long story short- they put in a hot water heater for me. Did a good job but pricey - $1900.00- I was in a hurry. After the fact I remembered I had a service contract on the old unit. Called the insurance company that held the service contract and they said they would reimburse me the labor. Had to take the actual unit back to Home Depot and got a prorated reimbursement for that. Not looking at the Horizon invoice I sent it to the insurance company. It was rejected because the labor and materials were not broken out. 8 calls and 4 people later I am told over and over again that they just can't do that. I'm out several hundred because they have a secret way of pricing their jobs. The last guy even said he doesn't know how they could that. Very shady- beware.
Beware Horizon plumbing and heating..
- Thread starter psharn
- Start date
This is why I require all of my customers to purchase materials that come with manufacturer warranties up front with their own money.
If something happens due to a defective product, it's not my problem.
Additional information- I just spoke with a manger there and he stated that the insurance company should be able to estimate the cost of labor with all their years of servicing extended warranties. I replied that that Horizon should be able to do the same with their years in the business. he had no response. Moving on to the next step in the ladder.
Either one should be able to estimate a value, but Horizon should feel obligated. By not doing so, especially after repeated attempts on your part, you can bet they feel you aren't going to like the answer. Here's how you can get a rough idea. You should be able to get a price on the heater they installed (or an equivalent) with an internet search. I don't think there's a huge number of manufacturers so while there may be a lot of branding, the units are very similar. Add 25-40% mark-up on the value you find for the unit that is typical when a contractor buys the parts to cover their procurement/profit, another 7% of the unit value for supplies, and the difference will be the labor plus profit. Assuming 15% profit, the actual labor you were charged would be that number times 85%.
With this you should have something you can go to the insurance company to negotiate with.
bwifan
Well-Known Member
interesting...was just going to call horizon to come clean/tune up my AC unit. They are running a special $85 this year and free tune up next year to try out there services with no service contract required. If you don't like their service you walk away with no obligations... now I am thinking should I call them or someone else...
I'm an electrician and can give you an example of how these ads work. XYZ Co. In Pgh. Currently advertises it will replace any 10 switches or receptacles in your house for $49. How can they do this and make money? Simple, most people wanting this have older homes. The grounding doesn't meet code. Once the electrician changes the device, he is required to bring it to code. The additional work to bring it to code is where the contractor socks it to you.
4-16 and credit card- probably should have contacted them earlier huh? I made several errors in this thing. Still- they should be able give some type of estimate to me- guess that will give away that I spent entirely too much for this. All because I was in a hurry to get to work.
In making a claim for your insurance, you should include the profit on the labor in my suggestion as part of the total cost of labor; that is the 100%, not the 85%.
Actually, that's a good thing. Tell them you are going to contest your cc charge (you have 60? days) unless they turn over an itemized invoice asap, and that if they contest it your next step is small claims court per the insurance co.'s advice. They're stance is indefensible, especially since you've given no indication you're contesting any charges. Be polite but firm, and pretend the insurance company is the bad guy.
