We hired Fox Valley Plumbing to do a backflow test. We were quoted $120 ($100 for the visit and $20 for the reporting). When they came out, they said there was a missing part, and they could not do the test, it would need to be repaired first. We were led to believe it was a fairly significant repair, and we were quoted $400, plus parts. In addition, he charged us for the initial visit of $100, and he was there about 30 minutes.
When he returned, the entire process took about 20 minutes. 10 minutes were to repair/install the missing part, and 10 minutes to then complete the test. I asked him about the cost and all he could say was that is what we agreed to and it was not up to him. The bill was $400 plus $27.03 for parts. We regretfully wrote the check, but we followed up with a phone call to the owner.
We explained the situation to the owner (Matt) and asked him for a partial refund since they had spent less than an hour total on our issue, yet charged us over $500, which is very well above any normal plumber rate. Again, he could not in any way justify the cost, other than to say we agreed to the contract and therefore had no recourse.
While I do not dispute we did in fact agree to the price, we were deliberately misled as to the nature of the repair. Had we been told, we have a small repair , it should only take a few minutes when we come back, but its going to cost you $400, we would have looked elsewhere. Instead, we were led to believe this was a major repair that would take a couple of hours. Based on that false information, we agreed to move forward. If the estimate was based on intentionally misleading information, it is no longer a valid estimate/contract.
I proposed to the company to refund us $227, which would mean they would still earn $300 for about 1 hours worth of work, and they did not even consider it.
I would stay away from them because this company is clearly unethical in its business practices and how it misleads customers.
Fox Valley Plumbing & BackFlow Services Reviews
We hired Fox Valley Plumbing to do a backflow test. We were quoted $120 ($100 for the visit and $20 for the reporting). When they came out, they said there was a missing part, and they could not do the test, it would need to be repaired first. We were led to believe it was a fairly significant repair, and we were quoted $400, plus parts. In addition, he charged us for the initial visit of $100, and he was there about 30 minutes.
When he returned, the entire process took about 20 minutes. 10 minutes were to repair/install the missing part, and 10 minutes to then complete the test. I asked him about the cost and all he could say was that is what we agreed to and it was not up to him. The bill was $400 plus $27.03 for parts. We regretfully wrote the check, but we followed up with a phone call to the owner.
We explained the situation to the owner (Matt) and asked him for a partial refund since they had spent less than an hour total on our issue, yet charged us over $500, which is very well above any normal plumber rate. Again, he could not in any way justify the cost, other than to say we agreed to the contract and therefore had no recourse.
While I do not dispute we did in fact agree to the price, we were deliberately misled as to the nature of the repair. Had we been told, we have a small repair , it should only take a few minutes when we come back, but its going to cost you $400, we would have looked elsewhere. Instead, we were led to believe this was a major repair that would take a couple of hours. Based on that false information, we agreed to move forward. If the estimate was based on intentionally misleading information, it is no longer a valid estimate/contract.
I proposed to the company to refund us $227, which would mean they would still earn $300 for about 1 hours worth of work, and they did not even consider it.
I would stay away from them because this company is clearly unethical in its business practices and how it misleads customers.