J VALENTE PLUMBING & HEATING

Prior to the repair I contacted J Valente and he gave me a price of $175 to replace the meter and install a new valve shutoff on the street side. I also asked about removing the broken valve and he said it would be an additional $80. When the plumber arrived I told him not to install the street side valve as I was concerned because the Town said it was against code to have a soldiered joint before the meter but they would OK it since it was preexisting. I was afraid if it ever failed the house would flood and only the town could shut the water off. So the job now was to replace the water meter and remove the broken valve and not replace it. The work was done and after the plumber talked to J Valente, the price was $321.00. $175 for the meter and $125 for a valve that didn't exist. I called Joe Valente and said that the agreed upon price was $175 plus tax. He argued with me and said the his guy was there longer than expected checking the outside pressure. I reiterated the we had agreed on a price and he yelled "pay him the $175" which is what I did. I offered the plumber to pay for an additional 1/2 hour but he didn't want to exasperate the issue. The next day, a Saturday, the pressure relief valve next to the meter sprung a leak as we noticed a small flood on the floor. I shut the house water of with the street side valve but it continued to drip into a bucket I placed nearby. I called J Valente and the person who answered said she would put an "urgent" call to Joe. After a 1/1 hour I called again and got the answering service who also said they would put in an "urgent" call to Joe. After another 1/2 hour I called Joe on his cell phone and left a message describing the situation and to please let me know if he could come or if not I would call another plumber. He didn't call and I was forced to call another plumbing company and pay extra for a Saturday call and a very inflated charge to replace the pressure relief valve. Joe Valente called me the following Monday at 6:45 AM to say he was returning my "Urgent" call. He said he "needs a life" and doesn't pick up a phone on the weekends. Perhaps he should inform the people working for him of his policy and not leave his customer hoping for a timely return call . Personally I feel he did this for spite due to the prior days work-very unprofessional!