Scout Plumbing

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This company was dispatched by my home warranty company. The washing machine drain was slow and backing up. The plumber arrived on time and he was a nice enough man. But he attempted to snake it from the drain itself. Due to the P Trap he could only get his small snake through. Within 2 loads of laundry the drain was backing up again. He told me that the drain would either have to be accessed from the roof vent which they don't do, or someone would have to install a cleanout. However, later when I had a different plumber out from a different company, a true professional, he noticed that the washing machine was close to the sink and that he could probably snake it from the cleanout outside the kitchen instead of having to go up to the roof vent. Sure enough, he was able to do this. So, I wasted $50 on the Scout coming out, and also paid over $200 to get the drain cleared. I am just unhappy that the plumber that Scout sent didn't investigate the issue thoroughly before giving up and causing me to spend a much greater amount.

Scout Plumbing was assigned the job by the home warranty company. My water heater was replaced in 2009 with a Bradford White which is still under warranty. The service was initially requested on Friday, 6/21 but the first available date for a plumber to come out was 6/25. I patiently waited with no hot water in my home for 4 days. On 6/25 the repairman came out and diagnosed the problem as a faulty control valve that needed to be replaced. Since it was under warranty he said that the manufacturer would cover the part and the home warranty company would cover labor, but that Scout Plumbing would not acquire the part for me. So, I had to go pick up the part from the plumbing supply warehouse and then call his company back for installation. I called them back 30 minutes later to come back and install the part which I had picked up and they told me that I was being sent to the back of the line and they will put me on the schedule 2 days from now simply because, I guess, I hadn't already diagnosed the problem myself and obtained the part from their plumbing supply house prior to the initial visit. The first plumber already took my $60 check for the service call and yet no service is set to be performed for 2 more days. I will never use Scout Plumbing again and would not recommend them if you expect actual professional SERVICE from your plumber.

I have used them several times through Home Warranty, never had a problem

We had a problem with no hot water running in the shower and contacted our home warranty company Nations Residential Service who sent Scout Plumbing resolve the issue. Scout Plumbing called. They told me Thursday March 21st was available between 9 and 1. I had a dental appointment and I was scheduled for Friday March 22nd. When I come home in the evening, I see that a card has been left with voice mail messages from both Scout Plumbing and Nations Residential Service, that a plumber came down but missed me. The next day I call Scout Plumbing back and tell them that the visit was scheduled for Friday and they said No, we had it down for Thursday. I was unhappy about the fact that there was no remorse and I had to take off from work that Friday and the next week when the visit was rescheduled. The visit was rescheduled for the next week and the plumber got delayed by an hour or so outside the time frame they gave me. He came by and fixed the hot water and gave me a few tips on how to keep the shower running. Overall, he did a great job and I was happy. The next week, we had a water leak in the toilet and Nations sent Scout Plumbing once again on April 3rd, 2013. This time I confirmed twice regarding the appointment time and they came as expected. He checked the water supply line and said it was cracked and mentioned that it was a smart thing I had done to turn off the water in the toilet. That saved the home from flooding. He recommended Dry Force come and evaluate the damage. Overall, we were happy with Scout Plumbing in terms of the response. Since we only had to pay the co-pay which was 60$ per visit, it was reasonable.

Scout Plumbing were good. They were fine, they came when they were supposed to and they did what they were supposed to and they solved my problem.

Scout plumbing was selected by my home warranty company to repair/replace leaky water shut-off valves around my house. Their staff arrived within the promised time window, and the plumber's manner was courteous throughout the repair. Since the repair was something covered by my home warranty, I felt like I had to do a lot of convincing for the plumber to see that certain shut-off valves need repairing. In one instance, my husband told the plumber that valve A was leaking. The plumber tightened the valve with a wrench and told my husband "see? not leaking." We presented our argument as -- if it takes a tool to do something that was meant to be done by hand (i.e. turning off the valve by hand), then the valve probably needs repair. We were also asked if we wanted to "upgrade" a few shut off valves to the new quarter turns valves. We agreed because we were told that replacing it ourselves was probably not a good idea as we may flood our cabinets. Honestly, after all said and done, I think we could have done the replacement ourselves since it was just twisting off the old one and tightening on the new one. Since this was our first house, we had no idea at the time of service on valve costs. We were charged $39 per valve, and a total of 4 were replaced. Later on we found out that the same valve retails somewhere around $5 to $10 each. That's quite a premium to pay, considering $39 was just for parts, not including labor. All in all, if it was up to me, I probably would not choose to use Scout again.

The repair of the supply completed on August 16, 2012, leaked two months later (October 18, 2012). We did not use them the second time, although we did ask that they inspect their previous job, which they claimed was stemming from another area in the supply line, and repair per their one year warranty. After they provided a bid on October 18, 2012 to replace the supply line, we did some research into the company, its employees, and the Plumbing Licensing Law. We discovered that they had made several misrepresentations, false advertising in their web page, sent out an unlicensed plumber on October 18 to inspect and bid the job, and took advantage of our inexperience, lack of knowledge and capacity to our financial detriment. Below is the story. Scout Plumbing advertises in its web page the following two things: 1. We use the latest technology to identify and recognize plumbing problems. Video camera services are one of the most valuable tools a plumber can have. Scout Plumbing uses an in-line video camera to help us examine the inside of a pipe to help determine its condition. The plumber feeds a very high-resolution camera, attached to the tip of a fiber optic cable, into the pipe and analyzes the images which are transmitted to a monitor for review. The video can also be captured for a permanent record. This type of technology can sometimes help determine potential problems saving you money on costly repairs in the future. 2. A broken sewer pipe or water line underneath a slab foundation can be one of the most destructive and frustrating problems you will have to deal with when you own a home. Recognizing these water and sewer line issues can be extremely difficult. Locating the cause of these issues can be even harder. A lot of companies use guess work to locate these types of issues, but Scout Plumbing uses the latest equipment and testing procedures to accurately locate the problem. We have a combined experience of over 45 yrs. of locating leaks below slab and have located many of leaks that other plumbing companies could not find. Per their plumber, they could not use an in-line video camera nor did they have any special leak detection equipment that was offered or "existed" for the August 16-17, 2012 repair, or the October 18, 2012 inspection. In the August 16, 2012 visit, I informed the plumber upon his arrival that I was happy to have a licensed master plumber do the repair work. The plumber skirted the comment stating that "Well, I've got over 20 years experience." At that time, I never placed much thought about the statement. After the contradictory statements we were told in October 18, we held off on the repair of the leak, shut off the main water line to the house and decided to research the plumbing license of the plumber who did the repair. We discovered his license had expired on August 31, 2012, and it remained expired and delinquent on October 18, 2012 when: he excavated to determine the source of the second leak; he provided the bid; and he created a repair plan for that bid. We also had other plumbers come to the home to provide bids and determine the condition of the line between October 19-29, 2012. All plumbers stated that line should have been replaced on August 17, 2012, and were not surprised we were having problems again because "once you start having a leak at that age, you'll continue to have problems. Always best to replace." We were very shocked that: 1. The plumber misrepresented his licensing. He had a Tradesman Plumber License and not a Master Plumber License. 2. Did not do as advertised on the company's web page regarding leak detection, in-videoing and avoiding future repairs. 3. The plumbing company sent an unlicensed individual to dig, inspect, provide a repair plan and an estimate, activities that by both the the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners Policies and the Plumbing Licensing Law. The distinctions (I have since learned after this mess) between the Master Plumber, and the Journeyman Plumber (JP), theTradesman Plumber (TP) and the Apprentice revolves around education, experience and the degree of oversight that is required of the JP, the TP and the Apprentice by the Master Plumber. Scout Plumbing's owner who is also a Master Plumber and the company's Responsible Master Plumber is required to provide oversight of the work completed by the Tradesman Plumber. The laws also provide a number of of responsibilities and activities that may only be completed by the Master Plumber and the Responsible Master Plumber. Scout Plumbing did not abide by its Standards of Conduct to me, their client; nor did they do any oversight over the work completed by their Tradesman Plumber who did the work in my house on August 16 and provided the bid estimates on October 18. We attempted to resolve our complaint with the owner by sending him both an e-mail and letter on November 6, 2012. He refused to acknowledge the e-mails and letters we sent that included several options that we were willing to consider in resolving the issues we had. The notifications also required a response within six days of the date on the letters and e-mail. He did not acknowledge either the e-mails or letters. We placed a courtesy call to owner on the seventh day. He did visit the property and made an offer that we could NOT responsibly accept. We have filed a complaint with the State of Texas and will be pursuing other action. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the Plumbing Licensing Laws of Texas, go to the Texas State Board of Plumbing Examiners. It is found in PDF format. Also do research on the Deceptive Trade Practices Act. You do have recourse for this type of misrepresentation, false advertisement, violation of the Texas Plumbing Licensing Laws Standard of Conduct, and unconscionable acts and practices. The DTPA states that an unconscionable act takes advantage of the lack of knowledge, ability, experience, or capacity of a consumer to his detriment and to a grossly unfair degree. Keep in mind, had we been given the right information initially and offered to repair the line, we would have. Secondly, it is our practice to always hire a master plumber to complete substantive repair in our home. The plumber we ultimately hired to replace the line did so for $900 less and was a licensed competent Master Plumber. Had we not researched and investigated on the second go-around and gone blindly and accepted Scout Plumbing's October 18, 2012 bid, we would have been out over $5,900 (both the first repair and the proposed replacement.) There are plumbing companies and individuals out there that will take advantage of the lack of knowledge, ability, experience and capacity of consumers. This is a perfect example. Do not let it happen to you!

They arrived immediately upon first call, diagnosed the issue, and got me their first available time slot for the work to be completed. The work ended up being cheaper than the estimate, took less time than expected and seems to be working better than ever. Very happy.

The plumber came on time and did his work well and there have been no issues after that. We had a problem with our shower not having hot water and the exterior water faucet not working. The shower issue was covered by the home warranty whereas replacing the water faucet was not covered. We were charged 395 for just replacing the water faucet which is on the higher side. I liked the work done as they had to chip a little brick and it was done quite neatly. We paid 60 dollars for the call out fee as required by the home warranty. We had an issue with a blocked sink and once again Nations Warrantysent out Scout plumbing. The warranty covered snaking of the drain but the removal of the P-pipe to provide access to the drain was not covered by Nations warranty. Scout plumbing charged 100$ for removal of the pipe and putting it back which was ridiculous in my opinion. The work done was fine and including the call out fee it cost us 160$ for the clogged drain issue. I have a friend who called a plumber for the same issue. This plumber charged 65$ per hour and the fee included snaking the drain and removal and installation of the pipes and her job was done with 65$. When I compare the 160$ I paid to the 65$ she paid, I am not that happy. Therefore, while I am happy with the work done by Scout plumbing and the politeness, courtesy and efficiency of the people they send out, I am not so happy with their charges.

To expensive. $885 to install a $350 water heater is ridiculous.

They know what they are doing and have excellent service. They are quick to respong and did a good job.

The technician was skeptical that it was the hot water heater because of it's age (2009), but he called Whirlpool to discuss with them just to be sure. Whirlpool agreed, of course, that it probably wasn't the hot water heater. My husband took him back to the master shower and demonstrated the fact that it wasn't heating beyond warm. Clear that there was a problem, but unclear what it was, the technician worked until he fixed the problem (which turned out to be a valve in the shower knob). Because we've had a home warranty for years, we know that he could have said 'well, it's not the hot water heater', taken our $60 and left. We're grateful that he was more interested in fixing our problem than worrying about what the warranty company might approve or decline.

When I called the office, after the new Dispenser had arrived, Diane informed me that since I had contacted the Warranty Co. and they were reimbursing me part of the money I spent to get the new dispenser, they considered the incident "closed" and if I wanted them to install the new unit, that would be a new action and I would be responsible to pay for the call. Jason, her manager, got on the line and reiterated that they would not come back out as a part of the original call and that I would be responsible for any and all costs. Both Diane and Jason were more interested in talking "at" me, rather than talking "to" me and they were more interested in talking "over" me than in listening to my side of the story. Both were anxious to just dismiss any concerns, or understandings, I had. I think they could have convinced me, if only they had displayed a different attitude towards me as their customer and they had not refused to consider, at all, the ethics of the situation, or the commitments that were made. I understand the economics of this situation, and I probably made an incorrect assumption regarding the reimbursement /replacement; but I can't accept the "customer comes last" attitude on behalf of the office staff, and have decided not to use Scout again. It's a real disappointment, as we especially appreciated the plumber who worked in our home.

I am pleased overall. Scout Plumbing sent a very experienced Plumber and a new person that is jusy learning. They did what they said they would do. They gave me a competitive price. Both gentleman were polite professional and hard workers. .

They were awesome. It was the second time they came out. They were very professional and they backed me and told me when somebody was going to come out. They were honest about when they were coming and when they weren't. I liked them and I also liked the gentleman who came out. The next time they came out I asked for the same gentleman. I think their price was a little high for just coming out.

Great. Prompt, effecient, and quick.

they were prompt, well priced, and did a great job. very honest.

They have done a good job so far, but, the work is supposed to be finished shortly. I like their services and will use the same in future.

First installation of new water heater proved to be defective. No fault of Scout Plumbing. They were quick to install new one that is fully functioning. Dennis came to our home to replace valve in bathroom. He was courteous, prompt and knowledgeable about plumbing related issues. I would recommend this company to family and friends.

A friend of mine who owns rental property recommended Scout Plumbing as someone honest, fair & reputable. The gentleman from the company came out and gave me several options pricing options. I chose to have a new clean-out drain installed which will make future problems MUCH easier (and more cost efficient) to perform. He was able to do the job in about half a day and there were no surprises, hidden charges or attempted up-selling. I appreciated his candor and expertise as to what the best solution would be.

Scout Plumbing was dispatched through my home extended warranty company after reporting a burst water heater. A plumber was at my house within hours to assess the situation. I was told that a new water heater could be installed within 4 days and the details of payment were to be worked out with the home warranty company. A permit was needed and was arranged with the city by Scout Plumbing. The plumber also told me that the water & gas lines leading to the water heater were not to current code and needed to be replaced. These items were not covered by the extended home warranty contract. My out of pocket cost would be around $500. As we had no water pressure to any of the bathrooms, I really had no chance to call in a second opinion, so I went with what he recommended. The water heater was replaced 3 days later and the additional work performed. I was told that a city code inspector would be contacting me about inspecting the work, but that never happened and Scout Plumbing refuses to answer my messages now. Scout Plumbing was punctual and seemingly professional while in my house. They seem to have done quality work. However, after some further research, I certainly feel I was ripped off by the "not to code" story and taken advantage of due to my situation. I WOULD NOT RECOMMEND THIS COMPANY. Further, I will release my experience to my home warranty company and my homeowner's association so all of my neighbors will be informed.

mostly went well for the first few visits, not for the last one. I took a day off to for the last scheduled visit, nobody came. When I called, told they called my work number but I was home waiting them to come.

I see Hector from Scout Plumbing. I leave the door open for him, and he just goes in and work. I trust him so much, I didn't even shop around. I took his advice, and knew that he would take care of me. I can run 3 showers, a dishwaser, and the washing machine at the same time and never run out of hot water. We have been very happy with what he has done. I have had a great experience with Hector. He is a hardworking guy, who goes the extra mile. I had a plumbing problem, and he walked me through it over the phone. His honesty is impeccable I would absolutely use him again in the future.