Consumers should never underestimate their powers.
When Sheila Wolfson contacted TBL recently about a problem with plumbing work performed at a Simsbury building she owns with her husband, Al, felt helpless. Because the building is not their home — they rent out two apartments above Simsbury Bottle Shop and Benny's restaurant — TBL hesitated because it wasn't a typical consumer problem. Technically, it was a small-business matter.
This mom-and-pop operation were justifiably upset, though. They paid an Enfield plumber $4,500 for a job that included separating the hot water pipe feeding both apartments. During power outages in both September and October, the Wolfsons found out the shower pipes were somehow connected, so one tenant was paying for the hot water in both apartments.
The plumber "did check it out and acknowledged the problem," says Sheila Wolfson, "but did nothing to correct it. We have phoned him several times, left messages, but he does not return our calls. We do not feel we should have to pay another plumber to correct [his] mistake."
So why not flex a little consumer muscle and see how Joe the Plumber responds?
First thing: Find out if the plumber is registered with the state Department of Consumer Protection (visit https://www.elicense.ct.gov and click on "Lookup a License"). If he's not, it'll make it much more difficult to recoup any money if he walks away from the job.
TBL checked and the plumber was, in fact, registered. Next, TBL suggested the Wolfsons tell the plumber that if he does not do the work properly, they will file a complaint with the DCP within a week. Also tell him you've contacted TBL. (Oh, no, dropping a TBL bomb!)
Next day, Sheila Wolfson called the plumber and left a message that she had filed a complaint with TBL, the Better Business Bureau and planned to file one with DCP.
"He returned my call within two hours," says Wolfson, who recently moved to Orlando, Fla., after 43 years in Simsbury. "He is planning to check out the problem and would like us to resolve it."
The plumber, after first suggesting a handyman involved in a remodeling job might have created the problem, acknowledged overlooking a capped pipe. He finished the job.
The hot water now follows the correct path into each apartment, making both the tenants and Wolfsons happy.
And that makes the Wolfsons this week's consumer champions.
