ComplaintsforPamela's Plumbing, LLC

• Initial Complaint

  01/12/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company was contracted through *** to replace a leaking water heater in the laundry room. On 12/6/23 their technician and another guy came out to replace it. When he turned the water back on we both heard water coming from a different part of the house. There was water leaking from the ceiling where the air conditioning unit is the hallway. He immediately went to turn off the water and both technicians went into the attic to find out where the water was coming from. The water leaked on the carpet so much that several towels were placed & changed out & a fan to help dry it. A small part of the ceilings in both bedrooms were also affected. I contacted their office immediately & spoke to Teresa who also spoke with Brandon when it happened. I was told they would have someone come out and look at the damage and give them an estimate. ******* came out and reported back to them in December but no one from Pamela’s plumbing contacted me even after I called multiple times over several weeks. Finally in January I spoke with Sean at ******* who stated they were waiting for approval from Pamela. All the info was given to her. After calling the office again, I emailed Pamela on 1/5/24 asking for a status update. She replied on 1/8 at 9:20 “******** called us Friday afternoon to update us on the drying process. I thought it was already taken care of. We are going on good faith that our employees made these spots but are hopeful this will take care of the issues at hand.” She was meeting with ******* that afternoon. Unfortunately I was at work and unable to check my email so I didn’t see the message until I got home. Her email stated they would not cover the damage and it was suggested that I contact my homeowners insurance. I replied to Pamela submitting the real-time video of the water leaking from the ceiling, the water on the carpet, and photos of the water damage to the ceiling. Pamela has not responded to my email since or returned my calls.

  

  Business response

  01/19/2024

  Pamela's Plumbing went out to install **. ******'s water heater in her utility room. Nothing was leaking when we left. The attached pictures are of the water heater that shows the shut off valve. The other picture is of the opposite side of the home that we were not on. After ** ****** contacted us about additional leaks, we went back out and looked at the areas. As a curtiousy, we contacted ******* to go out to look at everything. The areas we were in were completely dry and fine. The leak the customer had has been happening for sometime and has nothing to do with our service to installing the customer with a new water heater. 

  After the feedback from ******* and their assessment of the property they advised both the customer and us that the customer should contact their home insurance. This isn't something we caused. The customer did have water spraying in her attic from uncapped pipe that had been there for however long. We weren't in the attic, we were in the utility room/ garage area. It's possible that maybe the customer originally had the water heater in the attic at one point and relocated it through a different company to the utlity room and they didn't properly cap off those old lines but we can't for sure say. 

  We simply just installed a new water heater in the garage/utility room. 

  Customer response

  01/22/2024

  The response from Pamela’s Plumbing is incorrect. We have never had a problem with water leaking over the air conditioner.  I provided a video of the water leaking while Brandon, your technician, was still there. This was caused by him. The valves may have been placed on the pipes AFTER he caused the damage, but clearly not before. Your technician stated while he was there that your company would come out and fix the damage to the ceiling. I also provided you photos of the water damage on the carpet. The carpet is less than 3 years old. Those spots on the ceiling were not there prior to your technician causing it. Very well may be an accident but it happened and it should be rectified. Especially when I have the proof that it was caused as a result of Brandon’s negligence. I asked before and I’m asling again why should the insurance be filed for something your technician caused. Your email to me stated that you would fix the problem. You waited weeks to contact ******* and by that time, according to Sean at *******, things have changed and another estimate would be needed. The only reason why you spoke with them weeks after the incident is because I contacted them multiple times to find out the status of them coming out to make the repairs. You and they dragged your feet taking care of this. Sean stated that he was waiting for approval from you after they came out and he was never able to get in contact with Pamela after leaving multiple messages just as I did. The damage to the ceiling and floor was caused when your technician installed the water heater. 

  

  Business response

  01/26/2024

  As Pamela's Plumbing previously stated, we were not in the areas of the leaks in **. ******* home. We were simply there to install the new water heater through her warranty company in the garage/utility room area. The leaks are inside her home. The water stains appear to be older stains as ******* responded and the area our company was working in was completely dry also as ******* has stated.  

  Customer response

  01/26/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  There is incorrect information in their response. Yes, they came out to install a water heater after being contracted from ***. The picture that they provided with the shut off valves in place was taken AFTER the incident with the water leaking. When Brandon turned the water on- before placing the shut off valves- water started leaking over the unit in the hallway. He heard the water running, asked me if I heard it, and we both went to where the air unit is. I opened the door and we both saw water pouring from the ceiling. I attached the video of the water coming through the ceiling, Brandon immediately went back to turn the water off. He and the other guy with him went into the attic to look at what was up there. They came back down and THAT is when he placed the valves on the pipes. When he turned the water on again, it didn’t leak anymore. I contacted Teresa at Pamela’s plumbing and told her what happened while it was happening. Their technicians were still there trying to fix it. Brandon told me and my husband that someone would come out and fix the ceiling because it was going to leave a water spot. 
  

  This incident happened Dec. 6 and I contacted their front office person who stated she would let Pamela know what happened and they would get someone to come out to fix it. They hired ******* to come out several days later. I made numerous calls to ******* to find out the status of them fixing the damage. I had to contact *******’s corporate office and email the local owner. On 1/5/2024 I received a call from Sean at *******. He stated that they have made several attempts to reach Pamela for approval to come fix the damage but their attempts were unsuccessful. He explained to me that since a long period of time had gone by, another estimate may be needed. I immediately contacted Pamela’s plumbing and spoke with Teresa who said that she thought the damage was already fixed. I was very upset that so much time had gone by and no one at their company was making this a priority. I was being ignored. She advised me to email Pamela, which I did on 1/5/24. Pamela responded via email 1/8/24 at 9:20 saying she was going to meet with ******* later that day and she asked for my expectations. I am attaching the email conversations. She included that they (*******) were to dry any wet areas and touch up the paint on the ceiling. I received another email from her at 4:37 that same day saying that she never heard back from me and she met with *******. Since the damage happened in the garage area which was not where their technician was working, they would not fix anything.  She suggested that I contact my homeowners insurance. 
  I was at work that day and cannot check personal emails while working. I didn’t see her emails until I got off at *. This company has my phone number, at no time did she attempt to call me to speak with me directly before going to meet with *******. Pamela has never called me at ANY time during this whole ordeal. 
  The water heater is in the laundry room not the garage as she keeps saying. The water leaking was over the air conditioning unit in the hallway. The pipes were in place that way upon purchase of the home over 30 years ago. At no time have we ever had a company cause any damage when changing the water heater. I know this was not done with malicious intent but it happened and for Pamela to insinuate that they aren’t responsible is absurd. There was no damage there before. I have attempted to get them to fix damage that they caused. 

  I have attached the video of the water leaking and I attempted to attach the emails from me to Pamela on 1/5 and her responses on 1/8 but the files are too large. If there is another way to send them, please let me know. 

  I would like for their company to honor what she said in the email and have for ******* or another company fix/paint the damage to the ceiling. 
  

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

  

  Business response

  02/06/2024

  As previously stated when ******* came out, the area Pamela's Plumbing worked in was dry. There wasn't a need to dry or fix anything.  After speaking to *******, there again wasn't any damage to the areas Pamela's Plumbing was working in. We replaced a water heater as a 3rd party through the warranty company. **. ***** needs to contact her warranty company as we are 3rd party. She will need to get her homeowners insurance involved as the spots appeared to have been there for a while. This is not something Pamela's Plumbing is responsible for. We only installed a water heater that is not in the areas of where the customer had the leaks at. 

  Customer response

  02/16/2024

  The owners of Pamela's Plumbing are providing false statements and not taking ownership for the damage that their employee caused. When ******* came out to the house, the areas were not completely dry, especially the carpet. I placed a large fan in the hallway to help dry the carpet because it smelled moldy. It was several days before ******* came out, at no fault of my own. Pamela's Plumbing was the one who contracted them. The water damage to the ceiling was already noticeable. Sean at ******* stated to me that their company tried contacting Pamela's Plumbing several times to give them an estimate but were unsuccessful reaching them. Apparently the owners don't understand that I have a video of the water leaking from the ceiling while their employee was still at the house scrambling to figure out what the problem was. Once he placed the shut off valves on the pipes where the water heater is located, the water did not leak once turned back on. I also have live video of the water on the carpet. Irregardless of them saying it was in a different part of the house, that does not negate the fact that the water leaked as a result of their employee neglecting to put the values on the pipes properly. There has never been a dispute about where the water leak took place!! That is not even the problem here as they continue to reference. It's in the videos provided. You CANNOT deny the videos! The pipes run to the AC unit in the hallway. Not putting the shut off valves on before turning on the water caused the water to leak where the AC unit is. This has never been a problem when changing the water heater in years past. Maybe their technician is a novice and had no experience with these types of heaters/pipes. Please Let It Be Known that the technician - Brandon, called their office and spoke with Teresa while he was at the house trying to figure out the problem. He admitted it to their office staff member and she confirmed that she was aware that it happened when I spoke with her - again while he was still at the house. 

  I do not know why ******* advised them to take this route, but I speculate they are not aware of the video taken while Pamela's employee was still at the house trying to correct the problem. It doesn't matter what the owners of this company say, the water leaking was caused by their technician. It does not matter where the water leaked from, it leaked as a result of his negligence to place the correct valves on the pipes before turning on the water. 

  As I stated before, there was no damage to the ceiling before this incident. The carpet was installed in ****, so at the time just a little over 3 years old. This situation is the absolute worse and the fact that they are pulling another company into this as an excuse to get out of fixing the damage that their employee caused is incomprehensible. I contacted the company that contracted them and have asked them to place on my account to NEVER use them again for any of my plumbing needs. 

• Initial Complaint

  05/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  They did not replace wax seals appropriately causing water damage to ceiling and insulation. They claim damage was there before even though it wasn't because it was only a wax seal problem. Another company came out and fixed their work and replaced the improperly installed wax seals but I still have damage to my ceiling. They refuse to pay for the damage.

  

  Business response

  07/26/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/13) */ The original call came */**/22 through the customer's warranty company. It clearly stated on the work order the following: This is a check and advise. See special instructions. WORK ORDER: ****-**** PROBLEM #1: Plumbing / Pipe leak Location: Guest Bathroom Type: (unknown) UPSTAIRS HALF BATH THAT IS OVER THE GARAGE IS LEAKING INTO THE GARAGE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Check & advise. Call ************ with diagnosis before initiating repair and/or replacement. Authorization is required prior to payment of any invoice. The damage was already there prior to our company coming out. Since the policy was just bought - effective **/**/22, it came to our company as a check and advise. Meaning we can't do anything unless the warranty company approves it. We called it into the warranty company to ask to open the ceiling and to check to see where the leak was coming from. We wanted to see if the leak was only coming from the toilet or if any pipes may be broken. We wanted to start with the open ceiling and pulling and resetting the toilet and it was denied because the policy was too new for services. Invoiced **** for 50.00 customer paid her 75.00 co payment with the following notes: Notes:****-**** Need autho to cut ceiling- coming from GB. ****** The ****** is the denial autho code that the customer's warranty company gave our company to bill it out and they would contact the customer to let them know of the denial. **/**/22 we received a second call from the warranty company that now stated this (note, it's a completely different work order number as if it were a recall, it would have been the same work order number as our first call): This is a check and advise. See special instructions. WORK ORDER: ****-**** PROBLEM #1: Plumbing / Toilet Date Started: **/**/2022 Add-on to work order SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Check & advise. Call ************ with diagnosis before initiating repair and/or replacement. Authorization is required prior to payment of any invoice. It was this call that our company invoiced for replacing wax rings: Notes:****-**** Replaced wax rings x2 That was still a check and advise so we had to again call to get approval but the warranty company only approved us pulling and resetting the toilet. We really needed to make access to the ceiling as well to be sure there were no other leaks but it was only approved for the pulling and resetting the toilet. */**/22 We received another call from the warranty company stating this (note this is also a different work order number and it wasn't a check and advise because of the length of time was more than 30 days since the customer had the policy): WORK ORDER: ****-**** PROBLEM #1: Plumbing / Pipe leak REQUESTS PRIORITY SERVICE! Location: Guest Bathroom Type: (unknown) and shortly after got another follow up email with this: * CANCEL * CANCEL * CANCEL * CANCEL * CANCEL * CANCEL * CANCEL * CANCEL * to cancel the call. The customer stated she didn't want us coming out as she didn't trust our company doing the work and wanted a different plumbing company. The customer contacted me */*/22 and said she spoke to her warranty company about the damages and they weren't going to pay and to contact our company to see if we would pay. She stated she had another company come out to fix our work (they made the ceiling opening and reset the toilet) and needed her damages repaired because it was our fault. She sent me pictures of the work as well as the invoice ticket from the other company. We also contacted the other plumbing company and they sent pictures as well of the toilet. The pictures show metal bolts on the toliet but we always use plastic ones to prevent them from rusting and leaking. We also noticed that the wax rings themselves were still over the toilet flange so it couldn't be possible to leak. I explained I would have to look further into it to research it and get back with her by Friday or the latest on Monday by end of day */*/22. I needed time to pull the tickets and do some research and get back to her. I contacted her On Monday */*/22 as I said I would and she was upset that we decided that we looked further into everything that we weren't going to cover the damages as the damages were already there prior to our company coming out. She became very upset. She stated she will continue to write bad reviews and let everyone know to never use our company. She kept saying we were liars and told her warranty we replaced a wax seal the first time and didn't but clearly that is not what we did. The approve shows what our 1st invoice said. I couldn't even explain anything to her and eventually I couldn't even speak because she was talking over me. I said have a great day and ended the call. We have to follow the instructions of the warranty company otherwise, we don't get paid for services. The customer is always able to override that by paying directly for something and speaking to their warranty company later on about reimbursement. We certainly don't mind paying for anything that is our fault and have in the past but it was clear to us that the damage was already there prior to our company coming out to the property. There is only one way to set a toilet and in the event that it was improperly set, the water would come out the bottom of the toilet onto the bathroom floor not through the ceiling. Since then, the customer continues to go on social media posting negativity about our company and telling people to do not use our company. As previously stated, we don't mind taking care of problems that we cause, in the case, the damages were already there from the very first work order - the leak into the garage....ceiling was already wet and the insulation was already wet....nothing we did prior to getting there: PROBLEM #1: Plumbing / Pipe leak Location: Guest Bathroom Type: (unknown) UPSTAIRS HALF BATH THAT IS OVER THE GARAGE IS LEAKING INTO THE GARAGE. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/05/18) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) You did not need autho to open the ceiling as the problem was from a wax seal. I've contacted the warranty company 3 times to which they state they did not deny my first claim at all and that you all billed them for a wax seal that was not put in. Problem #2 when the recall was done the wax seals were faulty when placed on. I also asked your guy if we still needed to cut the ceiling open after replacing those to make sure it wasn't a pipe problem and he reassured me it was not and that we didn't. My mom came to stay we turned the water back on as we have every time the water has been off to the toilet when someone isn't using that guest bathroom. When she flushed it water came down the wall again proving it was not done right by you all. I didn't trust your company anymore and I got another company and cancelled yours. The other company came and proved it was wax seals improperly installed by you all and the water wasn't doing that damage in the ceiling till after you all came and improperly installed it. I will continue to give you bad reviews because it was a bad job and I'm sorry if others have the same bad experience. I also use to work for a warranty company and I know you can call right in front of the customer to get autho for anything and that should of been done instead of being sneaky. I will need extensive proof to prove that the warranty company did not approve my claim because that's a lie. They told me other wise and would have definitely called me just like they did for a part on my range the other day. It would be in your best interest just to fix the damage. It's probably dried out now and since the other company came and did the right job we have no longer had problems which proves it was your fault for a improperly installed wax seal and for lying to my warranty company as this is not the first time you have. I have plenty of people to back me up. Also you say you have pictures but I was standing with your guys the whole time they were here and no pictures were taken but I have all kinds of proof including an invoice from the other company. And we can call my warranty company if you want to prove things. Maybe this is not you pamela being a liar but maybe your husband was the first time not sure. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/05/19) */ We did need to get authorization to open the ceiling to ensure that the leak was coming from the toilet and not anything else. Warranty companies have to approve that because afterwards, they usually send out drywall companies to repair the holes in the ceiling that have to be cut for the repairs needed. That has been our experience working with warranty companies in the past. Since this was a check and advise, we didn't have permission/approval to make or do any repairs until it was approved. When customers call into their warranty companies, they speak to customer service but when service providers call into warranty companies, they speak to authorizations departments. These are two totally different departments. The customer service departments is exactly that, to provide and agree with the customer and make the customer happy. Th authorizations department are in a sense the not so good guys. They have to approve or deny customer's service request based off of their plans and coverages. The information provided to the warranty company : ****-**** Need autho to cut ceiling- coming from GB The denial from warranty company: ****** is the denial autho code that the customer's warranty company/authorizations department gave our company. We truly are apologetic that you had a leak prior to our company coming out: WORK ORDER: ****-**** PROBLEM #1: Plumbing / Pipe leak Location: Guest Bathroom Type: (unknown) UPSTAIRS HALF BATH THAT IS OVER THE GARAGE IS LEAKING INTO THE GARAGE SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Check & advise. Call ************ with diagnosis before initiating repair and/or replacement. Authorization is required prior to payment of any invoice. It clearly states that it was leaking into the garage. Again, this was prior to our company even coming out. The damage had already happened if water was leaking into the garage....the ceiling was wet, insulation was wet, etc. For the second call, again, completely different work order (if it were a recall, they would have given the same number (from 1st call ****-****) but the 1st call was denied or otherwise, they would have given the same work order number to it) and even states started on a different date for the problem starting: This is a check and advise. See special instructions. WORK ORDER: ****-**** PROBLEM #1: Plumbing / Toilet Date Started: **/**/2022 Add-on to work order SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: Check & advise. Call ************ with diagnosis before initiating repair and/or replacement. Authorization is required prior to payment of any invoice. Stating to continue to give our company bad reviews and it's in our best interest to fix the damage certainly isn't a way to ask any company for help. Nor is posing blame and calling our team liars etc We didn't cause the damage to start with and nor do we feel it's our responsibility to pay for the damages. The BBB is more than welcome to help decide in this case. Consumer Response /* (2000, 11, 2022/05/23) */ (The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

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