Spartan Plumbing, Heating and Air Conditioning

I should have been suspicious when they wouldn't give pricing over the phone but I had nobody else ready to snake a clogged kitchen drain that was also affecting a bathroom one. Their scam is a $99 visit fee which is only waived if you go over $500 so they priced it at $495. Later I learned that $100 - $250 would be more commonly appropriate. Bottom line, stuck with almost $600 for what I now know on average is less than $250. Avoid them and find someone more honest and reasonably priced.. Their Senior Citizen Discount is also a joke.

Placed a same day call for service. Plumber arrived during window. Was friendly and knowledgable. Reasonable price.

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The repairman came and looked at my HVAC unit.  It was a very short visit.  I asked if he was going to check the a/c unit outside (like the last vendor did) and he said there was no point since it was too cold to try the a/c.  He said that though my unit was old, it was in okay condition and hopefully could last a few more years.  That was Friday.  Over the weekend, my tenant in the apartment showed me that the unit had been leaking a large amount of water - so much that he had to use two huge towels to soak it up.  It had even soaked out onto the carpet.  Kneeling on it made huge water marks on my pants.  Then we realized that this must have been going on for awhile because the trim at the bottom of the wall was stained from water damage.  So the guy totally missed all of this.  I called them to come back.  They came today, Tuesday, and the guy (same guy) said he'd never noticed anything like that.  He showed me how to open the part of the unit where the condenser drains so I could do it myself in the future.  I asked if that hadn't been part of his check up on Friday.  He said no, he just looks at the unit to see that everything's working and that's it.  He called his office to see if he had to charge me and they said he did.  He suggested I print off the $20 off coupon on their website so at least I'd pay only $69 this time instead of $89.  
I really wanted this to work out, as I'd like a company to just give me a regular maintenance contract so I don't have to remember to schedule these appointments - and I like to support women-owned businesses - but this one is a loser.  I should have been suspicious when they could come the next day when I made the appointment, but now I know why they're not busy.

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The first day they stopped by they diagnosed a posibly seized radiator shut off valve.  No actual work was done.  A new shut off valve was order and we were charged $100 to diagnose the issue. 
They returned the next week to replace the valve.   For some reason they didn't bring any towels or mops to deal with the water that drained out of the radiator when they removed it.  I had to use my own towels to clean up the water all over the floor.  I'm not sure what they would have done if I didn't have towels available.   Once the old valve was removed it was apparent that the old valve was still functional.  We decided to go ahead and install the new valve.  Once everything was back together and the heat was turned back on, the radiator still wasn't functioning.  The technician advised that he would consult with his manager and have someone call me back to come up with another solution.  I did not receive a call and I've left them multiple messages.  It's been two weeks with out hearing from anyone.  I even asked them to contact me if they weren't capable of completing the repair. They still haven't contacted me.  I've spent $700 on this issue with this company with out any tangable results.   I will not use this company  again.  The least they could do is give me the curtesy of telling me they don't intend to complete the repair.

I later found another compnay to stop by to see if they could resolve the issue.   Within an hour they had the radiator working properly.   Apparently there was a blockage in the return line where the radiator hooked to it.  It was right at the opening of the return line and was hard to miss.  The Spartan technician apparently didn't bother to look at the opening of return line. If he had, he would have seen the blockage. 

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Tech was great!

Great! Plumber came & went, no muss no fuss.

Trent was on time, assessed the problem and advised what needed to fix. Kept me updated on repairs. All went well.

They replaced quickly, quickly identified the problem and resolved the problem quickly and efficiently.

Bottom-line: Do not hire this provider.  They sent me a fraudulent overdue invoice and failed to complete the requested repairs.
Monday 6/15
I contacted Spartan after the pilot went out on a five-year old Whirlpool hot water heater.  After contacting several other plumbing companies that would not service Whirlpool heaters, I made sure that Spartan did. The technician arrived several hours late on his first visit and replaced the thermocouple. (I had obtained a new thermocouple and housing in advance for the W/H because I had been advised by another company that the Whirlpool models were different.)  The technician replaced the thermocouple and the W/H seemed to work. 30 minutes later it was out.  An invoice of $164 was tendered which I paid.
Tuesday 6/16
I contacted Spartan the next morning and the technician returned. He relit the W/H, declared it to be working fine, and left.  30 minutes later the W/H went out again.  I received an invoice from technician with a zero balance for this visit.
Wednesday 6/17
I contacted Spartan the following morning and they again sent the same technician out.  He replaced the thermocouple again but this time could not even get the W/H to relight.  He offered no solution to the problem other than replacing the gas valve or the entire W/H.  He promised to call me the next day after the spoke with his supplier.  He gave me an invoice for $209 which I declined to pay. I explained that I didn't think I should pay them for a repair that they didn't complete. He agreed but said he had to give me an invoice but would have his manager contact me.
Thursday 6/18
The technician did not call me back as promised. I called and left a message.  No response.
Friday 6/19
I receive a call from a supervisor at Spartan. She asks me why I refused to pay the 6/17 invoice.  I explained to her the facts stated above. I also asked her why  they believed they should receive a total of $373 from me without actually solving the problem or even being able to diagnose the problem. She said she would speak to the technician and call me back. Still waiting...
Saturday 6/20
I contacted a different service provider who solved the problem in under an hour.  
Monday, July 13
I receive an "overdue" invoices in the mail totaling $298. The overdue invoices reflect fraudulent charges that were altered from the original invoiced amounts. Fortunately, I have copies of the original in my hand that show that Spartan altered their invoice. 

He checked previous work, replaced pipes on either side, problem fixed.

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On June 17, I contacted Spartan to schedule an estimate for work to repair/replace an exterior water line.  The receptionist stated that she would pass my information to the company's estimator, Tim, and that he would contact me the following day.  At 7:30AM, as I was boarding the Metro to work, Tim called me and asked me when I would be available for him to come and look at the property.  He indicated that he comes from Baltimore and that he heads back in that direction around 3PM.  I told Tim that I could meet him at my house at 3PM so that I would not have to take a full day off work to wait for him.  I took 3 hours of annual (vacation) leave, and left my work at 2PM to meet Tim at my house.  Tim never came to my house at 3PM or otherwise contacted me.  At 3:30PM, I contacted Spartan to see what happened to Tim.  The receptionist told me she would call Tim and then let me know where he was.  By 4:15PM, neither the receptionist or Tim contacted me.  I called Spartan again, and the same receptionist said she tried contacting Tim but had been unable to reach him.  I never heard from Spartan again.

Excellent - quick, efficient, polite.

Excellent! Great job.

Company did very well. Very nice.

Edgar was very professional and friendly. He quickly determined the problem with my A/C. He explained to me what was wrong and also provided tips on how to clean the A/C unit.

Very well plumber on time, fixed promptly.

Great!