Our problem was some water damage on the garage ceiling; nothing major, just some staining and paint peeling. My husband resealed the bathtub and before we had the ceiling damage repaired, I wanted to make sure that there were no more leaks. I called Plumbing Professors because it was advertised in Glenn Haege (The Handyman Show)'s website, the ad makes them seem knowledgeable and honest.
The woman that made the appointment assured me that there would be no charge to come and see what the problem was (A "Free Estimate").
When the plumber came, he did not introduce himself ( no name to tie him to anything), not everyone is a people's person so I let it go. I showed him the garage ceiling and then the bathroom that sits above it. He looked at the bathtub for 2 secs. (did not even look at the toilet nor open the cabinet doors to check under the sink, etc.) and then said that he did not know where the problem was and that if I wanted to know, he could do a "Diagnostic for 195". I asked what he meant, he said that he would rip the drywall and then check the pipes and try to reproduce the leak. Then he would be able to tell me what was wrong and give me an estimate of how much it would cost to repair it.
So the free estimate comes after they rip the drywall and you pay them almost $200. I said no, thank you. So he tried to charge me $59.00 for coming in to tell me that he did not know what was wrong or where the leak came from (not that he even tried to look).
I told him to just leave, that I was not supposed to pay him a thing and he could not dispute that, so he left. He did tell me to have a nice day, but I suspect he was trying to be sarcastic.
Be careful! Don't trust Plumbing Professors. The plumber they sent fit the bad plumber stereotype to a T, promising not to charge for an estimate, coming in and telling you nothing except that you have to let them rip open your walls (for a fee, of course) and then who knows? charging you much more for whatever he says the problem was. There were no guarantees of anything, no discussion of what the most likely cause and possible repairs entailed, etc. A very obvious scam. Very dishonest.