Ernie's Plumbing Service

Robert A.

Had a great experience with Ernie's Plumbing! Had a broken outside faucet that needed to be replaced. The plumber (Fred) was there on time and fixed it within 15 minutes. Water was off for only 5 minutes. He explained how much the repair would cost up front before starting the work. Once the job was done, he explained exactly what he did and showed me the old pipe and how it broke.

I would definitely use Ernie's again and will probably get a quote from them on a new water heater in the near future.

Stephanie I.

Total Liars. don't wonder too long about why they have multiple "Ernie's Plumbing Inc"s on yelp; it's because yelpers watch out for each other and rate this company for the pond scum that it is.

So here is my story; my property manager found "Ernie's" on Angie's List, and trusted the good rating. (BBB does not have a rating for Ernie's, btw.) The plumber came out to find a probable gas leak and fix it for a flat rate of $495; he cut the main line off from the supply lines, assumed they were all dead, neglected to cap off the lines, and only capped the main line. Having spent about 30 minutes --not finding or fixing the leak-- he decided to upsell by calling my property manager and offering to change out the water heater for another flat rate of $1350; "because that's $150 off"!!! Being a long-distance landlady, I stupidly agreed to this over the phone with my property manager, and 5 hours later the guy was finished.

So then "Monica" from Ernie's office calls me 15 minutes later and demands that I give her my credit card number over the phone immediately. "Is there an invoice?" I ask. She emails me a scanned copy of the "authorization" that my tenant signed, upon which she had scribbled more unreadable an confusing charges on top of the "flat fee" for a total of $2098. Can Monica do math? I had a "flat rate" for her: $0, until we could straighten all of this out.

I contested this amount and tried in vain to communicate with "Randy" about my bill, and how the numbers didn't make any sense. When my husband asked for clarification, Randy suddenly stopped the run-around. Don't get me started on the chauvinism. Meanwhile, my tenant complained that some of the gas appliances didn't work; we called a 2nd plumber out, who diagnosed the lazy job that Ernie's plumber did, took pictures, and properly fixed it. This is when I emailed Randy and told him I was going to take legal action if he didn't fess up right away and stop attempting to bill me for a job that wasn't done. PS I still hadn't seen a receipt or even gotten a make and model for my supposed hot water heater.

And THAT is when I got a call from their "lawyer." (Read "creditor." Which should tell you something about the way Ernie's runs their business). His "client" Monica had sent him papers stating that I was liable for $2098, and how would I like to pay that today? After I reminded him that his "client" didn't actually possess an authorized signature on any paperwork. He just yelled at me over the phone and wouldn't let me finish a sentence. I was ready to take them on but my sweet husband decided that I had spent too much time and energy dealing with these people. So he paid them the ridiculous "flat rate" for the water heater and sent them the pictures of the hack job they did on the gas mainline, for which we did NOT pay them.

Bottom line: these people are running an operation, and if they sense that they can pull one over on you, they will try.

John L.

Ernie C.'s comment on your review:

All of my vans are equipped with a Teletrack device whereas my plumbers and office staff cannot only communicate with one another, but it gives us the exact hours, minutes and seconds our plumbers are at our customers home as well. The total amount of hours my plumber spent at your home yesterday and then coming back to complete your job today was six hours. Therefore, if my plumber charged you $400.00 per hour as your comments clearly state, then your bill should have been $2,400.00 for the labor and $200.00 for materials for a total of $2,600.00.However, he only charged you $1,675.00. So, either he grossly undercharged you, or you have grossly over estimated what my charges per hour are. Respectfully, Ernie.

John L.
He was at the house for less than half an hour yesterday. He dropped off parts at 9:15 this morning and left to get a shovel. He was done before 1pm today and had a check in his hand.

Ernie C.
Owner

When he estimated your job he estimated it to include six hours of his time dedicated to your job, This included his going to pick up supplies just for your particular job of replacing twenty feet of cast iron and going under your home and swimming in sewer muck that had leaked all over under your home. He gave you his absolute free estimate and you gladly accepted it. You even signed prior to him beginning the work. When it was all over and done, my plumber had spent a total of six hours committed to you rather than being on another customers job.

John L.
Incorrect again i signed nothing other than a check. he didn't swim in muck . I went under the house and saw the problem prior to calling. So if i declined your services on the first visit I would not have been charged a service charge? But... when I had the service performed I was billed for 2 hours of work when in fact no work was performed. Just visual inspection so he could give me an estimate. I questioned the price before work began thinking it was not a full days work. He told me there was digging and such that would require time. He also said "Ernie has to get his you know." I find it odd you don't list per hour labor. Just blanket cost. No itemization. Even at 6 hours the charges are over $250 an hour. I don't think much went into the estimate. A number was just thrown out to see if it stuck. If a service man leaves the premises before work begins to get tools or supplies I don't feel I should pay for him not coming prepared. I don't feel being charged for 2 hours the day prior given a "free estimate" should be included. Even at 6 hours, which I dispute, and a service call I see total being $1200. And that's with $200 in parts which I overestimated. I think a good practice would be an itemized estimate with parts and labor separate with an hourly rate listed. If the job is done in significantly less time the job should be charged accordingly. So I guess the extra $400 is Ernie's since his name is on the truck.

Ernie C.
Owner
Sir, the days of itemized statements are yesteryear. Companies now perform their services with what's called flat rate. In regards to your unprepared statement if you'll visit a Lowe's or Home Depot you find enough plumbing that three eighteen wheelers could not bring it all yo your house. I could continue to legitimently counter all your statements however, enough is enough. You are NOT getting a refund. If my plumber overcharged you, I would own up to it.and you would be offered a refund. It's as simple as that. However, he did not and therefore no refund is due. Respectfully, Ernie

John L.
"Sir, the days of itemized statements are yesteryear. Companies now perform their services with what's called flat rate."

Untrue I own a dozen rental properties and have managed them for decades. I have a regular electrician, yard man, roofer. They all give me itemized bids and receipts.

" In regards to your unprepared statement if you'll visit a Lowe's or Home Depot you find enough plumbing that three eighteen wheelers could not bring it all yo your house."

He left to get a "shovel". I am not unreasonable. If he is in the middle of a job and needs a different fitting and has to go get one I understand.

"I could continue to legitimently counter all your statements however, enough is enough. You are NOT getting a refund. If my plumber overcharged you, I would own up to it.and you would be offered a refund. It's as simple as that. However, he did not and therefore no refund is due. Respectfully, Ernie"

You have yet to "Legitimately" (sp) counter a single thing. You will not specify an hourly rate, service charge etc. I am of the opinion that you give bonuses or incentives to workers who bring home the bacon. I would figure a percentage around 30% or so. This gives your employees the imputes to charge as much as they can get away with since they get

Carolyn A.

Ernie saw my prior review and asked me what he could do to fix the problem (who caused it and would I allow his plumbers try again). I give Ernie credit for being an upstanding businessman and wanting to make things right.

The plumber did an excellent job. He used hard pipe instead of flex pipe and did really nice work in installing a new gas pipe into the house. We got a bid at the beginning of the job and that's exactly what he charged. The plumber showed up for the bid and the work on the promised days. He showed up a few hours before his 4-hour window for the bid (due to an office/scheduling issue) but that worked out fine in my schedule.

Never Better A.

They will thoroughly work... And then they will thoroughly charge you a lot of money!
They squeezed every penny out of us when we bought a house with plumbing problems, and didn't even fix what was wrong, then charged us over 500.00. I don't know why but my husband has bad luck with Repair workers. One tip I can give is call a smaller company, close to your home, one that's not available 24/7, those companies tend to charge less and are more personable.

Roshandell C.

Ernie's Plumbing, YOU ABSOLUTELY ROCK!!!!!!!!

I called and had them come out and fix my clogged toilets, tubs, etc. because we have had a plumbing problem for the last 3 days - and I was NOT about to go another day putting bath towels down to catch overflowing water from the toilets! The lady that answered was very professional and got someone to me the same day! My stupid home warranty ppl claimed they couldn't fix it because the tech would have to get on top of my house - which turned out to be NOT TRUE! The tech from Ernie's went right on the side of the house and unclogged everything! (Well, I don't have to tell you what's about to happen to the home warranty ppl, hmmph!) Anyway, they came right on out fixed the problem and was very reasonable with their price! not to mention the nice follow up call after the work was completed! I simply cannot thank you guys enough! I'm definitely keeping their number on my fridge!

Ernie's is the difference between PROS and amateurs!

Kathy R.

They did a great job at a very fair price. Showed up on time & were very informative & didn't push any services. I will use them again & feel like I've found great plumbers.

Robert H.

Contacted erniesplumbing.com and they sent a guy out. They must think I've never used a plumber. The guy wanted to charge almost $650 dollars just to install 3 average faucets. There are far more customer friendly plumbing services about DFW.

Kristina G.

Scheduled an appointment online with much success! My water heater needed to be repaired. While they did give the option of replacement they didn't push for it. I have found my plumber for life.

Nae C.

I've used them several times over past few years. They are always available. They speak English -fluently! Sorry, but I've had more occasions than not where that's been an issue here in Texas. They call you back and they show up when they say they will. They call ahead to make sure you're home and available.
They aren't the least expensive but they never try to talk me into services etc that I don't need or double talk me and try to make me feel like my house will flood or explode if I don't pay for unneeded stuff. Very clear as to what needs to be done. Reliable. Honest. Last time they looked at two issues and said it wasn't worth the money to have them fix the issues unless I really wanted them to. And didn't charge me even a service call fee which I would have gladly paid for their time.