Varsity Plumbing and Heating

I called Varsity Plumbing because our boiler was not firing in January on a 20 degree day. They came on time and replaced the ignitor. Problem solved. While fee was heavy ($ 325) they got job done on one of the coldest, busiest days. I am not one of these people that think that a real company with trucks, offices, overhead are going to come out same day notice and fix things for free. So I’ll use them again.

I had a bad experience with Varsity Plumbing. Details below, but here’s the short version: Varsity overcharged me for what should have been a simple job, left a hole in my kitchen wall (adjacent to the bathroom), attempted to overcharge me for the consultation fee, and were consistently late to appointments. Everything about my experience suggests Varsity is dishonest and unreliable. I recommend you read my story before booking them for a job.
Here are the details:
— Hours late to my first appointment, a consultation where they were supposed to assess the problem.
— The plumbers who showed up to that consultation tried to tell me the consultation fee was much larger than what I was told it would be. I had to call the office on the spot to get them to clarify (they confirmed the fee wasn’t nearly as large as the workers said it was).
— My problem was a leaky shower head. Their solution was to replace the entire shower body for around $ 900. They took advantage of me (a young woman who they presumed didn’t know better).
— When I had my dad call to have them explain to him why they were charging so much, they said it was because they needed to replace the valve. They never actually replaced the valve, though, so that explanation was a lie.
— Varsity was an hour late to their second appointment, even though I made it clear that my building could only shut off the water in the building for them for a few hours, and that they needed to be there on time to make sure they got the work done.
— After installing a new shower body, I found a hole on the other side of the wall, in my kitchen. It so happens that my kitchen isn’t in good shape anyway, but what if my kitchen had been in good condition? They would have left a hole in my kitchen wall when really they were working in the bathroom.