Deceitful Practices of Complete Plumbing Repair Co.. Anacortes, , WA

This is a complaint against Complete Plumbing Repair Inc. pertaining to a service call at my secondary residence on December 6, 2010. The facts are as follows. The company was called initially to solve a problem of a bathroom odor, the source of which we could not locate. When my partner called and told the plumber what the problem was, he replied, “No problem. This is my specialty.” We, therefore, asked him to come out to solve the problem on the above-stated date. We were told that there would be a travel charge of $99, but were given no other information on other possible charges.

The first step in the racket was to demand a signature from my partner to order the work to be done, which she provided. However, only after she signed the form, which had nothing on it at that point but our name and address and the service requested as “sewer smell” did the plumber provide the diagnosis recommending floor repair under the toilet. This he did not do until after he had made only a cursory search in and around the house for the possible source of the odor.

It was at this point that I came down to observe the situation. I noted that he had given a recommended solution of floor repair under the toilet. We both remarked that there was no odor from the toilet itself nor any other evidence that the odor came from there. Moreover, I had already had recent work done to clean out the entire septic system, so there did not appear to be any basis for this work, but the plumber’s diagnosis was, as stated, “floor repair under toilet.” All that was actually done by the plumber was to pull the toilet, inspect the flange and wax ring, replace the seal, then reset the toilet. This whole exercise was of no value, for there was no evidence of odor from that source. It is obvious that this procedure was done only to have a basis for charging as much as possible. For, aside from other issues raised herein, the total charge of $389.59 to change a seal is patently outrageous. Nor were we informed in advance that the charge would be so exorbitant.

I went back to my own work at this point and came down again only after the work had been completed and payment was required. I noted that there had been absolutely no change in the situation with regard to the foul odor. Nevertheless, the plumber demanded payment. I looked at the work sheet and saw that he had written on it the following statement:

“No warranty on toilet seal due to floor condition. Other issues may be present creating other sewer smells. This is the 1st step in sewer smell corrections.”

I considered this totally unacceptable and unreasonable and crossed out the above statement before signing.

Upon return home to my principal residence, after noting that the worksheet I had signed allowed only a mere three days to register any complaint or concern whatsoever, I called the company and spoke to an employee, who informed the owner (whose name was given to me as Kelly Schols), who then returned my call. I demanded warranty service on the work done to correct the problem according to paragraph 2 of the “terms and conditions” on the back side. The owner refused this demand outright. Consequently, even the owner refused to abide by the terms and conditions in his own contract. Further, I reminded him that I had crossed out the statement that offered “no warranty.” His reply was: “So what.”

We have since discovered on our own the source of the odor, which came from a problem with a propane lamp. Yet, if we had continued to follow the advice of this plumbing outfit, they would have happily gone on to do other kinds of bogus work, including even breaking open the walls, which the plumber himself said might have to be done, to locate the odor, at a cost, no doubt, of many thousands of dollars. All this was done while the plumber kept reciting a little phrase as follows: “It’s a process, it’s a process.” The process is straight from your pocket to theirs.

Under the circumstances, I advise anyone who reads this statement to avoid this plumbing company.