In Jan I had what turned out to be a hot water line slab leak in my home. For the past few days I had heard some water dripping but couldn't find the leak but noticed moisture in my cabinets.
I talked to a friend of mine who does plumbing and he told me it sounded like I had a leak somewhere but his truck was broke so he couldn't come out and look at it. He said it can be serious though and to call somebody immediately.
I called my home warranty company who sent out Rainforest Plumbing the next day. I told them it was an emergency and that somebody had to come out ASAP.
The next evening, a plumber from Rainforest showed up. His name escapes me but he was a blond guy. He determined I had a hot water pipe leak somewhere and that he had to locate where the leak was. He pulled out my cabinet and countertop and drilled through the wall and found that the leak was actually under the slab.
He turned my water off and said he was going to have to use a jackhammer to get under the slab and get the leak. He got to the leak and repaired the pipe that had the hole in it.
This he said was all pretty standard for slab leaks. He was in my kitchen about 3 hours over all and my kitchen was tore up but I knew my homeowners insurance and home warranty combined would give me good coverage.
After everything was done the plumber left me a bill and asked me to sign it. I noticed it was for a high amount of $2200.00 and said to the guy I thought that bill was a little high and he said it was 1200.00 just to go in with the jackhammer.
I shouldn't have signed it but did. Me being a single female working in sales, I didn't know what was the going rate for this work was.
Nexy day I talked to my friend online who is a plumber and told him how much the bill was and he almost died! Said I was way overcharged by about $1000.00 and that Rainforest ripped me off.
I then called my dad who works in construction and has been doing it for 25 years, he almost had a coronary when I told him how much the bill was Rainforest left me. He was furious and called Rainforest the next day and spoke to the exact plumber who came out.
The man was nice to my dad and said he is just the messenger, the fees are set by the owner of the company, and he agreed with my dad the fees are a little high and that they knew this was going to an insurance company claim and thats how they make their money!
My dad was mad and hung up and called back and left a message with the owner, who of course NEVER called back. They did however submit a 2200.00 claim to American Family Insurance.
My insurance adjustor wasn't happy as soon as he heard the word "Rainforest". He stated that this company charges way too much and that he has to fight with them everytime to get their bills reduced so he can pay them. He stated he wished people would call the insurance company first before calling Home Warranty or Rainforest directly because Rainforest charges way too much.
The adjustor recommended I call First American Home Warranty and let them know of Rainforest's rip off billing practices, which I did, to 2 different people. Who knows whether or not they still have a contract with Rainforest.
All in all, I was charged $1000.00 more than the going rate for a slab leak. Do NOT use Rainforest plumbing in Arizona.
Kim
Gilbert, Arizona
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