Oceanside Emergency Plumbing and Heating

Stacey W.

On Friday, I called Oceanside Emergency Plumbing and Heating. I was told that someone would come to my home at 3:30pm for $125 to assess my clogged sink and then would provide me with a quote to fix it.

At 6:30 (3 HOURS LATE and 4 phone calls later) a man showed up at my door with very poor communication skills to fix my sink. He came in and LOOKED at the pipe under my clogged sink and then went outside to make a phone call for 15 minutes. He then returned and again LOOKED at the pipe under my sink.

What was most concerning was that his pants were half down his backside and his bare bum was exposed for my family to see. My young children did not need to see his naked rear end. It was completely inappropriate and unprofessional. He stayed there looking under my sink and then informed us that he did not know what was wrong. He said he didn't know how to fix it and offered to take it apart for an additional $250 to see if he could find the problem. I asked what would happen if he still couldn't figure it out, he said then I would have to pay for more troubleshooting.

So now I I'd be paying $375 to find the problem and then I would have to pay for parts and labor to fix it IF he could find the clog.

I asked him to leave as we were clearly being taken advantage of in addition to feeling very uncomfortable with this man in our home. He asked for his $125 fee. I should not have had to pay for a plumber who could not fix a clogged sink.

My issue is that I paid for him to LOOK under my sink. I was not about to refuse payment as this man was in my home with my children and made us feel very uncomfortable. When I called to speak with the owner of the company he conveniently was ""gone for the day but would call me right back"" the person who answered the phone assured me. An hour later when I hadn't heard from the owner I called again. I was told he would not be returning my call until Monday morning. Monday morning came and went and midday I called him again. He was, ""in a meeting and I could call him any time after 2."" I asked for him to call me and my number and name was taken AGAIN. At 2:15pm I called again and was told he ""left for the day and he would call me in the morning.""

This man is avoiding me and not taking responsibility for his business. I paid for a service I did not receive. I am reporting them to the Better Business Bureau and sharing my story with you so that you don't experience this scam as I did.

FYI- Another plumber came the next day and snaked the pipe within 5 minutes of being in my home and was able to address the issue immediately. This goes to show how Oceanside Plumbing and Heating took advantage of us.