Affordable Plumbing Pros

Steve D.

Upon finding out that Affordable Plumbing Pros. were willing to do the Sewer Lateral Report and take payment through the close of escrow, we chose them. Our experiences with Affordable Plumbing ""Pros."" are as follows.

I met with ""Sean, the Plumbing Pro."" at the property and he told me he could not open the clean out to do his inspection without breaking the cleanout pipe and cap. Okay, fine. So now, instead of around $300-400 for the Sewer Lateral Inspection, we are now looking at another $300+ to remove the toilet and go through there. Next, the Sean tells me that the flange ""just broke"" after taking the toilet off and that he will have to charge me for the part that he just broke. Sean said it was also due to old age, but, at a car dealership, if a technician breaks something like a brittle plastic clip on my car while repairing it, IT IS THE DEALERSHIP'S RESPONSIBILITY TO REPLACE AND/OR FIX THE TECHNICIAN'S DAMAGE - period.

Our quote of $300-$400 has now tripled to nearly $1000! Sean says he has to leave to order another part and because he was not anticipating the inspection to have these problems or take so long. He says he will come back around 2 or 3 o'clock with the parts ready. Meanwhile, I have driven 90 minutes to this property and am now stuck waiting for him to complete work with other customers, while I am stuck at a house with no working toilet. I cannot leave until this is fixed, as it is not my home and I have no way of knowing if the house will flood or some other nightmare If I go home. Also, If I go, I have to drive 90 minutes home and then come out a separate time and drive 90 minutes each way. Bottom line, I had to come back a second time. When I did come back, Sean does the inspection and then says, ""I have it all back together now, do you have any towels to clean the mess?"" Me? have towels to clean a mess that only happens when a plumber comes out and does this kind of work? Does a carpenter build cabinets in someone's house without a vacuum or broom for all the sawdust? Ever? So, no, this house is vacant and there are NO TOWELS in the house. I said, ""what are you going to do about this, Sean? Are you really going to leave me here with a big mess that I have no way of cleaning myself?"" Sean shrugged his shoulders at me and then hands me the paperwork to sign, ""and can you please write in that box to say you approved me leaving without cleaning up the mess""?!?! I was like, ""no I never approved that, this is a joke.""

Ok, a week goes by, and I never see any report. I call and they send out a physical (paper) report, but apparently at this time I am made aware by Affordable Plumbing Pro receptionist, Troy, that they had since discovered that when Sean did the inspection, that his scope recorder was broken, and did not record anything - therefore a SECOND INSPECTION WOULD BE NEEDED! Oh, and by the way, a THIRD 90 minute drive for me to the property, each way. Was Sean's equipment broken or did he just forget to hit the record button? The world may never know.

I called and spoke with management at this point. The next day, three different trucks show up at the property with ""lead plumbers and managers"" to complete this fairly basic inspection, correctly. Ok, so it gets done.

After a week, Sean calls to ask, ""well, when is Escrow going to close because our management is worried it will not close.""

So I said, ""as agreed to by your company before we agreed to let you do the work, your company will be paid when the escrow closes.""

Sean says, ""well can you just pay us now out of your own pocket and then get the money from escrow later?""

""No Sean, haha, I'm sorry. This is completely unprofessional. How about if we stick to the initial agreement?""

Ok, the report is done...this is weeks later of course. We finally get mailed a copy of the physical (paper) report. Both the Buyers of the house AND the Seller are going to need the DVD Video Proof of the report so when repairs are going to be made, that there is a reference to show the Plumber. This is one of the MAIN REASONS for a buyer to have an inspection when buying a house. According to receptionist, Troy, ""oh, sorry, we already sent the DVD into the City of Ventura and that was our only copy."" As if the City is going to have to make the repairs to the Sewer Lateral Line themselves. No, the City of Ventura just wants a record of the condition of every property's Sewer Lateral Line for their own knowledge base. As for the Buyer and Seller of the property (who actually paid for this report!), I guess we are just out of luck??
So I say, ""Well Troy, how can we actually get that very important DVD Video portion of the report that we've all worked so hard for and actually paid for??"" And Troy's answer? Wait for it...

""Uhhhhhhh, well......you could pay us again and have us come out and do another inspection...""

This is not a joke. It is factual. It is not embellished.

Naomi P.

These guys did a great job for me. I went through 5 plumbers before I found somebody who was really willing to work. They brought the camera with them the first time, unlike several. They got a backhoe in there immediately when it was needed. My friend checked their work for me before we closed everything up and said they did a good job. It was tricky with a lot of digging and replacing and getting the pipes to slope right.

Susan S.

These guys are shady. Like so many other plumbing outfits I called for help with a sluggish toilet, Affordable Plumbing Pros would not give me an estimate of charges to come out and snake my toilet. The standard line is, ""We'll need to have one of our ""technicians"" come out to your home to evaluate your plumbing problem and then we can give you an estimate."" The only difference was that in my case the guy said that someone could come out in half an hour instead of the next day. So I have them out and the ""technician"" looks at my toilet and says, ""I need to snake your toilet (what a surprise!)"", ""Well how much will that be"" I asked. $235.00 he states without so much as a blink! (Do I look like I have sucker tattooed on my forehead?) I countered with...so do you offer AAA, AARP, Target gift cards, any kind of a discount? He says, well we are running an online special right now. (notice how he didn't offer this information up front, jerk). OK, I say, tell me where to go online and I will print it out. Oh, no need he says, I have a copy in my van. (double jerk) so then I ask how much it will now be with the online discount. $85.00 he says. And although I'm irritated that he didn't offer the special up front I go ahead and allow him to snake the toilet. 10 minutes later he says that he can't get the snake all the way down the toilet. I ask him what my options are now and he says that basically I need a new toilet. Ok, I say, I'll have to do some research about what kind of toilet I want (and who I'm going to use to install it....not this guy...that's for sure). He counters with...oh, I have a new toilet in my van right now that I can install today. Just out of curiosity I ask him how much it would be to install a new toilet. Again without a blink he says, between $1,300 to $1,500!!!! Oh, but the $85 for today's visit will be applied to your total. Needless to say I thanked him (through gritted teeth) and told him I would get back to him if I decided to have them install a new toilet. Instead, I called around and eventually got in touch with a great guy, Victor, the owner of VIP Plumbing who was fast, fair, and didn't give me the run around like these shysters.

Duc C.

If you need a plumber call Affordable Plumbing Pros. This is the only plumber you will need to replace a kitchen faucet.

What great service from Affordable Plumbing Pros. My call was answered promptly. They came and got the job done in an hour! All at a very reasonable and honest price. Things aren't always so easy with tradesmen but honesty and integrity with a job well done means they have gained a customer for life. Thank you Affordable Plumbing Pros, you guys are great.

Irene M.

I interviewed probably 5 companies for a septic tank replacement.

I planned on going with another company but when they told me they would not permit the work, it happended Rich called the next morning asking for the job. He said he could be there within two hours with the permit. Two hours later, Rich was here with his crew, had already gone to Vta City had presented the plot plan and obtained the permit.

Getting to the septic tank was very difficult because I am on a hillside AND there is hardscape. His crew negotiated the hardscape and I promise you did not touch more than a few plants. What i am saying is...they were very considerate about the landscape, were courteous and did what they said they were going to do in the time defined.

The job took an extra day only because they discovered the old concrete tank and removed it without additional cost. His crew were extremely professional and stopped to explain what was going on which was very helpful (for me.)

The permit was signed off and my new septic tank is working perfectly.

Also, before the job was complete, they power washed the sidewalks/driveway and left everything sparkling.

I am recommending RIch and his team at Affordable Plumbing Pros!

Myda M.

Only choose a star to move on to next step. Had a slab leak was quote $1800 just to find out where leak was coming from. Kept being told that we had a leak... you think we're the ones that called you because carpet was soaked with fresh water... we were told it was the toilet drainage. I could go on for days about how shady this plumber is and how uncomfortable he made us all feel. No matter what was asked or said he only kept insisting the whole house need to be repiped! Even tried to work the insurance adjuster for $$$. He was finally called out on his final invoice and guess what slipped out if his mouth he had picked up our work as a side job! Best part ever is that the actual leak was NEVER repaired. Will never use, recommend or have anything positive to say about this company or plumber.

Matt B.

Matt really took care of business. Great guy, highly skilled, and comes with the right tools.

Ayla B.

The hot water unit stopped working and it is still under warranty. Had someone come out by the name of Martin. Me and my dad felt like we were getting the run around. 3 whole hours later he says it'll cost $380 just to ""diagnose"" the problem. Keep in mind this is still under warranty but doesn't cover labor. Only ""most of the unit"". Yikes. I felt that he wasn't straight forward with his answers on top of it all.

I call up the office clearly not satisfied and wasn't going to have him do the expensive diagnosis. Long story short for some reason they had the same man call my father when I requested a different plumber to call me. This man ended up talking to his partner with his phone STILL ON. We both heard him clearly calling my father every insulting name under the rainbow and using every insult in the book. We were shocked to say the least. All we wanted was a clear and reasonable price quote and our hot water back.

Now for the good news! The company apologized and picked someone for us who was a better fit for us to communicate with since the most qualified technician for that unit had already made his impression. Low and behold Matthew Arndt comes in and immediately he made much more sense. He was straight forward and didn't sugar coat what we needed to know. He spent FOUR DAYS working on the unit stating he wouldn't charge us until this was fixed and to help overwrite the bad experience we had just had!

I was going to give this a four star review because of how arduous it was on the phone with the company to get him out here. Plus the obvious earlier experience. However he has gone far above and beyond what a normal professional would do. Was respectful and clear with his words. Gave us the best deal and advice to help us save money on maintanence to avoid possible in the future! If he is normally like this then I would rehire him in a heartbeat for future jobs!

Susan G.

If you want to spend 2 days waiting for these plumbers to show up, if you want your bathroom flooded, if you want to pay for work that is not completed, if you want the plumber to install a new shut off valve (when he breaks your original working valve) onto the wrong side of your faucet, if you want a plumber try to talk you into doing work that doesn't need doing, then call Affordable Plumbing Pros. Oh yes, these two guys showed up with their dog to do a one man job.

Roslyn M.

This is a public service warning. I called APP because of the $89 special. Daniel came and immediately insisted that he had to hydrojet for $550. As I teared up, he looked at the ocean from the stairs of my crummy house whose only redeeming quality is its view, and said, ""People make such a big deal about the view. You can still see the oil tankers. So big deal."" Then he dryly informed me that I would not be able to use the water in my house, and that the price he was quoting me was a great deal. I reluctantly agreed to the work. ""Don't change your mind. It will make me look bad to my boss.""

As soon as he left for the equipment, I called the company to say that I felt uncomfortable with Daniel and to cancel. They had the audacity to have Daniel call me back. It was very awkward, and when he offered to reduce the price to $495, I felt compelled to proceed.

Almost immediately he told me that the pressure of the jets had broken the pipes, which were already rusted through, according to Daniel. He showed me some rust, which he declared were holes in the pipe. I have since learned from other plumbers that the psi of the hose should have been lowered to accommodate the old pipes, which should have been examined first, or should not have been done at all. Daniel claimed an inability to get the jet through, so I assumed that I did not have to pay for the hydrojetting. When I said that, he changed his answer and told me he did get through. I asked, ""Well, did you get through or not?"" He said he did. As he attempted to retrieve the hose, he had some trouble, and told me that the problem with was that a beam had cracked a pipe (a low-lying 2 by 4, that even if it had fallen, would have little impact) and that his hose had gone right through to the outside. There was water all over my laundry area. Interesting that there was never anything leaking out before Daniel came. I said to Daniel, ""In that case, the hydrojetting was not accomplished."" If the hose came out through a broken pipe 6 feet from the starting point, then he hadn't hydrojetted the system after all.

He admitted that was the case only after he told me that I needed to replace that pipe at a cost of $4,254.00! The floor under my house was now wet with sewage since his procedure had broken the pipe beyond repair. I asked him some questions to try to ascertain if there was some measure that could be put into place temporarily, until I had a chance to save some money. His answers were demeaning and dismissive. At that point, because the hydrojetting and subsequent crack had rendered the plumbing completely unusable, I agreed to the work. I went to my own job and took a shower there since Daniel told me that the work on my house would not be finished until the next day.

I was careful that night to avoid using the bathroom, peeing in a bucket. The next day I discovered that the work had been finished the day before, strange, since at 2:30 it had not even been started. Daniel had not had the courtesy to let me know. When I asked him why, he said, ""Uhm, uh, well its good to not use it for a night."" He told me that the work had taken 3 plumbers. Of the many people, including plumbers, who have been under my house to inspect the job, none can fathom why such a short length of pipe required three men to replace. Nobody understands the charge of $4254. One suggested that I sue. The materials could not have cost more than $200, although I am guessing that they cost less. Since the work was done in a few hours, I was charged more than $1000 an hour! Daniel knew that I had to either pay or be without plumbing. He also told me that more plumbing work was needed and that I should not put toilet paper down until it was done. He told me that my foundation was crumbling and that he knew a friend in that line of work. (I have since had a contractor and an engineer look at it and both told me that my house is adequate and safe.)

He told me that the rest of the plumbing was in danger of imminent failure. When I tried to determine if repairs could be put off for a month until I had the funds, he adamantly told me that it could not, and acted like it was a stupid question. A subsequent plumber told me not to do anything at present except perhaps add a liquid that softens roots and eventually diminishes them. Two weeks later, my kitchen sink backed up, and we discovered that Daniel had to cut off a bit of that pipe (we found the bit, since he left a quantity of junk under my house, and it was obviously compromised) and even for $4254 couldn't be bothered replacing that little stretch of easily accessible pipe. He had to know it was going to cause problems and it would have been an easy, inexpensive fix while he was working on the end of that pipe anyway. One of the ""three plumbers"" should have been able to accomplish it. We fixed it with a snake. Feel free to contact me if you want to inspect this job and see my bill.