Catons Plumbing & Drain Service

Tim B.

We called Catons because we discovered on a Monday morning that our hot water heater was leaking. They replaced it for us the same day and at a reasonable price, but that's where the pleasant experience ended.

They sent out their ""Water Restoration"" service to dry out the basement after -- at least when I left the house in the morning, there was very little water to remove. My shop vac and some towels would have done most of the work. They assured my wife that they'd call our insurance and verify that our homeowners would cover the cost of their services so my wife approved it after they gave State Farm a call. Well, now I get the claim information from State Farm and there's a $1000 deductible out of the total ~$1600 or so water restoration service. Needless to say, it's kind of mind blowing that it's $1600 to rent some fans for three days and have someone move them around a few times and I'm incredibly frustrated that we weren't informed of the $1,000 deductible prior to approving their service!

Sammy M.

Do NOT hire this company. They were hired to do a ""complete re-pipe"" of the lower level of a residence/animal sanctuary where I am employed as the caretaker. The estimate and follow-up work orders were very clear in wording- a complete repipe with ALL copper pipe removed and it was to take 4-5 days. However, after I received the close out ticket stating this was done, I inspected the downstairs and saw many spots where 2-5 ft of old pipe had been left behind, particularly in high-stress areas such as tie-ins and connections to fixtures. So I had the property owner as well as an acquaintance who is a licensed master-plumber review the work. Both agreed it was sub-par and did not fulfill the contract.

And so my many phone calls began... The first person I spoke to was polite enough and told me he'd have a manager call me back asap. Except he relayed nothing of the issue to the manager. So I had to start from the beginning. The manager, seemed to have no knowledge of the job and got an attitude right away, interrupting and barking ""ma'am"" at me repeatedly. He argued with my assessment of things but in the next second, would tell me he had nothing to do with this job!! Ultimately, he told me to just wait for a call from a gentleman who had visited our job site and who's team had completed the work.

And so enters John, so far...the worst. John ALSO used the excuse of being unfamiliar with the job (what??!), also became sarcastic quickly, and could do very little to help. He ended our first call to speak to one of his plumbers, Andy, and then called me back. He attempted to use the excuse that copper pipe had been left because it was behind cabinets they would have had to remove... First off, no. This is apparently ADDITIONAL copper pipe left behind. After all, if the all the copper pipe had been behind drywall and cabinets...we never would have been able to see it. The many feet of copper pipe I had originally complained about was easily accesible/visible. Johndy also said that the old pipe had been left behind cabinets only because they did not have permission to remove the cabinets but were unable to advise me of any attempts to contact either the owner or caretaker (myself). Nor did they make any note of this problem on the closing work ticket.

Bottom line, the work done simply does not match what was promised in writing in the estimate or what was stated in the follow-up tickets.

Our problem has still not been resolved...a FOURTH person was to call yesterday but apparently John never actually told his employee about the appointment. I would also like to note that no one from Caton's has offered a single apology for the the way the house was left or the time-consuming, disorganized way my complaint has been handled.

My overall feeling in dealing with Catons employees? They took advantage of the fact the property owner told them he would be out of the country for a few mos AND if you are a woman trying to deal with them? You will be disrespected all the more. Again- do NOT hire.

John D.

I don't often give out 1-star ratings, but Catons Plumbing has earned it. Had a sewer main failure, the toilet backed up and dumped sewage on the floor and some leaked down into the basement.

The good news is that they came out on a Sunday afternoon and stayed until 1AM working to snake and camera the line. Pretty much all bad news after that...

The initial estimate was $776 just to snake & camera, which is much higher than other plumbers but hey - they were available on a Sunday afternoon. Actual cost was $1,659!!!!
That included the extra time they needed when they drilled through my drain line with their snake - dumping a ton more sewage into the basement, and then they had to fix the line that they drilled through.

At the end of all this we had them do the blackwater restoration, to clean up the mess (some of which was not their fault). On Monday they had the cleanup crew there and the plumber diganosed that we needed a new sewer main. Monday evening an estimator came out to quote, said they'd hopefully start work Wed, and be done Thurs/Friday - which would be great, it's a long time to go without water. They said that the crew would be out Tues AM to mark where the sewer line will be routed. Tuesday afternoon comes, the crew measures & marks, and says they'll be back end of NEXT week to do the new sewer main for $9,300. I'm not going another week and a half without water, I found a better plumber to do it within a few days for $5,340. (for you folks at home, that's almost $4,000 LESS than Catons!

Meanwhile, the cleanup crew scheduled to arrive Tues morning to do final cleanup and microbial spray...I took the morning off work, they never showed despite multiple phone calls. All in all, they were supposed to cut out the damaged sheetrock, then come back three consecutive days to spray...They missed several feet of sheetrock as well as a day of spraying, the basement still smells funky a month later. Their estimate said the cleanup would cost not less than $2,400. The manager was proud that the charge was at the bottom of his range, the bill was $2,402. And yes - most of the cleanup was from their own mess.

Lori T.

Great customer service! It all began with a delightful gal who answers the phone... To the knowledgable , polite plumber who did the work. I was given a 4 hour window which is acceptable and within 1 hour, they were at my door. He shared the price list so I felt confident that I wasn't taken for a ride. He completed the work, cleaned up and left the space perfect. I highly recommend this company!

Kenya T.

I would give no stars if I could... Had to get a main water valve replaced as a result of a home inspection. I called a week earlier and explained to customer service that the water to the building (i live in a condo) had to be turned off in order to replace. They said ""no problem"" and scheduled me for the following week between 10-2..(they specifically chose those hours so the water being off would not impede on the building residents). I sat there repair day and waited...and waited...and waited.. every time I called the dispatcher she told me ""they are still on a job and I don't know when they will be available..sorry I don't know what to tell you"". I reiterated with her that the building water was being cut off and it needed to be done before the bulk of the building residents get back from work. Not a care from them. So I waited till 4pm and finally called to cancel. And the dispatcher had the nerve to ask me if I wanted to reschedule with them....not even if Jesus asked me to!!! I understand the concept of the scheduling ""time frame"" but in my realm of common sense, I'd do the job that's gonna take the less time, but effect the most people first...or maybe even second. Use them at your own risk ya'll!

Elizabeth C.

After my second bad experience with Caton, I am never using them again. First time we used them was for a leak in the ceiling. $475.30 later and a hole in our ceiling, water is still coming out. Their excuse was, ""it's not a plumbing problem"". Second bad experience was with a broken garbage disposal. The plumber came and spent 5 minutes in our house, didn't get any tools out, and simply hit the reset button located on the backside of the disposal (I didn't know it was there otherwise I would have tried that), yet we end up with a bill for $229. This company is money hungry and deceiving. Highly recommend using another company for your plumbing issues.

Michael B.

We recently moved into a condo and had not yet had occasion to test the guest bathroom shower. Two days ago, we realized the hot water really wasn't hot enough for a friend's upcoming visit, so we called Catons. They scheduled the appointment promptly and easily. The appointment day was complicated by my return travel on the train from New York, but their dispatch team made it all happen, coordinating their schedules and mine. Shortly after arriving home, Kenny arrived and quickly assessed the issue. He fixed the problem quickly and was very professional and courteous throughout. It's very comforting to know we have a reliable source of professional plumbing services when the need arises. Highly recommend Catons.

Teresa T.

I had a main water line leak in the front lawn and was given notice by the county to replace in 10 days. Since I had Caton previously do small plumbing repairs I had them do this work. They provided an estimate and started the work in a couple of days. They didn't finish the work and had to come back. The second visit cost another $795, after already paying $4,000 for the original work. The front lawn was left a mess and the pipe is sticking out of the front lawn now. It an unsightly mess. Never again will I have them do work. I have tried to contact the general manager with no luck. After leaving several messages and giving the company a chance to rectify this situation I'm posting this to warn others.

Monique B.

I called to request and estimate, specifically saying that I had NO pipes at all in an old row house I recently bought. In a little over an hour, they sent a guy to repair pipes...that I don't even have.

I called back immediately and was told an estimator would call me back. No call. I called the next day and was told the same thing. Now it's been three business days and I haven't heard from anyone.

I'm glad this happened because it's an indication of potential problems if a company can't send out the right person and won't follow up on return phone calls.

Nikki K.

I own a home in Baltimore that I rent. They charged me over $700 to fix a leak. The tennant said he was there for less than 30 minutes. When I called find out what cost $700 they said it was up to the technitians descresion. The tennant mentioned he only tighened one thing in the basement and she thought I was getting taken advantage of too because he didn't do anything. I called the technician and he mentioned that I would have to pay another $250 to get the faucet upstaired tightened to prevent the leack from occuring again and I told them no thank you, I would have someone else do it. The bathroom still leaked after they left.

DO NOT USE THEM!!!!