Sam and Sons

*** *** *** ** *** *** ** ***Dear *** ***,Thank you for contacting us through the Revdex.com.You have been a customer of Sam & Sons since 2010, according to our records.We are deeply concerned that you feel you have not
been treated fairly.Our records indicate that we have serviced your home several times in 2010, and 2014.We were never at your home on July 25th for a cost of $2,225.00.We are concerned that there may be some confusion regarding the dates and costs due to Sam & Sons Services.We would welcome the opportunity to send our manager to speak with you regarding the problems you have experienced.We are determined to make sure that all of our customers are happy and feel comfortable when dealing with us.Looking forward to hearing from you soon.Sincerely,Sam & Sons Services

Dear [redacted]
We want to apologize for the inconvenience, we always look
to satisfy our customers to the best of our ability.
We tried to contact you directly after the technician's visit to get your
feedback in regards to this matter, but we weren’t able to reach you. Further more
we did go ahead and processed a refund for the $49 trip fee.
The refund should appear on your bank statement any day now.
Thank you for contacting us through the Revdex.com, we really
appreciate it.
Sam & Sons Services
[redacted]
Alexandria, VA [redacted]

Review: I had an appointment on 8/20/13 for 3 to 5 pm. To unclog the 12 inch drain from the diswasher. The technician arrive an hour late at 6:01 PM, and he then told me He said it would only take 15 mines and that the charge would be $225.00.

That charge is insane. At 15 minues is 900 seconds, divided by the cost, that would be $4.00 a second.

Who charges rates like that?

Its obsenec and insulting.Desired Settlement: I'd like to know why the rate is soooo high?

Business

Response:

Thank you so much for contacting us through the Revdex.com.

Sam and Sons Services is a Class "A" Contractor Company, Licensed, Bonded and Insured.

Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you by providing you a free estimate.

Our standard procedure for a call is to go out and provide a free estimate for the work and we did that with you.

We don't charge for the trip, we don't charge you for the time for the trip, there is NO payment, NO hidden charges and NO commitment whatsoever on your part and a 100% FREE visit and 100% Free Estimate

While there are lot of companies that charge for all the above services, we don't.

Our charges are based on our work and expertise and you are free to choose elsewhere, we give you the choice.

You were aware that we just only charge if we do work, the work has to be approved by you and signed by you.

1) In your case you were not charged anything because we didn't do any work for you. Your free estimate was just free and there were no charges or hidden fees.

2)We would like to let you know that your appointment was between the hours of 3pm and 6pm since we require a minimum of 3 hours window for the visit. We apologize that the technician arrived 1 minute late (not 1 hour late)

3)We would like to let you know also that your calculation was wrong about the cost (including minutes and the seconds etc..) that you figured, and that contributed to the misunderstanding of the whole situation.

4) Our free estimates do not include any time associated with the work because our company never charges by the hour. Since we do not charge by the hour, our technicians don't provide hourly estimates.

15 minutes are not even enough to bring the tools and prepare the work area for any job.

Again, thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

-------------------------------------------

Sam and Sons Services LLC

5649-C General Washington Dr

Alexandria, VA 22312

Phone: ###-###-####

Fax: ###-###-####

www.SamAndSon.com

Consumer

Response:

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because: The technician

did arrive an hour late. Also because there was no issue with the "free

estimate" the issue was the cost of the estimate itself. Even if it takes the technician 15 minutes to

get his gear out of the truck. Cleaning a clogged dishwasher drain should not

cost $200 plus dollars. All the free arrival, free estimate, and free whatever

is just a ploy to make the consumer believe they are getting something for

free. When in actuality those costs are hidden in within the actual cost of the

job, which in turn jacks the costs up to an astronomical amount. It bait and switch advertising, plain and

simple!

Review: My girlfriend's basement toilet was clogged so her and her son called Sam and Son. A guy showed up and said it would be $1,000 just to snake out the toilet and $450.00 to remove and put back the toilet. They called me to come by. What I found out is he told her son the fee and had him sign a consent form. He is not the owner of the home. When I got there he was already snaking a cleanout in the basement. I said I would remove the toilet which I did then he spent about 20 minutes snaking the toilet out to the street (I guess). He then saw two pipes leaking near the water heater and wanted about $500 for that. (close to) I said no more, we paid him the $1,000 and sent him on his way. When the other plumber arrived he fixed the pipe leaks and checked on two toilets for $220.00. He told us that we got ripped off big time. He said he would of removed the toilet, snaked the line, put back the toilet and fixed the pipe leaks for $500.00.

I called the company and spoke to a manager who said you signed the authorization and my girlfriend and son were told $1,000. I was told by the other plumber who's wife works at the bank my girlfriend used her credit card on that the charge can be disputed but I think legally we have few options.

The bottom line is we got ripped off.Desired Settlement: We will settle for $500.00 which is more than what our other plumber would of charged.

Business

Response:

Review: 2 technicians serviced our garbage disposal unit, which needed to be replaced. They came out on Thursday, January 24th, 2013 and completed the job. They charged us $575 for the job after it was completed and gave us an invoice, but without any breakdown. Total $575 was just written in as the total to be charged. Invoice was not itemized, so I, [redacted], asked technician if he could do so. He told me I could call company and request itemized bill. My credit card was charged, and the next day, January 25th, I called to request the breakdown of my payment. I called their main company phone and the man who answered stated the technician would be able to do this. I did not hear back by the week of February 4th, so I placed a second call. The same man answered and told me his technician had been out sick but should be returning later that week and could complete my itemized bill. I never heard back. I called a third time on February 21st at 9:10am. The same gentleman said he would call me back in 10 minutes and repeated my cell phone number. He never called me back. At 9:40am that morning, I wrote them an email stating that I would like a call by end of business to discuss an itemized bill. At 5:45pm, I received a call from a manager named [redacted]. For 20 minutes he explained to me he could not give me an itemized bill. He explained if he sent me an email with the breakdown it would only say 50% labor and 50% parts. I requested he send me that email and then he told me he could not do so. He denied my request several times, even though I explained the importance of understanding where my money was going. [redacted] asked me halfway through the conversation why I needed a breakdown (even though I had explained it several times, it being such a great sum of money) and he asked if I was not pleased with the job done. I told him I was pleased but wanted to understand what I was charged for, and to please acquiesce this request. He refused, even after I stated I knew I would not be getting any of my money back. This was just a special request I had. [redacted] explained that the 1 year warranty they offer on the service as well as the time spent for the job were part of the charges. He told me many times their price was competitive. He strayed from the subject, as all I wanted was an explanation of payment. He refused to help me, and break it down for me on paper. He spoke over me and was very impolite to a customer who had paid for a job done by his company. He became so inconsiderate and rude I had to hang up the phone before we were finished with our conversation. The issue is one of customer service (it took 4 attempts, phone calls and email, to be able to get a response from the company, and the manager refused to budge). My husband, [redacted], called and spoke to [redacted] shortly after the incident. [redacted] resolved with [redacted] that they would all talk together with owner, [redacted], the next day. Last week, the week of February 25th, 2013, my husband called Sam and Sons main line once to follow-up on this said conversation he was to have. They referred him back to [redacted]'s personal cell (where [redacted] called me from the first time, and spoke to my husband). [redacted] called [redacted] 6 or 7 times last week and left messages each time and never received any call back. This company is avoiding our request and calls.Desired Settlement: I would not only like an explanation and breakdown of my invoice on the work done for my garbage disposal, but at this point would also like an apology. This business has had extremely poor customer service. If a customer is charged $575 for a service you would expect the company servicing him/her to be thankful and not ignore the customer. I have never had such a bad experience with a company such as this one, and really don't think they deserve their A+ rating on the Revdex.com, as they advertise big and bold on the top of their website. Thank you for your help in helping to resolve this endeavor.

Business

Response:

Review: On 7/25 I called Sam & Sons Services because I thought my toilet was overflowing. It was but it was from the sewer. They came and they snaked with snake and then snake with camera. They told me I could now use toilets and water upstairs but could not put any toilet paper in toilets as the sewer line was broken. They wrote in their invoice "The sewerline pipe is broken outside". They did not collect the$2,225 fee. They said they would send an estimate to repair and they did $13,000 plus. They said also when they went in it would kill a large tree in my front yard -to have that tree taken away would be very expensive. I was immediately in touch with my insurance co. The contact gave me the name of another plumber for a second opinion ([redacted]) and they came and free of charge snaked with camera. The sewer line was not broken! It was fine. They wrote that on their invoice as I had them put in a new toilet. They told me that plumbers like Same & Sons prey on the elderly - I am 75 years old. And also to only choose a plumber where payment is hourly and not on commission. I do not plan to pay their bill. If they take me to court over it I will be happy to tell the Judge what happenned to me and how they tried to scam me as I want to get the information out there to protect others. I will also complain on Yelp. [redacted] LCSWDesired Settlement: I want Sam & Sons to apologize and send the plumbers involved for mandatory help through their Employee Assistance Program. I am in private practice as a clinical social worker and I work for many EAP's and they do good work. I also want the bill erased.

Business

Response:

[redacted]Dear [redacted],Thank you for contacting us through the Revdex.com.You have been a customer of Sam & Sons since 2010, according to our records.We are deeply concerned that you feel you have not been treated fairly.Our records indicate that we have serviced your home several times in 2010, 2012 and 2014.We were never at your home on July 25th for a cost of $2,225.00.We are concerned that there may be some confusion regarding the dates and costs due to Sam & Sons Services.We would welcome the opportunity to send our manager to speak with you regarding the problems you have experienced.We are determined to make sure that all of our customers are happy and feel comfortable when dealing with us.Looking forward to hearing from you soon.Sincerely,Sam & Sons Services