Plumbing Doctor

E S.

Let me start by saying that I have never gone through the trouble of writing an online review before. But I have also NEVER felt this ripped off! Let me also say that the technician who came out (Josh) was courteous and efficient. This review has nothing to do with his work, it has to do with the exorbitant prices that the company charges.

I wish I had read these other reviews before I called The Plumbing Doctor to fix my toilet. We had a leaky gasket and needed it replaced. I paid them $280 dollars for this (that's WITH a $25 coupon, and it wasn't even the same day service, it was the next day from when I first called). I thought $280 felt like a lot of money for about an hour of work, so I talked to a few people who are familiar with plumbing and did a little research online. I found out that this should have cost no more than $125 dollars! Even in an expensive, urban area, several websites said $150 would be the high end. I was shocked. I called the company to complain, and the owner told me that this is what it costs and that's it. No apology, no coupon for next time, nothing. I will never use this company again.

Joe B.

My experience with this company was negative, similar to Roberta W (see her review). I also got the ""camera"" treatment and learned from subsequent plumbers that the camera is just a way some plumbers can pad their services to overcharge people. I was given a price for the job and two phone calls later got a quote for 1/3 the amount Plumbing MD wanted. The job that was ultimately done was much simpler and less involved than the work described by Plumbing MD as being necessary. I was also quoted a price for a part and found the same part in for a retail cost of 15% of what Plumbing MD would have charged. My experience with this company showed they will overcharge in any and all ways possible, and especially take advantage of women or seniors. I would never recommed this company or use them again under any circumstances.

Ed R.

I've use this company now three times. The first time was about seven years ago for a gray water pipe leaking from the upstairs toilet into the downstairs bathroom from the ceiling. What impressed me about this repair was that the PVC in my house is very old and would not adhere to new PVC pipe their technicians knew this before starting the repair and completed the repair within a two hour window.
The second time was to replace my 25+ year old water heater. They came out in the time frame quoted and work very efficiently and the replacement was in just little over an hour! Plus they clean up after themselves! This was three years ago.
The third time new water heater FAILS after three years of service! Plumping MD warranty had expired and two years left on the manufacture warranty. Oh Boy here we go to get warranty work done and I was ready to bring the BBB and whatever I need to get them to honor the warranty. The diagnostic fee was $94.00 with an estimate of around $230.00 for labor and the parts being under manufacture warranty. After three days of Plumping MD going around and around with the manufacture to ship out parts and honor the warranty they decided that was enough! Plumping MD completely replaced our water heater for just diagnostic fee! What no BBB complaint and no charging down to their office and banging on the owner's desk for customer satisfaction!
What a refreshing experience that a company will stand behind their name and reputation even after their warranty had expired. I will recommend this company to anyone who has a plumping need and will continue to use them in the future!

Roberta W.

HORRIBLE COMPANY! Today our toilets backed up and we called this company because they could come out soonest. How dumb are we! They said they would tell us how much once the guy found out what was going on when he got here. Well I am very ill and was in bed and he quoted my 86 year old mother that it would be 500 dollars. She did not tell me she just wanted her potty fixed. Well in the end it ended up being 547 dollars to send a camera down to locate the clean out and then run the line! I recently called plumbers to work on my other home and they had to camera it over 50 ft and it cost only 300. I had called several plumbers and found 300 to be the going rate for the camera service and this company charged 422.80 for this service. But this isn't even the kicker! I called the company and spoke to the manager following the service and was told to my face that he didn't care. He told me he knows they are priced significantly higher than all other companies. Told me he didn't care that my mother was 86 years old and oh well she signed the estimate! ELDER ABUSE AT IT'S FINEST!!!!! DO NOT LET YOUR PARENTS OR GRANDPARENTS USE THIS COMPANY!
Protect yourself from overpaying!!! Don't use these guys! I am telling all my friends and family and business associates about these people!

Stephanie R.

They came quickly and did what they say they were going to do for a price. They don't change by the hour but by the job. That may be fine for a big involved problem but mine took him 15 minutes and cost almost $250. I've subsequently had other plumbers come in to fix other things and they said they would have all charged less than $100. Also beware, the level of experience/skill set of the plumber varies a lot from their call station. One of them was describing how difficult it would be to replace a drain for us and was not sure how to do it without tearing down walls. I found another plumber who had no problems and took less than an hour to complete.

Carol P.

Tenant called and said no Hot Water. I called Plumbing MD (Doctor) they came out the
same day and checked out the water heater and due to bad unit. They came out next
day with new one. I was surprised, that I had to have a city inspection done, but they
called and reminded me to see if I had taken care of it. I would recommend them and would use them again.

L B.

There wasn't an option to give 0 stars or I would have. Plumbing Doctor, aka Plumbing MD, came to our house in 2010. We had a worn rubber washer on one toilet, a toilet that was not shutting off, and a slow drip in a bathroom faucet. They wanted $217.52 to replace the washer, $196.68 for a ""water measuring device"" to fix the running toilet, and $84.32 to fix the faucet drip. We were charged $94.00 for a ""Customer Care Program"" or the price would have been 15% more for everything. He also suggested that we replace all three toilets in our house at $243.38 each for labor, and $454.42-$743.34 for each toilet, depending on whether we went with ""Standard Round"" or a ""Gerber Round Power Flush"". Our house was four years old at the time. We were extremely suspicious so instead called Trilogy Plumbing in Sacramento, the actual plumbers the builders of the house originally used. Trilogy fixed the worn rubber washer and two bathroom faucets for $114.00 total. We opted to replace the flush valve (""water measuring device"") ourselves for about $10. I kept the receipt thinking I would eventually right a letter of complaint to the owner but never did. Since then I have discovered Yelp and decided to write a review to spare others from a similar experience.

Saul S.

Two experiences 5 years apart - both times the work was OK, but the prices were 50% higher than others; a wonder they stay in business.

Cheree b.

DO NOT CALL THEM. The technician that came out pulled a little clog from the drain, but charged me for much more...NOT!!! DO NOT CALL THIS COMPANY.

I called to complain about this and the owner offered me a Customer Care Program that is supposed to give me preferred service for a year. When I called for service the owner said he did not not remember offering me this and told me he would service my home and asked me NOT to call you again. DO NOT CALL THEM. There are many good honest plumbers out there. SAVE yourself a headache. (no stars!)

J. S.

One of the worst companies I have ever dealt with. They sold me a ""electronic water softener"", and said if I wasn't satisfied with it I could get my money back. After a few calls where I was told by staff to try it out for a month and then call back, I got the owner. He was the worst business person I have ever dealt with. After an extended and heated conversation about how they were not going to take it back and the staff would have never told me I could return it (he was basically calling me a liar), I asked him if he was ok with having unsatisfied customers. He said with customers like me, he was perfectly fine with having unsatisfied customers.

He did not seem to realize I had already spent money on other plumbing work from his company, and I would have continued to do business with his company. Now he has lost a customer. I will tell everyone I know not to do business with them. I will report the predatory business tactics to the Better Business Bureau, and will consider my legal options. It is hard to believe that companies like this stay in business.