Public Mediation

Plumbing Ministry-Dispute-#2349377

K. E. vs. Plumbing Ministry
1637 80th Avenue, Oakland, California, 94621, United States
Amount Involved: $1,000.00
    • 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.
       (seeking public comment)
    • Claimant Seeks: View.
    • Claim #: 2349377
    • Amount Involved: 1,000.00
    • Filed On: Jul 19, 2012
    • Posted On: Jul 30, 2012
    • Complaint(s):
      • Bad business practices
      • Overcharge or billing error
      • "I just feel ripped off."
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Statement of Claim
Complaints Involved (3) - View
Claimant says:
"This is a problem with Plumbing Ministry of Oakland California.

As per Plumbing Ministry's 2 crew members suggestion along with Luis the owners bid of work needed at my residence in Oakland, the following transpired.

Plumbers Augusto and Angel ran a test on the sewer lateral as I requested in order to pass an East Bay Mud requirement and obtain a certificate of clearance in order to sell my house.

On June 18th the two men showed me that while running this test that the water levels were quickly dropping within the pipe, this meant that the test would fail. They informed me that the pipes from the house to the sewer main would have to be ripped up and replaced. The cost was between $4,500 - $5,000
I exclaimed that this was not going to work for me, that I had no money.
So they pulled the hoses up closer to the house to determine more closely where the leak could be. In doing so, they exclaimed that the leak could be at the junction where the pipes had many seams (they saw this with a pipe camera). I asked how much would this cost. They said $2,500.
I again exclaimed oh this is too much money, I don't believe it, the pipes are new ABS pipes and there is no excessive greenery growing due to a leak.
So I called my contractor (while standing in front of the plumbers) my contractor said he could do it cheaper for less expense to me.

I then received a bid via email from the owner of Plumbing Ministry for $2,500
I told him I would do the work myself and he could reinspect it in front of the EBMUD inspector as was the requirements of Oakland EBMUD.

Friday June 22nd my contractor proceeded to jack hammer concrete and dig out hard clay like dirt around the clean out area your crew suspected the leak to be. All this work and money was in vain for there was no leak. My hired contractor and I worked for three days, prepping the ground as stated, buying supplies to fix the leaks, renting a jack hammer, buying testing supplies, testing the pipes, returning all the unneeded materials and being present during the two tests in question.

Friday June 22nd the inspector came out and met me and my contractor while we were demolishing the concrete in the area the Plumbers said the problem was located. The inspector said we were doing a great job, and we told him that we suspected that the pipes were fine and not leaking.

The following Monday June 25th, the same inspector Chris from EBMUD came out to reinspect the final condition of the sewer lateral.
Plumbing Ministry crew Angel and Augusto the same two guys from the previous week were in attendance.
At this point in time the inspector Chris noted that from the work we had done and the testing that the ABS pipes in question were and are in perfect shape. Therefore he cleared our Sewer Lateral and issued a Certificate.
Note that no work was done to the pipes.
Both Angel and Augusto tried in vain to convince us that there was a leak somewhere. Yet the test proved differently, the water levels were not dropping as they were on our first visit when I was alone with them.
My contractor was in attendance that Friday when the two plumbers where running the test, he noticed that they pushed the pin on the bike pump to allow air to leak out of the rubber ball, thus allowing water to slip by the ball and down the pipe. This is when we decided to purchase our own testing equipment and test the pipes ourselves.

A second contractor of mine came in and finished reforming the area of wall around the pipes and pouring fresh concrete.
The financial cost to me a total of $914. Which does not include the weeks worth of gas money and time I have spent dealing with this mess.
Break down:
$63.80 jack hammer
$450 demolition for removing concrete around pipes (see photos) and testing pipes
$400 rebuilding the concrete area & materials that was removed around the pipes

I am most than unhappy with Plumbing Ministry's service, crew and company.
It is apparent that the crew intentionally failed my sewer lateral test in order to obtain expensive and unnecessary repairs."
...
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What Claimant Wants Hide
1. Payment due: Expenses for work done Aug 03, 2012 $1,000.00
2. Other – Pay for claim posting cost Aug 03, 2012 $7.95
3. Other – Physical delivery charges Aug 03, 2012 $2.99
Cash total : $1,010.94
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Respondent's Counteroffer

There has been no response to this claim from Plumbing Ministry. This claim will remain posted until resolved
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