[terrywvu]

Just maybe we should contact News Six and have one of their invesigative reporters check out the unbelieveable business practices of the Frank Gay company. There have been substantial comments from The Villages about their out of control pricing tactics and then to try and suppress a prospective client 's comments for $38! Wow! Thanks Mike & Silvia. We have used Mark Scott Plumbing and know they do a great job.

[Indydealmaker]

Frank Gay is definitely not like Kiley! Gay has destroyed Kiley's legacy.

[Nucky]

Mike Scott has been very responsive during our warranty period and I expect to stick with him after the warranty is over. He did some amazing work for us in our last home, also very reasonable. Frank Gay, go away. After what I’ve read about you here tell me why would I want to chance dealing with you. Your reputation is probably toast. If you turn it around, it’s going to be rough!

[Gwiz4u]

Originally Posted by Mike&Silvia

I recently sought estimates for a simple plumbing job - running a water line across a 30' garage to a new outdoor hose bib. I got the following three estimates:

1. Mike Scott Plumbing $350 (no estimate fee)
2. Anthony Torri Plumbing $325 (no estimate fee)
3. Frank Gay Services $2158 ($38 estimate fee)

After two calls to Frank Gay Services, seeking to speak to a manager and being promised a callback, I finally got through to a customer service person who said that they would refund my $38 estimate fee if I signed an agreement to keep my dissatisfaction silent. The form required me to not "post or author any detrimental reviews, blogs, etc. regarding the Company, in any form, whether written or oral."

My silence cannot be purchased for $38. I am a new homeowner in The Villages. The majority of service companies that I have dealt with have been upstanding and a pleasure to do business with, however, when I find a company that exploits and takes advantage of unsuspecting homeowners, I want to share my experience and help others avoid making a bad decision.

The residents of the villages should spread the word about the company and not use them

[Two Bills]

Originally Posted by vinricci

One reason is Frank Gay has at least 30 vans at their main office on 441. That’s a hefty overhead right off the bat.

With the prices etc. they want to charge, it's a wonder if any of them ever leave the yard.

[GATORBILL66]

Dove Plumbing is the best!

[PugMom]

Originally Posted by rustyp

Hey folks. Let's show Frank Gay we are watching and listening. Also lets say thanks to Mike and Silvia for not being bought out for $38. Go to MikeandSilvia's original post and hit the thank you button. It is the thumbs up button at the bottom. As they say there is power in numbers.

but they have clever radio ads! that must be where all the talent is going

[rustyp]

Originally Posted by rustyp

Hey folks. Let's show Frank Gay we are watching and listening. Also lets say thanks to Mike and Silvia for not being bought out for $38. Go to MikeandSilvia's original post and hit the thank you button. It is the thumbs up button at the bottom. As they say there is power in numbers.

Originally Posted by Gwiz4u

The residents of the villages should spread the word about the company and not use them

We are trying to spread the word. Push the thumbs up button on post #1. We are at 174 thanks so far.

[Djean1981]

Thank you for the warning. ⚠️

[asianthree]

Originally Posted by Chamo

Never pay for an estimate. But that’s some incredible price hike from the other 2 estimates. Frank Gay is in lady lake I’m guessing they are trying to work their way to the villages.

Frank Gay bought Kiley and Sons plumbing, which was a very good business, with competitive rates, in TV. Frank Gay just thew that out the window for all of the old customers

[bltintv]

Thank you for not being cowered by this company and being silenced.

I think this practice of asking for your silence in writing to get your estimate money back should be reported to the BBB. I'm not sure that it is even legal.

We have had several negative interactions with Frank Gay company and really miss Kiley and Sons as they were a reputable company. Again.. Thank you for posting and not being silenced.

[Mike&Silvia]

Thank you for your reply. It was an apples to apples estimate.

[Mike&Silvia]

I highly recommend Lenhart Electric!

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by Mike&Silvia

I recently sought estimates for a simple plumbing job - running a water line across a 30' garage to a new outdoor hose bib. I got the following three estimates:

1. Mike Scott Plumbing $350 (no estimate fee)
2. Anthony Torri Plumbing $325 (no estimate fee)
3. Frank Gay Services $2158 ($38 estimate fee)

After two calls to Frank Gay Services, seeking to speak to a manager and being promised a callback, I finally got through to a customer service person who said that they would refund my $38 estimate fee if I signed an agreement to keep my dissatisfaction silent. The form required me to not "post or author any detrimental reviews, blogs, etc. regarding the Company, in any form, whether written or oral."

My silence cannot be purchased for $38. I am a new homeowner in The Villages. The majority of service companies that I have dealt with have been upstanding and a pleasure to do business with, however, when I find a company that exploits and takes advantage of unsuspecting homeowners, I want to share my experience and help others avoid making a bad decision.

We had no idea of the price differential in F.G. and others in the area, until we hired a man, a resident of another close by senior community, who does handyman work a couple days a week. While completing our simple job, replacing the "guts" of an existing toilet tank, we were all chatting, and he made a remark about not charging us for a small additional "job", 15 seconds to replace rubber washer. So that started some chat about the various rates of trades people. He told us in his opinion (since he gets around to many homes) most plumbers, electricians, etc. do not vary that much from one to the other. But, told us how he had helped one of his neighbors, a widow, who had been confused and misguided by F.G. in such as way to have a $300-to-$400 job turned into a bill of over $3800. He went on to explain how they were able to do this (expand the problem !) from his experience as a handyman, but most people would have no idea what is going on. He said a number of plumbers in the area had been consolidated, "bought up", under one name, and were getting quite a reputation for misguiding people as to what it takes to fix a problem. When he finished, I wrote down the name "F.G." to remind me not to call the next time we needed a plumber. So I know your story is factual, and there are many others who have been seriously overcharged, we've found out since.

[Pairadocs]

Originally Posted by newwillo

Thank you !! I am looking for a plumber for toilet install...

And remember for that, you may need a plumber and you may not. While that sounds like a really major project to many, it actually is not. You may not want to do it, but I can't imagine a handyman who can't handle this "plumbing" task. If YOU are really ambitious, you can shut off the water valve to the existing toilet (either push-pull or a turn of the small valve), flush the toilet, use old rags to soak up any remaining water, then loosen the (usually 3 or 4) bolts that connect the tank to the stool part. Set it aside. If you prepare this much, it really won't take a handyman very long to undo the two bolts that hold the stool to the floor, set it aside, throw away the old wax seal on the drain, lay down a new wax seal (you could buy one and have it ready), set the new toilet stool/tank, connect the water supply... Not saying do it yourself, just saying, watch a utube of replacement of an existing toilet, and I think you will be able to see that a handyman can be hired for this type of job. Just like you don't need a journeyman electrician to replace a switch in an EXISTING out let, any handyman, or handy neighbor can do that within 10 minutes, while ADDING additional outlets IS a job for a journeyman electrician. Know the complexity of the job so you don't get over charged.