James Armstrong Plumbing

Ric M.

Not impressed with the owner,James Armstrong. I had a leak in the master bedroom and he diagnosed water coming up thru the slab when in reality the water was coming out of the wall due to a misplaced AC condensate line. I was still charged $225 for a pressure test even though I actually had no broken pipes. To make matters worse, he said I needed to replace two toilets that were leaking and said they were cheap and so he replaced them with Kohlers for $1680. He also installed a pressure reducing valve that looks like a kindergartner put it together. Last but not least, he charged me $497.50 for a VISUAL inspection of my sewer system. If I weren't so tired of his BS, I would have argued more about the price. Stay clear of James Armstrong Plumbing!!!!

felicia c.

The owner of the company (James Armstrong) came out and after paying the $45 service. Even though, on craiglist they running advisement for free estimate. James came and looked my hot water heater and advised me it will be $170 for a diagnostics test. When i started to have questions about the service fees, James became very rude and aggressive with how he was speaking too me. As if , as the homeowner I do not have the right to questions the cost of service. james did not act like someone who wants to gains new business. I really feel like I was scammed out my $45. If I would have known I get this type of treatment I would have never called his business. I do not recommend him or his company.

Shala F.

I set up for a gas inspection and paid their fee to come out. I do not have any issues. I just needed an inspection. They wanted to charge me $715. A friend just paid $125 for the same residential inspection with another company. Beware!

Felicia W.

Very good service and was able to finish in one day. Had a bad leak under the slab of my home and they fixed it so fast... I couldn't believe it!!!!

Ida L.

On Friday, 8/7/20 at 9:01 a.m. I spoke with the office lady @ James Armstrong Plumbing and told her about the suspected leaks under my house because of the odor. She informed me that that was a $75 service fee that was to be paid when the plumber was "on the way". I'd never had that kind of request..but agreed. 9:31 a.m.-The office lady called to inform me that James was on the way and needed the credit card information. Approximately an hour later, James arrived, went under the house to do the inspection. According to this plumber, there were several leaks under the the house from pipes and the sewer pipe. Quite a bit needed to be replaced (66%). I was surprised at this exorbitant price. My home was built in '58 but work has been done on plumbing before. Also, 65% of the $4500.00 job had to be collected "up front". He collected the $2,920.The job would be started today but he'd have to finish up on 8/10/20. James left to pick up his "helpers" and supplies. It was about two hours later when James returned with one (1) helper and some pipes. They worked for approximately 1 1/2 hrs., came out and said they had to take a break for "refreshments". The refreshment break lasted 45-50 minutes. They returned, banged & clanged some more under the house for about 50-55 minutes. Then they took another refreshment break. Now, it's getting later. This 2nd refreshment break wasn't as long as the first..about 35 min. They returned under the house. After approx. 30 min., they asked us to run water from all faucets and flush the toilets so they could determine if there were still leaks. When they came into the house, I asked what time they'd be returning on Monday (8/10), to finish up the job.James replied that they had finished the job today. Everything was working perfectly and he needed to collect the final $1,505, which he was given. James said "you have a 365-day warranty,if something goes wrong, there will be no cost". This was after 7 p.m. on 8/7/20.Saturday, 8/8/20 @7:41 a.m., I called the plumbing office after hearing a "gurgling sound" from my guest bathroom. There was water bubbling up in the tub and in the shower in the other bath. At 7:42 a.m., I spoke with the office lady to tell her of my problem that I shouldn't have after spending $4500. At 9:21 a.m., the office lady said James was on the way back to the home. At 10:45, James, very agitated, arrived. He was cocky and almost hostile because he had to return. He went under the house and took a picture of the leak around the toilet. He said he told us that when all of the new pipes were in and there were no more leaks, that there would probably be a blockage because nothing else was going under the house. This individual NEVER said this to us. He said the sewer pipe (that he'd replaced) was clogged. He said there were two options: 1) He could dig up the yard, since we didn't know exactly where the clean-out was, or 2) He could root out to the street with the router through the toilet closest to the street. We chose option 2 obviously. Then the real bomb fell. There was a charge of $591 because it had nothing to do with his job the day before. Reluctantly, we agreed. He ran his router through the toilet and said everything was clear to the street (about 75 ft). He collected his $591 and left with us thinking we were good to go. He had returned the toilet without a new wax ring. 8/9/20 @ 7 a.m., once again, the water backing up in the tubs. It had been less than 24 hrs. since James cleared the sewer drain to the street.This time, I didn't call James Armstrong for the office lady to send him for more money. Instead, I had a handyman look under the house to take pictures. There are still leaks. There was NO 66% of pipe replacement. It appears that only the large sewer pipe was the only NEW one under the house. There was a leak where the PVC sealant either didn't adhere or was NEVER applied, as it was leaking. My plumbing problems are now or worse than when I initially called James Armstrong Plumbing. 8/9/20 @ 2:30 p.m., I rented an electric drain cleaning machine and had a handyman to operate it. After working about 1 1/2 hrs., the drain was totally cleared all the way to the city system. The machine was cleaned and returned to the Lancaster, TX Home Depot @6:20 p.m. The rental cost:$77.18 cost for handyman& helper to pick it up, clear the drain, wash the unit & return it to Home Depot: $165 and four bottles of water. Nowhere near the $591 charged for a job that wasn't done. 8/10/20, 1:30 p.m., everything is still flowing freely and working fine after dishwasher, washing machine, and 4-5 showers. Oh, and the toilet James said I needed was installed & working just fine.I will still need a reputable plumber to come in and fix the leaks around the one new PVC pipe that was installed.DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY. James Armstrong is a fraud and a scammer. Say NO to this con man. I'm not sure his license #M-39428 is current or valid. I looked.

Jason B.

Terrible! Con artist. Ended up paying $500 for "free estimate" never did the work. Sent my CC company fake receipts to ensure they would win the case. Sure enough James was awarded the $ for doing absolutely nothing! Don't trust him. Reporting this business to BBB!

wayland t.

After a fire at my 40 unit apt complex, I called numerous plumbers for assistance in the Dallas area. I needed a licensed master plumber to test my gas line as it may have been damaged by the fire . Only 2 of 30 plumbers were interested in the job. James was one of the two. James came within an hour and clearly described what he needed to do and how much for each task was.

James kept me informed every step of the way and charged me fairly. James took care of the problem in a timely manner and got the Dallas Inspector to allow us to have hot water and gas to cook again.

All my tenants and I are eternally grateful.

I would definitely recommend James for any Gas line leak detection job.

Thank you James and Millie!!!

Imad K.

5/14/20: called Armstrong plumbing for an inspection to a possible slab leak. I was told by the office lady it's a $75.00 charge.Mr Armstrong arrived at 2:26 pm.
I told him what I suspected he asked if I had any faucets that are dripping inside the house, I replied yes and showed him which one it was. He immediately said that I need to replace the shutoff valve before he can proceed with the test although it's a faucet issue. We argued about the merits and I said okay and quoted me a price of $267.00 dollars.
He and his helper left at 3:57 to go get the part and when I never heard anything back for a while I called their office number and asked the lady to reschedule as it was going on 6:00pm. The next day he showed up at 10:00am and replaced the under sink valves to the bathroom sink. From there he asked where your isolation valve is and I showed it to him and he said that needs to be replaced and the cost is $620.00 dollars. James kept repeating the same phrase I cannot proceed with the next step until we fix this step first. We argued about why it needs to be replaced since he can shut the water off at the meter and he said I cannot tell you where your leak is unless I can shut this valve off (I found out on Saturday from another plumber that it is not a factual statement and he could have shut it off at the city meter). He went got the parts and replace that valve as well. Once that was complete he informed me that it is $419.00 dollars for slab leak and I informed him that his office lady quoted me 75 dollars he said that is not true. I agreed given the desperation since my carpet inside the closets is getting wet by the minute. He proceeded and said yes you have a leak and quoted me a price of $4500.00 for repairs. I informed him that I need to speak to my insurance before I can proceed. He left my house at 2:24 pm on Friday may 15th. 10 minutes later I realized there was no water in the house. I called the office lady and he came back and accused me of shutting the water off .I told him I did not touch it, he turned the water back on and left. I went to wash my hands at the bathroom sink there was no water because he did not turn the valves back on and my guess is he didn't because he knew they were leaking. I called the office number again and was told it will be a while before he can come back. AT 7pm on 5/15 he showed up and said he fixed it. About an hour later as my wife was trying to put our toiletries under the cabinet she informed me that the valve is still leaking. I called the office and no one answered. The next day Saturday 5/16/20 I texted his number 972-736-9919 and the office mobile number 214-918-6109 at 8:26 am to let them know about the leak under the sink. I did not hear back so at 10:03 am I called the office and spoke to the office lady and she said she will let James know that the valve is still leaking. Never heard back a peep Saturday, Sunday or so far on this Monday 5/18/2020. I went an entire weekend without the use of my bathroom sink. On the morning of Monday May 18th I went outside to look at the other valve that was replaced outside and discovered the box is full of water. I do have pictures of both items and the leaks that are still going on. At this point I am going to contact another plumber as I do not want this conman back near my house and pay more money to get the repairs done properly.
P.S: I do have text messages, pictures and call records to prove my claims. Also every time I would attempt to observe the repairs I was told he does not like people standing over him while working .
On Sunday I proceeded to look at their better business bureau records and discovered that they have had three similar complaints where they make up claims of work that is not necessary.

Mari G.

Very disappointed with the service. When I called I was told it was going to be $75 and that unless the disposal had to be replaced it was going to be more. When the guy got here, it literally took him 5 minutes to remove something that was stuck in the disposal and he charged me $162, saying that the $75 was just for him to drive to my house. Ridiculous!

Robyn W.

Just saw their van an 635 going about 100 miles an hour and almost hit two vehicles cutting cars off. Yeah, file this under "people not to hire for your plumbing needs."