Instant Plumbing Repairs

Will L.

I hired instant plumbing to install a liner on a broken main line. They came through our home warranty company. The work they did was fine, however they were incredibly disorganized, rude, and aggressive when it came to payment. First of all, they sent me the wrong amount due 10 times and insisted That I pay that amount even though it wasn't correct. Then, after I asked for an updated invoice that reflected the amounts already paid, I started to receive threatening calls from both the office and the owner of the company that they would escalate the matter and put a lien on my house. Mind you, all of this started happening by 10am the morning after they finished the work, which was at 5pm the night before. So the time between confirming the work was complete and me receiving threatening texts and calls to pay the remaining balance was about 2 business hours first thing in the morning. DO NOT HIRE THIS COMPANY

Steve G.

Did a big job for me. $10k. Homeowners insurance said I shouldn't have paid anything without approval. Had issues 10 days later. They said they would use ""jetter"" on pipe but then said it ""broke"" and would reschedule. They now are basically ghosting me. I have tried to call, text. Owner says to reach out to Bobbi but receptionist won't confirm he works there anymore. The number they gave me has a vm full..Shady company that could care less about customer service..beware

Liz P.

We had a horrible experience with this company. They were referred to us by our home warranty company and the tech they sent tried to pad the bill and upsell on unnecessary things. After we would not participate in their ploy, they flaked on us not once - but twice! We spoke to Alexis, the manager, and she was zero help in getting the problem addressed. We lost 2 weeks and had to use a different plumbing company. I would absolutely never recommend this company. Beware of them taking advantage and trying to add in work not actually needed!!!

David S.

While you never really want to have to call a plumber, we've used Instant Plumbing several times and recently for what I call major ""dig a big hole in your front yard"" sewer pipe repair. Instant Plumbing has been great and extremely responsive, and we've highly recommend them to other friends who have also had a great experience. We want to thank Phillip who was on site again and took great care of us, thoroughly explaining the process and giving us daily progress reports. He goes above and beyond expectations and is a great guy to work with!

R. J.

Do not walk and RUN from these shady companies - Instant Plumbing and Thunder and Lightning Restoration! We purchased a property in Lake Arrowhead. The first week of ownership, we discovered a plumbing leak in our main floor bathroom. We contacted our home warranty and they dispatched the Instant Plumbing provider that covered this area (800-816-4686 or 909-647-5389). They located the leak and told us the fix was simple however the issue was access - they cannot access the area without pulling out the shower/bathtub combo and that's not covered by the home warranty. They suggested we engage our home insurance company and mentioned they have a full-service sister restoration company who would be able to do this very quickly (seeing as we literally just took possession of the home) and ""not to worry, they would work with us on the insurance deductible"" and take care of the full process to restore the bathroom in full working order. Ultimately, we needed this to be resolved ASAP and they mentioned there would need to be coordination between the restoration and actual repair so we were in good hands using them since they could coordinate. We opened the insurance claim and their ""sister"" restoration company, Thunder and Lightning, came out and discovered water damage in the floor and walls of the bathroom. Suddenly our quick issue escalated quickly. Thunder and Lightning was incredibly responsive at that point, checking in almost daily. Then they discovered lead and asbestos. Abatement was needed and completed. After nearly 15K in bills to our insurance company for our 5' x 8' bathroom, we were left with a bathroom ripped to studs. The water leak was now accessible - but no one showed up. Thunder and Lightning DISAPPEARED and left our entire bathroom GUTTED to studs, along with the bathroom/closet shared wall on our lower level. They placed all our bathroom stuff - wood vanity, wood framed mirror, toilet, shower doors, OUTSIDE on the porch - right before a summer rain/thunderstorm event. They literally stopped answering our calls, returning texts, we were calling their main office number and could NEVER get in touch with anyone after over a week of effort. We called Instant Plumbing directly to get the water leak fixed since the bathroom was to studs and access was no longer a issue - explaining their sister company THEY referred us to was supposed to have coordinated this with them and instead they entirely ghosted us. We were told 2 weeks for an appointment. Not OK. They were then able to get us one 3 days later. We drove the 2.5 hours to the mountain to meet the plumber and insure we got the issue resolved. 5 minutes before the appointment, Instant Plumbing called and said they could not make it due to vehicle issue. We are now over 2 weeks with a bathroom down to studs so this was also not OK. I spoke to a supervisor, Alexis, and she managed to arrange for someone to arrive later that evening. So we waited once more... George from Instant Plumbing showed up and immediately identified the leak. He tried to discourage us from fixing it then, stating it ideally needs to be aligned with the new tub, but that he could do it now if we preferred. We insisted as we just wanted to be done with this company and find a new restoration company in to put our home back together. George said ""no problem, he had to go get a part and would be back in 20 minutes"" and instead NEVER RETURNED. NEVER even called. NOTHING. There is so much more to the unprofessional, unethical, and fraudulent behavior by both Instant Plumbing and Thunder and Lightning... but wanted to share this story and warn others to RUN from these companies...it is not worth it and they will make all sorts of promises and never deliver. We have reported this to our home warranty company and filed a complaint.

Ruby H.

Very unprofessional company, poor lack of customer service and HORRIBLE communication. They don't even deserve 1 star. I Was assigned this company by my home warranty company. They asked me for the information over the phone and asked for me to send them pictures of the water heater. They immediately decided that the heater needed to be replaced, which i believe as it was pretty old. I asked questions regarding switching from to a tankless heater. They provided the pricing, contacted the home warranty company once the insurance provide the coverage they called me back and gave me my out pocket expense. we agreed on pricing and scheduled the installation. I called them the day before to get more information on the model of the tank so that I can request a rebate from Socal gas, left a message no returned call, the next morning I called to confirm the install that day and was told that they had not collected the 10% needed, I told no I had no problem with that, but wanted Alexis the person who had been helping all along to call me back to provide me with the breakdown and tank info. Never called me back, later that afternoon when I noticed that no one was coming I called them again at this point they did not want to connect me to Alexis and told me that she would be TEXTING me...really? Alexis texted me to tell that they had cancelled my installing because I never paid the 10%. Why would they do that? I asked that a supervisor return my call. a gentleman called later that day, I explained my grievance, he told me that the pricing I received from Alexis was too low and that she had a mistake with the quote she provided but that they would still honor that pricing. He told me what he would call me later to schedule the install as it was Friday and he did not know if he had any technicians. I waited that evening, the next day and Monday and no communication. Called him back left multiple messages and not response. I finally ended up calling my home warranty company and ended getting another vendor. Really bad experience with this company, please be very careful before going with them.

Maria K.

Frank was an excellent service technician - he arrived ahead of time, he explained the issues completely and did all the necessary work to repair our issues. Great job!!

Alan M.

There are 3 companies in the Inland Empire named ""Instant Plumbing & Repairs"", mine was sent to me by Fidelity Home Warranty. It all seemed to be run by one guy, Mike Lomelli. We had an emergency sewage backup in the main bathroom on Saturday eve, the call was placed at 10:30 pm. We didn't see the plumber at the house until mid afternoon on Tuesday the following week. He got it all cleared up, for which I am grateful. This company also offered a 2hour arrival window, which is very courteous. However, this is when strange to suspicious kicked in: The guy, Mike, informed me he was to return the following day to do a camera inspection to mitigate any further issues. Which he did, he showed up and supposedly did a camera of the line, which I find strange because these services usually run about $300, anyway, his report back to my daughter was that the pipe was disconnected by the previous company who did the work and that a major repair to correct it was needed, he also informed her that sewage was leaking into the ground table, but that she can continue to use the toilet, wash cloths & dishes, etc. So far so good, until he called me and told me a slightly different story: ""The pipe has an 'off-set' in it, between the toilet and the clean-out, this has to be removed and the pipe path made straight. The cost is going to be $4300. Because this work is outside of the house it's not covered by the home warranty company, but not to worry, I can 're-word' the estimate in such a way that will include a $1000 from them, cutting the cost to you to $3300.00... And another thing, you can't use the toilet until this work is done, okay?""

Today, I got a 2nd opinion from All Plumbing, guys I've had several projects done by, who have conducted themselves in an ethical manner, so I trust them, they found the drain path unobstructed in both directions, he also stated that for them to have done a toilet-to-cleanout inspection the normal procedure is to remove the toilet from the floor (an additional $160 fee) which Mike Lomelli could not have done. These guys got out a ladder and climbed up on the roof and used the vent, and found the path clear that way also.

Conclusion: These guys are good at the simple stuff, and with their 2hour window, they are GREAT that way. Just be careful when they inform you that you need $4000 worth of work, get a 2nd opinion, mine unfortunately cost me $360.00.

Ali J.

Was assigned to them by home warranty and find them totally unprofessional and Dishonest ,be carful they will they will try to sell you services you don't need and charge you up the A**.

Evelin L.

Complete waste of time! I was assigned to them by HWA! Waited a whole week ! Waited all day on the date they were supposed to come! They didn't communicate , didn't call, or come!!! BEWARE!! Not professional at all