Brinks Investigation-Restoration Services Inc

My tenant emailed that he had a clogged drain in the shower. I purchased this Big Deal and talked to a very nice gentleman at Brinks who said someone could come out the next day. I scheduled the appointment, but the tenant could not make it at the scheduled time and wanted to be there. I called Brinks back but they had no other openings, so I did not use them at that time. Fast forward a few weeks. A drain line in our yard is clogged. I called Brinks and they said the Big Deal had already been used at the rental property. The woman I talked to was quite abrupt. I said an appointment was scheduled and cancelled and the Big Deal was not used. She insisted it was. She was quite rude. I asked her to please check her books again and call me the next day, and she said she would. No one called. I called a week later and talked to the same woman. I explained that I had called previously and no one returned my call about the cancelled appointment. She said nothing. I then explained that a drain line in our yard was clogged, and I would like to use the Big Deal coupon toward it. She was very abrupt and said it could not be used for an outside drain. We went over the language in the fine print which says "Exterior Landscape or deck drains at an additional charge." I said it was my understanding from that language that the coupon could be used for an exterior drain, but I might have to pay more money. She said no, it didn't cover any outside drains. She offered no explanation, was extremely rude and barked "Do you want me to call Angie's List and have them refund the money?" I said that was not what I was asking. I asked to talk to her supervisor and she said he was "gone for the day" and transferred me to his voice mail. I left a message, but he did not call me back. I called Angie's List because I thought the plain meaning of the language was clear that the Big Deal could be used toward a cleaning and inspection of an outside drain, although there might be an additional charge. They agreed with me but said they called Brinks and talked to the "office manager" and were unable to convince them otherwise. So my choice is to use this Big Deal for an interior problem, or obtain a refund. It is my personal opinion that companies should not issue Big Deals unless they are willing to abide by them. And this particular company needs a person with people skills to deal with customers. UPDATED NOVEMBER 6, 2012: I thought this was a very honorable gesture on the part of Mr. Brinks. I appreciate what small business owners go through, and appreciate his calling me and being honest as to what happened. He could easily have just let this slide, not contacted me and gone forward in his business, but instead he is trying to make things right. I will call him when I have a need in the future, and will write a review at that time. Thank you Mr. Brinks!

I bought a $99 coupon for 2 hours work:First Point- I supplied the parts, had the area cleaned, and the plumber Jim was fine He took a little long for what seemed a easy job (I could have done it but hurt my back), but overall was clean, professional, and detailed. My main issue was the OFFICE service - For my first scheduled day (06/08/12) they called me the day before and cancelled because they had an emergency that took all the plumbers. I told them I took a vacation day for this job and it was very hard to reschedule the girl was short with me and did not care. It appeared to me as I had a Angie's coupon I was a second rate person. So , 3 weeks later (with a still leaking kitchen faucet and broken garbage disposal) I was set up for a 10:30 am appointment, at 11am I called the OFFICE and was told the time was 10:30 to 1:30pm!! Another vacation day blown! Jim arrived at about noon. I will NEVER use these guys again!

I would use them again in the future.

They unclogged the drains for my shower. They did a good enough job where they did not need the camera inspection. After the work was don, he asked if there was anything else he could do. Very professional. No scheduling conflicts. They were good.

I bought the Angie's List Deal ($75 for a drain cleaning and camera inspection). Brinks laughably advertises this as having a value of $625.00. The appointment was set for "between 7:30 and 10:30 AM." The truck rolled up at 10:17, so by plumber standards this can be considered punctual. Almost immediately, I was asked if I wanted a free inspection of incoming water pressure and angle stops. Sure, why not, but I really just wanted the shower drain cleared. So the inspector checked the water pressure, which was about 10 psi high in his opinion. Even though there was a pressure-adjustment screw and jam nut in plain sight on the existing regulator, he tried to sell me another water pressure regulator on the spot at Brinks' "discounted" installation price of over $900.00 (top-of-the-line regulators themselves retail for well under $150.00). He then checked five of the eleven angle stops in the house and wanted to sign me up to replace them as well. I declined both offers. He finally stuck his motorized plumber's snake into the clogged shower drain and cranked away for about five minutes, eventually admitting that he couldn't break through the stoppage. I asked about the camera inspection advertised, and he said that the shower had a P-trap and the camera wouldn't get through the trap to see the blockage. He said I would have to jackhammer up the shower floor and clear the drain that way. Adding insult to the process, I was billed an additional $12.85 for an "insurance operational surcharge" that was never mentioned in any appointment dialog but was hard-coded onto the receipt. In summary: I was charged $87.85 for a $75.00 coupon, which was supposed to cover the cost of drain cleaning and camera inspection. The drain was not cleaned, the camera inspection was never attempted, and I got nonstop sales pitches for unwanted and vastly overpriced parts and services. I certainly hope my experience is not typical of Brinks' service and pricing, but based on this experience I can't recommend them for any plumbing work. UPDATE 3/8/2012: Please see resolution above.

This turned out to be a very big job, taking parts of three days in all. Our water bill had sky rocketed and so I called Brinks, based on the great reviews they had in Angie's list. Mike came out that day and started the process. He explained that the detection process had to proceed in steps, checking for internal leaks first. His kindly explanations were one of the best features of the whole experience. Each step of the way I felt that I understood exactly what was being done and why. After he had repaired leaking toilets in two of our units, he showed me that we still had a leak, so the next step was to determine where exactly this leak was occurring. It turned out that our three-unit building had no shut-off valves, apart from the main valve at the street, making it impossible to determine whether the leak was before or after pipes entered the building. So the next step was installing shut-off valves at the building. Mike also recommended pressure regulators and explained their role in protecting our aging plumbing. I so much appreciated his patient explanations. It made me feel that I could make an informed decision rather than just blindly accepting whatever an expert said. Mike returned the next day with Mario, also a lovely person, very professional and soft spoken. After he had installed the shut-off valves and pressure regulators, Mike and he worked on detecting the leak. They determined that the leak was underground and (thankfully) exterior to the building, that is, between the street and the building. The final step was digging up and replacing that pipe which looked to me like a thoroughly nasty job, but Mario finished the job with fine good will and left the side yard looking as if nothing had occurred. I was altogether happy with the work, with the education and with the interaction. And I thought it was a very fair price.

Our kitchen sink was draining into the garage utility sink, so we knew we had a clog in the line. We used the Brinks Big Deal to have a drain cleaning performed. Scheduling was a bit tricky, as their appointments fill up very fast. Once we got an appointment though, things went very smoothly. The technician arrived early and went above and beyond our expectations to resolve the problem. What I really appreciated was that he educated us about our plumbing system and identified some serious issues that we need to address, to avoid bigger problems down the road. Really great technician and experience.

We originally noticed we had a problem when both of our toilets backed up into our showers and would not unclog with a 6' snake or plunger. We called another plumber originally and had them come out in the middle of the night to clean out the drains. He said he found roots in our pipes and that he couldn't clean the pipes out completely becuase we did not have a clean out installed to get better access and use the bigger tools. A couple weeks after this, our toilet started to back up again and we knew we had to do something, so we called the same guy to come back and install the clean out by the house. After installing the clean out, he informed us that we had clay pipes and that the tree roots had destroyed whole parts of the pipes, so we needed to replace the pipes. He originally said he would install trenchless iron pipes for $8,900, but we decided that we needed to get a second opinion for such a huge expense. He then offered to knock down the price to $7,900 if we agreed to allow him to do the work right then, which we declined. We got a personal reference to Brinks and they arrived at the scheduled time. They did a camera down the pipe free of charge because the previous plumber did not take a video when he did the camera inspection, as is a normal business practice for most plumbers. Brinks gave us a quote to intall trenchless plastic pipes for only $4,200 and they said for that price they would also install a second clean out by the road so we would be covered if the city's sewer line ever backed up. They offered all of their work with a 75 year warranty. We agreed to go with Brinks and they got to work the next day while my husband and I were at work. One of their workers accidentally hit our water line while digging up the area to install the clean out by the road, but they promptly informed us of this and fixed everything for free. We had to go without water for one night, but that was by our choice because the plumber informed us that they would stay there to fix it that night, but there was a higher risk of the pipes bursting when they turned the water back on at night because it was so cold. He left it up to us and we decided to go without water for that night. While they were replacing the pipe, they had to cut a huge tree root that was running parallel with the line. They also discovered that the previous plumber had installed illegal parts for the clean out by the house that was not up to code. We agreed to allow them to replace the parts up to code for a little more money than the original quote. When they were done with all of the work, they cleaned up after themselves, put all the dirt back in the holes and replanted my bushes that were located directly above the pipes.

Manuel from Brinks performed a water heater flush & whole house plumbing inspection. He was very professional & did a great job! One really great touch, rare among contractors I've worked with, is that he put on shoe covers before entering our home. When he inspected the washer, he made a solid recommendation to change the hoses to braided stainless steel to prevent them from bursting. He also inspected all drains for flow & checked all toilets for leaks using a green dye. At the end of the service visit, he provided a quote for replacing 2 of our bathroom faucets. Overall, great service!

The inspector arrived close to the end of the scheduled two-hour block, but he got straight to work. He inspected all of the plumbing lines and sewer lines that he could physically access, including those under the house. I had expressed a concern about high water bills in relation to the relatively little amount of water I use, so he specifically looked for leaks*, finding none. He also inspected my plumbing fixtures, paying specific attention to the kitchen faucet, which had poor water pressure. He checked it, and several other faucets, and then checked the overall house pressure, discovering that the water pressure being delivered to my home was half of what it should have been. He then proceeded to adjust the pressure regulator, restoring my house to a "normal" pressure of 65-70 psi. The other service he was to perform was a water heater flush, but he told me that my water heater was old enough (15+ years, maybe 20) that doing so might compromise its ability to hold water. He recommended that I replace it as soon as possible, which I have not yet done, but plan to do in the very near future. All in all, I had a very good experience with the Brinks inspector and would recommend the Big Deal ($49 for the above mentioned services) to any Angie's List member, whenever it comes up. ------- * I later discovered that my water bill increase was due to an increase in sewer fees and not due to an increase in water usage.

A number of people commented on the friendliness of the people answering the phone - that was not my experience. The woman answering my call was brusque and her repeated, "that's not company policy" to some of my concerns (without any attempt to resolve the issues) made me feel I might as well be talking to an automated system. She absolutely rubbed me the wrong way. I hung up, thinking what a waste of time. She called back (after speaking to the plumbers) accomodating my needs (that she had previously dismissed with a "that's not company policy"), and an appointment was made. Manuel came the next day, exactly on time, and inspected the property... and found issues grave enough to ruin my day. I won't go into details, but I called back to have him fix the problems. Manuel was WONDERFUL. He keeps his calm in stressful situations and was professional through awkward, difficult situations. I would recommend him to ANYONE. As for prices: their prices are high, but considering the consequences of water damage to a house, I'd rather pay their fees and rest easy than use someone cheap and worry.

There was no service performed. Called to see if there is a charge for a service call. Individual did not know but wanted to set up an appt. I stated that I didn't want to set up an appt if I was going to be charged and not know how much. I explained that we had roots in our sewer pipe and if they needed to use a camera in order to give us an estimate. She did not know if they will use a camera and she was not willing to give me the cost of the camera usage during the service call. I called other companies and was able to get a quote of a camera usage.

They did a really good job. It was pretty expensive. They were nice and fast. They gave us a discount that was advertised for Angie's List. I'm not sure if would use them again because they are over priced.

Person answering phone was nice and professional but would not give any indication of cost to snake drain over the phone. Same day appointment was set. Technicial arrived ahead of schedule and quoted service after reviewing needs. It was over $200 to snake the drain, which I thought was too much, but what are you going to do when the dishes are piling up? Clean-out was easily accessable. Besides the drain, I had him remount a bath faucet that had come loose for about $70. I also had him quote replacing a toilet cut-off and supply line that was leaking. The quote for that work was $126 which I declined. I did the work myself later for $14 in parts. Tech courteous, professional, and thorough in explaining service, charges and warranty.

I had called because a bathroom was overflowing. Brinks had cleared it a couple times before by going thru a 2in cleanout by the kitchen, but this tech explained that this really wasn't big enough to do it right. He went under the house and determined that he could add a larger cleanout for better access. I am glad I had it done, as I can now rent a machine at Home Depot and do it myself for less.

I called Brinks Services as we have used them once before and were happy with their service. The sinks at our commercial property were backed up. The tenant asked that we take care of this asap. Brinks came out the next morning and cleared the drains. I did not have to meet him at the building. Manual called me to let me know everything was taken care of and what further work to consider to keep this from happening again. Brinks made it very easy for me as they simply took my c/c information on the phone and sent the invoice and receipt. Nice! I am very happy with their service and would definitely recommend this company.

I'd only use Brinks again if I had a dire emergency. They are certainly competent but very pricey.

Sean had a guy, Bill, who demoed the tub out of what was a gutted bathroom. He offered to fix my floor, and did a horrible job. My new contractor had to remove and redo his work. When we opened up the floor, we found they had used the crawlspace under my home as a dump. They also did not clean up after themselves, there was trash and debris all over the bathroom. To get to the line in the back of my house, the concrete at the entrance to my garage was torn up. There were two huge piles, one dirt and the other concrete. When Sean came back, I took him out there and asked him start there so it would get overlooked. As you can see from the pictures, there is a big hole in the concrete and a huge, ugly pile of concrete. Bill installed a garbage disposal for me that vibrates and makes such a horrible noise I am afraid to use it, the whole sink shakes. My update since the company's response: So far, very poorly. Who doesn't enjoy being made out to be a liar from someone they paid almost $10,000 to, just to find out they now claim the shoddy work was not their work. I think that makes a refund in order. Again, why the fiction about the non-existent phone calls?

They referred me to a locksmith and he was at the house, fixed the door, and made a key, all before I made it home from the airport. The price was reasonable for the service as well ($79.00).

Within 3 days the job was completed. Manuel discussed all the options to fix the problem. They sent someone over to check my walls for mold for free. Manuel worked on a tree root I wanted removed and did not even charge me.

He called while parked at the curb to confirm he could come in to start work, He was right on time (gave me a 3 hr window but arrived within 15 min of earliest time). He was clean and asked permission to access all parts of my house/property. He didn't try to sell me anything, just gave me the results of the pressure test and suggested ways to manage moisture problem. Gave me lots of info about how upgrades of mechanicals in old houses sometimes defeat the ventilation/ rain run-off management originally desiged for these houses. He suggested that neighbors rain gutters are aiming runoff at my house.

They gave excellent service and I thought they were an excellent company. I had fully paid them and everything. There was a problem with something that they came out and looked at and actually it was resolved. It wasn't even their fault. They are very professional, did the work on-time and took great care of my house because realigning the pipe is really messy and intensive job. They were just excellent and I would recommend them to anyone. They were very expensive but they were worth it. We have a very big house and the price was comparable to replacing pipes so that was actually cheaper.

I recently had my pipes epoxy coated by Curaflo, a division of Brinks. I live in the Rancho Santa Fe area in a home that is 18 years old. Over the previous 2 years, I have experienced 5 pipes leaks in a 2 year period and was increasingly concerned that the trend would only continue. The cost of repairs when unsuspecting leaks showed up were very high and I needed to find a long-term solution to my problem. I extensively researched the pipe problem in my house and the possible solutions. I contemplated both re-piping the entire house and epoxy coating the pipes as a means to solve the problem. I interviewed three different companies and decided to go with Brinks. The level of customer service and industry experience that I experienced in my dealings with Josh Bellows impressed me and made choosing Brinks an obvious and easy decision. While the coating process was occurring it was very difficult to be in my home. I did not anticipate how disruptive and upsetting it would be to experience this process while trying to live in my home. I would suggest to anyone contemplating this service to move out of your home entirely while it takes place. Other than the disruption just described I am pleased with the decision I made and the end result. I am not concerned and worried about the ?next? pipe leak and there have been no negative side effects as a result of the epoxy coating.

They did an excellent job. I am in the fire service so I appreciated the safety steps they took to protect the home and furniture. There is no reduction in any water which is a good sign. We are pleased with their work and would recommend them.

Today marks one month since receiving our pipelining upgrade. After sustaining three assorted leaks over the past 15 years, my wife and I decided to invest in the Curaflo Epoxy treatment. Brinks Services, Inc installed CuraFlo Pipelining to both hot and cold water pipes. The installers were very professional and timely. From preparation to application the three-day process was performed in a clean and systematic manner, with respect to the residence. Since completion of installation on 21 August 2009, my family and I have enjoyed the peace of mind, with assurance the odds of getting a simple pinhole to major slab leak have been prevented with the Curaflo Epoxy corrosion resistant pipe protection. During installation, my curiosity prompted me to remain in my home to view the complete application process, the powerful air compressors and layout simply blew me away! I feel assured our home will be forever free of leaks. I have notified our close friends, and colleagues. Thank you Brinks Services, Inc., we feel the Epoxy Pipelining upgrade has added value to our home, much like a root canal no more pain.