gone. I called and they said they were going to come back.
It was through the phone that I heard that the snaking would now require a high pressurized machine to clear and that would be $1,500. I challenged this significantly as I was not told and they agreed to complete it at no charge.
The worker came to complete the work and I noticed that he had a regular snake instead of the high pressurized specialty equipment (apparently the equipment was being used at another site). I questioned whether or not it was really necessary and why they had quoted me $1,500 if they could do it with a regular snake. He articulated that it would take significantly longer and he would need significant water pressureand it was so expensive because it required at least 4 hours with 2 guys.
He then snaked the drain and used a camera and it took 30 minutes. It in no way required the inital $1,500 expense! He apologized and stated that he was happy he had included this in the original price due to the miscommunication.
Overall, I am left with a feeling that they overcharged me on the digging work and that they take advantage of individuals with limited knowledge to charge exorbitant fees for unnecessary work. I emailed them this review before posting and never received a response.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $3,300.00
- What could this company do to improve their services?
- Any advice to offer fellow homeowners facing a similar project?
- Company Response
Hi Monica. We appreciate you taking the time to post a review regarding the services completed at your home in October 2016.
On Friday October 7, 2016, we were scheduled to be at your residence in order to complete our camera inspection as you had reported that there was water leaking into your home after you had hired a landscaping company to connect your eaves trough to the drainage system of the house. Unfortunately, our technician who was scheduled to be at your home had a personal emergency and failed to contact the office to make us aware of it. Please be advised that our employee was disciplined due to his negligence as we strive to keep dedicated and punctual individuals employed with our company. We truly apologize for that appointment having been missed. When you had contacted us on the following Monday October 10, 2016, we expressed our disappointment for having missed the appointment and quickly offered a further discount of $100.00 to you for the inconvenience that you had experienced, reducing your camera inspection to $250.00 + HST. You agreed and seemed pleased with our offer made to you. The camera inspection was rescheduled for the following Friday October 14, 2016, as per your request.
Our technicians arrived on October 14th, 2016, and upon completion of the camera inspection, they found that the drain at the bottom of your rain water leader at the exterior of your home was broken underneath the ground. In order for us to repair that section of piping, we had to remove the interlocking on your walkway at the side of your home and excavate the ground approximately 6 feet deep. Prior to the work commencing, we had let you know that an additional camera inspection would be completed after the initial excavation in order to determine whether or not there were any further damages to the drain line that could not be viewed during our initial camera inspection due to the camera stopping at the initial break in the drain. We did let you know the exact scope of work that was required and you, without hesitation, agreed to us conducting the work. Once we completed the excavation along with the additional camera inspection, no further repairs were found to be required and we proceeded with the repair of the broken drain. Upon completion of those repairs, we backfilled the excavated area and the leak was successfully repaired.
I must apologize for any miscommunication or confusion regarding the plugged drain at your home. When our technician was on site, he did find the drain to be plugged solid with debris and toilet paper. We always attempt to snake a plugged drain prior to recommending a powerflush which is used for larger blockages that cannot be cleared with a snake machine. At that time, Dorrit had called you to let you know that a powerflush would be required at that time as the snake machine did not clear the blockage for you. We did agree to complete this free of charge for you due to the amount of business provided to us as we were already scheduled to be in the area on another site with our powerflushing machine. We wanted to do whatever was possible to ensure that you were satisfied with the services provided to you. Our technician showed up with a snake machine opposed to the powerflushing machine as we always have both pieces of equipment on site for any powerflushing job that we schedule. Our powerflushing machine was on another jobsite approximately 5 minutes away (which is one of the reasons why we agreed to complete your powerflush free of charge) so we initially sent our technician with only the snake machine until the powerflushing crew was free to come over to complete the flushing work. When our technician arrived at your home with the snake machine, he attempted to snake the line once again and the drain did begin to run freely. We have no idea how or why the drain was cleared so easily this day as we were unable to clear it on our first attempt. It is our belief that the original snake job from the previous service loosened the blockage within the drain which allowed our second attempt to successfully clear the drain. Once the line began running freely and we completed the final camera inspection ensuring that there were no further blockages, our technician advised our powerflushing crew to not proceed to your home as the line had been cleared using the snake machine and a powerflush did not seem to be required at that time.
I would like to mention that all of these additional snaking services were completed for you at no charge. We were also going to provide you with the powerflush free of charge as well however that was deemed to be unnecessary. Under no circumstance would we attempt to take advantage of anyone regardless of how much or how little knowledge they have pertaining to plumbing.
At the time that you had sent your email, I was out of the country with very limited access to phone or email. I had instructed for Dorrit not to respond to your email as I was going to do so myself upon return to the office however, by that time, you had already posted this review. I apologize for not having instructed Dorrit to respond to your email however, I feel customer complaints such as yours are best to be addressed by myself being the President of Bartman Plumbing Ltd.
You had seemed quite pleased throughout the entire time that work was being completed at your home so it was a bit of a surprise to see that you had felt such disappointment in working with our company.
In the event that you’d like to discuss this further, please feel free to contact me at my office at 416-898-0094. Thank you – Michael Bartman