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:02/05/2024

  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.

  On January 17 2024 Mr Veron from Hamilton plumbing and heating came out to my home to provide plumbing services for my basement bathroom back flowing water prior to him coming out I told him I needed service with the camera due to the fact that I have no back flow valve as I was told by the city .and the cost would be $ 600 .well during whatever service mr Veron was doing in my basement bathroom his equipment got suck in my drain . Which i was told the camera should had went in first to assess the problem before the snake .Mr veron proceeded to tell me he could not remove the snake it would have to stay in the drain and I would have to pay to get the front yard dig up out of my pockets to have it removed . I call around to get several opinions from different plumbers and was told that Mr. Vernon should have used his camera before snaking the drain and he did not . So I’m left with a snake coming out of my bathroom floor and have to pay to get it removed

  Business Response

  Date: 02/07/2024

  The call received from Mrs. ***** was initially for a noisy furnace. We responded to the call the same day and found that the blower wheel had separated and would need to be replaced. This would require some research to find the part and determine if it was still available. The furnace is over 20 years old. During the visit, Mrs. ***** had told us that she had been experiencing issues with water backing up in her basement. Since we went out for a heating issue, we were not prepared to deal with this problem at that time. We collected the agreed upon $120.00 service fee at that time for the call out and the diagnosis of the heating system. 

  The next day, after multiple calls to different supply houses we were able to locate a replacement part for her furnace. At that time, I called Mrs. ***** to explain what I found, and quoted a repair for the furnace. At which time the issue with water backing up was brought up. During this time she explained that she had already called the city and they came out and told her that she had no exterior cleanout so she needed to contact a plumber to have them come out and snake the line. We quoted her $600.00 which included snaking the main sewer in an attempt to clear the blockage and removal of the basement toilet for access to the sewer.

  Upon arrival to snake the sewer I found that the basement toilet had already been removed by Mrs. ***** prior to our arrival. When I asked why the toilet was out, she said she took it out because she thought that taking the toilet out might fix her problem, it did not. The pipe where the toilet would have been was full/overflowing with sewage water, poop and toilet paper. She had also told me that she had just dumped an entire bottle of main line cleaner into the drain (a very caustic drain cleaning chemical).

  Due to the extent of the backup (how full the drain was with poop and toilet paper) along with the caustic drain cleaning chemicals in the drain, the course of action was to establish flow in the drain with a drain snake, and if desired we could follow up with a camera to determine what the issue was with the sewer. There was never the mention from the homeowner about a camera inspection or use of a sewer camera. It was not included in the initial fee discussed.

  While snaking the line, the drain emptied. Upon attempt to remove the drain snake, it was found that the line was compromised (the sewer out front of the property is thought to be original to the house) and the drain snake had gone outside of the sewer pipe and would not come back. I have over 20 years experience in plumbing, and have cleaned thousands of sewers/drains in my career. I spent hours attempting different techniques and methods along with the use of a sewer camera in an attempt to retrieve the cable from the sewer. At this point, due to the condition of the sewer it was determined that a sewer replacement was necessary. 

  The homeowner was given multiple options, they were all explained thoroughly multiple times. One of the options included removing the drain cable from our machine, coiling it up and containing it and paying her to allow us to come back and get the cable once the sewer replacement was done and the option they choose was to have the cable cut and abandoned in the sewer and she said that she would figure out how to deal with it later. We explained that we needed to be paid for the cable if we cut it and left it and that was agreed. I then spent another 30-40 minutes attempting to retrieve that cable, confirmed again that she wanted it cut and at that time we cut it. The cost of the cable was $495.00 which we were paid for. We did not remove the toilet, and could not reinstall it (if requested) due to the drain cable being cut and left at the homeowners request. 

  We are sorry Mrs. ***** is unhappy with our service, there was alot of time, effort and use of different tools and the sewer camera in an attempt to remove the drain cable from the drain (at no charge to her). Regardless of if the cable was able to be removed or not, the sewer is still compromised and still would need to be replaced. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/10/2023

  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.

  (BBB Caseworker took over due to consumer being disabled)- the consumer has advised that she has attempted to reach the business, but the business has never called back. It was also advised that the boiler has a red light that has come on and been on 6 months after the installation 10/28/2022.

  Business Response

  Date: 05/15/2023

  We replaced the boiler for Mrs. ****** back in October of 2022. 

  
  

  Within a month of the install, the boiler displayed a red light indicating service necessary. This light comes on based on an internal timer that needs to be reset. Mr. ****** was the one who made the initial call about this. I had a conversation with him, he explained that the boiler had been working fine. I told him as long as the boiler was heating the house adequately that the light was not a problem and it could be reset when they wanted us to come back for normal, routine maintenance. He agreed to this. The boiler does not require any routine service until after a year of installation. 

  
  

  Approximately a month or so later Mrs. ****** called and I had a conversation with her about some additional work she wanted done, she then confirmed that her heat had been working "better then ever".

  
  

  Mrs. ****** is a nice lady, but older and I believe may be starting to develop memory issues. When she calls, she wants to talk about issues with her and her husband, she repeats herself alot, which takes up alot of time throughout the day. She will call sometimes multiple times a day. Once on the phone, I would have a hard time getting her off the phone. It got to the point that I started screening her calls because it was becoming too time consuming talking with her about "nothing". 

  
  

  She will call and request work to be done that I have explained that we do not typically do (buy her fans from Graingers and a dehumidifier and bring them to her house, assemble and install). The few times i've been to her house, her and her husband constantly argue and fight while we are there. They argue about the work that she wants done, and it makes for a very awkward visit. The day of the boiler installation, she called the cops on her husband because they were fighting, the officers explained to me that they were at the house frequently. 

  
  

  As I stated, Mrs. ****** is a nice lady, and I have no problems helping with real issues for services that we offer. I just can not spend time on the phone as frequently as she would like. 

  
  

  I hope this helps explain the situation. 

  
  

  Thanks,

  
  

  ****** Frost 

  Hamilton Plumbing, Heating & Air Conditioning 

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

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/23/2023

   
  Complaint: 20042191
  
  I am rejecting this response because: (BBB note-we have spoken to the consumer and taken her rebuttal over the phone.  Mrs. ****** has advised that she would just like someone from the business to call l and explain the red light to her in detail, in the event that it happens again.  Mrs. ****** has also asked for the name of the person advised could make the flexible hose for AC unto outside.  Lastly, she is also looking for an apology.) 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ********* ******