This is a copy of the letter that I sent to the Plumber, The guarantee company, and the BBB.
Dear XXX:
Please accept this letter in reference to [check guarantee compny]’s claim number xxxxxxxxx, and as a response to [check gaurantee company]’s request to honor a check in the amount of $2,600.00, initially made out to [the plumber]. I halted this check with a “stop payment” soon after I became aware that the plumbers from [plumbing company] did not perform the work requested and outlined in the contract issued by his company. Despite numerous attempts to contact the owner of the company starting with an office visit on August 22 and continuing with more than a dozen phone calls, I have received no return call or other acknowledgement of my requests and messages.
I contacted the [plumbers] office after discovering my septic tank lid collapsed and fell into the tank, leaving an approximately 4-foot by 4-foot hole exposing the tank’s interior. Having hired [the plumbers] only a month before -- to fix a plumbing issue in the interior of my home -- I expected to receive similar quality work and attention to my plumbing needs. However, the work I originally hired [the plumbers] to perform was not completed according to acceptable standards. In fact, the employees’ incompetence and deficient work left my septic system with more problems than it originally had.
The three workers who visited my home on August 21 were to address a broken septic tank lid. I was told they would have a septic truck clean the contents of the septic tank; they were then going to use the backhoe to remove the broken concrete lid, dirt, and grass that had fallen into the tank. After this removal and cleaning, the lid was to be replaced with a new one.
However, the [plumbers] employees claimed they did not want to wait for the septic truck to clean the tank, as it was held up on another job. This left my tank filled with its original contents and the original concrete lid. My tank is still filled, but now at a diminished capacity because of the bulky concrete lid still submerged in the tank’s contents. Not waiting for the tank to be cleaned out was only the first of numerous issues the [plumbers] employees created.
The employees at [the plumbers] performed problematic work in other ways, too. Not only did they disregard protocol by not cleaning out the tank before the lid replacement work, but they also proceeded to replace my fallen lid with a faulty one. The workers measured the new lid incorrectly and attempted to drag it over the partially-filled tank. But, after cutting the lid too small to cover the hole, they tried to piece together two other pieces of concrete, approximately one foot wide each, damaging the integrity of this “new” lid, and creating weaknesses in the stability of the septic tank covering. My septic tank is still filled with the remains of the original lid in addition to the earth that was above the lid before the original collapse. As they were getting ready to leave my house one of the plumbers actually confided to me that they usually did not do this type of work. If I were told this in the first place, I would have hired someone who specializes in this field.
Although literally passing the septic truck driver in my driveway before leaving my property, the [plumbers] truck did not stop to check with the operator, or do any more work on my septic tank or field.
These problems were brought forth to me by the operator of the septic truck that was, in fact, subcontracted by [the plumbers]. He stated that if the concrete lid’s remains are left in the tank, effectively halving the capacity of the tank, it will lead to solid waste traveling into the septic field, therefore damaging the septic field itself and causing further problems. Upon researching his claims by calling other local septic service companies, I realized the exorbitant amount I was charged for services poorly rendered. Other septic companies quoted the original repair complete for amounts ranging between $1000-1300. As it stands now, my only recourse is to have my tank cleaned out every 12-18 months, compared to the usual 4-5 years; all this suggests five times the usual maintenance costs, as well.
The stop payment on my check was only enacted because the lack of communication with [plumbers] and their obviously not wanting to correct the improperly repaired septic tank. I have stated repeatedly to [check gaurantee company]employees that I have no problem paying for the work, once it is satisfactorily completed, and the price is comparable to other quotes I have received. I feel I am at a dead end, as I was informed by one of your employees that [the plumbers] has already received payment from your company. Why should they try to contact me now? If I send payment to you, I will never be reimbursed by a company that has yet to even return my phone calls.