North County Plumbing, Inc
About us
LICENSE NUMBER: CFC026530 OWNER OPERATED. SHOWROOM HOURS: MON-FRI 9:00 AM-5:00 PM; SAT 9:00 AM-1:00 PM. ALL PLUMBING NEEDS
Business highlights
Services we offer
BATHTUBS, ELECTRIC & GAS, FAUCETS, FLUE VENT PIPE., GARBAGE DISPOSALS, HOT WATER DISPENSERS, INSTALL CLEAN-OUTS. WATER HEATER SERVICES: SOLAR SYSTEMS, REVERSE OSMOSIS SYSTEMS, SHOWERS, SHUT OFF VALVES, SINKS, TOILETS, WASHER & DRYER HOOKUPS, WATER MAINS, WATER PRESSURE
Amenities
Emergency Services
Yes
Accepted Payment Methods
- CreditCard
Number of Stars | Image of Distribution | Number of Ratings |
---|---|---|
68% | ||
21% | ||
9% | ||
3% | ||
0% |
When the installer showed up (within the promised 2-hour window) he indicated that I did not have a and quot;basicand quot; installation, because I had a recirculating pump attached to my heater (two additional connections to the water heater - one at the top, and one at the bottom). The installer indicated that it appeared the pump was not functioning anyway, so I asked if he could simply cut the lines to the pump and cap them. He said that this would cost another $150, even though, by capping the lines, he would not be connecting them to the new water heater. I thought this was an excessive price for the apparent amount of work involved (cutting two pipes and capping them), so I dismissed the plumber and cancelled the order.
Just so you don't think I am crazy, please know that I immediately contacted another (licensed and insured) plumbing contractor who showed up at my house within one hour with a water heater -- who removed the non-functioning recirculating pump, capped the lines as I requested, installed/tested a new heater and removed the old one, for the same and quot;specialand quot; cost quoted by North County for a and quot;basicand quot; installation.
I am reluctant to use the term and quot;bait and switchand quot; to describe my experience with North County, although I feel their ad campaign is designed to do just that.
Found them on Angie's list and called them. I requested a video camera which the operator said they had. I assumed that the hourly rate applied. ( I did not get a and quot;prequoteand quot; - my bad!) When the plumber arrived on time, he said he did not have the camera and they and quot;only use it once the pipe has been clearedand quot;. He did NOT have an assistant,and had no work gloves to use with the and quot;snakeand quot; so I lent him some gloves and stayed to assist handling the snake so it wouldn't tear up my bathroom fixtures. I should have dismissed him then, but....
After trying to clear the line, he called his supervisor and they discussed the problem for 30 minutes. He did not have a repair part for a PVC pipe he broke so he disappeared for 1 hour.
He did repair the broken pipe. I was gone to work by this time and he demanded my wife pay the $650 - she couldn't call me at work to confirm due to the nature of my job.
I called the office the next day to complain and the owner agreed to a rebate of $150, which I promply received. He stated that $650 was the normal flat rate for clearing a pipe.
However, the bank reported a and quot;Stop Paymentand quot; on the check.
I called the office and after a few calls another check was issued. I haven't heard yet whether it cleared the bank or not. The owner did call and apologize.
Overall, polite and prompt. Just get a firm quote upfront and make sure there is a and quot;two personand quot; team sent out for inside pipe cleaning.
In real life, things happen. A mark of good service is how a vendor deals with issues that arise. North County did an excellent job of service after the issues were discovered.
Licensing
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