John E. Byrd Septic Tank Service

Prior to coming to the site, Mr Byrd neglected to inform customer of charges to expect. Once work was completed, he refused to adequately explain charges other than to say that there was a basic $75 fee for a service charge. Mr Byrd charged a total of $225 and did not explain what the remaining $150 charge was for. He did perform some work but was at the location for only one hour. If he was charging $75 for that hour, this still leaves an overcharge of $75. Mr Byrd was called because the septic tank pump was not operating. In less the 15 minutes, Mr Byrd determined that the the septic pump was functioning properly and advised customer to call an electrician. Without being asked to, Mr Byrd then repaired a broken pipe in the septic field. The customer told him that she had the tools and the knowledge necessary to complete the repair without his assistance. His response was that it would only take him a minute and he continued to fix the pipe without the customer agreeing to pay him for this service. Mr Byrd then way overcharged for having done this job that he was told to not complete. Customer has since learned that over billing for services performed is a common occurrence with Mr Byrd and other industry professionals have seen him do this many times in the past. Customer is agreeable to paying the $75 charge to come to the home as well as $75 for the one hour for services performed. Mr Byrd only spent one hour working but charged for two hours. He overcharged by $75 and should return that amount to customer. UPDATE 12/8/2010 Mr Byrd called customer to say that he had received a complaint about the above issue the was filed with the BBB. He is agreeable to refunding to the consumer $75. He said that in all of his years in this industry that he has never before known a woman who was willing to perform labor in her septic field and had misunderstood when this customer told him that this is something that she would do without his assistance. It appears to have been a simple misunderstanding and Mr Byrd has expresses a willingness to make the situation right.