Streamline Plumbing Company

"On 10/9 we were called out to customers house with the complaint of a backed up toilet. Upon our arrival the customer informed us that the part of the system in question had been an addition to the house done previously by an acquaintance who was not a licensed plumber and it had not worked since it was installed. She also informed us that she had hired multiple plumbers to clean the line, but this had never fixed the problem permanently. Upon our initial inspection the main sewer line of the house was holding water to the point that our camera inspection was inconclusive. We began to dig up and inspect the existing sewer system and determined it had been installed incorrectly. Several areas of backfall and illegal or improper fittings had been used. Further down the line it was covered by a wooden deck making it impossible for us to continue to inspect further without damage or removal of the deck, but the area of pipe exposed just before the deck had proper fall where visible. We informed the customer that without removing her deck we were unable to inspect further but that we would begin by replacing the area of the system that was accessible as it would be necessary to get her sewer flowing again. We also made her aware that due to the nature and multi-layered issues of her problem that we could not guarantee that more work would not be required to fix everything but that in order to not run her bill up we would suggest starting with this and going from there if it did not totally fix the issue permanently. We informed her that the fairest way to do this was by the hour since we could not guarantee that more work wouldnt be required, to which she agreed and then asked us to add an outdoor sink while we would already have an excavator and be working on the sewer line already. We told her this would be hourly as well to save her on the usually flat rate of $1,500 to establish a new drain and water line for a new fixture. The customer agreed to these conditions and work was performed. Bill was paid. One week later on 10/16 the customer contacted us complaining of sewer backing up again. We told her we could come back out that morning to which she replied that she wouldnt be home but we were welcome to come back out. Upon removal of wooden deck and further inspection of the existing sewer line we discovered another area or improperly installed system from her previous addition performed by others. We also discovered an existing drian line that was completely packed with grease. The customer was made aware through texts, pictures, and a facetime call that this was not part of any work installed by our company and that further work would need to be performed under the wooden deck to solve the further issues she was experiencing. The customer replied that she had already paid us $3,100 to fix it, to which we responded that in fact $950 of that was to add her outdoor sink that she requested and that all issues she was experiencing were due to previous unsatisfactory work performed others and not by our company. We also reiterated to her that she was made aware previously that more work could be required given the unsure scope of the job, which is why we quoted her an hourly rate rather than a hard number bid. She replied that she knew that was correct and not our fault, again implying agreement of payment. She then gave permission to remove deck boards and continue work. Work was then performed to fix all back falls, broken fittings, and grease clogged lines found under her deck. Work was tested and functioned flawlessly before we left. The customer expressed satisfaction until she received a bill for the remainder of necessary work performed, to which she again said she had already paid to have it fixed and would not pay any more. We again explained that she had been made well aware that all work performed at her house would be at an hourly rate."