-REVIEW- Paul came to my home January 8th, 2009. He is probably 6 ½ tall and big. I called him for 3 issues. #1. A leaky bathroom lavatory #2. An old thermostat that needed to be replaced. #3. A bath tub that had leaked once almost two years ago but never happened again since then. I just had been asking around about this leak since then because I had no clue of why and where it leaked. #2-He broke the old thermostat’s wire while he was testing what he could do about it. I didn’t say anything to him because the job was beyond his scope anyway. #3-Paul damaged the overflow and waste of bathtub to leak while opening the strainer and closing back in. He dismantled the bathtub shower set and concluded that bathtub strainer was the problem to be fixed. He unscrewed the strainer from the waste with a great deal of strength and put it back in the place after putting plumber’s tape and silicone on. He said he fixed it and left my place. I was planning to tighten the strainer a bit more after him but it felt tightened enough by Paul so I didn’t do anything. In two days, my basement tenant called me for their ceiling was dripping hard. I went down there to find the ceiling below the bathtub that Paul claimed to fix was leaking. I got a plumber and the plumber said that the strainer was opened without being supported from the below so the waste and overflow turned together with the strainer to be twisted open. Paul made this new problem instead of solving old problem. It cost me $500 to get the twisted open overflow and waste and repairing the drywall that had to be opened and closed back. What is more frustrating is that Paul doesn’t seem to have any clue of what he did. I could not stand Paul’s unprofessional attitude to his work. When I called Paul to complain about the new problem, he shouted at me, “Don’t call me again. Such a thing can happen. It is normal.” I couldn’t believe my ear. He called me later to offer refund but again shouted and swore at me. He cursed me with 4 letter words and called me names. I think he should have come back to my home and find out what happened and what went wrong. Instead, he tried to avoid his responsibility and get away with his unprofessional work ethic. Not only will I never hire or recommend him to anybody, I will sue him for damage he did to my property to the small court. Stay away from Handyman Paul. He seems to be a good person but he changes if something goes wrong. He is just irresponsible and unprofessional.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $0.00
- Company Response
I am very disappointed at the review so I need to say my side of the story. As my past reviews indicate customer satisfication is my main focus. The customer called me regarding some issues unknown in his unit at his rental property regarding plumbing that was leaking and thermostat wire that was hanging from a wall, the devise was already off the wall. I proceed to advise the customer that if we pull on this wire it could break, in our attempt to find the source of the wire that we assumed might be leading into the basement in the attempt the wire did break – I let the customer know of this before we began and stating that I simply do not touch anything behind the walls so basically as a courtesy and to be helpful for him, I free of charge took almost 1 hour to not only help this issue but in other things in need. He told me that his house has numerous problems and that was obvious because the house was very old and neglected. Customer knew the risks. (Customer admitted the wire was dead and the goal was to find where the wire went to)
Other issue – in the washroom in his unit he had an obvious leak under the sink where he showed me a damaged and worn out parts that needed to be replaced. We resolved that issue by repairing the drain stop that connects into the down tube for the drain before the S trap by simply capping it thereby immobilizing the pull mechanism to open and close the drain and he expressed satisfaction.
After tending to visible problems I proceeded my trouble shooting in the bathtub area where I checked any leaks behind the wall I took out the old moen bathtub faucet and looked for any visible leaks (being an older faucet and the design of it gave us the ability to see behind the wall – no visible leaks found) and I also tested the shower by turning it on and again looked for any leaks, there were none in the area that were visible from my vantage point. He was also there and witnessed everything, and agreed that there were no leaks found. My other attempt in finding any potential problem areas lead me to an obviously out of centre bathtub drain that was not only out of centre but also at a slight angle. So in my attempt to stop any potential leaking that may have been coming from there I took out and cleaned the bathtub drain after cleaning it I put Teflon tape and caulking around the lip of the drain cover. I then obviously attempted to screw it back into place he then told me to stop and that he would go to Canada tire to get the proper tool that I had shown him when we at the store getting supplies this tool would tighten it and he would complete this task. I simple stated the obvious that no one should use the bathtub until he tightened it down the rest of the way. Customer agreed
Customer then acknowledged the end of my work and it was time for payment. Having worked a total of 3.5 hours and taken him to the hardware store free of charge to buy supplies for him he attempted to negotiate the final payment amount. I told the customer up from my hourly rate which he agreed and now wanted a discount! I without a problem told him I would be satisfied with $100 payment, which he paid me and I left. He did not at this time express any concerns. On my way home he called me to tell me he only wants to pay me for one hour! Knowing this person has issues I agreed and returned and have him back $30 but before leaving he TIPPED me $5.00 and smiled and appeared grateful. Approximately a week later he calls me to tell me there is still leaking at which point I advised he we tried everything we could and the leaking could be coming from behind the wall and he should call a plumber. If he would like to as a courtesy I would return the full amount plus tip to him and I did that.
Regarding the pictures, they represent damage that was not visible and were only exposed when the plumber cut an opening to access the serious drain issues in the bathtub. The pictures represented are of old and existing issues and were not caused by my work. In the end the customer received a full refund and I was courteous and respectful of him. I never SWORE at him but was offended and simple to never call me again because I could help him any further. As you can see by my other reviews professionalism and satisfied customers are my key objectives.