The plumbing has one issue that prevents us from finishing the bathroom. The office team has no interest in fixing the plumbing shortfall. We will have to pay for the work a second time, obviously with a different company. They don't send you a bill unless you specifically ask for it. The bill had only a total owing. We had to ask twice for a breakdown by e-mail. Eventually, we got an email saying $x was labour, and $x was for parts. It did not include hours billed as we requested, which is a reasonable request when you are paying by the hour! When we did our own math, we were shocked that the hourly rate was $10 per hour more than agreed upon. We had confirmed the rate twice by phone, and again when the plumbers arrived. After asking why we were being billed two and a half hours more than were worked, were told "we bill everyone for travel time from our office to your property, and a lunch HOUR." No prior mention of this. This was for just over half a day's work. No other plumber we've hired in this area charges for travel or lunch breaks. Even if we counted the lunch hour and travel in the worst traffic ever seen in this area, we are still paying for at least one hour extra, and at a rate higher than agreed! They just keep saying we are being billed for "one day's work" which is 8 hours, even though that is far more than was worked! They are not willing to budge on the total, despite confirming that they are charging a full day regardless of hours worked. We were told to go to the office in person to pay the bill. I went during the hours specified many times, but the lights were always out, and no one ever answered the door. The phone would just ring and ring with no answer. The few times I got an answering machine, supposedly they never got the messages. When I finally got someone on the phone to discuss this, they insisted their phones were reliable, right until the call was dropped! We kept trying to pay as instructed, but were unable. Then all of a sudden we got a call saying they were sending us to collections! I was then told to give my credit card information to a person calling from a blocked number - which everyone knows is not wise due to identity theft. I asked why this was changed at such a late date, and was told it was not their problem. I asked if I would get a receipt showing the bill was paid in full, but was told that would only happen if I paid in person at their office. The same office I'd found empty time and again! Beyond frustrating. In over a decade of hiring trades, this is the worst experience we've had to date!
