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The Drain Busters & Sons
Founded 2004 • With Angi since September 2007
Business Details
Phone Number
Address
PO Box 4486
Annapolis, MD 21403
Description
License #89068
Joe Cachero
Verified Reviews
A few reviews for this pro...
Elizabeth H.
10/16/2017
Lorrie P.
02/08/2017
Now part of this is a Home Warranty problem, but looking at the charges they seem excessive: $95 Permit fee(Required) $95 Disposal fee(Optional) $89 3/4" Lead Free Ball Valve(Code) $200 Water Pipe Modifications Replacing approx. 16" of copper on hot and cold sides as well as constructing piping structure as needed to make hook up per code. with at least 6 90's and fittings $70 T&P Drip Tube . 6" line above the floor(Code) $175 Thermal expansion tank (Code) $69 Safty pan(Code) $249 3'' flu up to 2' with 90 pipe modifications that are needed as well as constructing chimney structure as needed to make hook up per code. $220 Gas Pipe Modifications needed that are constructing piping structure for hook up per code with flex line . Had my water heater replaced 9 years ago and it cost me about $200 in other charges, now it's a $1,000 with Drain busters. No thanks. Will get paid out for my water heater and have it installed by another company that isn't trying to nickle and dome me.
Description of Work
My home warranty provided them to us for a hot water heater. After showing up and seeing the water all over, they were like, "You need a new water heater," which was fine. The home warranty then came back and said Drain Busters wants to charge me over $1000 in permit and upgrades to do the work. Plus, every time you try to call them you get a voice message or can't get through.
Category
plumbing
Elora P.
07/12/2016
I recommended this company called The Drain Busters. I called them because I had a problem with a leak under my bathroom sink and when I called to schedule my appointment the people on the phone and the the technian were very polite. The technian fixed my leak in minutes. I recommend The Drain Buster because they've done the best job thus far. I thank everyone in The Drain Buster business for doing a great job!! I give a five stars for this company and I recommend that you call them today.
Description of Work
I called them because I had a problem with a leak under my bathroom sink.
Category
plumbing
Jasmin P.
07/07/2016
john R.
06/20/2016
Well this is one great company. From the time the service provider stepped into my home from the time he left . I did have to go through a warranty which they have provided to me this company. They could have never picked a better one. The man was very professional and explained everything very well for me to understand. I will be referring to family and friends .
Description of Work
They have helped me with all my plumbing needs
Category
plumbing
john R.
06/20/2016
Well this is one great company. From the time the service provider stepped into my home from the time he left . I did have to go through a warranty which they have provided to me this company. They could have never picked a better one. The man was very professional and explained everything very well for me to understand. I will be referring to family and friends .
Description of Work
they took care of all my plumbing needs
Category
plumbing
Patrick L.
05/25/2016
Tiffany M.
10/28/2015
Firstly I would like to mention how promt and professional the office was in schedling an appointment. The office representative was very polite and direct with their buisness operations. What stood out was that this company does give advance notice upon arival as well as great service was provided. On that note i would like to also mention that the technichian that arrived was very thurough and did clean up after himself. I would definitely recommend this company.
Description of Work
Give Excellent Service
Category
plumbing
Sarah S.
09/25/2014
We have ahot water heater for which the pilot light wouldn't remain lit. There was no leak, just no hot water. I did not want to risk messing with the appliance without being a pro myself, so I figured for the cost of the service call ($100 through home warranty) it was worth the peace of mind to have someone look at it. He replaced a part, pilot light stayed lit and he left. Within a few hours of him leaving last night, we went downstairs to find the problem was WAY worse: water gushing from it and the basement was totally flooded. Whatever he did created more problems than it solved because it wasn't even leaking before. When I called today to follow up on my return request, they said they could not send someone until tomorrow. When I explained I had already taken 2 days off work for this they of course did not care, as they already got their service fee. I cancelled with them to work with another plumber at my own expense, and who will come by today. Overall a poor experience.
Description of Work
The plumber from this company has made my water heater problem exponentially worse
Category
plumbing
David Mark W.
07/11/2014
My water heater had blown a leak the week before we were supposed to list our house for sale. We have a home warranty, and the warranty company assigned Drain Buster's to check it out and fix it. The technician showed up promptly and did a fine job estimating what all needed to be replaced. I had put the original water heater in myself, and even though my plumbing connections were not exactly professional (more plumbers putty than I think he had ever seen), he was professional and just pointed out what needed to be replaced without laughing out loud at my work. The replacement water heater was schedule to be installed two days later, but by the end of the day we'd not seen the tech yet. It was getting close to 6pm and we figured they just were not going to make it, but then the Drain Buster's office called to see if they could still come out. They had run into delays at a previous job, but had promised to get our heater installed that day, and were doing everything they could to meet that commitment. I was very impressed that they still came out to the house and replaced the whole thing, finishing up about 8pm. That must have been a really long day for those technicians, but they met their commitment and we had hot water that night! Great work - thank you!
Description of Work
Replaced water heater in our basement
Category
plumbing
Service Provider Response
I just wanted to say thank you very much for the time you have taken out to post a comment and score our performance. Our future success depends on the satisfaction we give to our valued customers. Once again thank you very much Mr. [member name removed]. Please let me know if there are any plumbing issues we may assist you with in the future, whether it's covered by the warranty company or not we can give you an accurate diagnoses as well as a free estimate if not covered by the warranty. Have a Blessed and safe Day. Thank you for working with The Drain Busters & Son's Complete plumbing services. Alanna L. Cachero Office Manager P.O.Box 4486 Annapolis, MD 21403 (Office) 410-626-6071 (Fax) 410-626-6075 thedrainbusters@yahoo.comJohn V.
04/16/2014
Fraudulent chargers were made to my credit card. Estimated service for non-existent problem. On April 9th, 2014, I found a flood in my finished basement bedroom while showing my friends the house. I called my home warranty company who sent Drain Busters and Sons to come to my house on Friday for estimate. Drain Busters was sent only because no other company was available for an emergent estimate. Drain Busters arrived on April 11th, 2014 around 1245. Joe (the plumber) was a nice man who used a small snake to run through the main sewer line. When I returned to the room, Joe said he pulled back black dirt and roots. He also said that I have a possible collapsed pipe so he was going to have to use a camera. He was only able to take the snake 40ft before running into the block. Then after the camera was ran for 30ft he couldn't take the camera any further and recommended digging up my front yard to find the problem. He estimated the cost to be $6500. I had to give my credit card information over the phone. At that time I was not informed that the charge would be immediate. Later the next day I had another plumber come out to give me an estimate of $1500 to dig up the yard and find the collapsed pipe but nothing could be done till Monday, just like Drain Busters stated. Monday diggers arrived at the house and found no collapsed pipe. Another snake, bigger and what you think a professional would use on a main sewage line, and camera were ran. Snake was ran up to 75ft and camera to 60ft. No sign of collapse or blockage was noted. The dirt was noted that it did not match the dirt that was 11ft deep in the yard. Matter of fact, the only black dirt was surface dirt. The plumber told me that it was a possibility that the Drain Buster's plumber stuffed black dirt and roots into the main to make it look like that is what the obstruction blocking the main. I didn't have eyes on him when he ran the snake, so I could prove nothing. They charged me $800+ for just a snake and camera, plus a $75 service fee. On Saturday, April 12th I called Drain Busters to cancel their estimated service because of the second opinion estimate. On Monday, April 14th I checked my credit card online and noticed that they have already charged my card for a job not yet performed and also after cancellation. A charge of $6500. Like I said, I can not prove that the allegations of a scamming company are true, however, I would never recommend anyone to use this company. I have also contacted the company and spoke to them of this situation and they told me they were sorry I feel this way. Not sorry for making a fraudulent charge on my credit card and no compensation for the charge either. They said that they removed the charge and it will show as credited to my account in 3 business days. I spoke with Lee on the first call and asked to speak with her supervisor. After several yawns in my ear, she said she would have him call me back without even asking who I was or my phone number. I stopped her to make sure she had my information before hanging up on me. Needless to say, the supervisor never returned my call. When I called back the second time, I spoke to a so-called manager. The same person who took my credit card information on April 11th for the outrageous fraudulent charge while her child was yelling in the background. I should have felt something was up then but my mind was too worried on the flood of my new house. She was the one who said "I am sorry YOU feel that way." Take heed anyone who dares to use this company. Ridiculous!
Description of Work
Snaked and used a camera on a clogged main sewer line.
Category
plumbing
Jonathan H.
03/22/2014
Plumber showed up promptly and the company was very communicative about arrival time. They were able to get someone out on the same day within about 8 hours of my initial call. The work was done quickly, and the serviceman explained exactly what he did and why the problem occurred in the first place. The serviceman was extremely professional and all around a nice person. I would use The Drain Busters again in a heartbeat.
Description of Work
Fixed 4 leaky shutoff valves.
Category
plumbing
Doreen V.
02/16/2014
The men could not find the source of the leak but the leaking occurred while they were present. They wanted to access the pipes through the wall in my kitchen. This would require removing my cabinets and cutting a hole in the wall. They then informed me that they did not have the tools to do this and would have to come back. I would have to pay for a second service call of $75 and also $200 to gain access to the pipes and that we would also be responsible to put the kitchen back in order once the examination and repairs (if any) were completed. I was not comfortable with the plumbers tearing apart my kitchen so wet old them we would call back when the access was available, I called my regular contractor to come in and take a look. We tried to recreate the dripping from the tub but could not find any leak in the tub or underneath where the plumber indicated the source of the leak was located. The plumber wanted to rip apart my kitchen with out being sure of where the leak was coming from.
Description of Work
We had a leak from our utility room ceiling. They were called in by our home warranty company. Two young showed up and examed the jacuzzi tub in our bathroom. The dripping started after using the tub after a considerable amount of time and we believed that was the source of the leak.
Category
plumbing
Service Provider Response
Hello [member name removed], The statements you have put on here was not entirely true. We have written on your invoice every word to support our findings. The diagnoses are as follow: 2/8/2014 Tech has tried to diagnose the leak coming from the Jacuzzi however; the location it is in makes it difficult to get to. There are supporting sub flooring to the Jacuzzi that cannot be cut out. Also there is a kitchen and cabinets on the opposite wall that will be an extreme access issue. On the Jacuzzi there is tile on the top and surrounding that could have been cut however, the home owner wanted to get with the previous owner to see if there was any other access that he didn't know of. Estimate of $ 200 to cut out tile or the home owner can do so himself. (We will not be responsible for any access that we may cut out such as but not limited to tile or wood.) We have also informed the Home owner there will be a trip charge of $ 75 to return to diagnose + the access if he so chooses to have us do so. I have spoken to Ms. Sheila on 2/8/2014 @ 5:00 p.m. to update status as I have also received a status update enquiry. Claim is on hold .Waiting for the home owner to call back for further instructions on his access decision. csr #1 [removed member name], we never said we cannot do the work because we did not have the tools. The techs on site were more than capable of cutting an access to locate a leak. And in fact waited there an extra 45 minutes as you tried to figure out what you wanted to do pertaining to the access issue. I had to call you and spoke to [member name removed]myself to see what you wanted to do .Only because they had a long schedule ahead of them that day. The techs were more than capable of completing any and all repairs on site. Unless it was the Jacuzzi motor .As we do not service them. When we arrived you did have a visible leak coming from the basement ceiling .Right above where the Jacuzzi tub was located. As you stated in your complaint “The men could not find the source of the leak but the leaking occurred while they were present." Not to mention your claim you have submitted to the warranty company: Pipe: In Wall/Ceiling Other Water Leak. Claim “Leaking from bathroom from Jacuzzi tub through basement ceiling" The only way to diagnose what was leaking was to gain access. There could have been multiple things leaking such as but not limited to, Water lines drain lines, waste & overflow, Jets, Caulking, grouting, & even the motor. Unfortunately we cannot properly diagnose unless access has been made. We gave you different choices so that you could save money. (As we are not trying to rip our customers off.) We stated you can make access while on site. Otherwise it would have been the $ 200 access fee charge. All of which could have been made while tech was on site .So that we could have made repairs to the leaks at hand. The trip charge of $ 75 was for the return trip charge due to the fact we could have done all repairs and or diagnoses while on site. This would not have been an option if the access was made while on site. As for your statement: “They wanted to access the pipes through the wall in my kitchen. This would require removing my cabinets and cutting a hole in the wall." This was a false statement as we said that would be the last thing to do .Also noted in your account with the warranty company on 2/8/2014 @5:00 p.m. as well as emailed to you .And time stamped. In fact that was the last thing we wanted to do. This was a lot of work that was not necessary when we could go through the tile. We have informed you of this both on site and on the phone as I have spoken to [member name removed]personally. The only negative statement I found in your complaint was “I was not comfortable with the plumbers tearing apart my kitchen" When in reality this was not even our suggestion. I'm not sure why you have made this statement .But I have documentation that supports otherwise. We have e-mailed you a copy with time stamp confirmations as I stated previously. You also state that “I called my regular contractor to come in and take a look. We tried to recreate the dripping from the tub but could not find any leak in the tub or underneath where the plumber indicated the source of the leak was located. The plumber wanted to rip apart my kitchen without being sure of where the leak was coming from. “I found that this statement contradicts your previous statement as well as explains why we needed to gain access. (You stated) “The men could not find the source of the leak but the leaking occurred while they were present." This clearly explains that you did have a leak but location was the question. I cannot say for certain why your plumber could not produce a leak while on site. I only know that we gave estimates and suggestions that access had to be made to determine where your leak was coming from. Clearly there was an existing leak. You yourself have stated this several times, to the warranty company as well as in your complaint. And yet you have tried to make it seem as if we wanted to make access unnecessarily. Please note that we have pictures on file showing a leak coming through the subflooring. I have been told by the tech you yourself took a picture of that same leak. I understand if we perhaps did something wrong or even misdiagnosed. But to submit a complaint on Angies List for no reason at all seems a bit unfair as we only tried to help you locate and fix the leaks that you were having. Any plumber that had seen the leak would have suggested the same thing .As we cannot repair through the tile. [member name removed], we give our customers the very best customer service possible. We try to work with the customers in every way possible to save money and yet to solve their plumbing issues at hand. If given the opportunity you would have seen we can and would have taken care of the plumbing mechanical failure. Unfortunately a lot of times due to the nature of the call plumbing is hidden behind or between walls, floors, ceilings, tiles, wood and much more. When this happens unless the plumbing is exposed or has an access panel that we can reach the leaks to complete repairs, we have no other choice but to find the easiest most cost efficient way to gain access. I apologize if you did not feel comfortable with the tech. I know that anytime a tech needs to cut access to locate the source of a leak often it makes the customer frustrated and sometimes upset. After the source has been located and shown to you I’m sure you would have understood the process much better. I’m sure the tech treated you with respect and also tries to explain every possibility to you. Please let me know if we could have done anything to improve our customer service. We are always open to customer’s insight. Please know that each and every customer is very important to the future success of our company. Thank You for Working With The Drain Busters & Sons Complete Plumbing Services, Alanna L Cachero (Office Manager) The Drain Busters & Son's P.O.Box 4486 Annapolis,Maryland 21403 (office) 410-626-6071 (fax) 410-626-6075 [hyperlink removed]Jarjis I.
08/16/2013
They are the most horrible service provider for plumbing work. They gave an estimate and said we would need this and this, but they ended up needing none of those things. They just wanted to rip us off. They charged over $80 just to come here saying the warranty company will pay it, which never happened. They did that twice to us. They came over and told me that my water pressure tank is bad and gave me an estimate of $1000 for replacing the water pressure tank. However, it ended up being that the water pressure tank was not bad, it was just a pipe that was leaking. They also did the same thing with the water heater. They told me the heater is bad and you would have to pay $1500 to replace it, but I had to pay only $100 to replace it.
Description of Work
I have used Drain Busters. They came in to fix the water heater.
Category
water heater repair
JOHN G.
06/05/2013
I would like to preface this with the fact that I was stuck with this company due to my home warranty company, which I am also going be contacting (First American Home Warranty). Day one: Appt set for 0800-1300, got a call at 1300, letting me know the guy was running behind, I was next in line, and he should be there in about an hour. Ok, cool I understand you cant always be on time.....Guy shows up, looks at my toilet, tells me the home warranty company wont cover it, and it is going to be 215.00 to pull the toilet and snake it. At this point, I started to get the feeling this was going to be a trend, but the house was not draining, so options were limited. Guy pulls the toilet, and starts the snake. After about 20 min he comes out and tells me he doesnt have a long enough snake. The office would either call and tell me if someone else did or I would have to go back through the home warranty company. Office calls about an hour later and says they will have someone there between noon and 1800. Day two: 1930 rolls around, still have not heard anything, so my wife calls to find out what the deal was. We are told we are next in line and they will call when they are on the way. 2030, we get a call that they are on the way, should be at our house in the next hour. about 2110 they are knocking on the door with equipment ready to roll. After about 25 min of snaking the line again, I here some clutter in the bathroom and one of them heads outside to look in the manhole. Not sure if they lost the snake into the line when they cleared it or what happened. But they were down there for a while. The lead guy, I assume, comes back into the house and says the line has been detroyed by tree roots and is collapsed and barely draining. Gives me a quote and tells me to give them a call if someone comes in cheaper. Now during this, I never saw a camera or anything, so how could they see this? So the next day, my wife has the foresight to call the town since the tree belongs to them and line might be on their side since this guy said he saw it. So the town comes out in less than half of an hour, pops the manhole open, jumps right in, runs their snake (about twice the size of what Drainbusters was using), they clear out a couple roots, tell us to flush the toilet and they run their camera up the line all the way to the house......Pipe is cleared perfectly and there is not one inch of damage in the line!!! I ask them to run it again and show them my estimate.....AGAIN pipe is in great shape and there are no roots. So not only are they not timely, but their techs clearly lack integrity!! I will never again have this company in my house, and I will tell everyone I know about this when they say they need a plumber!
Description of Work
Company had to show up twice. We had something in the main drain line. First guy showed up and his snake was not long enough. The next night a second truck showed up and the got it "as cleared as they could, but the line was destroyed and needed to be replaced ASAP, which would cost me about $4,300.00!!
Category
plumbing
Kay B.
09/09/2012
My Home Owners Warrenty company sent them to me. They did not spend much time with me and told me they did not think my back up battery to the pump was covered (It would have been). They said they would check and get back to me. They never got back and told the Home Owners Warranty that the job was complete. Which was not the truth.
Description of Work
He looked at the space outside of the sump pump and at the back up battery. He did not open the sump pump. Know this because it is caulked shut due to the Radon set up.
Category
plumbing, wells
Elizabeth V.
08/27/2012
I thought the plumber was and did the job properly. I didnot sit there and watch him. I trust contractors to do there job, you think I would learn, you have to watch them. Anyways, I learned that the plumber put a new wax ring on however did not remove the old wax. LAZY, LAZY, LAZY. Plus I want to add this was my second time where the home warranty company sent drain busters to my house and on both times they were significantly late. First they give you this big time window of when they will come and then they don't even come within that time frame. I would never use them again.
Description of Work
American Home shield assigned this plumbing company to my toilet problem. The problem was sewer smell was coming up from the toilet.
Category
plumbing
Barbara B.
07/25/2012
We declined their proposal and instead, called a wonderful plumber from STAT Plumbing & Remodeling located right here in Bowie, Maryland to get a proposal from them on the job. Ironically, we had recently met Blerim, one of the owners of STAT Plumbing, when AHW sent him to do anearlier plumbing job at our home. We found him to be friendly, honest, knowledgeable and excellent at his trade. We wanted to know what his fee would be if we just outright hired him to do the job. He proposed to do the entire job, including providing a top quality gas water heater and bringing it up to code for only $900, total! Needless to say, we hired him and by the end of the following day, we had a new hot water heater installed and working. It is my belief that this man and this company are out to get as much money as they can any way they can. What they tried to do to us in my own humble opinion is nothing less than dishonest and fraudulent. They tried to take advantage of a couple of senior citizens, but this time they picked the wrong ones. What bothers us most of all is the fact that AHW continues to send this company to its customers knowing what they tried to do to us and also having the benefit of the BBB's experience with them. We did a lot of research and printed out page after page of customer complaints about Drain Busters business practices. Just this week, we experienced a bathroom leak, reported it to AHW and guess what? They assigned Drain Busters to come once again to our home and do the repair. Needless to say, they will never be welcome in our home again. So, tomorrow we'll have to take care of the matter ourselves and decide how to deal with AHW, since they're not living up to what we expected from them. I guess you can say that this review is as much about AHW as it is Drain Busters. By the way, if anyone out there wants a top notch plumber, call STAT at 240-398-0720. Tell them the Beaches recommended you.
Description of Work
Drain Busters came out, looked at our gas hot water heater and said it must be replaced, since it had several leaks. This company was not of my choosing. They were sent by First American Homeowners Warranty. A day or two later I was told by AHW that my share of the job would be $1,200 which they said represented the cost of bringing the new hot water heater to code--it did not include the hot water heater or fees related to installing it. Right off the bat we knew that was ridiculous. The entire cost of putting in a new hot water heater and bringing it to code should have been less than $1,200. My contract calls for us paying a $55 service fee for each and every service call plus any costs to meet new code standards and in the case of a replacement rather than repair, we'd be responsible for what seems to be half the cost of the new heater.
Category
plumbing
Michael D.
06/27/2012
I also went through my home warranty service and this is what they gave me. Very poorly run business. Just like other people have said. I took a day off from work for my 8AM-1PM appointment, It's now 3PM and no Drain Busters. I called several times to get an estimate on when they would be here, but no response. I will re-do this report, if and when the work is completed. They don't take checks and you must pay a surcharge for a credit card!! Finally arrived, one plumber, no helper, he worked hard and it appears the work was done properly, will re post if necessary. Had to call them back 3 days later because there was a small leak in the plumbing they installed. Again, I had an appointment for 1-6PM. They came at 11:30PM!!!! Who runs a business like that? They will never come to my house again.
Description of Work
Replace a 40 GAL hot water heater.
Category
plumbing
Service Provider Response
Hello [member name removed], I apologize for the customer service you have received . We have implemented a new updating appointment confirmation. As well as revised our windows of schedule appointments. We have made it a point to stay in touch with our customers to update them if we are running behind as well as inform them of any and all changes in advance via-email. As far as not taking checks. We have done this for a while now. When dealing with home owners referred by Warranty Companies. We have no control over coverage on home owners Policies and most of the time we are not informed what is covered until we call into the Warranty Company. When this in return makes home owners get angry for denial purposes they cancel checks. The Warranty companies do not refund our monies from cancelled and bounced checks. So we eliminated them after having to pay some much money in recovery of funds. Please do not take it personal as we are just trying to protect our business based on much experience. As for returning for the leak. We stand by hind our work. And if we have any issue what so ever .We are more than willing to take care of accordingly. I apologize if you had a leak in the first place. We are not perfect However ,We try our best to give the best customer service at all times. Once again please except my apology for any incontinences we may have caused. We value our Customers feed back .Any thing we can change in a positive way .We are willing to do so to make your experience as well as every customers experience a great one. If there was something not up to your expectations Please allow us the opportunity to make it right for you .william C.
03/25/2012
The time window was between 1:00 to 6:00 that day. I received a call about 3:00 PM that they would be 1 hour late {7:00pm}. They arrived about 10:15 pm. Other than that; they did very well.
Description of Work
Cleaned out stoppage in our main house sewer line using plumbing snake.
Category
plumbing, drain cleaning
JD M.
12/11/2011
I didn't directly hire this company. This company was assigned to me by my home warranty company (first american home warranty). I had two dealings with this company. This first one was due to a blocked drain in my kitchen sink. The second one was due to a gas control valve problem in my water heater. Somehow, the home warranty company assigned this company to me both times. For the drain blockage, to be fair, they did eventually clear the drain. However, the process was painful for me. First, the master plumber told me that if I don't have kitchen sink cleanout, he would charge me $250 for installing it, since, according to him, the home warranty contract does not cover installing a cleanout. Next, the next day, his first plumber came in, and tried to use the snake tool to clear the drain but without success, telling me that he only brought 50 feet long snake drain line, and he realized 50 feet was not long enough, and had to come back with 75 feet drain line. After a couple of days, the second plumber came in, supposedly to complete the drain-clearing job the first plumber left off and fix the water heater problem. I paid the second plumber $250 plus the $55 trade service fee required by the home warranty company. The second plumber cleared the drain. However, I do not believe it took the second plumber more than half an hour to install a cleanout (later on, I happened to have some plumbing needs in my basement, and the plumber that I hired charged me not even $75 to install a cleanout as part of the overall package). Therefore, clearly, this company took advantage of the loophole in the home warranty contractor, and made me pay way excessive labor(price) for installing a cleanout. With respect to the water heater, the second plumber showed me a couple of burned wires connecting the gas control valve to the water heater, saying that my water heater may have to be completed replaced. The master plumber apparently was more knowledgeable, calling me and telling me that since my AO Smith water heater was still under warranty, he's ordered replacement parts for me. However, he told me that he needed to charge me $200 extra for doing what he referred to as a "cleaning maintenance service" required by manufacturer (for installing replacement parts) but was not covered by the home warranty contractor. Foretunately, this time around, since I smelt fishy about the so-called "cleaning maintenance service" that the master plumber said I must pay for, I managed to get a second opinion from BGE Home technician. The BGE Home technician said there was no such a thing as requiring a "cleaning maintenance service" in order to have the replacement gas control valve installed. The BGE Home technician said all it was needed was to drain the water in the water heater, and do a quick clean around the gas control valve. Eventually, the BGE Home technician helped me to replace the gas control valve. It is pretty clear that this company, once again, tries to use loopholes in the home warranty to force me pay extra money that I should not pay. It is also clear that the second plumber knew little about water heater to begin with. Therefore, this company, once again (like the first time sending the first plumber not knowing to bring long-enough snake drain line), was sending someone who was not 100% competent. So anyone having home warranty, be very aware of this company as well this company's tactics if your home warranty company assigns this company to you when you file you a claim.
Description of Work
They cleared a blocked drain for my kitchen sink as assigned by a home warranty company (first american home warranty). They tried to fix water heater problem as assigned by the same home warranty home. Because I sensed that they tried to use loopholes in the home warranty to make me pay extra money that I should not pay, I used BGE Home to fix that problem eventually.
Category
plumbing
Monique W.
08/06/2011
Called my home warranty company because I had a leak coming from the garbage disposal. They assigned me to Drain Busters called me to make an appointment. The only day was Saturday and I was told that they dont give a time block & that the tech. would call an hour before they come. The plumbing arrived @ my home and found out that the disposal needed to be replaced. He then told me that he didn't have any on his truck & that it would have to be order and come out on another day. A few days later they called for someone to come out and gave me a window of 8am-12 noon. At 11:15am I received a call from there office asking if I could change my time to 12noon to 6pm because they over booked the plumber. At 5pm I called to find out when someone would be out, and was told i was next. About 7:40pm the office called and asked if the plumber could come out, I stated no because I had to leave. I then asked if I could be first on the list for Monday morning since i was inconvenience and was told no.
Description of Work
Water leaking from garbage disposal
Category
drain cleaning
BONITA M.
08/03/2011
it did not go well, i am still waiting for the resoultion. in addtion to filing a complaint with Angie's List i filed one with the BBB of Greater Maryland.
Description of Work
the two guys who came on Monday were inexperienced, they only had a regular sized snake, and that it could not cleared the blockage and it would be $200 for the bigger one and they could come on Tuesday. Ok the came on Tuesday and unblocked the line and said it would hold for approx. 6 months and gave me a 8,500 estimate of what it would cost for repair. On Saturday it was blocked again. When i called and gave the person my info she said the could come back on wed , i said fine call my job and took the day off. This is costing me a lot of money just to take the day off. Drain Busters called me Wednesday morning and said they were not coming out, I ask to speak to the manager and she was rude and said if they come out it would be another $200. I had some other plumbers come to give me estimates on Monday and gave me different information, Drain Busters should have come back out and resnaked, without charging me for the same service i had already paid for.
Category
drain cleaning
Stuart Z.
01/05/2011
Other reviews are accurate. My home warranty service referred this company to me, to fix my sump pump. I tried calling them, but their voicemail was always full. I tried emailing them, but no response for a day or so. I arranged with the warranty service to have another plumber I trusted come in. Then I started receiving aggressive voicemails at home to set up an appointment with a threat of them showing up some morning. Of course, when I tried to call them to cancel, I hit their voicemail -- and full voicemail box. I sent another email, which I assume finally convinced them to leave me alone. If their customer service is any indication of their competency with plumbing, I advise you go elsewhere!
Description of Work
None.
Category
plumbing
Service Provider Response
Hello [member name removed], I apologize for the customer experience you had. If it was on a Saturday We may have been closed after hours for the weekend .We have implemented new ways to follow up with our customers .via e-mail through the service we use for appointment confirmation and updates. As well as allowing our home owners to communicate directly through our provided link. Once again please except my apology for any inconvenience we have caused you .we are changing many ways we provide service and trying to make it right with our customers no matter how old or recent a complaint. We are willing to continue to make changes to improve our customers experiences. Please allow us to prove we will go out of our way to make it a much better experience and up to your expectations. Thank you for your input as it has helped us change our policies. Thank You For Working with The Drain Busters & Son's Complete Plumbing Services . Alanna Cachero (Office manager) 410-626-6071 thedrainbusters@yahoo.comMichael F.
06/10/2009
First time Josh showed up, he told me he could replace the faucet for just the 60 dollar deductible (rest was covered by warranty company). Then he proceeded to tell me that if I were to use a faucet that I bought myself (not the builder's grade kind they provide) I'd have to pay him $250 in CASH ONLY, then the warranty company would reimburse me. I called the warranty company, and this turned out not to be true. I went ahead and went with the builder's grade quality which didn't cost me extra (which doesn't make sense, because if I use my own, wouldn't that save them the cost of providing one? But I digress...) ANYWAY, then he tells me that the filtration system is not covered by the warranty and that if I wanted him to check it out and replace the filters, that would also be $250 in cash only. I said no, just do the faucet, which he did, but then he offered to check it out at no charge. He couldn't get the device open, but then said "that's $250". I looked at him for a moment, then he said "you know that's what they would've wanted to charge you". I didn't think that was very professional. Also not professional, was the swearing while working (under his breath, but still) and the general disdain for being there and wanting to get out of there as soon as possible. And I don't understand why they insisted on cash and not checks. I paid my $60 with 40 in cash and the other 20 by check because i didn't have enough cash. He took the check but didn't seem to happy about it. And the $250 in cash? Who carries that much cash?
Description of Work
Replaced kitchen faucet.
Category
plumbing
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Service Categories
Warranty Companies - Non-Home
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General Information
Free Estimates
Ask for Details
Eco-Friendly Accreditations
Yes
Payment Options
Visa, MasterCard
Senior Discount
No
Warranties
Ask for details
Services Offered
Well Pumps, Drains, Toilets, Faucets, ump Pumps, Garbage Disposals, Hot Water Heaters, Water lines & Sewer Line Repairs/Replacements. All small repairs and Complete Installations. Shower diverters
Services Not Offered
No septic pumping , No drilling of wells, No installing Septic Tanks only. No thankless, oil fired or Propane Hot Water Heaters
Frequently Asked Questions & Answers about The Drain Busters & Sons
How is The Drain Busters & Sons overall rated?
The Drain Busters & Sons is currently rated 3.2 overall out of 5.
What days are The Drain Busters & Sons open?
The Drain Busters & Sons is open:
Sunday: Closed
Monday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Tuesday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Wednesday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Thursday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Friday: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Saturday: 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM
What payment options does The Drain Busters & Sons provide
The Drain Busters & Sons accepts the following forms of payment: Visa, MasterCard
Does The Drain Busters & Sons offer free estimates?
Ask The Drain Busters & Sons for details on free project estimates.
Does The Drain Busters & Sons offer eco-friendly accreditations?
Yes, The Drain Busters & Sons offers eco-friendly accreditations.
Does The Drain Busters & Sons offer a senior discount?
No, The Drain Busters & Sons does not offer a senior discount.
Are warranties offered by The Drain Busters & Sons?
No, The Drain Busters & Sons does not offer warranties.
What services does The Drain Busters & Sons offer?
The Drain Busters & Sons offers the following services: Well Pumps, Drains, Toilets, Faucets, ump Pumps, Garbage Disposals, Hot Water Heaters, Water lines & Sewer Line Repairs/Replacements. All small repairs and Complete Installations. Shower diverters
Are there any services The Drain Busters & Sons does not offer?
No septic pumping , No drilling of wells, No installing Septic Tanks only. No thankless, oil fired or Propane Hot Water Heaters