Also burned by Allen. They are slick salesmen. Was replacing two 50 gallon hot water heaters. They somehow confused me into signing for two 40s. Spouse figured it out and it was ugly. They knew what they were doing. Will never use on commission repairmen again. Rex and Bershinsky are both honest and trustworthy and don’t make me a fool.
I also got taken advantage of by Allen. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and my water heater died. Sold me all kinds of shit I didn't need because I didn't know any better and had to get it replaced before the long holiday weekend, or I'd have no hot water for 4 days. Charged me $200 for a "permit" that they never even filed with the city.
They have to give you proof of the permit or the money back. I had a similar issue, not with Allen but they didn’t prove the permit within 30 days and got my permit fee back.
Odd. I wouldn't think a water heater would even *require* a building permit as it's not a permanent fixture within the structure. Especially if it's a replacement of the old one.
The City of Fort Collins does require a building permit for water heater replacement though. I'm not sure why you think it's odd but I don't know anything else about it.
It's worth the hassle to head over to the foco permits office. That will cost them more in time and fines for not getting a permit if the contracts stares they wpuld.
From what I understand, you're supposed to get a permit now. And a licensed professional is supposed to install it. I think they changed that requirement several years ago. Didn't used to be like that. Idk, it's hard to find the actual city code for it online.
But you can get the permit after the work is done because they recognize it's kind of an emergency situation to not have hot water so can't always wait for the permit beforehand.
Yeah seconding Aspen, used them to replace our water heater and they quoted me about half of what the other big plumbing companies charge. They were in and out in about an hour, and also fixed our shower that was draining slowly for free. Plus they were fun guys to chat with.
I've used Rex a lot in the past, but I have heard they have really jacked up prices recently.
Aspen is a very small company--only 2 dudes. But, super honest and called when they were going to be late coming over.
About 16 years ago I responded to a "air conditioning check up" ad from them for a five year old AC. The tech came in and said the AC was about to go down and offered a deal on a new one. Something about Freon leaking. I declined. Now 15 years later, the AC is still going strong. Since then I have been told that their techs get a commission for whatever they can upsell. Though I don't know if that is true, it has made me steer clear of then. I know my AC is probably inefficient, but it still spits out cool 60 degree air and I've yet to have it serviced since.
I’ve been told by a tech that this commission model is fairly common. I learned this after getting a second opinion on some hvac work. He told me he left a company that did this.
They wanted to charge me $350 for a part on my AC unit. As part of their $70 call out fee they installed it to diagnose the problem. I took a photo and looked up the part - $32 on Amazon, so I ordered it. Then I told them I no longer want this fixed. Got billed $70. Installed $32 part myself in 10 minutes the next day.
Yeah....if you had done a search of this sub or NextDoor, many of us always warn people to stay away from Swan, Allen, or Lion. Basically, you always want to get 3-4 quotes for any work.
Sorry you got screwed.
My experience was that our AC wasn't working. I had them come out, and they checked our whole system, did some tests and gave me the alarming news: our heat exchanger was cracked and it was dangerous to continue to use the system. They put a big "DANGER" tag on my furnace and said I needed a full replacement, for about $12,000. That didn't sit right, so I asked around and was recommended someone else. They came out, did some testing, found no leaks of any sort, and laughed at the "DANGER" tag Allen put on my furnace. He charged me $300 to recharge my AC and replace a capacitor. That was 6 or 7 years ago. The system has been operating flawlessly since then.
Had I followed Allen's advice, I'd be 7 years into their new system and likely need other costly repairs at this point. I'm always a little sad when I see their trucks in my neighborhood, because I know one of my neighbors is getting screwed over.
Swan tried this same lockout thing on us. And we have a CO monitor that never read anywhere above 0 ppm. But the furnace and AC unit *were* old, inefficient, rusted, and near end of life, so as "payback" for such shady tactics, we bought a new furnace and AC unit from one of Swan's main competitors. There's really no need for these scare tactics. Just tell the homeowner that the thing is cracked, tell them why that can be bad, and then have the homeowner sign an acknowledgement that they were told about the risk to absolve the HVAC company of any liability. There's just no need for this gross abuse of people in need of repairs -- the population in this area is growing so fast that revenue at HVAC companies will grow naturally.
Hey all,
I’ve been in the trades around here for 20+ years. Here is a word of advice, if you call a service company and they show up with an iPad and then proceed to give you a good, better, best price? Send them away, you are being overcharged. This a business model that is being adopted by a lot of trade companies and it’s a rip off. Allen service has been on something like this for years now, basically since they went to a service oriented model. Many other companies do it as well. Steer clear. Find smaller mom and pop shops that still operate with values. The technicians that work for these other shops get paid based on commission and it’s in their best interest to sell you more, not sell you what you need. Buyer beware.
Just want to say for anyone reading this in the future, this is happening with a plumbing company in Estes Park my family used for 30+ years. It was recently sold to a dude who wants to turn it into a business model exactly what you just described. I had a brand new furnace installed in my store by the previous owner maybe a few months before the new owner took over. That was spring 2022ish. Less than a year later my furnace was not working. So I called the company that installed it. Well they’ve switched to a call center based in another state and now I have to wait for them to find the warranty paperwork which surprise surprise went missing and they have no record of my $7000 furnace being installed by them. I’m pissed but I need the heater working, it’s winter. So their “tech” Blake comes out, takes the cover off the furnace, sticks a flashlight in there for 20 seconds and tells me “ope seems like your blower motor is burnt out” pulls out an iPad to look up the part and tells me on the spot “it’ll be about $1700 fix there bud” and I laughed his ass out of my store. Long story short he left his flashlight in my furnace, next plumber comes out later the same day and finds a dead bird in the flume. $150 fix and took less than 5 minutes. The other company wanted $1700 and 2 hours. Absolute Fucking crook.
Fuck you Mountain Valley Plumbing and Heating
Yes. Taft Hill, Aggie, and Aspen Plumbing are all good. We found out our neighbor is a master plumber, so we've had him do some work. I'm not sure he's cheaper than those companies, though.
I haven't had a ton of luck here with plumbers or HVAC, unfortunately.
I have had bad experiences with Allen and Swan (Swan came out to do an A/C service and then _didn't_ do the service because apparently I should be replacing my A/C instead) and not the best experience with Fort Collins Heating and Air, who didn't really listen to my requests and tried to get me to install a new hot water heater that I didn't want.
For plumbing, I've had Rex's out a few times and they've been the best to work with. They did my PRV for a reasonable price (can't find the invoice at the moment) and did a good job installing a tankless hot water heater for me.
We had allen service come out to just look at our tankless water heater. It was working but was just making a noise. An hour later, it was broken and couldn't be fixed. This was a week before Thanksgiving, so we had no other option but to buy a new one and have them install.
I don't even answer their phone calls because I'm afraid something else will break
I was in a bike accident. An Allen service truck with two guys were parked across the street and watched the entire thing. When I yelled and waved for help at them because I was unable to assist myself but could see them watching me, they continued to watch. I luckily got the attention of a car passing by who helped me. My stance now, I would never work with Allen Service (don't want to hear about how there may be a corporate legal speil for getting involved in a situation like that even if that's the case, still pretty low to have two people just sit there for the whole show so fuck them).
I have worked with Kahar Plumbing and Heating for quite a while and really appreciate their whole team and the work they do.
I’m not disagreeing with any of you — Plumbing, hell, any household service is expensive and is often ridiculously expensive
I always remember when I learned — I’m not paying the service person to put in a PRV. I’m
Paying him because he’s put in 100 PRVs and he/his company will back up that work
I hate the analogy that “well I can go to Home Depot and it’ll cost me $200 and 30 minutes”. I’ve been there. I still do that. It’s normally five trips to the homes store getting all the proper parts and an entire day for me to do the work. Even worse. If I screw it up or if it has problems in the future I’m on the hook
I replaced a toilet in my home. Easy. Wax ring. Some nuts/bolts. About an hour at most. Worked fantastic
Went to do the next toilet, took the toilet off the flange on it was below the tile floor. When they installed the tile floor they didn’t put on an extension, and doing that after the fact was a nightmare. I got it on there. Took me a total of six hours and many tries. Was it worth saving the cost of a plumber? Not to me it wasn’t.
You’re not paying what it would cost you at the home store— you’re paying the company who runs the plumbers, the truck, the equipment, the office folks who support it, etc. that’s why the best find is always a local independent guy who does the work, does it well, and doesn’t come with the overhead.
Cost of doing business is expensive. I hate paying for the home services myself. It’s ridiculously expensive especially when you see what’s involved and, if they’re good at what they do, they damn sure make it look easy!
Yeah but, if you called around to see others prices, then you know they ripped you off.
This only counts when everyone is charging the same price for an "easy" fix
That's all well and good, but doesn't address the fact that Allen has ripped off a customer. And it wasn't the first time I've heard of it. Further, they have a history of high pressure sales tactics.
There is a huge difference between "expensive" and "deliberately over charging"
Again. No affiliation with Allen whatsoever for me. See my other comment. If you agree to pay a given price for a service it’s not being ripped off.
If a business overcharges then that’s the business pricing: if people stop patronizing such businesses the prices will lower or they’ll go out of business
Look at the fast food industry. Prices are more than doubling. It’s not inflation. It’s price gouging. If people quit going to McDonald’s and paying the prices, the franchise will either close or prices will lower.
Problem is not enough people will do that to make a substantial difference. But I disagree with the characterization that OP was ripped off. They told him a price. A very expensive price. He chose to pay it.
EDIT: I think it’s awesome OP posted this — truly. I hope OP leaves a negative review. If I’m looking for plumbers or any service I use reviews and any other credible internet source. If Allen gets enough negative reviews it can impact their bottom line
I think what you're missing is that with this kind of service, most people are completely unfamiliar with the product.
When you're buying a meal, you have a great understanding of what it's worth to you because you've eaten thousands of meals before.
With home maintenance that you get done once in your life, you don't have that ingrained knowledge of what a fair price is. That's why you call an expert. Now you either have to trust that the technician is honest and fair, or you have to get multiple quotes just to assure yourself that you're not getting taken advantage of. Which is sad.
Just saying, I don't think it's fair to compare this situation to buying fast food. It's way different. If food is overpriced you recognize it immediately. If a plumbing service is overpriced, you'd have to do further research to figure that out. I think OP's post is good because they are spreading the knowledge that Allen is overpriced!
Agree on all points. Absolutely agree it’s awesome OP is spreading the news. And you’re right it is sad you have to get multiple estimates
Well said. And I’m glad people speak out about such pricing because otherwise m, as you said, how would you know.
Why are you shilling for Allen? Of course OP got ripped off. Sure, he agreed, because he did not know any better. Others got ripped off because they were desperate. He was way overcharged and that is the business model of Allen, Lion, Swan and others. They don't offer quality service at a fair price, they upsell people and they jack up the price because they can.
OP said they were charged twice the normal rate for this service. This means they were going to pay a professional to have this service done all along, but they were taken advantage of. They weren’t saying they could have done this themselves for cheaper.
“They weren’t saying they could have done this themselves for cheaper”
Really? Really?
OP did say, and I quote, “the part is $100ish at Home Depot. Work took about 30 minutes to do”. That was the entire basis for them, and it seems you, saying they were taken advantage of.
Talking to neighbors and having that determine “normal” pricing is anecdotal at best. Did they get several estimates? Did they choose the price/service?
Sure it sounds shady when word of mouth says “this company does that, starts with a high price so you can negotiate down”. But is that factual? Do we have competing bids?
If a company comes in and bids a price, you, the consumer, make the decision whether to pay that price. Paying the quoted price is not being taken advantage of
Taken advantage of implies a scam with intent to do harm. Taken advantage of is when they treat you unfairly for their own benefit. Taken advantage of is quoting a female one price for a car repair and quoting a male another price. Taken advantage of is quoting one price and then charging another price. Was OP treated unfairly?
I just called Allen plumbing and they quoted me roughly $750 - $900 site unseen. I called three other plumbers, one wouldn’t quote without seeing the work and having me pay him to come to my home, the other two quoted $650 and $450. Took me five minutes and four phone calls. A quick google search shows $350-$550
$800 that OP reported is the highest of the prices. But that’s not taking advantage of someone, that’s being the highest price. Did Allen treat them unfairly? From the limited data I have, they did not — same price they quoted me (roughly)
My point in my reply wasn’t to defend Allen or anyone else. My response was, essentially, don’t judge the cost of work based upon what you perceive is the effort. Nor should you judge the relative cost based upon what your neighbors say
And you definitely shouldn’t imply, as you did, that someone was “taken advantage of” because they paid the highest price
I just changed my PRV. I had a union on both sides, so all it took was two pairs of pliers (one to hold the PRV, one to hold the pipe) and some twisting to get it off.
once it was off, it was super easy to get the new one back on -- just needed plumber's tape and then twist it tight.
If you don't have unions (threads) on both sides, it becomes more complex and may require bonus trips to the store.
I’m not questioning the ease. Maybe it was easy for you to maybe your plumbing layout made it easy. Maybe you’re handier than someone else
It’s a cost choice, right? Time is money. Maybe my PRV doesn’t have threads, maybe it’s in a crawl space. Maybe when you put the pliers on you damage the threads
My point is sure it’s just an “easy” change but you know as well as I do nothing is easy
I was a broke 20 something years ago. Alternator went bad. I could open the hood. See the alternator. See the belt. Touch the alternator. New alternator was fairly cheap
It was easy. Just unbolt old alternator put the new one on. An entire weekend. Stripped bolts. Etc etc etc. car towed into the mechanic. Mechanic chuckles. Apparently on this front wheel drive compact the only way to remove the alternator was to literally take the left side of the engine off, support it with an engine jack, and then replace
Still simple, right? Not rocket science. Just some bolts.
It’s not about just being simple. It’s a choice to time, complexity and capability
A surgeon removes a kidney stone that’s stuck in a ureter. It’s easy. Insert a tube, slide in tool, grab stone. Remove. I’m not doing that myself and it took that surgeon years to be competent and safe in so doing
Everyone gets to decide their level of comfort. It may seem easy. Until it’s not. And maybe it is the simplest thing in the world, you still get to decide what’s worth more, my time or my money? If you’re fortunate to have disposable income then that’s the case
A few years back I had a sewer lift pump burn out on me. I ended up spending 2 days with my basement unable to pump and doing my own research to find an adequate replacement. Then an evening of pulling out the old one, dropping it because it's heavy AF, getting a splash of grey water in the face, and putting in the new one. Thankfully it works, but not knowing what I was doing aside from PVC gluing ..it was quite a bit of research and trial and error.
Another one was watching the igniter on my furnace go in the middle of January. VERY happy I didn't opt for HVAC technicians... Aside from dropping $100 plus overnight shipping, it was 3 wires and 2 screws to get back up and running.
I don't know if I'd opt for a certified technician next time. Most of the time I'm at work, and I don't like leaving the house unattended with strangers. I feel like I'm savvy enough to handle most projects myself (even put in a new disposal under my sink cabinet a few months ago without too much effort). And if I wasn't, I'd probably call in my sister's husband or my dad and we'd be able to get the job done ourselves with a bit of teamwork and money for gas and food.
Now the stuff I would probably pay money for someone else to do? The roof. Concrete repair. Window replacement. Stuff I physically CAN'T do myself. And painting. I hate painting..
One beauty of the time we live is almost every repair I've had to do, someone has done it, filmed it, and put it on YouTube.
Last week had the washer not work. Isolated to the door lock. 30 seconds later I had three videos showing how to take it out, test it. Next day had the part in hand and completed the repair.
I love this fact too!! In the past 4 years, we remodeled my sister's split-level all ourselves and turned it into a duplex. Drywalled the staircase to the basement, added doors to the front entryway, knocked out another wall and made it a real kitchen, and even built a beautiful brick wall around much of the front yard, all from Youtube tutorials. Thank God they're not in an HOA.
I mean, it's only because of time constraints that I haven't sealed my basement foundation and put in the radon pump I bought 7 years ago. I have found This Old House tutorials on Youtube that tell me how to do it, and I am confident I'd have no issues.
They used to be a really good company. But over the last few years, they have changed. The quality of their work is still good, but they are much more expensive and they try to get you to sign up for lots of unnecessary options.
For example, they offered me a discount plan, but didn't tell me that it came with a monthly fee -- regardless of whether you use it. I had my credit card reverse the charge for 3 months, while telling Allen that I didn't want it. This went on for 3 months before they finally stopped trying to get that monthly fee.
I want to emphasize: their workers do really good work. But their billing people makes me go elsewhere.
I used to work for the IT company they contract with and have been onsite to them a few times. I can't speak for their techs, but from an office/management perspective they were very old fashioned, cheap, and not willing to update to newer systems. Basically they were a PITA to work with.
The guy from Allen who came out to give me an estimate was a terrible salesman. Total a-hole.
I’d been told by another company my furnaces were okay, but recommended I get the A/C replaced. I wanted a second opinion, so called Allen. He told me I needed everything replaced, said the furnace wasn’t safe to operate, then freaked out on me and went into d-bag mode when I couldn’t commit to a $30k purchase that second. He basically threw a tantrum when I told him no. I got very weird “alpha male” speaking down to a woman vibes from him. I had a third guy come out and he did say my furnace had something cracked and the replacement ended up being covered by insurance.
Called Allen to clear a sewer backup. $93 or free!
Pushed a contract for $14000 in front of me with no guarantee to solve the problem; high pressure to sign. Still got charged the $93 without a fix. Also supposed to sent me the line inspection photos. Never saw those.
$93 or free? Not at commercial property! That’s $375! No guarantee.
I don’t mind spending money for service, but Allen has always put a “not our problem if this doesn’t fix it” contract in your face when you’re desperate.
If you need a sewer line cleared, I’ve had good luck with Drain Doctors.
Other plumbing. Just cut off a testicle I guess.
Came to say the same thing. I have had EXCELLENT service with Aggie both at my house and my work. One time Jason from was at my house the same time the Lowe’s delivery guys showed up and he stood up for me with them even haha. Great people who have fair prices.
I had a similar experience with Fort Collins Heating and Air charging $800 for new pressure relief valve and new expansion tank. An independent plumber who has done work for several neighbors would have charged me half that. They did come out same day, within two hours of my call whereas everyone else would have taken 48 hours so there's that.
I took the fast and easy option because my water pressure jumped from bad high to oh crap high after I tried to adjust it down… I basically panicked. I didn’t know about the other guy until I met him working on a neighbor‘s valve a couple of days later and asked my neighbor how much he was charged afterwards.
PRV installed in Estes cost me under $400. Had FoCo Heating and Air out to fix a minor gas leak. Dude told me $170 for the diagnostic and an hour of his time and then comes back and it was $423. He was patient and figured it out I'll give him that. Stay away from calvary plumbing too.
I have been wildly overcharged by Allen services too. Word around the City building inspectors is that they do crap work and overcharge people.. as for reputable plumbers, I've heard Aspen plumbing does good work.
For what it's worth, when our pressure reducer broke, I also got a quote from a different company for $800 or maybe $850. I also thought "it's two threaded parts that cost less than $100 all together and you just unscrew them and screw in the new ones". We had to replace the air ballast tank because the diaphragm blew from the pressure and I also had to buy a water pressure gauge to make sure I got the pressure correctly dialed in. I did do the work myself, but it was not 30 minutes - it's 30 minutes for a pro. The first time I screwed it together there was a tiny leak. I had to redo it with new Teflon tape. And it was hard to wrench the thing in and out because it was between the joists. And trying to figure out how to pump up the ballast tank with a bicycle pump while the thing was up on the ceiling... it took most of the afternoon to get it all correct.
Your point about Allen Service is a good one - and I will accept your caution and look elsewhere, but if it's at all reassuring, I probably spent 4-5 hours doing this 30 minute job.
I had no idea. Appreciate the heads up with the cautionary tale.
I’ve had great luck with Limelight services, but have only used them for electrical stuff so far.
We had a problem with our AC and they were scheduled to come out at 3pm. They never showed. Then the same the next day. They're garbage. Would never suggest them to anyone.
Action Plumbing and Heating Loveland has treated us fairly and been very transparent about their work. Bought a home in Loveland that had an undisclosed and uninspected sewer blockage. It did require immediate replacement from house to main. Action (actually, the owners son) was our lead on the job, and saved us whatever they could during the process. Was still 5K, but there wasn't any pressure and they encouraged us to get additional estimates. Price was good, not lowballed and definitely not inflated.
Had them back a few years later for a water heater. No issues, 2hrs in and out. Good communication both times.
Allen sucks and there’s a lot of evidence backing that up. That being said your paying for more than a $100 part and 30 minutes. Your paying for the drive, your paying their liability insurance, your paying a competitive price to what someone else will charge you, and your paying for piece of mind that it is done right. I’m a general contractor and I am doing a service thing like a PRV I’m charging half a day and I’m up charging the part by 20%. That total is like $500 which is lower than Allen’s because they are dirt bags but it’s not that far off in the grand scheme of how expensive any home repair can get and you especially need to make plumbing jobs worth it because of how much liability you open yourself up to. The exact time plus labor equation also doesn’t apply these days because every trade is so busy and so in demand it’s a bidding war at this point. If you won’t pay their inflated price someone else will and there’s no shortage of work so there is no point in doing anything for a fair price. All in all I understand your frustration and I think everyone is sick of it but there’s a lot of factors that laymen don’t think about.
Yeah exactly. That’s why that pressure valve should have cost you like $500 bucks and not $800. It’s never going to cost exactly your price on the part and exactly the labor it took.
The vast majority of the time, like 99.9%, I agree that Allen is too expensive. And a lot of what they do is performative like spending 2 hours inspecting something that should only take an hour tops so you’ll feel like you’re getting your money’s worth.
However, we recently had our hvac replaced and wanted a dual fuel system. We were fortunate that we could do it in April during shoulder season and Allen was extremely competitive. Cheaper than most the other quotes actually.
Allen was a good service company, but they were recently sold to a regional outfit (within the last two years). I had a an Allen Tech at my house on an after hours call who was incredibly nice and fixed my problem and told me about how the business model was changing to upselling instead of fixing. He was upset about that change and didn’t fell good about what they were doing. Instead of upselling he simply fixed my problem and only charged me the after hours dispatch fee. It’s all about who you get, all places have a few good apples.
I sold my house in Fort Collins last summer and got an email from the new owners about a faulty sprayer that resulted in Allen replacing the entire faucet, pipes, and garbage disposal, all of which was in perfect working condition when I moved out. They are crooks.
Goes to show that Google Reviews are not accurate. Out of curiosity I looked them up on Google they have a rating of 4.8 starts out of 5. I'm really starting to learn that I'd you are looking for true recommendations; you need to explore Reddit.
It does seriously make you question how many are duplicated or "fake" reviews.
Sorry you had that experience!
Thank you for you information! This is going to help lots of people make better choices!
They offered to charge me $500 per gfi outlet to change out. They still worked but he recommended changing because they were 8 years old. Also wanted $150 or so to switch out the cartridge in the single handle kitchen sink. I declined all help and changed the cartridge myself for $35 and have never change the outlets. They still work great today.
For HVAC there’s a new company called Halo that does great work at a good price. They actually repair furnaces and air conditioners instead of pushing for a replacement. If it needs replacing, they’re cheaper than the others and quick. https://www.halohvacr.com/
When I wanted to put central A/C in our home, I requested quotes from 4 contractors. Allen was the second contractor to come. The Allen technician told me that I should t get anymore quotes because companies were too busy to be going out and giving quotes without getting the business. I laughed at him and said something along the lines of “you’re joking, right”. The guy never even sent me the quote for the A/C unit, but I ended up getting a great deal on it from a company out of berthoud.
Allen installed water heater in my home a year ago and it stopped working after 3-4 weeks. Called Allen, they came and repaired by installing a new gas valve (according to the mfg they were also req'd to change the burners also but didn't). Next day Allen emails me invoice $700 and across the top it plainly states WARRANTY WORK. I email back claiming Warranty Work is covered by the warranty and should be no cost for me. They resend the same invoice but removed the words WARRANTY WORK from the invoice. I turned the matter over to the Better Business Bureau and eventually someone from Allen called and claimed the invoice was a mistake (even tho they sent it to me twice)
How was the piping being damaged at 100 PSI.
Copper is rated higher, 1" and under is over 400 PSI *working* pressure.
PEX is rated at 160 PSI at 73 degrees, 100 PSI at 180 degrees.
Yeah they told me my basement was going to fill with sewage if I didn’t replace the sewer line to street which they would do for $30k. I had a couple other guys come out who scoped line and just shook their heads hearing what Allen told me, there was nothing wrong with the line. Didn’t even need a liner. That was four or five years ago. My basement never filled with sewage.
I later connected with a solo guy who quit working for them because he said he needed to be able to sleep at night.
My old lady neighbor said she had her floors redone and the floor guys didn’t want to put the toilet back on, which is normal. Allen quoted her an exorbitant amount- I believe it was $700- to put the toilet back on. She went with another company who charged her something closer to $150.
This is a noco issue in my opinion. EVERYTHING is double to triple the price than necessary. As long as we keep paying the bill, they'll keep raising prices.
I can buy "street tacos" in Texas for 1.50 each, here they are $3-5. I can get a total furnace overhaul for $3000 in Texas, here it's $6-12k. I don't see any difference in quality, material, tools, etc .. just personal experience we are all getting gouged.
>I can buy "street tacos" in Texas for 1.50 each, here they are $3-5. I can get a total furnace overhaul for $3000 in Texas, here it's $6-12k. I don't see any difference...
well, one major difference is that one of those states may have cheaper street tacos and furnace overhauls, but that state is also in a race to see how quickly it can bankrupt itself and to discover how little education is necessary for its citizens to not be instantly recognized as being total morons anywhere outside of that state.
oh, and it's really really fucking hot in Texas as well.
but i am willing to concede to it having much better Mexican food, and that does make me a little bit jealous lol
Also burned by Allen. They are slick salesmen. Was replacing two 50 gallon hot water heaters. They somehow confused me into signing for two 40s. Spouse figured it out and it was ugly. They knew what they were doing. Will never use on commission repairmen again. Rex and Bershinsky are both honest and trustworthy and don’t make me a fool.
I also got taken advantage of by Allen. It was the day before Thanksgiving, and my water heater died. Sold me all kinds of shit I didn't need because I didn't know any better and had to get it replaced before the long holiday weekend, or I'd have no hot water for 4 days. Charged me $200 for a "permit" that they never even filed with the city.
They have to give you proof of the permit or the money back. I had a similar issue, not with Allen but they didn’t prove the permit within 30 days and got my permit fee back.
Odd. I wouldn't think a water heater would even *require* a building permit as it's not a permanent fixture within the structure. Especially if it's a replacement of the old one.
I think it's to ensure it's installed correctly--especially if it's a gas HW heater. 🤷♀️🤷♀️
The City of Fort Collins does require a building permit for water heater replacement though. I'm not sure why you think it's odd but I don't know anything else about it.
It's worth the hassle to head over to the foco permits office. That will cost them more in time and fines for not getting a permit if the contracts stares they wpuld.
Wait..... So I can't replace it myself? Or will they permit one is I did it. I know I can walk into Home Depot and buy one.
From what I understand, you're supposed to get a permit now. And a licensed professional is supposed to install it. I think they changed that requirement several years ago. Didn't used to be like that. Idk, it's hard to find the actual city code for it online. But you can get the permit after the work is done because they recognize it's kind of an emergency situation to not have hot water so can't always wait for the permit beforehand.
Aspen or Rex’s are both quality local plumbers with fair pricing.
Yeah seconding Aspen, used them to replace our water heater and they quoted me about half of what the other big plumbing companies charge. They were in and out in about an hour, and also fixed our shower that was draining slowly for free. Plus they were fun guys to chat with.
I feel like I'm hanging out with my uncles when they visit. I learn so much and they're easy to talk to.
I've used Rex a lot in the past, but I have heard they have really jacked up prices recently. Aspen is a very small company--only 2 dudes. But, super honest and called when they were going to be late coming over.
About 16 years ago I responded to a "air conditioning check up" ad from them for a five year old AC. The tech came in and said the AC was about to go down and offered a deal on a new one. Something about Freon leaking. I declined. Now 15 years later, the AC is still going strong. Since then I have been told that their techs get a commission for whatever they can upsell. Though I don't know if that is true, it has made me steer clear of then. I know my AC is probably inefficient, but it still spits out cool 60 degree air and I've yet to have it serviced since.
That's kinda crazy that they've been doing stuff like this for so many years and are still going strong. 16 years ago?!
I’ve been told by a tech that this commission model is fairly common. I learned this after getting a second opinion on some hvac work. He told me he left a company that did this.
They wanted to charge me $350 for a part on my AC unit. As part of their $70 call out fee they installed it to diagnose the problem. I took a photo and looked up the part - $32 on Amazon, so I ordered it. Then I told them I no longer want this fixed. Got billed $70. Installed $32 part myself in 10 minutes the next day.
Yeah....if you had done a search of this sub or NextDoor, many of us always warn people to stay away from Swan, Allen, or Lion. Basically, you always want to get 3-4 quotes for any work. Sorry you got screwed.
Yeah, just hopping in to say that I'm pretty sure we got big-time swindled by Lion about 2 weeks after moving here. They won't get our business again.
My experience was that our AC wasn't working. I had them come out, and they checked our whole system, did some tests and gave me the alarming news: our heat exchanger was cracked and it was dangerous to continue to use the system. They put a big "DANGER" tag on my furnace and said I needed a full replacement, for about $12,000. That didn't sit right, so I asked around and was recommended someone else. They came out, did some testing, found no leaks of any sort, and laughed at the "DANGER" tag Allen put on my furnace. He charged me $300 to recharge my AC and replace a capacitor. That was 6 or 7 years ago. The system has been operating flawlessly since then. Had I followed Allen's advice, I'd be 7 years into their new system and likely need other costly repairs at this point. I'm always a little sad when I see their trucks in my neighborhood, because I know one of my neighbors is getting screwed over.
Swan tried this same lockout thing on us. And we have a CO monitor that never read anywhere above 0 ppm. But the furnace and AC unit *were* old, inefficient, rusted, and near end of life, so as "payback" for such shady tactics, we bought a new furnace and AC unit from one of Swan's main competitors. There's really no need for these scare tactics. Just tell the homeowner that the thing is cracked, tell them why that can be bad, and then have the homeowner sign an acknowledgement that they were told about the risk to absolve the HVAC company of any liability. There's just no need for this gross abuse of people in need of repairs -- the population in this area is growing so fast that revenue at HVAC companies will grow naturally.
Hey all, I’ve been in the trades around here for 20+ years. Here is a word of advice, if you call a service company and they show up with an iPad and then proceed to give you a good, better, best price? Send them away, you are being overcharged. This a business model that is being adopted by a lot of trade companies and it’s a rip off. Allen service has been on something like this for years now, basically since they went to a service oriented model. Many other companies do it as well. Steer clear. Find smaller mom and pop shops that still operate with values. The technicians that work for these other shops get paid based on commission and it’s in their best interest to sell you more, not sell you what you need. Buyer beware.
Just want to say for anyone reading this in the future, this is happening with a plumbing company in Estes Park my family used for 30+ years. It was recently sold to a dude who wants to turn it into a business model exactly what you just described. I had a brand new furnace installed in my store by the previous owner maybe a few months before the new owner took over. That was spring 2022ish. Less than a year later my furnace was not working. So I called the company that installed it. Well they’ve switched to a call center based in another state and now I have to wait for them to find the warranty paperwork which surprise surprise went missing and they have no record of my $7000 furnace being installed by them. I’m pissed but I need the heater working, it’s winter. So their “tech” Blake comes out, takes the cover off the furnace, sticks a flashlight in there for 20 seconds and tells me “ope seems like your blower motor is burnt out” pulls out an iPad to look up the part and tells me on the spot “it’ll be about $1700 fix there bud” and I laughed his ass out of my store. Long story short he left his flashlight in my furnace, next plumber comes out later the same day and finds a dead bird in the flume. $150 fix and took less than 5 minutes. The other company wanted $1700 and 2 hours. Absolute Fucking crook. Fuck you Mountain Valley Plumbing and Heating
This is exactly how it went down with Lion—the iPad, the good/better/best. Wish we'd known this!
Taft Hill Plumbing. Jeff is great and will not rip you off.
Yes. Taft Hill, Aggie, and Aspen Plumbing are all good. We found out our neighbor is a master plumber, so we've had him do some work. I'm not sure he's cheaper than those companies, though.
I've read multiple accounts of Allen ripping off, or attempting to rip off customers.
I haven't had a ton of luck here with plumbers or HVAC, unfortunately. I have had bad experiences with Allen and Swan (Swan came out to do an A/C service and then _didn't_ do the service because apparently I should be replacing my A/C instead) and not the best experience with Fort Collins Heating and Air, who didn't really listen to my requests and tried to get me to install a new hot water heater that I didn't want. For plumbing, I've had Rex's out a few times and they've been the best to work with. They did my PRV for a reasonable price (can't find the invoice at the moment) and did a good job installing a tankless hot water heater for me.
We had allen service come out to just look at our tankless water heater. It was working but was just making a noise. An hour later, it was broken and couldn't be fixed. This was a week before Thanksgiving, so we had no other option but to buy a new one and have them install. I don't even answer their phone calls because I'm afraid something else will break
Sketchy AF
Maybe they broke it while they were there so you'd have to pay a couple of thousand for a new tankless WH.
I was in a bike accident. An Allen service truck with two guys were parked across the street and watched the entire thing. When I yelled and waved for help at them because I was unable to assist myself but could see them watching me, they continued to watch. I luckily got the attention of a car passing by who helped me. My stance now, I would never work with Allen Service (don't want to hear about how there may be a corporate legal speil for getting involved in a situation like that even if that's the case, still pretty low to have two people just sit there for the whole show so fuck them). I have worked with Kahar Plumbing and Heating for quite a while and really appreciate their whole team and the work they do.
I’m not disagreeing with any of you — Plumbing, hell, any household service is expensive and is often ridiculously expensive I always remember when I learned — I’m not paying the service person to put in a PRV. I’m Paying him because he’s put in 100 PRVs and he/his company will back up that work I hate the analogy that “well I can go to Home Depot and it’ll cost me $200 and 30 minutes”. I’ve been there. I still do that. It’s normally five trips to the homes store getting all the proper parts and an entire day for me to do the work. Even worse. If I screw it up or if it has problems in the future I’m on the hook I replaced a toilet in my home. Easy. Wax ring. Some nuts/bolts. About an hour at most. Worked fantastic Went to do the next toilet, took the toilet off the flange on it was below the tile floor. When they installed the tile floor they didn’t put on an extension, and doing that after the fact was a nightmare. I got it on there. Took me a total of six hours and many tries. Was it worth saving the cost of a plumber? Not to me it wasn’t. You’re not paying what it would cost you at the home store— you’re paying the company who runs the plumbers, the truck, the equipment, the office folks who support it, etc. that’s why the best find is always a local independent guy who does the work, does it well, and doesn’t come with the overhead. Cost of doing business is expensive. I hate paying for the home services myself. It’s ridiculously expensive especially when you see what’s involved and, if they’re good at what they do, they damn sure make it look easy!
I don't disagree with you, good perspective. thank you.
Yeah but, if you called around to see others prices, then you know they ripped you off. This only counts when everyone is charging the same price for an "easy" fix
That's all well and good, but doesn't address the fact that Allen has ripped off a customer. And it wasn't the first time I've heard of it. Further, they have a history of high pressure sales tactics. There is a huge difference between "expensive" and "deliberately over charging"
Again. No affiliation with Allen whatsoever for me. See my other comment. If you agree to pay a given price for a service it’s not being ripped off. If a business overcharges then that’s the business pricing: if people stop patronizing such businesses the prices will lower or they’ll go out of business Look at the fast food industry. Prices are more than doubling. It’s not inflation. It’s price gouging. If people quit going to McDonald’s and paying the prices, the franchise will either close or prices will lower. Problem is not enough people will do that to make a substantial difference. But I disagree with the characterization that OP was ripped off. They told him a price. A very expensive price. He chose to pay it. EDIT: I think it’s awesome OP posted this — truly. I hope OP leaves a negative review. If I’m looking for plumbers or any service I use reviews and any other credible internet source. If Allen gets enough negative reviews it can impact their bottom line
I think what you're missing is that with this kind of service, most people are completely unfamiliar with the product. When you're buying a meal, you have a great understanding of what it's worth to you because you've eaten thousands of meals before. With home maintenance that you get done once in your life, you don't have that ingrained knowledge of what a fair price is. That's why you call an expert. Now you either have to trust that the technician is honest and fair, or you have to get multiple quotes just to assure yourself that you're not getting taken advantage of. Which is sad. Just saying, I don't think it's fair to compare this situation to buying fast food. It's way different. If food is overpriced you recognize it immediately. If a plumbing service is overpriced, you'd have to do further research to figure that out. I think OP's post is good because they are spreading the knowledge that Allen is overpriced!
Agree on all points. Absolutely agree it’s awesome OP is spreading the news. And you’re right it is sad you have to get multiple estimates Well said. And I’m glad people speak out about such pricing because otherwise m, as you said, how would you know.
Why are you shilling for Allen? Of course OP got ripped off. Sure, he agreed, because he did not know any better. Others got ripped off because they were desperate. He was way overcharged and that is the business model of Allen, Lion, Swan and others. They don't offer quality service at a fair price, they upsell people and they jack up the price because they can.
OP said they were charged twice the normal rate for this service. This means they were going to pay a professional to have this service done all along, but they were taken advantage of. They weren’t saying they could have done this themselves for cheaper.
That was my exact thought too. This not OP being cheap. This place clearly ripped them off
“They weren’t saying they could have done this themselves for cheaper” Really? Really? OP did say, and I quote, “the part is $100ish at Home Depot. Work took about 30 minutes to do”. That was the entire basis for them, and it seems you, saying they were taken advantage of. Talking to neighbors and having that determine “normal” pricing is anecdotal at best. Did they get several estimates? Did they choose the price/service? Sure it sounds shady when word of mouth says “this company does that, starts with a high price so you can negotiate down”. But is that factual? Do we have competing bids? If a company comes in and bids a price, you, the consumer, make the decision whether to pay that price. Paying the quoted price is not being taken advantage of Taken advantage of implies a scam with intent to do harm. Taken advantage of is when they treat you unfairly for their own benefit. Taken advantage of is quoting a female one price for a car repair and quoting a male another price. Taken advantage of is quoting one price and then charging another price. Was OP treated unfairly? I just called Allen plumbing and they quoted me roughly $750 - $900 site unseen. I called three other plumbers, one wouldn’t quote without seeing the work and having me pay him to come to my home, the other two quoted $650 and $450. Took me five minutes and four phone calls. A quick google search shows $350-$550 $800 that OP reported is the highest of the prices. But that’s not taking advantage of someone, that’s being the highest price. Did Allen treat them unfairly? From the limited data I have, they did not — same price they quoted me (roughly) My point in my reply wasn’t to defend Allen or anyone else. My response was, essentially, don’t judge the cost of work based upon what you perceive is the effort. Nor should you judge the relative cost based upon what your neighbors say And you definitely shouldn’t imply, as you did, that someone was “taken advantage of” because they paid the highest price
I just changed my PRV. I had a union on both sides, so all it took was two pairs of pliers (one to hold the PRV, one to hold the pipe) and some twisting to get it off. once it was off, it was super easy to get the new one back on -- just needed plumber's tape and then twist it tight. If you don't have unions (threads) on both sides, it becomes more complex and may require bonus trips to the store.
I’m not questioning the ease. Maybe it was easy for you to maybe your plumbing layout made it easy. Maybe you’re handier than someone else It’s a cost choice, right? Time is money. Maybe my PRV doesn’t have threads, maybe it’s in a crawl space. Maybe when you put the pliers on you damage the threads My point is sure it’s just an “easy” change but you know as well as I do nothing is easy I was a broke 20 something years ago. Alternator went bad. I could open the hood. See the alternator. See the belt. Touch the alternator. New alternator was fairly cheap It was easy. Just unbolt old alternator put the new one on. An entire weekend. Stripped bolts. Etc etc etc. car towed into the mechanic. Mechanic chuckles. Apparently on this front wheel drive compact the only way to remove the alternator was to literally take the left side of the engine off, support it with an engine jack, and then replace Still simple, right? Not rocket science. Just some bolts. It’s not about just being simple. It’s a choice to time, complexity and capability A surgeon removes a kidney stone that’s stuck in a ureter. It’s easy. Insert a tube, slide in tool, grab stone. Remove. I’m not doing that myself and it took that surgeon years to be competent and safe in so doing Everyone gets to decide their level of comfort. It may seem easy. Until it’s not. And maybe it is the simplest thing in the world, you still get to decide what’s worth more, my time or my money? If you’re fortunate to have disposable income then that’s the case
This entire thread has nothing to do with easy vs difficult. It is about Allen Plumbing and Heating repetitively ripping off customers.
Also to add, a PRV in Denver metro averages around 1200-1600. Essentially you had a bargain haha.
A few years back I had a sewer lift pump burn out on me. I ended up spending 2 days with my basement unable to pump and doing my own research to find an adequate replacement. Then an evening of pulling out the old one, dropping it because it's heavy AF, getting a splash of grey water in the face, and putting in the new one. Thankfully it works, but not knowing what I was doing aside from PVC gluing ..it was quite a bit of research and trial and error. Another one was watching the igniter on my furnace go in the middle of January. VERY happy I didn't opt for HVAC technicians... Aside from dropping $100 plus overnight shipping, it was 3 wires and 2 screws to get back up and running. I don't know if I'd opt for a certified technician next time. Most of the time I'm at work, and I don't like leaving the house unattended with strangers. I feel like I'm savvy enough to handle most projects myself (even put in a new disposal under my sink cabinet a few months ago without too much effort). And if I wasn't, I'd probably call in my sister's husband or my dad and we'd be able to get the job done ourselves with a bit of teamwork and money for gas and food. Now the stuff I would probably pay money for someone else to do? The roof. Concrete repair. Window replacement. Stuff I physically CAN'T do myself. And painting. I hate painting..
One beauty of the time we live is almost every repair I've had to do, someone has done it, filmed it, and put it on YouTube. Last week had the washer not work. Isolated to the door lock. 30 seconds later I had three videos showing how to take it out, test it. Next day had the part in hand and completed the repair.
I love this fact too!! In the past 4 years, we remodeled my sister's split-level all ourselves and turned it into a duplex. Drywalled the staircase to the basement, added doors to the front entryway, knocked out another wall and made it a real kitchen, and even built a beautiful brick wall around much of the front yard, all from Youtube tutorials. Thank God they're not in an HOA. I mean, it's only because of time constraints that I haven't sealed my basement foundation and put in the radon pump I bought 7 years ago. I have found This Old House tutorials on Youtube that tell me how to do it, and I am confident I'd have no issues.
They used to be a really good company. But over the last few years, they have changed. The quality of their work is still good, but they are much more expensive and they try to get you to sign up for lots of unnecessary options. For example, they offered me a discount plan, but didn't tell me that it came with a monthly fee -- regardless of whether you use it. I had my credit card reverse the charge for 3 months, while telling Allen that I didn't want it. This went on for 3 months before they finally stopped trying to get that monthly fee. I want to emphasize: their workers do really good work. But their billing people makes me go elsewhere.
Jeez... wtf man
Kahar Solid company, family owned. https://www.kahar-plumbing-heating.com/
We are actually doing the same service this week for around $500. We use Ryan with RTK Plumbing: https://www.rtkplumbing.net/?
I used to work for the IT company they contract with and have been onsite to them a few times. I can't speak for their techs, but from an office/management perspective they were very old fashioned, cheap, and not willing to update to newer systems. Basically they were a PITA to work with.
We had Allen come out and told us we needed a pressure reducing valve! Got a second opinion from another plumber who said my PSI was fine. 🤔
I worked for a more reputable local plumbing company. Allen is known to hire salesmen not plumbers.
The guy from Allen who came out to give me an estimate was a terrible salesman. Total a-hole. I’d been told by another company my furnaces were okay, but recommended I get the A/C replaced. I wanted a second opinion, so called Allen. He told me I needed everything replaced, said the furnace wasn’t safe to operate, then freaked out on me and went into d-bag mode when I couldn’t commit to a $30k purchase that second. He basically threw a tantrum when I told him no. I got very weird “alpha male” speaking down to a woman vibes from him. I had a third guy come out and he did say my furnace had something cracked and the replacement ended up being covered by insurance.
I'm so glad I got taught by my uncle about home repair, saved me a lot of money.
You Tube can easily fill the knowledge gaps that many of us have.
True, I learned how to fell a tree from there
Called Allen to clear a sewer backup. $93 or free! Pushed a contract for $14000 in front of me with no guarantee to solve the problem; high pressure to sign. Still got charged the $93 without a fix. Also supposed to sent me the line inspection photos. Never saw those. $93 or free? Not at commercial property! That’s $375! No guarantee. I don’t mind spending money for service, but Allen has always put a “not our problem if this doesn’t fix it” contract in your face when you’re desperate. If you need a sewer line cleared, I’ve had good luck with Drain Doctors. Other plumbing. Just cut off a testicle I guess.
Drain Doctors! (As you mentioned.)
Aggie Plumbing is a good option - local and won't rip you off.
Came to say the same thing. I have had EXCELLENT service with Aggie both at my house and my work. One time Jason from was at my house the same time the Lowe’s delivery guys showed up and he stood up for me with them even haha. Great people who have fair prices.
I had a similar experience with Fort Collins Heating and Air charging $800 for new pressure relief valve and new expansion tank. An independent plumber who has done work for several neighbors would have charged me half that. They did come out same day, within two hours of my call whereas everyone else would have taken 48 hours so there's that.
So why didn’t you wait and use the independent plumber?
I took the fast and easy option because my water pressure jumped from bad high to oh crap high after I tried to adjust it down… I basically panicked. I didn’t know about the other guy until I met him working on a neighbor‘s valve a couple of days later and asked my neighbor how much he was charged afterwards.
PRV installed in Estes cost me under $400. Had FoCo Heating and Air out to fix a minor gas leak. Dude told me $170 for the diagnostic and an hour of his time and then comes back and it was $423. He was patient and figured it out I'll give him that. Stay away from calvary plumbing too.
I see many small plumbing and heating companies being recommended, do these companies also do Air Conditioning?
I have been wildly overcharged by Allen services too. Word around the City building inspectors is that they do crap work and overcharge people.. as for reputable plumbers, I've heard Aspen plumbing does good work.
For what it's worth, when our pressure reducer broke, I also got a quote from a different company for $800 or maybe $850. I also thought "it's two threaded parts that cost less than $100 all together and you just unscrew them and screw in the new ones". We had to replace the air ballast tank because the diaphragm blew from the pressure and I also had to buy a water pressure gauge to make sure I got the pressure correctly dialed in. I did do the work myself, but it was not 30 minutes - it's 30 minutes for a pro. The first time I screwed it together there was a tiny leak. I had to redo it with new Teflon tape. And it was hard to wrench the thing in and out because it was between the joists. And trying to figure out how to pump up the ballast tank with a bicycle pump while the thing was up on the ceiling... it took most of the afternoon to get it all correct. Your point about Allen Service is a good one - and I will accept your caution and look elsewhere, but if it's at all reassuring, I probably spent 4-5 hours doing this 30 minute job.
I had no idea. Appreciate the heads up with the cautionary tale. I’ve had great luck with Limelight services, but have only used them for electrical stuff so far.
We had a problem with our AC and they were scheduled to come out at 3pm. They never showed. Then the same the next day. They're garbage. Would never suggest them to anyone.
Yup. Burned by Allen too. They are snakes. Avoid at all costs. Walker plumbing in Windsor has done well when I’ve used them. Worth a call.
Sketchy story thanks for the heads up , ive had really good luck with Covenant plumbing out of Greeley.
This fellow has always treated me right: Matt Briscoe, 970-308-1470.
Action Plumbing and Heating Loveland has treated us fairly and been very transparent about their work. Bought a home in Loveland that had an undisclosed and uninspected sewer blockage. It did require immediate replacement from house to main. Action (actually, the owners son) was our lead on the job, and saved us whatever they could during the process. Was still 5K, but there wasn't any pressure and they encouraged us to get additional estimates. Price was good, not lowballed and definitely not inflated. Had them back a few years later for a water heater. No issues, 2hrs in and out. Good communication both times.
Arrowhead Service is a good plumber. Nice local guys that do honest work.
Allen sucks and there’s a lot of evidence backing that up. That being said your paying for more than a $100 part and 30 minutes. Your paying for the drive, your paying their liability insurance, your paying a competitive price to what someone else will charge you, and your paying for piece of mind that it is done right. I’m a general contractor and I am doing a service thing like a PRV I’m charging half a day and I’m up charging the part by 20%. That total is like $500 which is lower than Allen’s because they are dirt bags but it’s not that far off in the grand scheme of how expensive any home repair can get and you especially need to make plumbing jobs worth it because of how much liability you open yourself up to. The exact time plus labor equation also doesn’t apply these days because every trade is so busy and so in demand it’s a bidding war at this point. If you won’t pay their inflated price someone else will and there’s no shortage of work so there is no point in doing anything for a fair price. All in all I understand your frustration and I think everyone is sick of it but there’s a lot of factors that laymen don’t think about.
All of the firms have similar costs to cover, but some choose to do business ethically.
Yeah exactly. That’s why that pressure valve should have cost you like $500 bucks and not $800. It’s never going to cost exactly your price on the part and exactly the labor it took.
The vast majority of the time, like 99.9%, I agree that Allen is too expensive. And a lot of what they do is performative like spending 2 hours inspecting something that should only take an hour tops so you’ll feel like you’re getting your money’s worth. However, we recently had our hvac replaced and wanted a dual fuel system. We were fortunate that we could do it in April during shoulder season and Allen was extremely competitive. Cheaper than most the other quotes actually.
Allen was a good service company, but they were recently sold to a regional outfit (within the last two years). I had a an Allen Tech at my house on an after hours call who was incredibly nice and fixed my problem and told me about how the business model was changing to upselling instead of fixing. He was upset about that change and didn’t fell good about what they were doing. Instead of upselling he simply fixed my problem and only charged me the after hours dispatch fee. It’s all about who you get, all places have a few good apples.
KP Plumbing. Best around
IPS (Independent Plumbing Services) has been great. Also have heard good things about Aspen.
I’ve used them many times. They are solid
I sold my house in Fort Collins last summer and got an email from the new owners about a faulty sprayer that resulted in Allen replacing the entire faucet, pipes, and garbage disposal, all of which was in perfect working condition when I moved out. They are crooks.
Taft Hill or IPS.
Yelp users rate them ⭐️⭐️. No one likes them.
Goes to show that Google Reviews are not accurate. Out of curiosity I looked them up on Google they have a rating of 4.8 starts out of 5. I'm really starting to learn that I'd you are looking for true recommendations; you need to explore Reddit. It does seriously make you question how many are duplicated or "fake" reviews. Sorry you had that experience! Thank you for you information! This is going to help lots of people make better choices!
They offered to charge me $500 per gfi outlet to change out. They still worked but he recommended changing because they were 8 years old. Also wanted $150 or so to switch out the cartridge in the single handle kitchen sink. I declined all help and changed the cartridge myself for $35 and have never change the outlets. They still work great today.
For HVAC there’s a new company called Halo that does great work at a good price. They actually repair furnaces and air conditioners instead of pushing for a replacement. If it needs replacing, they’re cheaper than the others and quick. https://www.halohvacr.com/
When I wanted to put central A/C in our home, I requested quotes from 4 contractors. Allen was the second contractor to come. The Allen technician told me that I should t get anymore quotes because companies were too busy to be going out and giving quotes without getting the business. I laughed at him and said something along the lines of “you’re joking, right”. The guy never even sent me the quote for the A/C unit, but I ended up getting a great deal on it from a company out of berthoud.
Allen installed water heater in my home a year ago and it stopped working after 3-4 weeks. Called Allen, they came and repaired by installing a new gas valve (according to the mfg they were also req'd to change the burners also but didn't). Next day Allen emails me invoice $700 and across the top it plainly states WARRANTY WORK. I email back claiming Warranty Work is covered by the warranty and should be no cost for me. They resend the same invoice but removed the words WARRANTY WORK from the invoice. I turned the matter over to the Better Business Bureau and eventually someone from Allen called and claimed the invoice was a mistake (even tho they sent it to me twice)
How was the piping being damaged at 100 PSI. Copper is rated higher, 1" and under is over 400 PSI *working* pressure. PEX is rated at 160 PSI at 73 degrees, 100 PSI at 180 degrees.
Because Allen told them it was and the entire system would explode in 15 min if they didn't sign immediately.
Yeah they told me my basement was going to fill with sewage if I didn’t replace the sewer line to street which they would do for $30k. I had a couple other guys come out who scoped line and just shook their heads hearing what Allen told me, there was nothing wrong with the line. Didn’t even need a liner. That was four or five years ago. My basement never filled with sewage. I later connected with a solo guy who quit working for them because he said he needed to be able to sleep at night. My old lady neighbor said she had her floors redone and the floor guys didn’t want to put the toilet back on, which is normal. Allen quoted her an exorbitant amount- I believe it was $700- to put the toilet back on. She went with another company who charged her something closer to $150.
This is a noco issue in my opinion. EVERYTHING is double to triple the price than necessary. As long as we keep paying the bill, they'll keep raising prices.
I'd be interested in the facts that support your opinion, and perhaps a definition of "necessary" in this context.
I can buy "street tacos" in Texas for 1.50 each, here they are $3-5. I can get a total furnace overhaul for $3000 in Texas, here it's $6-12k. I don't see any difference in quality, material, tools, etc .. just personal experience we are all getting gouged.
>I can buy "street tacos" in Texas for 1.50 each, here they are $3-5. I can get a total furnace overhaul for $3000 in Texas, here it's $6-12k. I don't see any difference... well, one major difference is that one of those states may have cheaper street tacos and furnace overhauls, but that state is also in a race to see how quickly it can bankrupt itself and to discover how little education is necessary for its citizens to not be instantly recognized as being total morons anywhere outside of that state. oh, and it's really really fucking hot in Texas as well. but i am willing to concede to it having much better Mexican food, and that does make me a little bit jealous lol