Mike Diamond Plumbing Heating

01/25/09

I am in the wrong business

by losfelizslim at Citysearch

Our furnace stopped working so I called Mike Diamond. Their courteous and clean serviceman said it would be in the $900 (yes, you read that right) neighborhood to fix. I searched online, found the part (hot surface ignitor) for $30, and watched a 7-minute YouTube video that makes clear how easy to replace this really is. Moderately tougher than replacing a lightbulb, I guess, but definitely easier than hard-wiring something.

So, $30 part, maybe a half hour of travel each way to my house, half an hour to replace the part...pretty good hourly rate if you ask me. I wouldn't call these people again if my life depended on it.

• Pros: a little more interesting than actually setting money on fire
• Cons: approximately 500% more expensive than it should be

12/30/09

Rip off A-holes

by BirdB09 at Citysearch

Never again. Their ad on the radio is bs. $99 to fix the problem and if they don't show up at your house in time, it would be free. That is bs. It took them two days just to get to my house after numerous call to their company. Like one of the user, thanks to they dicking around, I couldn't get more quotes from other plumbers.

After reading all these review, it seems like they play a game where they will tell you that they are short handed and the plumber is still working on the job from a earlier appointment.

DEFINITELY OVERPRICED!! The plumber also tried to fixed the leak underneath my kitchen sink but told me that it would cost $1000 to fix it. Guess what...I went to Lowe's this morning and bought new gaskets (under $5) and it is fixed. No plumbing experiences and I did this for under $5 and he quoted me that it would cost me $1000 to fix it. Bunch of thieves.

Another user stated that the good reviews is either family or co-workers, I would definitely believe that. I would not recommend them to any one. Stay another from them. They are full of it.

• Pros: Never to use them again, ever.
• Cons: Over priced, never on time, full of crap.

12/28/09

Bait and switch but not very good at it PART II

by Myke Sheets at Citysearch

After posting the review, I called and explained why we stopped payment on the check, because they failed and then tried to sell us a ridiculously expensive roto rooter method instead of doing what a normal plumber would do (use a cutter). They stated that they did not want to waste their or my time in court and would write it off, so I will give them that. They said they do not use cutters to cut roots out because sometimes the cable breaks in the drain and they do not want to risk that liability. Interesting note, though, that mom and pop plumbers use the cutter method and are willing to take that risk. Maybe they didn't want the bad publicity from losing in court, who knows. My recommendation is that you consider using a good mom and pop plumber before you think of using these guys.

• Cons: False advertising

11/24/09

Showed up late, grossly overcharged

by vin7619 at Citysearch

Ignore the positive rating here, they're probably from Mike Diamond's family. A one star rating is way too high for these thieves. Our heater wasn't working and the gas company told us we needed an electronic igniter that should cost around $250. The Mike Diamond plumbers arrived 2 hours late and spent a few minutes replacing a small piece of mostly plastic and wire. We were presented with a bill for $735. Although their truck was supposed to be fully stocked, this fairly common part wasn't in the truck which turned this into a job lasting most of the afternoon. They also noticed a small leak on a water faucet in the front yard that could be fixed for only $1,500. We attempted to call a supervisor who was unavailable but promised to return the call immediately. Still hasn't called, my guess is the supervisor was busy dealing with angry callers that Mike Diamond plumbers had already visited. Mike Diamond plumbers are pure crooks.

• Pros: None
• Cons: Absurdly overcharged for a small part

10/25/09

False Advertising

by hofbrau760 at Citysearch

We made an emergency call to Mike Diamond Plumbing as our toilets were overflowing and the tubs were backing up. Mike Diamond's staff said they would have a technician out within two hours. They called us back at 4:00p.m. on Sunday to tell us the Technician was held up all day "KNOWING WE HAD AN URGENT SITUATION" that needed to be taken care of that day. Mike Diamond wanted to send someone out on Monday. We told them they losts a customer for life!!!!!

What ever you do....do not call Mike Diamond as they are totally unreliable!!!

• Pros: None
• Cons: False Advertising

10/18/09

Tried to price-gouge us!

by Kkat006 at Citysearch

We called for an estimate on sump pump repair on a day it was supposed to rain, so Mike Diamond Plumbing apparently thought they could make a lot of money that day by price gouging suckers. After attempting to charge us $272 for an estimate on our sump pump that they originally said would cost us $76, they then handed us an estimate for the work they claimed needed to be done on our sump pump. They said it needed $2690 worth of work, or, alternatively, we could pay $6275 and replace the entire thing. When we checked around to see if these prices were reasonable, we learned that the work they said needed to be done actually costs between $180 and $300 (at least a $2390 difference) and that a new sump pump actually costs around $1800, including labor (a difference of $4475). To top it all off, we didn't actually need any of these things - we were ultimately able to fix our sump pump (using another company, of course) for $125. After they heard we wouldn't be using their services, the tech from Mike Diamond then proceeded to call my husband's office and harass his assisant - apparently upset that we had figured out his plan to price-gouge us.

• Pros: Showed up quickly to attempt to overcharge us by 900%
• Cons: Total crooks

10/03/09

False Advertising

by erictheerk at Citysearch

I had heard their advertisement on the radio to unblock any drain for $99 so when my bathtub backed up I called and made an appointment. The operators were great and had a technician over in about an hour and half. Great I thought. The technician shows up and peers into my bathtub and quotes me $260.00 and says he's giving me a discount down to $210.00. I inquired about the $99 ad that they run and he said my blockage wasn't "basic." He didn't even evaluate the situation and they are definitely trying to bait and switch they customers. DO NOT use them as they are deceptive in the advertising and completely unethical.

• Cons: Dishonest

09/20/09

Terrible Experience

by Ingrid Oliansky at Citysearch

This review is based on my experience with the Van Nuys branch of Mike Diamond Plumbing and Heating.

Mike Diamond advertises it's employees as "smell good plumbers". I didn't really test this out because by the time my plumber got to my home 3 hours later than promised he was barely in my home for more than 5 minutes.

I called yesterday because one of my bathroom sinks had fallen into the cabinet below the counter top. I spoke to a couple of people there and was assured that this is the kind of job that their plumbers could handle. So I set up the appointment for between 9 and 1 today. At about 11:00 I started getting calls from the dispatcher telling me that the job before mine was taking longer than expected and that he would probably not be done in time to get to my home by 1:00. When he wasn't there by 2:15 I called to try to get an estimate on his time of arrival. I was told that it would at least be another hour before he could leave the other job.

Finally he got to my home at 4:00 and he immediately told me that it wasn't really clear to him what my problem was. Apparently, even though I had taken great pains to explain the situation to the people I spoke to when I was setting up the appointment and this person told me that she had checked to make sure that this was something their plumbers could handle, either they didn't take the time to really explain the issue to the plumber or they never really understood me in the first place.

In any event, by the time he got there I figured it was best just to show him what had happened. Within a minute or so he told me it wasn't a job he could do. So essentially I had wasted my entire day waiting around for him to show up only to be told he wasn't going to do the job. Obviously I was very upset and I let him know that. Without a word, he walked out of my home. Thankfully he wasn't stupid enough to try to charge me their $76 fee to simply come out and look at what needs to be done.

I ended up calling a handyman who, for $80 total put the sink back in place.

Maybe their plumbers "smell good" but their rest of their senses including their senses of honesty, and decency are out of whack.

• Pros: none
• Cons: incompetent

09/18/09

Scam Artist

by skee at Citysearch

A $75+ charge just to show up. The job was to just hook up a new gas clothes dryer. This job is at best 20 minutes worth of work. It only required the tightening a flexible gas line from the valve on the wall to the dryer. The tech said the supplied gas line was not appropriate that he may have one on the truck and he would check and come back with a quote. He also said using the gas line he supplies would eliminate the need for a valve change saving us hundreds of dollars. Then he returned with a quote of $340 for a job most teenagers could do. Even if the fittings did not match it would not require the work that was proposed. After protesting he called the service manager on the cell phone who reduced the quote $70.

Other plumbers quotes were $95 for labor and the part is $20 at Home Depot.

Where is the the difference from $340 or $270 to the $115. Can you say Price Gouging!

The tech was always trying to justify the guarantee and then tried to sell stainless steel hoses for the washer with fear tactics of broken hoses and flooded floors.

This company is into fleecing people of their money and with highly inflated pricing. Stay away far away.

• Pros: none
• Cons: Costs 3 to 4 times higher than the need be

07/15/09

Mike Diamond plumbers did a perfect job!

by JaneSmith at Citysearch

When I chose to call Mike Diamond for a tune-up of my heat exchanger, my only concern was to get a good service. After the work was being done, I found that their price was also very reasonable.

Now, it was a win-win situation for me. They did a perfect job. In the future, I will definitely seek their help. Their brilliant service, coupled with fair price, professionalism and talent make them a great plumbing company.

• Pros: very reasonable prices
• Cons: May be but I didnt found any

07/14/09

Nice service at reasonable prices

by VJ28 at Citysearch

Plumbing problems are never ending issues in my household. On one such event, after calling several other companies, I was relieved to come across Mike Diamond. With many plumbing issues, their technician quoted me a price and to my surprise it was much lower than what I expected. And it was very reasonable compared to the other companies I called. Besides, they were very punctual and polite. I will definitely call them again in the future!

• Pros: Low charges
• Cons: nothing