Do not use Appleton Campbell! They did a plumbing job wrong, caused damage, and tried to duck responsibility for it. Thankfully, I made a stop payment with my bank.
The job was a very basic: install a standard kitchen faucet. Five days later, the faucet started leaking. Apparently the plumber Danny didn't tighten the connector hose enough. One morning, I saw rapid drips coming from where the faucet hose connects to the house pipes. To stop it, I used my thumb and finger to tighten the screw and the drips stopped. If I can turn a screw with my fingers only and without a tool, then it's too loose. I estimate that the drip started at night and continued all night until when I unexpectedly splashed through at 6 am. The drip was serious enough that it left a 6 foot x 3 foot puddle of standing water one floor below the kitchen. Fortunately it was an unfinished basement. Unfortunately my kitchen's hardwood floor warped. Basically, I paid a contractor to damage my floor and bill me $512.
One would think that given the above circumstances, they'd be embarrassed and ashamed. No. Instead they tried to duck responsibility. They dispatched a different plumber to examine, and the way he acted, it was clear that Appleton was trying to avoid taking responsibility. When I explained the facts and my observations, the second "Master Plumber" was dismissive of them all. He made excuses and refuted everything I said. Me: I saw it leaking. Appleton Campbell (AC): did you record it? No! I was in crisis mode frantically trying to save my kitchen floor from further damage. Me: I had to tight the screw. AC: the previous plumber is a Master Plumber; they don't make those kinds of mistakes. ME: The rug by the sink was wet. AC: Show us. Me: look at the hardwood floor warping! AC: Wood doesn't act that way when wet. ME: There's a 6' x 3' puddle in the basement! AC: It's not directly underneath the sink. Plus there's a lot of snow melting. ME: It dripped through the ceiling. AC: Ceiling's not wet. ME: That's because 6 hours of drying happened before they showed up. AC: The cabinet underneath the sink is dry. ME: Of course! I cleaned it up. Should I have just left it soaking in a pool of water? Me: The previous plumber didn't tighten the screws enough. AC: It wouldn't have started 5 days later. Me: Yes, if it was on just enough to hold until something brushes against it. AC: too much water for just drips. Me: It had dripped 10 hours straight. Excuses and denials instead of apologies.
I made a big enough fuss, that they eventually refund me the money. That's only because I demanded it and even then Jason the manager demanded I sign a waiver absolving them of liability. An honorable company would offer a refund upfront and do so apologetically. I'm glad I did a stop payment on the check, because I'm not certain I would have gotten my $512 back. When I told them that I stopped the check, both the plumber and manager Jason were offended and indignant that I didn't trust them. They said they have a good reputation with the community. Maybe, but I never used them before so they were a bunch of strangers to me. No wonder why most of the posters rate them a 1 star.
Poor workmanship and damages aside, even if the job went well, I still had my reservations about using them simply because of the price. They charged $521 to install a kitchen faucet. That's right, folks. Five hundred twenty one dollars for a basic, off the shelf faucet from Lowes. It took just slightly over an hour to install. Wow! Doctors and K street law firm associates don't charge that much. AC must be sensitive to the criticism. In their sales pitch for their annual maintenance contract (yes, they push this just as other posters said), they have a full page dedicated to trying to justify high prices. I mentioned the price on the phone and heard the same spiel that other posters on this site said: Pay for the truck, office overhead, quality, etc. All contractors have trucks and offices so I don't understand why they have costs that others don't have. One final comment. The previous owners of the house contacted Appleton to rectify findings in the home sale inspection. They didn't use AC because of the price. Here's the funny part. They still tried to push their annual maintenance even though the owners were moving in a month.
Don't use Appleton Campbell. The low Yelp rating is not an accident. read more
