Water Heater Professionals

The installer arrived within 15 minutes of the time window.  The company called and notified us that he would arrive within

15 minutes.  The serviceman was courteous, generally informative, clean and apparently professional.  This was on a rainy Sunday.

That's the good part. 

Red Flags:

1) The company apparently uses more than one name. The name on my invoice is "Water Heater Specialists" not "Professionals".  The PO Box address however is identical.

2) The invoice did not break out individual costs: parts, labor, disposal etc.  When I called the company on 3/15/16 to

complain that the costs were not itemized and that the total seemed over the top, they insisted their prices were "competitive" and

that "California law did not permit them to itemize". I don't believe it.  Never had that happen before.

3) The service man instructed me to VOID the notice of cancellation provision on the invoice and to pay by check.

4) I researched the cost of just the new water heater and a wholesaler gave me an estimate for our area of $601.  Total stand

alone comprehensive charge on my invoice was $2,299.  Almost 4 times the cost of just the new water heater. Hard to believe.

Too late for me.  Not for you.

on my invoice

entical

unknown

We have been without hot water since July 4. We were searching the internet for a reliable hot water heater with a longer warranty. Our current GE (Rheem) water heater died a year after the warranty expired. We found a Rheem Platinum heater with a 12 year warranty for $552.00. Now all we need is a reliable, honest plumber. WE WILL NEVER USE THIS FIRM EVER AGAIN. Avoid them like the plague.

Discovered that we had no hot water and tried to reignite the water heater pilot but was not successful. In retrospect, I was not very smart and, instead of doing some research, called the number which was on the sticker applied to the water heater which turned out to be Water Heater Professionals since we wanted the hot water service. This was on a Sunday, June 8th, and the plumber came. He showed me where water had accumulated at the bottom of the tank and told me it needed replacement. The water heater was still under warranty but he said that I would have to have it transported back to the company I had purchased it from to honor the warranty. If we wanted to him to install a new water heater it would  cost $2,019 which I agreed to.
He installed the water heater and we did have hot water.
The following morning we opened the garage door where the heater was installed and smelled gas. I called Water Heater Professionals and the dispatcher said that he would send someone out but told me that there would be a $99 service fee if they could find nothing wrong with their installation. The same plumber returned in the early afternoon without letting us know he was there and, since the garage door was opened, had gone into the garage. He had parked his truck in the driveway so my wife asked him to move the truck so that she could get the car out to pickup our grandchildren from school which he did. 
He left without telling me and I got a belligerent phone call from the dispatcher stating that "his guy" was treated very rudely by my wife and even closed the garage door on him. I said all she did was ask him to move his truck so she get the car out. He continued ranting and told me I would have to pay the $99 service fee since they could find nothing wrong which I refused to do. Subsequently the plumber returned with a bill which I refused to accept. I asked him if my wife had closed the garage door on him and he said no and that she had asked him to move his truck and that she was not rude. We went into the garage and he reiterated that he could find nothing wrong with the installation although I smelled gas and he said he did not. He then suggested that it could be something else and suggested I call PG&E since the furnace was next to the heater.
I called PG&E and a service person came who also smelled gas. He used a gas detector and a gas bubble detector and found a leak at the connection of the water heater to the house appliance valve. He was surprised that the plumber did not find this. He managed to get a proper seal to the appliance valve so it didn't leak and also checked the furnace gas line and the house gas feed and found no other leaks. He left a service report affirming this.
My major concerns are the safety issue with respect to Water Heater Professionals denial of a gas leak problem and the intimidation tactics used in trying to get me to pay additional money for an unwarranted "service".
I subsequently sent a complaint to the Better Business Bureau and Water Heater Professionals has not responded to the complaint to date despite two letters being sent. 
Moral of the story is that I should have definitely done some research before making such a bad decision and, needless to say, will not use them again.

Formal Complaint against Water Heater Professionals of
Foster City, CA
CA License 741904
 1)  Misrepresentation of heater pricing and service costs
2)  Taking advantage of customers in emergency situations to drastically increase pricing
3)  Unwilling to provide itemized pricing
4)  Unwilling to accept credit cards without additional fees
We discovered that our water heater suffered a catastrophic
failure on Friday night before the Labor Day weekend.  We did research online for replacement water
heaters in compliance with California requirements and found the price range to
be $500 - $600.   We found a 9-year
warranty model at the local Sears store for $599 with $550 installation by a
qualified contractor.  As posted in the
store, the installation cost included all items that would be needed for any
new code requirements since the old heater was installed.  The total order was $1,199, delivered, and
installed to code.  We called on Saturday
morning to set up the installation service and were told they would not be
working over the Labor Day weekend.  We would
not get the heater we just purchased, installed until sometime Tuesday, Sept 3.
This was going to pose a significant hardship for our family with kids.
 
Needing a same day solution, we found an ad in the Yellow
Pages for Water Heater Professionals and called on Saturday to get a
quote.  We were told by Matt that a new
heater of the same specifications could be delivered and installed the same day
for $1,190, with the possibility of additional charges for anything needed to
bring it up to code.  Understanding that
Sear?s installation cost of $550 included bringing items to code, we believed
that the quote would stand close to the original number presented of $1,199.  We agreed to going with Water Heater
Professionals and were given a three-hour appointment window for Saturday
afternoon.
 
Three and a half hours later (now 4:30 pm), the plumber
showed up,  reviewed the situation, and
presented us with an estimate of $1,980! 
This was for a Bradford White water heater with 6-year warranty (a street
price of $483).  When we questioned him
about the $800 above and beyond the quoted purchase and installation cost of $1,190,
he claimed that there were 7 non-code compliant problems.  When we asked for more detail, he described
only 3 code issues. The ss gas flex, drip leg, and bonding wire.  The market cost of these items is
approximately $187.   Note that with Sears these fixes are included
in their installation price.  Two other
items were also noted at ?no cost? since they were not required by code.  We received no explanation for the delta
between $1,190 and $1980.  Subtracting
the cost of the items describes above, there is still an overcharge discrepancy
of approximately $600.
 
The plumber, when asked, refused to provide any itemized
costs.  When we pressed for a better
explanation, he refused to provide any itemized costs explaining that he was
under strict instructions and could not change any pricing, after which he
referred us to Matt at the office.
 
We called Matt at around 4:50pm, who was at a loud party and
in no mood to discuss the job.  His rude
response was essentially ?what part of the quote did you not understand?.  He was completely unwilling to provide any
explanation for the severe discrepancy in pricing; it was take it or pay the
$129 ?service fee? for showing up.
 
By now it was past 5:00pm on a Labor Day Saturday and we had
no time left to get another quote. We had wasted a whole day trusting that the
service we were being offered and quoted for would be honored.  Left with no other choice we approved the job
to be completed.
 
After the job was finished, we presented a credit card for
payment and were told that there would be a 3% (4% for AMX) ?convenience fee?. There
was no indication on the service agreement that this would happen.
 
In total, Professional Water Heater runs a very unprofessional
business and casts a bad reputation that can affect all water heater companies
and the plumbing service industry in general. 
They are not forthcoming on prices or payment methods and clearly take
advantage of people in tough situations. 
We were easily overcharged $600 and more likely, $800.