Public Mediation

My Claim vs. B's Plumbing Dispute #1202044

R. M. vs. B's Plumbing
PO Box 2422, Waldorf, Maryland, 20604-2422, United States
Amount Involved: $147.50
Complaint(s): Problem with a service
    • Status: In Negotiation
      This claim has posted for public comment and negotiation. It will remain posted until resolved to the claimant's satisfaction. Suggest a resolution to help these parties reach a settlement.
    • View response from: B's Plumbing
    • Claimant Seeks: View.
    • Claim #: 1202044
    • Amount Involved: 147.50
    • Filed On: Oct 01, 2013
    • Posted On: Oct 12, 2013
    • Complaint(s):
      • Problem with a service
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Statement of Claim
Complaint Involved (1) - View
Claimant says:
"On 24 September 2013, B's Plumbing Company came to my residence at my request to resolve a water heater issue. The hot water heater is only a few days old at this point. It was set at 100 degrees but heated the water at 130 degrees. The plumber worked on the heater for about 10 minutes and then came to tell me he fixed the problem. He told me it was not under warranty so he must charge me $95 for service call and $47.50 for labor. The bill total came to $147.50 even though I thought for sure he said $142.50 at the house. His computer ran out of energy at my house so he told me he would send me the invoice via E-mail. The invoice said, "$147.50."

The next day I noticed the water only got luke warm out of the faucets. The following morning, the water was cold. I called the manufacturer to tell them and they told me that the plumbing company has a 30 day warranty on their work. They are responsible. Then I called the plumbing company and told them I want them to come out and resolve the issue and it should be under the warranty they gave me. That afternoon, the plumber called and told me he didn't want to come out without being paid. I told him what the manufacturer told me. He told me he will arrange a conference call with them that evening. He did not.

On 24 September 2013, I went back to the retailer and arranged a return of the item and its installation. On Monday, 30 September, I called B's Plumbing to ask for my money back. That afternoon the plumber responded by telling me he doesn't have to because the tank was messed up by someone else in the first place. I dissented. The following afternoon, another plumbing company, American Home Services, told me that the smart control panel was not installed correctly and it was probably the reason for the water not heating properly.

I am not an expert on water heaters, but the fact that I had hot water before B's Plumbing came out to service my heater but not afterwards. And the report from American Home Services who told me it was not properly installed causes me to believe proper service was not provided and the warranty should have been honored by B's Plumbing company. At the bottom of the invoice, there is a notation stating, "(60 day warranty)"
...
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What Claimant Wants Hide
1. Refund: Service on 24 September 2013 Oct 16, 2013 $147.50
2. Other – Copy claim to regulators Oct 16, 2013 $14.99
3. Other – Pay for claim posting cost Oct 16, 2013 $7.99
Cash total : $170.48
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Respondent's Counteroffer Hide
The claimant's settlement terms were rejected with the following explanation:
  • I disagree with the explanation / grounds provided

    "In Reference: Ronald Messinger
    3630 Elsa Avenue
    Waldorf Md 20603

    9/24/13 1:15pm Mr. Messinger called our office for service on a whirlpool heater. He had the heater installed a couple of days ago that he purchase from Lowes in waldorf md. Mr. Messinger was given the name of our company thru the warranty process with whirlpool as we are an authorized service contractor for Whirlpool Corporation.

    I arrived appromatily at 4:50 the same day and Mr. Messinger's complaint was that the heater was getting too hot and discharging water out of the relief valve.

    I found that the top thermostat had been removed for its housing with the wiring still attached and quicking figured out what the issue was. The issue is that with the thermostat out of its housing, of which holds the thermostat firmly against the side of the tank so that it can sense the temperature - without it being in it housing it could not read the temperature of the tank, thus overheating and discharging

    Before he would allow me to make the repair, he asked me to wait while his plumber that did the job arrived as they were in the neighborhood. A few minutes later, two men show up, his neighbors, and they were reeking of alcohol. It was very apparent that these two men were not plumber of any means. They explained to me that they had left it that way on purpose for reasons that were not clear to me.

    I made my repairs and when it came time to pay there was disagreement with Mr. Messinger and his neighbors on who would pay the bill. He felt that they should have paid the bill since they did the install and he advised me to charge them. I had to remind him that it was him that called us and that it made no different of who paid as long as it was paid

    Mr. Messinger paid the bill. Being a representive of whirlpool warranty, I was not able to process the claim thru whirlpool as it was not a warranty issue. It was of no fault of whirlpool for the conditions of which I found the water heater.

    3 days later on 9/27/13 Mr. Messinger called in for 2nd service call and was scheduled for the following Monday . Later in the day, I called whirlpool and advised them of my finding on 9/24 and they decline to provide me with a work order for a return call. I then called and advised him that he would be the one that would have to pay for the service if it was not related to the upper thermostat that was fixed on 9/24. He explained to me that whirlpool told him to call me and that they would pay the bill. With that said, I made arrangement to do a conference cal with him and whirlpool on Monday 9/27/13. When I made the call on Monday, Mr. Messinger told me that he had called Lowes and that they would give him a new heater. Mr. Messinger never made a complaint or asked for any monies during these exchanges with my office or me and we did not hear a word from him until the complaint came in.

    In his complaint , he has stated that on 9/24 /13 I did come out and that he had also called Lowes and made arrangements for a 2nd heater.

    He also states that on 9/30/13 that another plumbing company came out called "American home services” American Home service is not a plumbing company in itself. They are a home warranty company that he had signed up for and they sent a plumber and they states that it was the "smart control panel" was not installed properly. This "smart control panel" is installated at the factory and I had no dealing with it. It was intact before and after I left.

    Mr. Messinger leaves out why he did not hold his 2 so called plumbers responsive and even took them to task when it was time to pay the original bill on 9/24/13

    He doesn’t reveal why he did not use them to trouble shoot the water heater and I am certain if he had provided the details of the water heater to American Home services, that he had 2 plumbers out to trouble shoot his newly installed unit by an unlicensed plumber, they would of certainly declined him service as well .

    So in closing , Mr. Messinger has now had 3 plumber on the job and still had to replace the unit and never asked the so called "neighbor plumber " to return, Mr. Messinger complaint from the beginning was the unit was too hot and discharging . We fixed that issue and his next complaint is that the unit is not hot enough of which he did not allow us to return due to the fact that he may have to pay out again if it was not related to the services provide on 9/24.


    Yours Truly

    Francis Brooke Matthews
    "

This claim will remain posted until resolved.

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