As the publisher of a website and a believer in the free market system, I fully support advertising.
But as consumers, we need to be skeptical, not only about what the ads say but about who ends up paying for that marketing.
For instance, when looking for a plumber, it should not be surprising that the most expensive one will likely be the one that spends the most on advertising.
Over the past four years I have received numerous complaints from consumers – mostly the elderly – about what they considered high charges they paid to Aiello Home Services of Windsor Locks. The complaints usually came after friends or relatives told them that they paid too much for the work.
The latest complaint came from Carolyn G. Levine, a geriatric care manager and conservator from West Hartford, who wrote me last summer that one of her elderly clients – without her knowledge or permission – called Aiello to have a clogged sink fixed.
She said the plumber performed branch line cleaning, replaced several feet of drain line, opened a plaster wall under one sink and put in ABS piping on two sinks.
“The total,” she wrote me, “came to $1,919.30. The work performed was sloppy. He put in black pipes (exposed) with a pedestal sink. Previously there was all silver piping. The plaster wall was left open and one can see through the next bathroom.”
A jagged edge was left on one piece, cutting an aide’s hand, she said.
She said that the bill was much more than most other plumbers would charge and added that this was the third time in her career that she believes one of her clients was overcharged by Aiello.
This time, she said, she was standing firm, especially after an Aiello plumber accused her of padding her bill by repeatedly coming to her client’s home to deal with the plumbing issue.
Aiello, one of the largest plumbing companies in the state, does a massive amount of marketing compared to other plumbers.
The company denies that its work was sloppy and said that complaints from customers are actually low compared to the thousands of jobs its plumbers perform.
“Aiello, in an effort to ensure that a customer receives replacement materials that will last over time, installed an ABS trap for the simple reason that this type of material is well known in the industry as being a superior product to chrome offering a longer lifespan. In other words, by demanding to use an inferior product after the work was completed, Ms. Levine is criticizing Aiello for initially doing the right thing,” said Stephen Birch, Aiello general manager.
Birch had asked Levine to provide three written quotes from other firms showing that Aiello’s charge was out of line. He said that in all cases Aiello guarantees satisfaction and will provide a refund with three quotes. However, I wonder how many plumbing companies would provide free quotes.
Despite Levine not providing any competing quotes, Aiello last week sent her a refund check for $685 and asked her to sign a statement saying she was withdrawing her complaint to me and to the state Department of Consumer Protection.
The refund was sent after Levine showed Aiello officials pictures she took of the original work, photos that she turned over to the attorney.
“Regarding the reimbursement of $685.30, it proves how far Aiello will go to satisfy a customer,” Birch said.
Levine said she would not sign a release because it would show that she was satisfied with the work and how her client was treated. “They did a lousy job,” she said.
That is unfortunate for Aiello, which is under investigation by the state Consumer Protection Department in the wake of several complaints from Aiello customers. The department said that Aiello is the only major plumbing contractor that is under investigation because of multiple complaints.
Don’t wait until you have an emergency to find a plumber. Talk to your family, friends and neighbors and get some references. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see if there are complaints against them and when you decide on a person, have her or him check out your home to see what work might be needed in the future.
George, George, George…..
Are your columns written ahead of time? If not, HOW could you recommend that someone contact the BBB after all that has been written about that useless agency the past week? I hope it was just a “lapse” of memory.
$1900 could replace that pedestal sink, with new chrome drain and a faucet to boot. C’mon Steve , ABS a superior material? The cheapest is more like it. But I bet the “Plumber” had his “booties” on.
I had a clogged drain. I poured several ounces from a $20 bottle of sulfuric acid down the drain. Drain unclogged. Sounds here like the patient went to the doctor complaining of heartburn and got a bypass. Also, Aiello is blowing smoke out its ass about ABS. You always use chrome-finished fittings in exposed areas such as beneath a pedestal sink. ABS, ugly black plastic into which the fittings drain, is rough-in plumbing and is always hidden in walls, chases and basements.
Aiello is famous in our condo assciation as being the Rip off plumbing outfit of the century.
Several plumbers informed us that Aiello’s business practices “tarnishes and degrades” every legitimate licensed plumber in Ct.