Len The Plumer

Work seems to be fine. But charging $675 for a one hour snake job is price gouging (as defined by Merriam Webster).

Asked them to come and re-hook up plumbing for washer. They had done the original work. Washer was moved for painting and floor work. Plumber Showed up at the end of the day. In a hurry, he took a very quick look at it. Declared whoever did this screwed up (they had done it themselves) quoted 700 dollars and walked out. Before we knew it he was gone. We contacted the office several times with no response! We moved on to a different plumber who attached the Washer for $200.

I have an AO Smith 75-gallon gas hot water heater. The pilot light was out and we had no hot water. I relied on Angie's to help me find a plumbing company to solve my problem. Len the Plumber appeared near the top of the list (Overall B rating) I told the Company that the water heater was still under warranty and asked the company to confirm that Company could process a warranty claim (parts only). The company confirmed. Company quoted a minimum fee of $49, and promised to arrive within a three-hour window on the day of my call. The Plumber arrived on time. Plumber who arrived was polite throughout. However, Plumber did not know how to restart the pilot light. I watched as he tried several times for about five to ten minutes without success. He then examined the water heater and told me that I needed to replace the "burner assembly". Plumber couldn't explain why he thought there was a problem with the burner assembly or why the burner assembly had anything to do with the failure of the pilot light to ignite. I asked Plumber how the burner assembly replacement would be handled under warranty. He informed me that the company did not support AO Smith warranty claims, the opposite of the information the Company provided to me over the phone. For warranty coverage, Plumber told me that I would have to order the burner assembly myself directly from the manufacturer, have the assembly delivered to my home, and then schedule installation with Company. That would have meant doing without hot water for an indefinite number of days. The only alternative was to purchase the burner assembly from Plumber. I asked Plumber to explore that alternative. Plumber called a "friend" at a plumbing supply company located about 35 miles away. After a number of phone calls between them Plumber assured me that his friend had the necessary part in stock. Plumber offered to make the 70-mile round trip to pick up the burner assembly, and return to my home the next day to complete the repair. He quoted a price of eight hundred dollars ($800), which included Plumber's driving time to pick up the replacement part. I was skeptical of the proposed solution (replacement of burner assembly), and I thought the quoted price was outrageous. I told Plumber what I thought of the price, declined to accept the offer and declined he work. Even though I offered to pay, neither the Plumber nor the Company charged me the minimum $49 fee for the visit. I contacted the manufacturer, AO Smith, who referred me to Mater Plumbing & Mechanical. I called Master, who came the next day. The Master plumber was able to reignite my pilot light in under 30 seconds. I timed him. There was nothing wrong with the "burner assembly". I authorized some routine maintenance work, and the Master Plumber completed the whole effort in under an hour, for a fraction of the price quoted by Len the Plumber. Our hot water was restored in about an hour. I don't know what to conclude about Len the Plumber's performance. Was it lack of competence with AO Smith gas water heaters? It is clear now the pilot light fix was simple and the replacement of the burner assembly was unnecessary. Len the Plumber may be excellent in areas other than AO Smith water heaters, but I will never call Len the Plumber again for anything.

I used Len the Plumber for the first time a week ago on January 5, 2019 and was overcharged for replacement of a garbage disposal that took just an hour. I asked for costs of product and labor upfront, and was told that those costs could not be separated. I was told that the costs for the garbage disposal and the PVC pipe and trap and the work would be approximately $1100, but got a reduction because there was a no-show the day before. Essentially the garbage disposal was approximately $500 and the other parts were $600 -- that's what I was told at the time of initial inspection before the work was done. Since then, I had a chance to review products and look at the end receipt and it appears Len the Plumber charged me $631 for a 2nd floor shower drain and had to "cut hole in ceiling below floor to gain access, replace existing shower drain with a new PVC pipe." I never had any shower work done! I talked to Bobby and Brad on January 11, 2019 and none of them offered to give me a refund, and I am certain they are aware that this $631 for services not rendered was charged. Neither of them offered to provide a break down of costs and labor, and Brad said his technician was there for 4 hours installing a garbage disposal. A master plumber! The tech arrived after 12:00 p.m., and was gone by 1:30. My sink was still leaking when he left.