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:08/04/2024

  Type:Billing 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.

  On 8/2/24, *******************, a plumbing technician, came to my condo. He was "nice enough," and at least removed his shoes before entering, which I appreciated. I had a new **** kitchen faucet to install, and also needed a valve under my sink repaired. He was here a total of 40 minutes and charged me $798.00. I was literally short of breath when he gave me the estimate, but my water didn't work, and he charged me a $78 service fee for even coming out, so what was I to do? I was very angry, so afterwards, called CAPPS and spoke to a manager. The manager said because I had multiple jobs done, *** was supposed to take $50 off of my bill. I said fine, but that I would never recommend the company to anyone. The manager then spoke to his manager, and was able to take an additional $50 off, bringing the total to $698. Big deal. That still comes to $17.00 per minute. Outrageous!! $420 to install a kitchen faucet when the average price is $200-something? They claim they're a family-owned business, so I would think they'd be more in tune with their pricing. They ripped me off and I'm incredibly upset by it.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/18/2024

  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.

  CAPPS plumbing was called by my HOA, to determine the cause of moisture on the ceiling of the unit below.They sent an inexperienced plumber, who spent hours trying to figure out the issue. He was not able to correctly diagnose the issue, nor would he make any attempt at a repair. They lied on the invoice saying I declined to have them do the repair, when in actuality, they told me they did not have the parts in their truck. CAPPS resolution for the leak on their invoice, was to replace the overflow plate, in which he said he did not have the parts in his truck. I made the repair the next day with another plumber, but this turned out to NOT be the cause. This bill was $817 - for basically doing nothing. They were called again a week later, because as mentioned, they did not do the job right the first time. I was charged an additional $397 for not letting them come into my unit to charge me twice and re-investigate the SAME leak. I subsequently hired ***********, who charged only $195 and CORRECTLY diagnosed that the leak was caused by the shower valve. NOT the overflow plate and drain! They did the SHOWER valve repair for $1000 In summary, CAPPS plumbing is a fraud and billed me for providing NO service, for a total of $1200.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/18/2024

  Though ****************** may be upset with the work performed, she was not the paying client for either visit. The paying client was ***** *********************** which can be seen on the attached invoices. They hired us for both visits; therefore, the bill was sent to them and they paid us directly. If ****************** was held financially responsible for our invoices, that is between her and her association as they are legally allowed to charge back unit owners according to their association bylaws. We have had multiple conversations with ****************** and her association since our visits, but all attempts to come to an amicable resolution were unsuccessful. We strongly feel this case should be closed as ****************** was not the paying client for either invoice. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/18/2024

   
  Complaint: 22008551
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  CAPPS Plumbing sent the invoice to ****************, reflecting their LACK of diagnosis on my leak. They did not perform any service whatsoever! The fact that they billed a third party, does not negate CAPPS Plumbing responsibility in doing their job. They are still responsible to do their job and perform the services requested. They did not. 
  I reject their lack of response to my issue, and their refusal to speak to me. This company is very unethical. They should not be able to bill people when they have not provided any service. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 07/19/2024

  Our management team has already discussed these invoices in great length with the paying client (***** Creek Condos) which is why the invoices were approved and paid. The amount of our visit is slightly higher because the first visit reflected overtime labor charges as it was an evening emergency. Regardless of the time, an investigation is still a chargeable visit for labor time. We spend time diagnosing the issue, and if the issue belongs solely to one unit, the unit owner is allowed to hire a vendor of their choice for the repair. In this case, ****************** hired Roto-Rooter for the final repair which is completely her right, but it doesn't have any bearing on the work we initially performed for the association. We completed the investigation and reported our findings to the association as requested by ***** Creek Condos. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/19/2024

   
  Complaint: 22008551
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I would never have filed a complaint against CAPPS, if they had correctly diagnosed and fixed the plumbing issue, when they came out on the first visit!
  The problem is, that CAPPS Plumbing did NOT figure out the problem after several hours, nor did they offer to make an estimate or offer to do a repair. They came out a second time and charged me another $397, on top of the initial $817, for not allowing them to come back and bill me twice for the same leak. 
  I called Roto Rooter, they made the correct diagnosis for under $200 in less than an hour, and sent me an estimate. They came out and fixed and RESOLVED the leak for $1000. 
  In contrast, CAPPS did NOTHING to resolve (determine the cause) of my leak, and charged over $1200. They made TWO wrong diagnosis! They did not do the job correctly, however, they are steadfast in refusing to make a compromise, at the very least. They will not even call or email to discuss! 

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

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/20/2023

  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.

  Hired CAPPS Plumbing in October of 2022. Today is May 20 2023. We had a basement flood where water was coming out of the floor drain and we called them in to assess and fix the problem. They quoted us $14,000 to do a full overhead sewer conversion. We agreed and had them proceed with the work. *** came to do the work and they added to the cost to $18,000 because material cost went up. Then $20,000 cause they needed to bring in the electrician. Then they went up to $28,500 due to unforeseen circumstances that they should have seen since they went into the pipes with a camera. We ended up paying the final $28,500 for them to complete the work that they recommended to make sure my basement doesnt flood again. When they left my house, they damaged drywall when they were climbing in and out of the egress basement window and hid it with blankets and debris. There was also a smell of sewage that they did not address until the city told them they needed to come back and seal up any open pipes and get rid of any sewer gases. They came and sealed some up but left others because there is still a smell. Today, I called them because my basement was getting water again coming from the floor drain. They came out and checked the issue. They refused to fix the issue unless we paid them another $750 to clean the ejector pump bucket and hopefully that works saying that the ejector pump THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO EJECT P*** AND WASTE AND SINK MATTER FAILED AND IT WAS OUR FAULT because there was waste in the ejector bucket. THEY REFUSED TO WARRANTY THEIR WORK THAT WE HAD ALREADY PAID $28,500 FOR THEM TO FIX and wanted more money from us!In the end we lost $28,500 and we still have the issue that was supposed to be fixed to begin with which was water coming out of the floor drain. We do not want the company to come back and fix the problem anymore because we dont believe they will do anything in good faith.We prefer to hire someone else to properly fix the issue.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/24/2023

  We returned to the customer's home recently on emergency for the floor drain backing up. A floor drain backup is a plumbing "symptom" that can be caused by a variety of different sewer issues inside or outside of the home. Prior to this visit, we performed an overhead sewer conversion for the customer as part of a village rebate program that encourages homeowners to bring their sewer overhead to prevent their home from backing up when the village main outside is backed up. Bringing the sewer overhead means to raise the home's sewer higher than the village sewer main so it will drain by gravity and prevent the village main from backing up back into the home. Homeowners that have an underground sewer will back up when the village main is backed up, and that backup will appear in the same location - the floor drain. We converted the home from an underground sewer to an overhead sewer as proposed, and the homeowner was reimbursed a large portion of that expense from the village as part of the program. I have attached our estimates and invoices from the previously performed overhead conversion as reference. It is important to note that though you are preventing an issue occurring from the village main sewer, blockages can still occur inside the home that will appear with the same "symptom" which is a backed up floor drain. 

  Our recent visit for the floor drain backing up was not due to an issue with the village main sewer. The floor drain was backed up because there was debris in the new ejector pit we installed inside the home that prevented the ejector pump's float switch from activating. The pump couldn't discharge which left the floor drain as its only exit point. This is the same symptom but a different problem. Debris is not covered under the manufacturer's warranty; therefore, we quoted the homeowner accordingly to clean out the pit to prevent further issues. The homeowner refused the service and was not charged. I have attached the invoice from our recent visit to show there were no charges; therefore, there is nothing to refund at this time. 

  Our previous work is operating correctly (without defects) and continuing to prevent the village main from backing up into the home as it's designed to do. We understand the homeowner spent a lot of money with us previously and can understand why they would think our new system is failing, but in this case, it was a different problem causing a similar issue. We would not be able to return the pump to the manufacturer under warranty because foreign debris was preventing it from operating properly. Without the debris, the pump would be operating at its full capacity. We do not feel a refund is owed at this time because there are no labor or material defects with the system. All work was performed as proposed and agreed upon. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/26/2023

   
  Complaint: 20085705
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  

  Recent invoice that was not signed by ** states:

  ********** Capps the owner voids all warranty of previous work done in the house.

  This shows exactly the type of company this is. They want to void warranty on $28,000 worth of work that we paid for because their customer - **- believes we shouldnt have to pay for a failed pump that they chose, purchased and installed. 

  
  The company chose this ejector pump knowing that it is attached to the kitchen sink and laundry. The downstairs bathroom is not even in use or installed yet but it is also attached to this pump.  We have a main bath that is not attached to this pump.  We do not throw any foreign debris into the drains unless liquid fabric softener from laundry is considered foreign debris. We do not throw cooking oils or solids into the kitchen sink. We also have a garbage disposal that we use in case tiny bits of food gets washed down. We dont even throw toilet paper down to flush because there is no toilet hooked up yet. The ejector that the company chose and installed FAILED. It should have been able to withstand the very normal activity it is being used for and what CAPPS plumbing is aware of since they did our complete sewer  system. Again, the full bath attached to this pump is not even installed yet so this pump failed even using it very minimally. 
  ITS BEEN ONLY 7 months that this company did the job. The rain water coming in from the floor drain was the original problem. This company caused a completely different issue with sewer (laundry/kitchen sink) back up into our basement. This was NOT an issue before. Now it is because of them. 
  The village rebate program helped us pay for the overhead conversion but should have nothing to do with how you are charging customers. Just because the village helped to pay for a portion of the work, that should not give the company green light to up their prices.  WE paid for the majority of the work and the village helped with some.  
  We felt we had no choice but to proceed with the work despite the changing quotes and higher prices because they had already started and dug up our yard and basement when they discovered issues that we had to pay thousands more for. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************
  Sincerely,
  
  *********************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/26/2023

  Per the attached photo, the pit was filled with oil and grease when we arrived. Grease does not break down like waste or paper and will coagulate or collect in excess amounts. This amount of oil and grease does not build up with normal daily activities such as washing dishes. The excessive amount of grease built up in the pit and clung to the switch which weighed it down and prevented the pump from activating. The water then had no place to go except come up the floor drain. This was not a system failure. This is deemed "foreign debris" by the manufacturer and not covered in their warranty program. Without the debris, the pump would have operated properly and discharged. Being outside of the manufacturer's warranty coverage, we quoted accordingly to clean the pit and restore proper operation of the pump. The service was refused, and the invoice was not signed because we were forced out of the home. All of our previous work is operating correctly without any defects in labor or material. We do not feel a refund is justified given there were no charges on the previous visit. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/31/2023

  
  Complaint: 20085705??

  I am rejecting this response because:??

  The photo of the pit attached is NOT of our pit. I have attached a photo of our pit.  The technician who came to our house did not even open the top cover of our pit.  He just unplugged and plugged.

  Coagulated oil and build up of oil does not look like someone poured a pan of recently used deep frying cooking oil in the pit as their photo shows.

  
  Hardened, coagulated oil results in a solid white mass which a simple ****** search will show.   
  

  
  I dont understand why this company would use a photo that is not of the pit in my house and try to pass it off as proof.  I obviously have the pit in my house and can prove otherwise that the pit in the photo is not mine.  Their attemp at proving that there was oil in my pit was also a bust because the oil in that pit of their photo looks like freshly poured oil.  But nice try, though.
  
  Again, this shows the kind of company this is. 
  
  

  I will state this fact again:

  
  WE DO NOT POUR ANYTHING DOWN THE DRAIN THAT SHOULD NOT GO DOWN THE DRAIN.  WE ARE ALSO NOT USING THE PUMP AT ITS INTENDED CAPACITY SINCE HALF OF WHAT ITS SUPPOSED TO BE ABLE TO PUMP OUT AND USED FOR (FULL BATH) IS NOT YET  INSTALLED.  THE PUMP FAILED.  
  ?
  Also, according to the technician my boss said its $750 to clean it out. If you guys dont want to pay that I have to leave right now.  No one forced him to leave except his boss.  
  

  This last reply by the business is COMPLETELY fabricated.  And I didnt expect anything better from them.  

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