Right Away Plumbing and Heating Cooling

Ginnette H.

I don't usually post reviews but given the technical
Incompetence of this company and the unnecessary headache this cost me I felt compelled to warn others.

I wasn't getting enough hot water in my house so I called these guys to take a look. They did an inspection and told me nothing was wrong. In fact they pointed out an error on my part in how I was using the shower faucet. This cost me about $300 - a tad expensive but it was my fault so I didn't complain. Everything was working great again!

They then recommended I have someone clean/service my tankless water heater as it needs to be done annually. During that process they inexplicably ""disconnected"" the small (second) water heater I had downstairs. They said I didn't need it. I trusted they were the experts so agreed.

From that moment forward it was a disaster - the showers upstairs would run cold after two minutes. This issue didn't happen until AFTER they serviced the upstairs tank and disconnected the second tank. I called them back out. At the same time my furnace broke so I asked them to take a look at the furnace while they were here.

Tony said he figured out the issue the cold and hot water pipes were mixing. I asked if it could be anything to do with the previous gentleman messing with the other water tank and disconnecting something. He quickly shot me down that this wasn't related. He said we would need to ""rip up the ceilings and walls"" of my house to find the location of the mix and it would cost between $20k and $40k. My home isn't even a year older btw.

The furnace he said we needed to order all these parts that were broken. Again the furnace isn't even a year old.

In the end I did what I should have done all along. I called another HVAC specialist and another plumber.

The 1st company told me immediately that it was a super easy fix for the heat. A spider crawled into the furnace and was disrupting the flame pattern. It took literally 10 mins to fix and cost $89. I asked him about the super expensive parts that Tony told me needed to be replaced. He just shook his head and laughed. He assured me NOTHING needed to be replaced - it's a brand new furnace.

Next the other plumbers came out. My instincts were right - during the servicing I had been sold the week before they had indeed opened a valve causing cold water from the kitchen to mix with the rest of the house. Turns out I didn't need $40k worth of work - just five minutes and $129 for someone to fix what this company caused!!

This has been an absolutely disastrous encounter. The people at the company were pleasant but completely and utterly incompetent. I am not posting this review to be nasty but simply to warn other unsuspecting customers to give these guys a miss.

Edit to respond:

** You charged me over $500 in total for the first two trips. It would be crazy to charge me the 3rd time considering you created the issue.

Secondly, as stated another company fixed the problem in 10 minutes and confirmed that it is was because of what you did. That hardly seems like ""bad plumbing"" to me.

Finally, the fact that you respond in a hostile way to your customers on a public forum doesn't reflect well on you. Just thank people for their feedback and try to do better. Feedback is a gift!!! **

Katie H.

Outrageous prices and extremely unprofessional. They had to come back twice to fix the issue and charged us both times for a problem that should have been fixed the first time. When we contacted the owner he was unprofessional. They totally ripped us off and took advantage of the fact that we were unfamiliar with plumbing issues. Wish we would have read the other reviews as many have had similar experience.

Abiman R.

We have used Right Away Plumbing over the last few years and each time has been a great experience. Our most recent project was replacing our water heater. Jorge came out to inspect the issue with our water heater, explain our options, and helped find the best solution for our home.

He also identified a serious pipe issue that we hadn't, and wouldn't have, noticed and which would have resulted in major damage if we left it unattended. He and his team arrived promptly for the various appointments and gave us clear estimates of how long the projects would take so we could plan for having no water.

Highly recommend!

Joseph A.

Exceptional service! After a few trials and errors I finally found a reliable plumber! I called due to a leaky toilet. Plumber came at the time he promised he would. He fixed the problem very diligently, no waste of time, no hidden fees. I will be definitely calling in the future once I need to. I will definitely recommend Right Away Plumbing.

Trish M.

Worst customer service I've ever had; very rude, intimidated my wife, splattered human feces all over brand new wallpaper despite being specifically asked to cover them, then made up extra charges at the end

Jim G.

ASK UP FRONT WHAT IT WILL COST TO DIAGNOSE YOUR ISSUE.

I made the mistake of NOT asking the cost of a diagnostic service call relating to a potential plumbing issue associated with a dishwasher. I just figured it would be within the range of $50-$75, as had been my experience with service professionals and calls of this type.

When the workman arrived, he told me it would be $229 for JUST the diagnostic. Under other circumstances, I would have declined the service, but my repair needed immediate attention and I was having trouble finding anyone who could come within a couple days of my reaching out to plumbers.

The diagnosis was made in about 5 minutes. The workman was here for about 25 minutes, having identified the issue as needing a dishwasher repair person. (I had been told by a dishwasher guy it was a plumbing issue.)

Anyway, I did agree to pay the $229 under the circumstances, so acknowledge that choice I made. My point is to just encourage any potential customer, when scheduling, to ask what it will cost for any diagnostic service that is done, and then make your decision accordingly.

Matt M.

This is the second time we've used Right Away and I can't imagine using another service. They were always timely, professional, and did excellent work. Do yourself a favor and call them the next time you have an issue.

Peter M.

I called Right Away plumbing to help solve my water hammer issue.

Day 1- Plumber Jorge shows up, drains water system, fills back slowly to remove any possible air in lines to see if that fixes the issue. It did not. He assures me that his colleague Tony, a ""master plumber"" will come the next day to help solve the issue. ""If he can't do it no one can.""
I pay the pre-agreed price of $250 for the hour of work draining my system. It stings because I can/have done this myself, but you pay for experience and expertise for professionals, fine.

Day 2- Tony and Jorge come. They drain the system again because Tony is convinced my issue is from air in the lines. Drainage #2 does not help. After much thought, Tony tells me he thinks that removing the air chambers installed in my bathroom may help. Reading through many plumber forums, I never saw anything about air chambers causing water hammer. In fact, the reason they are installed is to prevent water hammer.... Interesting. But what do I know right? This is the ""master plumber"" we are talking about here.

Day 3- Jorge comes, quotes me $388 to remove 4 air chambers. (Any plumber would agree this is an outrageous price) I agree to this because I'm still hoping they know what they are doing. He removes them in 45 mins (and only removes half of 1 of them because it is hard to reach... Charge top dollar and only do half the job... what a joke). While the water is shut off and he is removing the air chambers, I tell him I want a shut off valve installed in between the shower and the sink. I want to separate the shower and sink to see if that helps isolate the issue. This was MY suggestion, and was not their plan to do so. They scoff at me for this idea but I insist. This took another 45 mins. In fact, when they were installing the shut off, they almost put it in the wrong spot! I had to stop them as they were putting it in and tell them it was wrong!

They turn the water back on. Removing the air chambers did nothing. However, once they turn the shut off valve that I suggested, no more water hammer!

Jorge writes up the work order and charges me $650 for 1.5 hours of work. I am frustrated because removing the air chambers for $388 was already insane (but I was willing to pay for an EXPERT'S opinion). They add $250 for the new shut off valve install. I was NOT told that adding the valve would be an additional $250 charge. They should have told me before putting it in. Tony agrees to give me a $45 discount. I tell him that is not enough. He turns to Jorge and says, ""ok, pull out the new valve, we are leaving."" Things were tense. I was frustrated with the price, and Tony was frustrated with me. Tony pulls out his licensed plumber card and puts it in my face to intimidate me. Very unprofessional. He says ""2 plumbers for all this time, we are losing money! Well, removing air chambers and putting in a shut off doesn't require 2 plumbers. And neither of you figured out the cause of my issue, I did. I remain calm and collected the entire time, even though I am deeply frustrated.

I pay over $850 for them to drain my system, remove 4 air chambers, and add a shut off valve. And on top of being overcharged, I was bullied by Tony.

If it took their expertise to diagnose the problem, then I wouldn't have had an issue with the price because I wanted the water hammer gone. They are more knowledgeable than me with plumbing, I humbly respect that. But, it is painful to pay so much money knowing that in the end it was my suggestion that isolated the issue (while getting bullied).
Now, I am out $850 and I still have water hammer. At least I know now that my shower is the issue.

UPDATE: I search online forums and read that faulty cartridges can cause this issue. I replace the shower cartridge myself, and problem FIXED. You would think a ""master plumber"" would know this. Based on my reading it doesn't seem to be that uncommon of an issue. Now I'm left wondering if they purposely ripped me off, or just aren't very good at their jobs. What a shame. Be careful who you hire! It's sad that they have such good YELP reviews, they certainly don't deserve them.

PROS: They always showed up on time, They showed up 3 hours after I called which I was impressed by

CONS: price gouging. I should have been told that adding a shut off valve would cost an additional $250. They told me they charge by work done, not hourly, to justify the high prices. If anyone ever tells you this, it is because they are overcharging. Paying a minimum 'visit' fee is fair. This way if it ended up being a 5 minute fix they still get paid fairly to account for the travel time. However, you should pay a fixed hourly rate after the first hour. Don't make my mistake.

I hope this review is helpful to others

-Peter Monteagudo, MD, MBA

Phil D.

I've had Jorge complete a number of projects for me. Every time he does ace work. He even came on an emergency when I needed something done immediately. He is thorough in his work - it's always perfectly done. He's got a great attitude, is friendly, and able to answer questions. It's obvious he cares about doing the job correctly and solving your problems. He'll even consult and give advice about how to avoid problems in the future. All in all, he's a great guy and I'm thrilled to have him as my plumber.

Jennie H.

We had a problem with clogged pipes, George came out within an hour and assessed the problem and proceeded to rod out the clog which solved our problem. He also educated us on how to prevent this from happening again. Very professional and friendly. Also, I made sure I checked prices with a competitor and Right Away Plumbing was much better! Highly recommend!