Homeowners Beware!!!
 

DO NOT BY ANY MEANS call Pat the PLumber for repair services

I was out of state attending to a family matter and my wife was alone at our home in the Villages when our hot water heater broke down. The heater was less than 3 years old. My wife called Pat the Plumber for service. The repairman told my wife that the parts were not covered under warrenty because the heater was "contractors specials". They replaced the thermostat and 2 heating elements and charged us $750.00!!
Upon my return to the Villages, I called the warranty office and was told that the parts were warranted through 2012 by the manufactorer and that Pat the Plumber should have called them to inquire about this.
Long story short: I checked with two local plumbers and was told that they could have installed a brand new unit for $540.00 and that the cost to replace a thermostat & heating units should have only cost us $100.00. Please spread the word to your neighbors & friends.

I would take Pat the Plumber to small claims court along with proof it should have cost $100. I could see this case being handled by Judge Judy. If it was paid by credit card I would have the charge reversed.

And what did Pat the Plumber have to say??

So far I have filed reports with the BBB,Seniors against Crime, and my credit card company. Small claims court will be a definate. Thanks for your response.

Pat the Plumber answered a BBB inquiry by stating that they followed their company policy and will not entertain a refund. I have since filed a report with the Senior Against Crime Office at TV and am disputing the charges with my credit card company. Thanks for your response.

Did you speak with him?

Similar Experience
 

Not long after we move here, the kitchen sink started stopping up. This same company charged me over $200 to unstop it. Didn't do anything but run the snake through it. Being new to Florida and TV, I just chalked it up to the going rate. Next time, my son happened to be here and he rented a snake from Home Depot or Lowes and got it going again. Next time, I called someone else and it was less than $100. I used them a couple of times. Finally checked with the Warranty Dept. about this happening so much and they said that Scott's did the original plumbing, so I called them. The guy from there did a much more thorough job than anyone else and found building material in the line; therefore, it ended up to be warrantied. He surmised that that was where the drywall people had done their cleanup. That's been over a year and haven't had a problem since.

Bottomline, you're right.....don't call Pat.

They are really taken advantage of senior citizens and should be banned from the villages. Thanks for sharing your experience with me.

I recently got a letter in the mail from a company called "Federal Energy Savings". It implied that I "could receive" thousands of dollars in Federal Energy Credits by taking certain steps around my home to improve energy efficiency. I called and what they wanted to do was come to my home to make an "energy inspection". I used the internet to check out the license number shown on their letter. According the the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), the license number being used by Federal Energy Savings of Lady Lake, Florida belongs to Pat The Plumber, Inc. of Wildwood, Florida. When I looked up Federal Energy Savings on the Central Florida BBB site, the BBB showed that the company Federal Energy Savings was Pat The Plumer DBA Federal Energy Savings. Wonder how many have been fooled by this letter? Since I never scheduled the "energy audit" of my home, I have no proof of what would have transpired but I can make a good guess!! It smelled to me like a ploy to get Pat The Plumber into your home for a hard sell on something or other. And I know of several others in my area who received the same letter.

This is important information. Would you please start a seperate thread with this information so that others will read it. There is nothing illegal about this, but it certainly needs to be know, so that residents won't be tricked by the clever ruse.

We got the same letter and the wife called about it. Same spill as mentioned by Bryan. Seco will gladly come to your home and do an inspection and give you a list of things you can do to conserve energy. We had one this past summer. No charge!!!

I was told by the Seniors vs. Crime Office (Sumter County) that Pat the Plumber is indeed being devious with this letter and it is in fact a scam to get into your house. I spoke to a resident yesterday that had the "energy audit" done at their home. Bottom line: they said that Pat the Plumber would conduct all of the energy saving work that they recommened. The only way to stop this rip-off, is to spread the word to everyone you know. Also report them to the Homeowners Assoc. Tahnks for the info.

I agree with small claims court thoughts. We got the wrong tires from a company in Ohio and they said too bad and my wife took them to small claims court and got four new tires at no great trouble or expense. If you can, go after rogues (unless doing so is hard on your heart).

This company is unbeilevable! Devious isn't enough to describe their underhanded business practices. If they can't get into your front door to take your money, they will try to get through your backdoor, as demonstarated by this letter.

Good advice!!!

All American Air & Electric
 

This is another outfit to avoid....learned the hard way. Just wish I had Googled them first; many, many complaints out there. Betcha I check out the next stuff I get done. :duck:

I couldn't believe it when this thread came up today with a new post! I just had a bad experience with "Pat, the Plumber" (who advertises 'arriving with a smile') yesterday. We had a small leak from the hot water knob in my shower. My husband left for the golf course (!) and left instructions for me to look for a plumber in the phonebook. I found the biggest (2 pages) plumbing ad. My husband said what we needed was a new hot water valve. The young plumber arrived within an hour (sure enough with a smile on his face) and told me I would owe $79 for the call, which I expected. He then looked at the shower, confirmed the diagnosis and informed me that it would cost $550 to fix! I told him he'd have to talk to my husband, called him at the golf course, he told him to leave, I paid the $79 and Carl called his brother(who is not a plumber) and he repaired it with a ten-cent gasket!! Yes, there are many honest plumbers but not this one. As relative newcomers, we now know that we need to get personal recommendations, rather than look for the flashiest ad in the phonebook. (Carl just stopped payment on the $79 check.)

Landscaping
 

Laura, This is Gretchen and I have no idea who you are but it would be a good idea for you to learn you facts before you post things. You have no idea who I am I have worked in The Villages for many many years and have lived here all my life. There was a situation almost two years ago and there were some disagreements on the contracts. I don't have to explain it all to you but, it was three cases in 2006 and I did about 180 jobs that year so if anyone know anything about TV they should know you are never going to make everyone happy. If Laura, I owe you anything please let me know. You should have my number since you seem to know so much about me. My lawyer has gotten a copy of this and he will be reviewing it.

Thanks for sharing your experience with Pat the Plumber. My wife did the same as you as far as the Yellow Pages go. It was smart of you to call your husband first. I'll add this to my collection of Pat the Plumber's rip-off stories.

You got arrested for grand theft, that says it all. By all means, send a copy to your attorney. And don't forget to include the article in the Daily Sun with your mug shot. As you know, I have already tried to contact you many times, and so has the sherrifs office. Very commendable of lasvegas to let you post under that name.

?????

the original post may have been removed by the Administrators

It must have been...or something. I was making popcorn waiting to see what was really happening.

I have other things to do...OH yes I do. This place is addicting.

I'm glad to hear from Villagers about "problem" contractors. I just wanted to tell all that I had a terrific experience with a heating and air conditioning company here in TV. I was having a problem with my heating system and called M&S Air Conditioning. One of the owner's, Steve, showed up a short time later. We went over my problem and he checked a few things out. He then explained what the problem might be, but needed to isolate the issue to the thermostat or the furnace. He layed out a plan for me to help determine where the problem was and checked the heat coming from each vent. All in all, he spent about a half hour with me. When he was ready to leave I asked how much the charge was, because I was made aware of the service call charge beforehand. Zero. Nothing. Steve even refused a tip I was offering for his time. As it turned out, the thermostat was bad and it is being replaced by Lowes. I would definitely call M&S again. Apparently, they are not out to take advantage of folks.

I do not want to go off topic, but I can also second a recommendation for M&S air.

I needed to replace my 15 year old A/C unit about 2 years ago. I got about 4 quotes. 3 of my neighbors highly recommended M&S. I had them give me a quote, and not only were they the most reasonable, they seemed the most knowledgeable and the least pushy.

I got a very nice Rheem unit, and they installed it in one day very professionally. I wanted the big condensing unit moved about 10 ft from where the old one was, and they did that no problem.

Since then they have been back a couple of times for maintenance, etc, and were great. I also thought their service contract was reasonable, (and I do not usually get them), and they had to come out twice for dumb things a tenant did......clearly not the fault of the unit or themselves, but they took care of it no charge. I would recommend them to anyone. Steve and Mike are the best.....

Frank

Funny but I just got a recorded call from some unknown (?) entity asking me to schedule a free energy evaluation. Can save on my electric bill and get up to $3700 in federal stimulus money. Sounded just like the letter I got and previously mentioned in this thread. I know my guess as to who is behind this phone call but will leave name unsaid. You all can take a stab at it!!!!

If plumbers send you a quote without making a visual inspection, it is the first sign of a possible scam. In any case you should only accept a detailed written estimate from the plumbing contractor before starting the job

Pat the Plumer
 

apparently, JoeyD did not see the original email which began circulating approx. a year ago. Pat's staff tried to take advantage of my uncle - new to the villages, lives alone - called them because the handle used to flush his toilet fell off - and they told him that the villages does faulty work, and he needed things replaced, and to the tune of a thousand dollars.
I called "PAT" and he finally returned my uncles money - this kind of practice is commonplace with that company, as I am STILL reading e-mail and posts regarding that company.

Never use Pat the Plummer.
 

I used Pat the plummer once just to try a different company, what a mistake that was, biggest rip off in the Villages. Been here for 14 years always had good service at a far price from Dunstan Plumming, should never have strayed.