H & R Plumbing and Drain Cleaning, Inc

Mango T.

AVOID THESE CROOKS AT ALL COST! I had read the reviews on here so I knew somewhat what to expect prior to someone arriving at my house. I would have preferred to go with another company but unfortunately, I didn't have the luxury of choosing my own company after having gone through HomeGuard.

I had a clogged drain in the laundry room and the plumber refused to snake the drain, claiming that the construction of the apparatus inside and outside is ""not up to code"" and that they would need to do major construction work to fix my problem. He indicated that the work would not be covered by the home warranty and then proceeded to quote me a price for thousands of dollars. You can almost see the gears turning in his head while he was coming up with the numbers to see how much he could get out of me. He even throws out the line of ""You can call another plumber but this how much it usually costs and we are offering a low price."" After he left, I contacted other plumbers and had one come to the house to observe the problem. This plumber informed me that everything is up to code and that my problem is a simple clog, which he was able to fix by snaking the line. No major construction was necessary. There was a problem with one of the piping outside so it had to be replaced, which the original plumber was planning to do as well, but this plumber quoted a price that was significantly less (i.e. not even close to being in the thousands).

My impression of HomeGuard is that they don't pay these guys much, if at all, to do the warranty work. Therefore, HomeGuard dispatches these companies and leaves it up to them to rip off the homeowners to make a huge profit. DO NOT TAKE THEIR WORD AT FACE VALUE! If they mention anything about code, do not believe them because their tactic is to try to scare you. Do not let them do ANY work if it costs you a cent outside of your home warranty. If you're going to pay anyway, consult with other plumbing companies that offer free estimates. Most plumbing companies are willing to address your problem promptly, often the same day!

Julie P.

We will never use H & R Plumbing and Drain Cleaning of El Sobrante, again

Fidelity Home Warranty sent H&R Plumbing replace our garbage disposal this week. They quickly did the job and left without leaving the paperwork for the new disposal. (they placed the old disposal in our recycling bin on a dirty folded box for another brand and horse power disposal) I called their office and asked for warranty paperwork and was told by the receptionist that we didn't need a warranty because we had Fidelity. I repeated my request and she told me she would call the technician and call me back. She did not. I called again and she informed me that there was no paperwork and no box. I asked her to get me a warranty sheet and she flatly refused.

Sandi B.

Reported to BBB - My home warranty company Home Guard home warranty chose this company to replace a bad water heater. The home warranty company told me that H&R Plumbing requested $700 for access due to the location being 15 ft. high and special equipment would be needed to get it up there. I agreed because I know how much special equipment is to rent. Four guys came for the job. The first two drained the tank and took down the tank and handed the tank to each other (no ladder or equipment needed). They went and ate McDonald's in my drive way while Jose and another man lifted the water tank & put it (no equipment) up with no issue. Jose came down about 45 minutes later and said he was done and proceeds to tell me I need to call the city for a permit and get it inspected & wanted the $700. Never knew anything about a permit. I asked him if we could check to make sure the water heater was functioning and he said he didn't have time & to call his office and pay. 30 minutes later I get a call from both the home warranty company and the plumbing company saying that I refused to pay. I explained that I thought it was a rip off that I was being charged access when no equipment was needed and Jose walked off when I asked to check the work and now all of a sudden I have to get a permit and inspection from the city on my own? The plumbing company said that Home Guard warranty company lied to me, they just weren't going to cover the extra cost so it was passed to me. The home warranty company says the plumbing company lied, the $700 was to get the water heater up there. But both agree that they don't care which story is right, I need to pay. Then I got a call that the permit was filed with the city and they'll tell me who to call for inspection after I pay $700 or else they'll put a lien on my home. I will be reporting the home warranty company as well to BBB because obviously nobody cares about the client and they will lie, cheat, threaten and basically do anything for money.

Jeffrey A.

Met Juan the other day who was sent from my home warranty company. He was on time, professional, and fixed the issue with my main bathroom bower in under an hour and replaced the shower head as well. 5 stars all around. I would use them in the future.

Tony D.

I had a water heater replaced by H&R through a home warranty policy. The person who came to my house was excellent as was the process to make the appointment. My home warranty policy paid only for the new water and the installation of the water heater but a number of things had to be done to bring the water heater ups to present day codes, and this would cost me extra money which I was ok with. I was quoted a figure of over $900 to make the additional changes to bring everything to code. The problem I ran into was when the local building inspector later came to inspect the job there was an additional thing the inspector wanted done to bring the water heater to code so he could sign off on it. When I informed the woman at H&R that they needed to come out to make that change in order to bring it to code she said this would cost extra and that I needed to call the home warranty company to make a service call. The fact is I paid over $900 for H&R to do this very thing and it was only about 95% to code but needed one additional thing done. The home warranty company has nothing to do with bringing my water heater to code. After multiple phone calls and much arguing with this woman I asked to have the owner contact me to resolve this. I never received a call from the owner and basically H&R hasn't completed the job to get the water heater to code. The woman I spoke to on the phone provided very poor customer service and was not cooperative. It would have only required a few minutes of H&R's time to complete the job so that it passed inspection, which I will reiterate, that I paid them to do. I gave them every opportunity to complete the job as contracted but they didn't. I am not sure if the owner even knows about the problem I had at this point.

Sue O.

Juan came through the home warranty company today. Basically, washing machine connection and toilet were not broken, just needed tightening up with better tools than we had to hand. Work was done quickly and professionally. Thank you Juan. I was particularly pleased because I have heard horror stories of plumbers coming out via home warranties. Definitely not the case with my experience today. No hesitation in recommending them

Dean T.

Water heater supply line failed and we thought the water heater had gone kaput. Home warranty company contacted this company and they sent out Juan. He's knowledgeable and very professional. Diagnosed the problem and fixed it very quickly. Upfront and honest. Would hire again!

Inna F.

I would like to thank this company for the great service. The technician Jose was very helpful, knowledgeable and professional. And customer service representative was very nice. Thank you

susi l.

Can't say enough good things about this company! I found them through my Home Warranty service and although the task was not covered by the warranty (don't hate them for it, it's the Home warranty policy, not the service provider), I went ahead and had them out to fix our leaky 1942 outdoor spigot and am happy with their service, promptness and price - will use again and highly recommend them! My guy was Jose and he had a nice assistant with him - very nice, knowledgeable and etc etc.

Srinivas K.

This company was referred to me by my home warranty. Gentleman by name Kwan came in, very polite, very humble person. Keenly listened to the problem, found the symptoms and addressed the issue. Was watching his work and he's very methodical. Thank you very much H&R plumbing. You guys are excellent and keep continuing the good work.