Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/06/2024

  Type:Customer Service Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I arranged with Korte to remove and replace 4 sets of tarnished bathroom faucets. I have the replacements which I obtained from ***** under warranty. I specifically described the work to be done. The Korte receptionist recorded the job order and informed me that there was a trip charge of $98. I agreed to pay the trip charge expecting that the work would be performed.The Korte plumber arrived at our house on Aug. 29, 2024. When I talked to him about the job he immediately informed me that the removal and replacement cost for a single faucet set was $882.76! This was for 1 to 1 & 1/2 hours of labor per faucet (the plumbers estimate). When I protested about the exorbitant charge the plumber said that Korte had fixed rates for faucet work. He also informed me that I was obligated to pay for the trip charge. The plumber provided me a written estimate (estimate No.: *********) for $3266.20 to replace the 4 faucet sets.Obviously, Korte priced the job such that no reasonable person would agree to. Given this condition, I am under the opinion that Korte operated in an unethical manner which provided them undue revenue in the form of a trip charge. If Korte has no intention of doing this type of job at a reasonable labor cost, I should have been informed of their flat rate when I arranged for the work with the Korte representative.After the plumber visit, I called to talk to a Korte supervisor 3 times over 3 days. Each time the receptionist said that they were not co-located with the supervisor and could only communicate with him/her by email. They assured me that they would email the supervisor with my complaint and my request to have him/her call me about a refund of the trip charge which I consider to have been charged under false pretenses since the likely outcome was that I would not hire them for the job. I have yet to receive a return call.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 10/03/2024

  Hi Mr. ******* we apologize for the inconvenience. Our policy is we do not charge dispatch fees to customers that are only looking for a quote/pricing, you should not have been charged a dispatch fee. We have addressed this via additional training with the customer ********************** representative. We have refunded the dispatch fee of $98. Again, we apologize for this., thank you for your valuable feedback.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 10/03/2024

   Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  
  

  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/02/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Date. 11/17/2022 I purchased PMA Renewal service for the 11/17/22 winter service and spring 2023 service in the amount of $246. Today 6/2/2023 I called to follow up on when they would provide my spring service. They said sometime in August 2023. Their call center said sometimes the technician schedules the next service when they are at the home. I said my technician did not do that. They said well the earliest will be August. Their lack of standards in scheduling their subscribed (paid) PMA Renewal customers is inconsistent and has delayed their ability to provide my Spring **** tuneup service. I believe I am entitle to a 50% refund.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/13/2023

  Thank you for reaching out in regards to this matter.
  Our records do indicate that you renewed your maintenance contract on November 17th while our technician was there to perform a repair on your furnace. Since renewing your contract on November 17th, we have made multiple attempts to reach you and schedule your maintenance visits. We texted on November 22, left a voicemail & sent a follow up text on January 17th.On February 9th we called & left a message, sent a text as well as sent out a follow up letter. We send the letter when we are having difficulty reaching a customer in case they have changed their phone number. We also made attempts on March 29th & April 19th.  At no time did we receive a return call or text.
  When you called on the June 2nd we had already contacted you 5 times attempting schedule. Because we are also contacting other customers to schedule,the schedule fills up as we go. The farther into the season we get, the ****** the schedule.
  Our objective is to schedule the first visit (the contact that was made on November 22) then to schedule the 2nd visit to occur approximately 6 months later. So your furnace would have been scheduled for Dec/Jan & your ac scheduled for ********************* our records indicate we did not perform any maintenance for you as ****** only did the repair on November 17th, we will be issuing a refund. At that time you were quoted $99 + $727 for the regular priced repair or $99 + $246 (PMA contract) + $654 (discounted repair price). You chose to renew your contract and pay a total of $999. Since we have been unable to fulfill the contract obligation, we will be issuing you a refund of $173.
  This will be the contract price $246 less the discount you received for being a PMA contract member $73. We can understand your frustration in this matter. Again,we apologize for the miscommunication. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:09/07/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Korte sent a rep to quote a full replumb. When he arrived he said he couldnt get under the house because he suffers from claustrophobia. He prepared a quote based on my verbal description. It was over **** and I agreed to the offer because it was **** lower than the next best offer. I scheduled the work and took 4 days off work. I had to dismantle an entire room by removing washer/dryer, floor coverings, baseboards, and trim to gian access to the crawl space. Also I hand dug the outside pipe because they said it would save **** in excavation. Start date for work two technicians came piled material in my driveway, grabbed some tools and went under the house. 15 minutes later the workers were outside calling the *******. ******* shows up enters the crawl space returning shortly after. He then says that they have had problems with the original rep and his quotes regularly and that they were not anywhere near close to an amount to complete the job quote. I then asked if we came to an agreement would work be started today , to witch he made a noise and said not any time soon. At that point I said thank you, you can pack up and leave. While the techs pack up I explained that this has created a financial hardship for me due to the money I lost missing 4 days work roughly **** and that I had to take a loan out which also has fees and cost. Not to mention the fact Ill have to find somebody else to do the job which means another week of work when they show up to complete the job. Im estimating a **** loss that I must suffer even though I am not responsible for there failure. This will create financial hardship for me without any doubt.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/13/2022

  We are very sorry for the inconvenience this situation has caused you. Our original plumber was unable to enter the crawlspace at your home, it is somewhat smaller than the average space. His quote should have been more of an estimate as he was unable to get a complete picture of the situation based on your verbal description.  When our crew showed up the next day they saw that the scope was different then originally told based on your verbal. They are required to call the ******* in these situations. **** did explain that the job was different than originally quoted and would cost more & take more time to complete. When asked if we could start today, he responded that we were unable to start because we would need more material & manpower to do the work. At that time you requested that we get our stuff and leave. When **** tried to explain to you the reason for the delay, you repeated thank you. You then began questioning ****, who is a licensed plumber, about how he might know what material was needed and if he learned his work from a 164 page book; essentially insulting him and the trade. We at that time decided we could not reason with you and left the site. At this time, we do not believe it would be beneficial for either party for us to return to do any work.   here...

  Customer Answer

  Date: 09/19/2022

   I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Your guy didnt have any idea what kind of room he ad in the crawl space he never even peeked his head in the hole the moment I mentioned it was a crawl space he said he was claustrophobic and tried to get another employee to come out and enter the space but was unsuccessful. Im feeling like this was a bait and switch. Im already in a bad situation and this makes it even worse but hey as long as youre company doesnt have to take accountability for its own blunder everything is great for you while Ill have to figure out how to compensate for losses and still get the work I need done for the safety of my family and home. You people have been full of excuses but excuse are as useful as the horrible experience I have had with this company.  Im not just going to give up Ive already been told this fits the low ball technique of the bait and switch so we can work this out or Ill consider legal action in regards to bait and switch.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 09/27/2022

  My Name is *********************. I am the plumbing service manager here at Korte Does It All.  After speaking to my field technicians and field supervisor it is obvious that we fell short on our initial visit to quote the work needed. Our first guy out should have either gotten into your crawl space, had someone else out to get in the space, or declined to quote the work all together.

  After speaking with my field supervisor and looping in ownership I have decided that if you want us to complete the work that I am willing to do that for the $13,765.00 that my field supervisor tried to quote you when he was last out there. We would discount that price by $2300 which is the amount that you estimated you have lost because of the situation.

  
  This will bring the total estimate to $11,465.00 for us to demo everything needed, re-pipe your drains and water lines and add rough plumbing for a future bathroom in the garage area.  Korte will not be responsible for any flooring or drywall repair that will need to be done after the re-pipe and bathroom add on is completed.

  
  Also as stated in the original work order you will need to get a general building permit for a remodel so we can pull our plumbing permit for adding the bathroom in the garage area. I have called the phone number we have on file & left a message for you to attempt to contact you. If you would like to proceed, please call our office and ask for me. Thank you.