Fixing a leaking kitchen faucet
I feel like I have been fleeced out of $500. Our Moen kitchen faucet was leaking. The plumber replaced the cartridge only to find the lever of the faucet "too top heavy" and due to the "smooth action" of the new cartridge he installed, it would shut itself off from the weight of the lever.
When asked if they could order the appropriate cartridge for this model, I was told that DrainWorks will not order parts for you and that I would need to do that myself with Moen.
Shouldn't any reputable plumber do this for you as part of their service if they did not have the part in their van/in stock?
So here we are with a cartridge that obviously isn't compatible with the Moen faucet and the only alternative given by DrainWorks is to order it ourselves or purchase from them a completely new faucet system, including spout and sprayer, which were not in need of repair.
Buying this new faucet system added $270 more to the original quote given. Yes, I agreed to it, given that my sink was now in pieces and inoperable, I felt this was the only choice I had.
I had instant buyer remorse upon trying it out myself because it wasn't the same as our original kitchen faucet system. This one has a much lower profile spout far less practical than our high arcing original. The only other alternative given by DrainWorks was to pay more for a more appropriate model that would suit our needs. We were already in way over our heads at this point, so I declined.
My husband and I very disappointed with the outcome feeling that we put on the spot to make a high pressure decision. My husband phoned them the next day and asked what DrainWorks could offer us if we chose to purchase a suitable replacement closer to the original and whether we could get them to install it for us. Their reply: they were only willing to do so for an additional $300 on top of the $500 we have already paid them. We obviously declined.
Feeling totally ripped off and completely taken advantage of.
[CUSTOMER EDIT AFTER COMPANY RESPONSE]
DrainWork’s response to our review is inaccurate, and does not reflect our experience with this company. Nowhere on DrainWork’s invoice does it state that “a short amount of time would need to pass, at which point, this issue would go away completely.” What the invoice does say is: “ (A) Attempt repair of Moen 3-component Kit faucet w/no guarantee of success”. The invoice goes on to read: “Faucet replacement is an option w/various prices. Found repair (A) was problematic, since existing faucet was shutting off automatically, therefore owner opted for new faucet”. We were never advised that repair (A) would work in time, nor is that stated on Drainwork’s invoice. The only option provided was replacement with another Moen faucet the plumber had on hand. Contrary to DrainWork’s assertion below, the part was not correct. We were advised that DrainWorks does not order parts, and that we would have to order the part from Moen ourselves (as correctly stated in the initial review). My wife and I were not satisfied with the outcome and decided to post a review of our experience on Homestars. Then came the call from Eddie, the Vice President of Drainworks, at my (husband’s) place of work. The pretext for the call was to “find a resolution”, but it wasn’t long before Eddie advised me to “be a man” and “admit our review was full of lies”. A bad experience was made infinitely worse by these mean-spirited, insulting comments, and no effort at resolution was ever made or offered. If your one of Drainwork’s satisfied customers, good. If you are not satisfied with their work, you should not expect any genuine effort to resolve the issue, much less professionalism or common courtesy.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $500.00
- Company Response
**Sharyn** Despite the inaccuracies in your review, that contradict what’s written on our invoice, in the sake of keeping this response streamlined, we’ll keep our reply to the heart of the issue. We were called by you to address your leaky kitchen faucet; we came out the same day, within a few hours, and gave you a price upfront, before any work was done, to attempt to repair the leak on your faucet, which we fixed and stopped the leak at the agreed cost of $159+hst. Now, as a byproduct of your pre-existing faucet handle being too top heavy, and the cartridge being brand new, a short amount of time would need to pass, at which point, this issue would go away completely. Up until that time the faucet would have still been fully operable. It was never “left in pieces, inoperable” at any point, nothing needed to be ordered as this part was correct. All of this was explained in detail, every step of the way. Instead, you chose to replace the faucet altogether. It is also important to note, that in the name of customer service, we put the aforementioned $159 repair cost, towards our supply and installation of the new kitchen faucet. In essence, you got that service for free. Further, we reduced the book cost of the kitchen faucet install, on top of the $159+hst reduction for the repair (which was successful). Ultimately, as you said, this came down to “buyer remorse” and you disliking the aesthetic of a faucet you had seen and agreed to, prior to our installation of it.
When your husband called the office, he inquired for a cost to install a faucet that you would supply since you no longer liked the faucet you chose to be installed, the day prior. A standard price was provided as the faucet we already installed cannot be returned and it cannot be sold to anyone else and the labour to install it cannot be erased. We followed through exactly as we said we would when the appointment was booked, and we adhered to your requests to proceed with service every step of the way. We do listen to our customers Sharyn; in fact, how could we have listened to you any more than we did? What more could we have done? Disregard your consent to proceed and refuse you the service you requested and walk away? It is with great displeasure to hear that you are unsatisfied, however, DrainWorks has done nothing wrong, and will abide by that.