Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/01/2023

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Mason's Plumbing was hired to hang a wall hung vanity and a wall hung toilet in our downstairs washroom when renovations were being done. Both accessories began to pull out from the wall about one year ago. We had to place an hydraulic jack under the vanity so we wouldn't be injured if it fell. Mason's Plumbing also installed a wall hung toilet in our upstairs bathroom, and the toilet fell off of the wall with a person on it within 24 hours of installation. Thankfully, no one was injured. The upstairs toilet was finally installed properly by another plumbing company who discovered that the inner frame inside the wall had not been attached properly to the wall framing. It took over a year to get the upstairs toilet properly installed at some of our expense. We suspected that Mason's made the same mistake with the downstairs toilet, and we were right. The frame was not installed evenly, leaving a ridge in the center seam of the tile, and the two clamps could not fasten for the toilet. With the vanity, no bracing of any kind was built into the wall, and Mason's simply fastened the two clips on the back of the vanity into the drywall, without plugs or any support. As a result of the poor installation, both the wall hung toilet and wall vanity were separating from the wall. We called Mason's over one year ago to come and see this, and to fix both. We received no reply. We sent several emails and SMS to try to get action, mentioning that we were going to take additional steps to resolve this, and received no reply until early December 2022. The owner promised to call us back, but he never did. At first, he said he was sick and would call us back later. That was mid-December. Still no response of any kind. We hired a plumber, carpenter and tiler to fix these problems and paid out of pocket. Mason's owes us $2,407.46 for repairs caused by them and our cost to repair before someone was seriously injured.

  Business Response

  Date: 13/01/2023

  **** ***** (Owner) called ***** ******. **** went over the timeline of events which Mr. ****** outlined.

  The one toilet was fixed by Mason's Plumbing and Heating in a timely manner after Mr. ****** noticed it. The vanities were not hung by Mason's Plumbing & Heating. They were hung by a carpentry company. Mason's only hooked up the plumbing to vanity. The secondary toilet which was a potential safety hazard was also discussed with a contractor, and the studs were not straight for the carrier, and this was a carpentry issue. 

  The matter was discussed between **** and *****, and an agreed upon outcome was reached. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 16/01/2023

  For the record, I’d like to have the following inserted into my response on your website:  In the first instance, the toilet fell off the wall within 24 hours of installation.  Mason’s responded quickly and rehung it, but did not fix the problem.  We complained.  No action was taken by Masons, and then we called a different plumbing company about 10 to 12 months or so later to examine the installation. This other company opened the wall and discovered that the frame inside the wall was not attached properly.  We then took pictures and contacted Masons again.  They agreed that there was a problem and sent a carpenter to fix and reseal the wall.  Regarding Masons response to our complaint about the second toilet, what they fail to understand is that, when asked to rehang the toilet, if there was a problem, they had a responsibility to us to explain and remedy.  Instead, they just tried to rehang the toilet on a crooked wall without telling us.  I know that Masons will say that the wall somehow “warped” over the next three years, but that is absolutely incorrect.  If the wall warped, it would have damaged the tiles on the wall.  There was no damage or signs of shifting.  Why blame everything on the carpenters when, as “professionals”, they should understand their responsibility to do a professional job and do it correctly from the very beginning. It also shouldn’t take over 8 weeks for Masons to return our numerous calls or respond to our emails.  When I drew this to the attention of the owner, my question was again not answered.We’ve received a cash settlement, and will have nothing to do with Masons Plumbing in the future.

   

   

  ***** ******

  ** *** *** ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/12/2022

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We had a sewer backing up. We called Mason's to fix. We were given an appointment some 10 days into the future, originally scheduled for August 4. By July 31 the sewer back up was getting worse so we asked Mason's to come out immediately. They came and spent about 1 hour at the house. They used an auger to try to see if the problem was just a clogged pipe. Mason's staff, *****, suggested using a scope camera to see of there was any other problem. He was not able to identify nor fix the problem and thus requested we stop using all water including toilets in the house and that Mason's would come back on Tuesday to fix the problem. The house is occupied by my 83 year old mother plus we had 3 house guests. By middle of the following week, and despite numerous calls, we gave up on Mason's and called another plumber to fix. This plumber, Rhynos, fixed the problem. They charged us about $1800 for several staff and use of back hoe, which was thought was fair. It came as a total shock to us though, to receive an invoice from Mason's for $733.13. Their invoice included $247.50 for 1.5 hours at OT rates, $150 for use of auger, $225 for use of camera and an extra $15 for "truck fee" total 637.50 plus HST $95.63 =$733.13. Mason's staff never told us what the visit would cost, that use of the auger and camera would be extra and it was even their idea to use the camera. Making matters worse, they never fixed the problem and left senior citizens in the lurch about plumbing in the house. When the bill came in we emailed Mason's on Aug 27 disputing the amount and offering to settle at $500. Mason's admitted in the Aug 29 response that they should have advised us about the auger and camera charge but they would not reduce the bill. I again offered the $500. On Oct 6 requesting payment and threating to charge 2% interest. On Oct 6 they send an invoice to my mother for 2% interest or $14.66. Please note we never signed any PO, never had any indication of what the work would cost, not told that use of their tools resulted in extra charges, not happy to be subject to interest threats (carried out) and were basically not happy with their service.
  
  
  
  
  
  :

  Business Response

  Date: 12/12/2022

  We removed the auger charge ($150.00) due to the customer not being made aware of the cost of the equipment.

  Customer agreed to the terms.

  Payment has been settled.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:13/08/2022

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date of transaction; June 02, 2022
  Amount of money paid; $868.95
  What the business committed to provide; Replace flow sensor in domestic hot water boiler.
  Nature of the dispute; Labour costs.
  Whether or not business tried to resolve the problem; Not really - see below.
  Invoice number; 7997
  I had this same part replaced in 2019 by another company. At the time it was done 'free of charge' as part of an annual service. I did observe the work involved to replace the sensor - approximately 40 minutes. The work at that time was performed by a senior technician familiar with our NTI combi boiler. In June I was surprised that Mason's sent a junior technician along with an apprentice (trainee?). Initially the junior tech tried to install the sensor in the incorrect port in the boiler resulting in one of the O-rings being permanently damaged. Next we had a flood in the utility room (fortunately it has a drain), due to the floor heating drain valve being opened. This was followed by a 'pressure relief valve' playing up and requiring a trip to acquire a new one. Eventually the old sensor was replaced with the new one by reusing the O-ring from the old sensor. This service call took at least 2 hours. I felt the Mason's invoice was far too expensive for what should have been a one man job of less than one hour. Plus, you don't send a junior and a trainee technician to work on a complex system and then expect the customer to pay for the 'training costs'. I recognize we desperately need new technicians but not at the customer's expense or possible equipment damage I contacted Mason's to speak to the owner (****), but he did not want to speak to me and had his recently hired office manager act as the 'mediator' (I felt sorry for her). She was very professional through out the 2 or 3 phone calls I made hoping to speak to ****. This never happened and the situation remains unresolved. At a minimum I was hoping that some compromise could be reached regarding the invoice. Thank you, PK

  Business Response

  Date: 23/08/2022

  **** ***** (owner) spoke to ***** **** at 4:51pm on Thursday August 18th 2022. **** gave his apologies to ***** as he understood he was not happy after receiving the BBB email. **** informed ***** that neither himself or ********* (office manager) were aware that ***** wanted to speak with **** directly, because as the Office Manager, ********* handles invoice inquires under her job role. **** told ***** he would be happy to reduce the labor hours from two technicians to one, and also offered to reduce the hours for travel to and from the supplier. On the phone, ***** stated to **** that he was happy with this outcome. Mason's Plumbing & Heating Inc. has since refunded ***** the appropriate amount of money.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 27/08/2022

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I received a phone call from **** Mason (Mason's Plumbing and Heating), apologizing for the miscommunication along with his offer to correct the situation. I have also reviewed the response made by **** in reference to complaint ID 17713098, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. We have subsequently received the revised invoice along with a refund. I consider this matter closed.

  Thank you for your prompt action and follow-up.

  Take care,

  ***** ****