This plumber was recommended to me by a neighbor to install a house water filter. After calling this company, I was told to email because that was the way they booked appointments. I sent an email requesting a quote along with my address and phone number.
I received a call a few days later to schedule an appointment. I again asked for an estimate and was told he couldn't give me one until he saw the job. My neighbor's cost was 238.00 and has the same house by the same builder, so I was guessing that mine would be close to his.
When the plumber arrived he had a helper and we discussed the job and he told me he would have it done in an hour and it would be no problem. As I watched them install the filter I noticed that they were using plywood to bolt the unit to, so I told them I had extra plywood that they could use rather than use theirs. They insisted on using theirs.
The job was completed in under an hour and it looked good and everything seemed to be working fine.
I received the bill a week later and was shocked! I was charged $380.00 for my job. As I looked at the invoice, I noticed he charged me an extra 45.00 for his helper along with his 70.00 per hr fee and his material prices were insane. I called some plumbing supply companies and went to Home Depot and Lowe's and priced all the materials out that he charged me for. I was charged close to $65.00 over what the material cost. For example, 13-1" crimp rings for 18.98. A bag of 25 costs 9.89 at Lowe's. The piece of 12"x16" plywood that I told him that I had cost me $12.50!
I called regarding the bill and discussed it with him. I talked to him about the surprise $45.00 helper fee, which is the first time I have ever seen this in any trade. I also discussed his markup on materials. He said he would call me back after he went over invoice again. He called a few days later and said yes he did overcharge me for the crimp rings, his bad, but all the other charges were right. I told him about the prices that I got when I called around and his response was I can't buy from Home Depot or Lowe's because I won't be able to warranty my work and that he had to charge that much more than plumbing supply store to make a living.
I was in construction for many years and understand that some costs (gas, time) have to passed on to the customer, but to charge $140.00 more than my neighbor.
Beware of Sam's Plumbing Solutions unless you want to be extremely overcharged! Try getting an estimate out of them, apparently they don't know how to do those! read more
