Recourse after overpaying?

Slowhand63 · 2:42PM

Okay, I know this is going to get a lot of backlash, but I’m going to ask anyway. It’s been bothering me to the point that I’m losing sleep.

My brother is a new homeowner. First home. His wall hung boiler was weeping water from the PRV. He mentioned it to me, I was busy, and told him to call someone.

I saw him last week. The plumber he called told him his boiler “was shot” and sold him a new Rinnai unit. I priced it on Supply House.

The total cost of the boiler and installation was almost 6X the cost of the unit. He paid it.

it didn’t go well when he told me. None of my business of course, but he’s my brother and I just want to help him. Did he get 3 quotes? Nope. Did he bother to look up the proposed unit to see what it cost? Nope. Did he review the scope of work with the tech? Nope. He let him in the basement and stayed upstairs, because he “doesn’t know anything about that stuff”. I told him that being a homeowner is going to be very expensive if he doesn’t put at least a little effort in to learn about things.

He said the installation was done 3 days after the techs first visit - 2 guys and took a little more than half a day. I asked if they replaced anything else, and he said he didn’t think so, but the tech told him the job was complicated because they had to connect to the existing piping (?).

I feel a bit responsible because I didn’t have the time to get involved.

I feel he was taken advantage of and significantly overcharged. Is there something he could/should do, besides chalking it up to a very expensive learning experience??

if it matters, NY, Westchester County.

Edit - removed pricing info (apologies, I was not aware that was against forum rules). Also, I am not in the business. I’m a little older, a lot more technical, and have been a homeowner while he was in the army and renting for a lot of years.

ratio · 2:46PM

We don't talk about pricing here. Please edit your post to remove the numbers.

HydronicMike · 2:52PM

If you're in the hvac business, sounds like he has a lousy brother.

You could've Facetimed him to see if it was an immediate problem. You could've advised him to get 3 quotes. You could've even had the contractor or any of the the contractors, had he got additional quotes to call you to discuss.
You could've came on here, or had him come on here, to find a reputable company. There's at least 3 I could name off the top of my head in that area.
He was only taken advantage of if he needed a simple repair and the contractor knowingly ripped him off. But it's too late for that.

GGross · 3:07PM

no pricing here, not that kind of forum

recourse for overpaying , not sure. did the contractor complete their scope of work? sounds like he had ample opportunity to price shop, doing so after the fact is pretty bizarre. all the private equity plumbers sell rinnai in my region so I would assume thats what he ran into. typically there is nothing illegal about charging more money than everyone else, there may be some aspect of the contract that is not legal but none of that is really a heating issue, those are legal issues that should be consulted with an attorney

patrykrebisz · 4:40PM

I'm more angry at your brother's indifference than at the contractor who used "charge the max the client is willing to pay" maxim. Your brother's indifference pushes prices up because most home owners rubber stamp any quote.

Jamie Hall · 4:59PM

Did your brother have a contract?? Was the price in the contract? If so, it's on him. Was he wise? Perhaps not. Was the contractor fully ethical? Perhaps not. But you agree to pay something, you pay. End of story.

GGross · 5:05PM

I would also add that looking up the cost of the unit for a boiler install is not a good way to judge the whole cost of the job. he didn't buy an appliance, he bought an installation. of course given the time it took to install (4 hours??) He overpaid, but if he's happy with his service just let him be happy. For example I take my truck to one of the most expensive mechanics in town, my friends and family get actually kind of mad about it, that mechanic has a porter service that drives me to and from work, and gives me a loaner when needed, I am happy with what I pay them and thats all that matters.

skyline137 · 5:06PM

I guess most people on this forum are professionals, I’m not. For those of you who aren’t make sure you get multiple quotes before proceeding. There are websites that will get you multiple responses. If you explain the work you want done and have photos and details you may even get quotes on the phone. I had a broken garage door spring and took the lowest quote by phone and it was done in hours after my internet inquiry. An example would be a new water heater with detailed photos of pipes and labels.

Alan (California Radiant) Forbes · 5:46PM

He should have called you after getting the quote, but you said you were busy. You and your bother sound as though you got taken. Very painful and I'm sorry. Lesson learned? That is, I hope your brother now knows to get more than one bid. Maybe all it needed was to recharge the expansion tank.

Your only hope of recompense is to find out if they installed the boiler per instructions. If not, get them back to do it right. You can also see if they have a web presence and give them a piece of your mind review.

Slowhand63 · 6:07PM

Thanks all for your comments. I didn’t think he had much recourse, but thought it couldn’t hurt to ask.

A few points of clarification…

I was “busy” because I was leaving the following day for a business trip, so I would not be on a position to look at it anytime soon. I (incorrectly) assumed he’d need the expansion tank pressurized or the PRV replaced, and thought it couldn’t be more than a couple of hundred dollars.

Re the price of the boiler vs the fully installed cost, I understand your point but the entire system was already piped for a wall hung unit that was being replaced. I know every job is different, piping access can be a challenge, yada yada yada, but it shouldn’t cost 6x the cost of the unit for an install. And for those saying “I overpay for top tier service”, that’s fine, but this is like your wife taking the car for an oil change when you’re at work and the mechanic charging $5000 because he “has a nice showroom and provides free coffee”. The cost he paid is egregious, and the company that did the install should be sued for fraud.

Mad Dog_2 · 6:14PM

No disrespect, but you're the cousin, brother, Uncle that we always hear about....that "would've done/advised - et cetera - the job, but's just too busy " ? ?? Ha Ha ...We've all heard that before. I'm sorry, but you don't have a leg to stand on. Moreover, We are only hearing one side of this story. Who knows what else was done or corrected?

I don't know what you do for a living, but operating a 100% Legit Plumbing and Heating concern costs us a fortune. The cost of the actual unit is not an accurate barometer of the total cost.

Monday Morning Quarterbacking. Mad Dog

pecmsg · 7:48PM

He agreed on the price, it was in writing, it's a done deal.

The lawyer will cost 6X what he paid!

Recourse after overpaying?

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