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:10/10/2024

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  This complaint is about two service calls to my home by Drain Masters. Unexpectedly, my crawlspace flooded days after Drain Masters' service, a wholly unexpected and unprecedented situation that had never occurred in my five years and nine months of homeownership. I saved the 51-year-old boiler from flooding by digging a trench to the sump pump. This has severely impacted my property, causing significant damage and requiring immediate attention. According to the company's notes:"Overall, the system appears to be functioning properly and keeping water out of the crawl space, however, the age of the pump is unknown. The average life expectancy of a sump pump is 7 to 10 years. It is recommended that the pump be replaced to ensure proper operation."*****, the General Manager (**), left a message on my phone and has yet to call back. I contacted **** a co-owner, and he said he would have his wife, *****, call me back, but she has yet to do so as of 10/10/24. I am currently working with licensed plumbers for the correction, which will cost me a significant amount of money, yet to be determined. The work was completed by a technician from ******* who mentioned he had been in ****** one week. The other tech, left the my home on an errand, and returned after the ************ was done. I had asked for a new separate pump, not to use the current basin. I wanted my boiler install to go well. It did not go well. Per ****, there can be up to 2 inches of water in a crawlspace at any time. That appears alarming to me, but I am not a plumber.I understand accidents happen, I just would ask that they reach out to resolve this with me. I am willing to share the before and after pictures with them and my notes.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/21/2024

  Please add the *** download of calls and text messages log to my complaint. I appreciate your support and for allowing me to add the call log to my complaint.

  Attached is the call log to Drain Masters Business.  I did not attempt to call them after hours, and I believe they blocked my calls and text messages to contact them.  They will respond as **** the owner, contacted me on Friday about the complaint, as shown in the 33-minute conversation. The complaint, in this case, is about the poor service and the subsequent damage caused by their work.  

  Rest assured, I am taking all necessary steps to resolve this issue. I have incurred substantial costs due to the cut pipe that was spewing water and flooding the basement crawlspace, but I am actively working to address this.  

  Thank you, ****** **********.

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

  
  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/22/2024

  Re: Complaint from ****** **********

  Dear Better Business Bureau and ****** **********,

  Thank you for giving us the opportunity to respond to the concerns raised by Ms. ****** **********. At Drain Masters, we strive to deliver high-quality service and customer satisfaction. We appreciate Ms. *********** feedback and regret that her experience did not fully meet her expectations.

  Ms. ********** engaged our services for issues related to her sump pump system. Our team visited her property multiple times to replace her existing pump and address knocking noises. We made every effort to investigate and resolve her concerns, including revisiting the property when she reported water pooling on the plastic in her crawl space.

  Based on our inspection and the functioning of the installed sump pump, we are confident that the pooling was not caused by a defective pump, as the basin never overfilled. However, we acknowledge that during our communication, we did not adequately follow up on her request to explore the installation of a secondary sump pump with a water alarm. This omission was an oversight on our part, and we sincerely apologize for not addressing her request in a timely manner.

  To resolve this matter amicably, we are committed to ensuring Ms. *********** concerns are fully addressed. While we do not believe a refund is warranted, as the system we installed performed as expected, we are willing to:

  *** style="color: black;">Schedule a complimentary visit to evaluate her current system further and present options for a secondary sump pump with a water alarm, as she originally requested. *** style="color: black;">Provide a discount on the installation of any additional equipment should she choose to proceed with our services.

  Our goal is always to increase our customers comfort and peace of mind, and we regret any frustration or dissatisfaction Ms. ********** may have experienced. Please let us know if additional details or documentation are required to assist with resolving this matter.

  Thank you for your time and consideration.

  Sincerely,
  ***** ******

  General Manager
  Drain Masters
  ************

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

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/26/2024

   
  Complaint: 22407061
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The response from Drain Masters is a nice coverup of their continued misrepresentation.  Evidence such as emails, text messages, and failure to answer continued calls provides that Drain Masters never returned after the flooding caused by their cutting my PVC pipe. I have spent much more than their $3,000 charges to renovate my home due to their negligence in cutting my PVC pipe and failure to allow glue to take. This unexpected financial burden has been quite distressing. It has nothing to do with the bumping sound after the first install date where their invoice states there were no problems. All text messages are retained. All voice mail recorded. I will never allow Drain Masters to enter my property, as they are responding with false information. The next step needs to be the Attorney General's Complaint. After damaging my home, a full refund is expected, and next time, send plumbers.

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** **********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/23/2024

  Type:Service or Repair 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.

  I called these guys out as repeat business. We had a drain backup and were able to narrow it down to what was causing the backup. The very inexperienced technician could not unclog the pipe even though we had the same company, a different technician, who successfully unclogged the pipe on a prior visit last year. The technician was not able to get his snake even past the pea trap and even stated "Maybe the pipes have shifted". I ended up having to pay $400 for no results. The technician noted that the next step was to have another technician come out who could send a camera down the drain. However, the technician was unavailable for days, so this was not viable. The technician also stated he was able to get his snake 4 feet down the drain, however this was inaccurate as he was not able to proceed past the peat trap. We got another company to come out and unclog the drain. They snaked the same drain, but the technician sent out was much more knowledgeable and experiencedsuch a vast difference in results. The company responded to our review, offering to make it right with us. We called the company back and left a message. They never returned the phone call. It seems once they get your money, even if they cannot provide the service, they will have no interest in further contact, which is very disappointing.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/15/2024

  I did receive word that you had called. I was out and did not get right on the issue. I am truly sorry for the delay. I refunded the full service charge a couple of weeks after your call. You also put in a review with BBB as is certainly your right and something I support in order to make sure businesses are held to account not only for their service at the time but for their word and promises to resolve. I was unaware you had not received word of the refund as it was processed two weeks ago-it should have hit your account by now.
  You should know that the service, while it seemed the same, was different. I am still glad you were able to get taken care of and am sorry we were not the ones to have done right by you. It is very disappointing to us when we have the rare miss on a call, especially when it means a customer's discomfort was extended for even an extra hour.

  I am sure as a business owner you regret any time a customer isn't served at the level your company expects. We carry that burden with us and strive to be better in the future.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/19/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************