Priority Plumbing

I had a backup in my main drain located in my basement after doing laundry.

I called Priority plumbing and they gave me a 5-8 appointment and promised to call 30 mins before arrival. At 7:30 no one called so I called them and the message said they are closed and call back during business hours before 8 PM (it was 7:30).

I called back the next day and was told another appointment has been made for 8-11 which was also missed.

The third appointment was booked and to compensate me for my troubles, they offered to waive the $49 assessment fee. The 3rd appointment the plumber showed up on time and with a call beforehand as promised.

Upon his arrival before doing any kind of inspection other then looking around, I was presented with a few options ranging from $800 to $8000. I was uncomfortable with agreeing to start any work without a camera inspection which was the reason I made the appointment in the first place.

After hearing about 5 options including him trying to sell me "a beautiful toilet" he has in his truck for $800 which went up to $1,100 after he looked in his book, I requested to just do the job I booked him for which was snake and camera as advertised on the website and confirmed by the lady who took my appointments.

He said he would do it but it would cost an additional $400 above what the website stated and what the booking lady confirmed. I was shocked and when i pointed out the site pricing he gave me the excuse that the price I was offered was for emergency cases where water backs up and after I told him my water did back up and showed him, he said I need a cleanout access and I showed him 2 of them and then he said he didn't want to open those cleanouts because its cast iron and instead, he would snake and camera via the toilet.

I asked him how long it would take and said about half an hour. He wanted to charge me an additional $400 above the agreed price to take out a toilet that has 2 screws in the ground. I was so frustrated with all his sales tactics and bait and switch techniques I told him I no longer wanted his "services".

I called another plumber who came out with in a few hours, opened the cleanout, snaked the main drain and pulled out a toy that the kids managed to flush down with a bunch of toilet paper caught up in it. The second plumber even inspected the entire drain with the camera to confirm all is well.

The clog was located outside the house under my front lawn which had nothing to do with any of the $800-$8000 options that priority plumber gave me. He would have known that if he actually used the snake and/or camera.

I was made to feel that my plumbing needs were not being addressed but rather just being used as a sales opportunity. Very frustrating experience and I'm really glad the $49 assessment fee was returned because paying that for the kind of service (or lack of) would of added an extra bitter taste.