tl;dr - RHD threw out my drain, blamed me for providing a high end sink & took 12 days to figure a drain system out, requiring assistance from another plumbing firm. Then threw away the evidence and provided vague responses not addressing specific mistakes their plumber obviously made. This all cost me $3600 in temporary housing & UHaul expenses as my home was otherwise complete.
Detail:
RHD was the plumbing vendor chosen by my builder. My builder asked me to provide a sink, so I purchased a premium Elkay model via Ferguson (build.com). I delivered it to the job site, drain included, and shortly before finish plumbing began, the measuring technician from the countertop provider even photographed the drain in the box.
The RHD plumber mistakenly thought that the drain was built into the sink and decided to discard it, preferring to use their own strainer and plunger. However, the proprietary Elkay "Perfect Drain" includes more than just a strainer and plunger--it also features a discharge pipe. Consequently, the standard strainer and plunger provided by RHD were incompatible. Despite the availability of drain options online with free overnight shipping and available technical support, it took the RHD plumber 12 days to figure out the drain on this Elkay sink, which is a well-known brand with high ratings.
During this time, the RHD plumber initially claimed I had purchased a used sink because the box had a Ferguson label advertising their eBay storefront, though I had a receipt proving it was new. They then alleged that the strainer and plunger, which had a First Supply label, were provided by me. Eventually, they claimed the issue arose because I chose to provide the kitchen sink, despite it being a request from the builder.
The issue was resolved only after I hired Lukas from Kegonsa Plumbing to help the RHD plumber determine the correct parts to order. These are the parts listed on the sink's product page. I had already provided compatible drains, but the RHD plumber refused to consider them (4 separate models).
Showing RHD's true intent, while the builder had the dumpster removed before RHD completed the finish plumbing, all the boxes and materials were removed from the job site. It seemed the RHD plumber wanted to remove any incriminating evidence.
Due to RHD's nearly two-week delay in figuring out a simple kitchen sink drain, my home, which was already delayed, sat empty due to no occupancy permit as a result of the drain issue (everything else was ready). With my lease expired, I had to take my four pets and four family members to a Residence Inn for 12 days, with all my belongings in two U-Hauls parked in front of the otherwise completed house. The total cost was $3,600.
RHD refused to reimburse me due to their error, so the next phase will involve a summons. Their only response read like how a middle school writer thinks should be written, boasting "We Pride Ourselves on 100% Customer Satisfaction...blah, blah, blah." If they truly prided themselves on customer satisfaction, they would be able to explain why it took 12 days to fix this issue instead of blaming me for providing a sink where multiple photos exist of it with the drain. Even if I had only provided the sink without the drain (which is not true), why did it take so long if this was supposedly my fault?
On top of all of these errors, I paid almost $2K more for a hybrid electric water heater and $500 for an additional gas line in another area. RHD installed a gas water heater which cost significantly less and then used a gas line I could have used in the other area. In spite of this error & their 12 day process to figure out a drain, they will have you believe this is all because of me.
The most hilarious part is that RHD requires my builder to be on-site now for any work, apparently terrified that *gasp* I'm upset that they cost me $3600 and an unimaginable amount of stress as they casually tried to fix an error entirely of their own making. read more