Affordable Plumbing Pros

Upon finding out that Affordable Plumbing Pros. were willing to do the Sewer Lateral Report (required by the City of Ventura to be completed for the sale of any property) and take payment through the close of escrow, we chose them. And otherwise we would have chosen any other reputable plumber to work with. Our experiences with Affordable Plumbing "Pros." are as follows. The first day I met with " Sean, the Plumbing Pro." at the property and he told me he could not open the clean out to do his inspection without breaking the cleanout pipe and cap (he said because it was too old and brittle). Okay, fine. So now, instead of around $300-400 for the Sewer Lateral Inspection, we are now looking at another $300+ to remove the toilet and go through there. Upon agreeing to this, the Plumber tells me that the flange "just broke" after taking the toilet off and that he will have to charge me for the part that he just broke. Sean said it was also due to old age, but, at a car dealership, if a technician breaks something like a brittle plastic clip on my car while repairing it, IT IS THE DEALERSHIP'S RESPONSIBILITY TO REPLACE AND/OR FIX THE TECHNICIAN'S DAMAGE - period. So now the broken flange that this incompetent "Plumbing Pro" has just broken is now on us to replace. Our quote of $300-$400 has now tripled to nearly $1000! The "tech" says he has to leave to order another part and because he was not anticipating the inspection to have these problems or take so long. He says he will come back around 2 or 3 o'clock with the parts ready. Meanwhile, I have driven 90 minutes to this property and am now stuck waiting for him to complete work with other customers, while I am stuck at a house with no working toilet. I cannot leave until this is fixed, as it is not my home and I have no way of knowing if the house will flood or some other nightmare If I go home. Also, If I go, I have to drive 90 minutes home and then come out a separate time and drive 90 minutes each way. Bottom line, I had to come back a second time. When I did come back, Sean does the inspection and then says, "I have it all back together now, do you have any towels to clean the mess?" Me? have towels to clean a mess that only happens when a plumber comes out and does this kind of work? Does a carpenter build cabinets in someone's house without a vacuum or broom for all the sawdust? Ever? So, no, this house is vacant and there are NO TOWELS in the house. I said, "what are you going to do about this, Sean? Are you really going to leave me here with a big mess that I have no way of cleaning myself?" Sean shrugged his shoulders at me and then hands me the paperwork to sign, "and can you please write in that box to say you approved me leaving without cleaning up the mess"?!?! I was like, "no I never approved that, this is a joke." Ok, a week goes by, and I never see any report. I call and they send out a physical (paper) report, but apparently at this time I am made aware by Affordable Plumbing Pro receptionist, Troy, that they had since discovered that when Sean did the inspection, that his scope recorder was broken, and did not record anything - therefore a SECOND INSPECTION WOULD BE NEEDED! Oh, and by the way, a THIRD 90 minute drive for me to the property, each way. Was Sean's equipment broken or did he just forget to hit the record button? The world may never know. I called and spoke with management at this point. The next day, three different trucks show up at the property with "lead plumbers and managers" to complete this fairly basic inspection, correctly. Ok, so it gets done. Then after about a week, Sean has the audacity to call me and say, "well, when is Escrow going to close because our management is worried it will not close (yes, Sean, because your company took so long to get us half the required report that it held up our Escrow and finally killed the deal.)" So I said, "as agreed to by your company before we agreed to let you do the work, your company will be paid when the escrow closes." At which point, Sean says, "well can you just pay us now out of your own pocket and then get the money from escrow later?" "No Sean, haha, I'm sorry. This is completely unprofessional. How about if we stick to the initial agreement?" (if that was an option, we would have already done that, and picked a competent company that doesn't forget to hit record on their equipment or break things and then charge the helpless client.) By the time we are ready to close Escrow, the report is done...this is weeks later of course. We finally get mailed a copy of the physical (paper) report. But then, both the Buyers of the house AND the Seller are going to want the DVD Video Proof of the report so that if and when repairs are going to be made, that there is a reference to show the Plumber doing the repair. This is one of the MAIN REASONS for a buyer to have an inspection before agreeing to purchase a house. According to receptionist, Troy, "oh, sorry, we already sent the DVD into the City of Ventura and that was our only copy." As if the City is going to have to make the repairs to the Sewer Lateral Line themselves. No, the City of Ventura just wants a record of the condition of every property's Sewer Lateral Line for their own knowledge base. As for the Buyer and Seller of the property (who actually paid for this report!), I guess we are just out of luck?? So I say, "Well Troy, how can we actually get that very important DVD Video portion of the report that we've all worked so hard for and actually paid for??" And Troy's answer? Wait for it........ "Uhhhhhhh, well......you could pay us again and have us come out and do another inspection...." This....this was not a joke. It is all factual. It is not embellished. Do not waste your money. Go with ANY other company.

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