TF
Tali F

1 reviews | Active since Jun 2023

20 Oct 2024, 09:27

Exploitative and heavy handed

Savvy plumbing was called out on a weekend to help unblock toilet drains. They spent several hours trying unsuccessfully to do this, and returned the next day with a high pressure hose. I expected the bill to be hefty because of the weekend callout, which it was and I paid it immediately. After paying the amount, I received a call from their office, informing me that I had only paid half the account. I was informed that an amended account had been sent (which at that point, it hadn't). The accounts department had made an error and failed to bill me double rates for the weekend callout. The representative was confrontational and completely unapologetic about their error. Only after having put down the phone, did the second email come through, with an amount that was almost double to the already hefty bill I had been charged. (A different independent company gave me a quote for almost 50% less of the total). When I called back to try to talk to a manager about how the incident had been handled, I was told someone would get back to me. No-one did. I received a follow up email, demanding payment, which did not reflect the amount I had already paid. When I pointed this out and asked again for the person in charge to be in touch, I was told that 'he has management to sort it out'. Still, no-one called. Less then 2 weeks after the second invoice was sent, I received a letter of demand from a debt collection company. Talk about heavy-handed. This company has a lot to learn about client services, conflict resolution and not exploiting your customers.

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Replies (1)
Savvy Civils and Plumbing
Savvy Civils and Plumbing's reply31 Dec 2024, 09:11
Official
 
Good morning Tali, 
Thank you for your payment, it is much appreciated. 
To clarify, as far as I am aware, the invoice was initially sent without including the additional hours, and the lady who contacted you provided this update. From your message, it seems the job ended up being more extensive than initially anticipated, and the sewer jetter used took longer than expected. As mentioned, the service is charged per hour, and as you confirmed, the work was carried out over the weekend. We invoiced you at our standard working hour rates, not the higher weekend rates. 
When you called back requesting to speak with a manager, I, as the manager, attempted to assist you, but you chose not to speak with me or our Sales Representative who had assisted you over the weekend. We did try several times to reach you, but you declined to engage with us. 
With regards to the letter form Accountability , it is not debt collecting, it is a letter reminding customers of outstanding invoices, it is also our company policy to send reminder letters to customers. 
Should you wish to discuss anything further, you are more than welcome to contact me. 
Kind regards
Johanni Vermaas
Accounts & Office Manager