Ed Paster & Son Plumbing & Rooter

Great service and professional advice at a great price

Great! The service man was polite and very helpful.

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Price quoted was 3000.00 more than what it actually cost to have installed by another provider.

David Garcia was courteous, professional, clean, and communicated clearly what the issue was and what was going to be done to fix it. This is my second time using Reliance and I will continue to use them in the future, they do a great job and the pricing is very reasonable.

On Saturday night, August 20, 2016, the DWP main water line broke creating a flood of water on the sidewalk. The Fire Department came out to turn off the water leaving us with no water Saturday and Sunday.  Upon a positive recommendation from a good friend I called Paster Plumbing Sunday morning to evaluate the situation and give me an estimate to repair the leak. On the phone, I was told there would be a cost of $159.00 to come out because it was a Sunday. When the plumber arrived, he dug out the area in front of the meter next to the sidewalk and said the connector to the DWP meter broke and had to be replaced. He then said that the pipe leading to the house was PVC pipe and it was no longer up to code.  He said it had to be replaced by copper piping. He said if he did the work, the $159.00 charge for Sunday would be deducted from the bill to replace the PVC with copper.  He said he would try to find a coupling to temporarily hold together the pipe so we could have use of the water until Monday when he would return to replace the pipe, which he did.

The plumber had me sign a three-day waiver before he would do any of the work, including the temporary repair.  Once this was done and the water successfully worked and the emergency was resolved.  The repair was done on a Monday, a normal business day and no longer an emergency.  I question the legality and ethics behind signing a three-day waiver when the client is under duress caused by an urgent situation. With our 90-year old mother living with us, we couldn’t wait another day to call other plumbing companies, as she frequently needs the use of a working bathroom.

He showed me a book that listed the cost for the work to be done. The cost totaled $5795.00. Since we had no water in our home and the temperature outside was going to be near 100 degrees, we decided to have the work done.  On Monday, the next day, a crew arrived to replace the PVC pipe with copper. It was done in one day even though he thought it would take two days. The following day, an inspector from the city was to come out and authorized the work that was done.

I assume the city inspection took place as when I arrived home that evening the trench was filled in and the grass replaced. I noticed a leak in one of the valves they installed so they returned the next day to repair it.  Jose, the plumber, also said the regulator needed to be replaced at a cost of $650.00. I chose not to replace the regulator, as this job was already costly. I signed only one document approving the $159.00 charge for a Sunday call, but never signed a second document for the total charge.

After some research with three other plumbing companies who I paid to come out, I discovered to my dismay that the price charged (according to the book Jose showed us) was about twice the charge other plumbers would have charged. I also learned it was not required to replace the PVC pipe with copper pipes per code as indicated by the plumber and a connector to the water main was a viable option for the repair. Also, I asked two other plumbers to come out to check if indeed I needed a regulator and they both said it did not need to be replaced. If it did need to be replaced, a new regulator would cost of $349.00, not $650.00. I feel this company took advantage of an older couple with no knowledge of what the code of Los Angeles requires and that the price charged was twice that of other companies. 

I called the company on Tuesday, August 23, to question the charges. I was told because Paster is such a large company that the price charged was accurate.   I was hoping that the company would reduce the total price after I explained that three other companies would do the same work for much less.  I have since warned my friend who suggested I call Paster to be wary of their charges.  Had this not been such a dire emergency, I would have waited until Monday to call a previous plumber I have used for another estimate. 

When I last spoke to the owner of the company, he told me to send documentation of the three estimates I had done afar the work was complete.  He told me that he would then reduce the price and refund me the balance.  This hasn't happened.  t had hoped for a more positive and friendly solution to the excessive charges, especially since the PVC did not need to be replaced.

 

 

They came out right away and fixed it all fast.

It went very well. The service man was knowledgeable and professional. The result was a cleared drain.

Beautifully.  There was a problem getting to the pipes because on a previous bathroom remodeling the contractor put wallboard over the area, leaving no access to the internal pipes (where the problem was.)  Our plumber arranged to open the wall, install an access panel in a hallway closet outside the bathroom for any future work needed, to have the wall areas repaired with dry wall and a cover panel, and to have the bathroom painted.

We have been dealing with Paster plumbing since we bought this house 46 years ago.  They have always been prompt and professional and have always done excellent work for us.  This time the plumber helped us to find and choose a new wall-mounted faucet set (difficult to find for a bathroom sink) and to order it on-line.  When it arrived minus the valve needed for attaching it to the pipes, he dealt with the company for us. 

We recommend them without any reservations.  This is a group that you can trust.

unknown

The plumber was very professional and solved the problem that other plumbers were unable to solve.

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It went very well, very professional and i would like to say they fixed a problem that two other plumbers were not able to solve.

unknown

I've used them for years and always depend on them for all my plumbing disasters.  They always show on time, give me an estimate of the work involved, giving me options--and actually listen to what I think.  They work quickly and always clean up after themselves.

Last May,. the pressure valve in my water heater was leaking.  They told me it was because the pressure was too high and sold me a regulator for $400.  I was told that it would either solve the problem or only leak a little bit once in a while.  It didn't help at all.  I was afraid to call them back because they charge so much.  Another plumber came to unclog a drain and he told me the regulator was bad.  I called Paster because the regulator was still under warranty.  They sent me an email that said the technician would arrive between 8 and 10.  After 10AM, the called to say he was late.  He came at 11:30 - he denied that the regulator was bad and he told me I needed a pressure valve for $231 and maybe that would fix it and if it didn't fix it then I would have to pay for another one and $400 for a tank.  Maybe it that would fix it and maybe not either.  Maybe, maybe not.  With what they charge you would think there would be a greater probability of it being fixed.  I called another plumber from Angie's list who is almost $100 chapter for the valve and a nice guy.  Keep trying and DON'T use these people.

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The list states they will give a free estimate and they told me they would send someone out for $59 and then that $59 would be deducted off of the bill. They could not tell me how much it was to complete the work. I feel that is false advertisement.

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My 88-year-old widowed mother-in-law had a leak from her washing machine.  She called Paster Plumbing.  They evaluated the problem andpresented her with a contract to fix it for $2,565.  She signed the contract.
Later that day, they came back to her and said the problem was far worse than they originally thought.  They said she needed much more work done.  So they got her to sign a second contract, this one for $9,711.
Two days later, after working on the project, they came back to her and said it was, again, far worse than they thought even after the second evaluation.  So they got her to sign a third contract, this one for an additional $14,130.  (Bringing the total to $26,406, later ?discounted? $1,250 when they admitted they had charged her twice for the same thing on different contracts.) 
On the third contract they indicated that they offered to do less expensive repairs.  They indicated she declined that offer.  They also
indicated that they asked if she wanted to call a family member, an offer they say she also declined.
Unfortunately we were out of town when this happened, otherwise I would have told them to stop after the first contract and gotten
two more estimates for the work.  When we learned about all this, we asked why she hadn?t called us and she said it was
because we were out of town. 
When we saw the contracts, we asked if she realized what shewas signing every time they gave her a contract.  She said she had no idea.
Like many elderly people, she wants to remain independent and, for the most part, she is capable, though she does have help during the week.  She didn?t call us because she didn?t want to look like she might need help. She didn?t want to be a burden. 
The project involved pulling new pipe through where the original pipe had been.  Having had a similar, though not identical, project done at my home, I suspect this could have been professionally done for about half of what Paster charged.  (In my project, we found one bathroom was connected to a septic tank instead of to sewer line as realtor had sold it.  To get connected to sewer required about 20 feet of hand trenching before they brought in a backhoe to trench another 45 feet to hook to sewer.  This took 2 or 3 days and several men, so while not exactly an apples-to-apples comparison, I think it?s close.  I had my job done for just under $10,000.)
After my mother-in-law signed the second contract, the Paster representative knew she wasn?t calling anyone for a second estimate and he knew she was signing every contract they put in front of her.  So that worked out well for them. 
We asked Paster for a detailed accounting of the work.  They said they didn?t ?historically? do that.  When I explained that my mother-in-law was upset about the cost and that she wanted a detailed accounting, they agreed to provide one. I also requested a copy of the city permit, which they charged her for.
Paster charged so much to her credit card that it exceeded her credit limit.  When a Paster representative called to complain about this, we again asked for the detailed accounting.  Again, they said they would provide it but would expect full payment for the work within 2-3 days of delivering the accounting.  We agreed to that. 
However, when we paid down her credit card, Paster immediately charged the outstanding balance without ever providing the detailed
accounting they had promised.  They also never provided a copy of the city permit.  I called them and I sent an email asking what
had happened to the promise to deliver the detailed accounting and permit.  They never returned my call and they never responded to my email.  
If their honesty and integrity in their pricing is on par with their honesty and integrity in terms of keeping their promises, you should
look elsewhere for a plumber.  I know we do.  I have copies of all relevant emails to back this up.  Don?t trust them any further than you can comfortable spit a rat.
 

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Wonderful job, quick easy and clean!   I called in the morning around 930am and had a technician at the door by 1pm.  I was quoted a price before the job began.  The price was a bit high... however don't mind paying for quick and efficient service.  The technician had to purchase a few parts before he could begin.  Had this not been a last minute job he would have arrived with the needed parts.  Fernando fixed everything perfectly.  He was professional and even wore booties in the house so he wouldn't get the floors dirty.  I will definitely use this company again and recommend them to anyone I know who needs a plumber.