This is the 2nd issue we have had with PHP since we had our HVAC and Water Heater installed and started a service contract with them in 2020.
To begin- the original install went great, quick clean friendly, fast. After that, everything went downhill.
We have had multiple appointments get cancelled over the last 5 years... no big deal, they get busy and we are flexible. Around 2 years ago, we had our first major red flag when we wanted them to come check the water pressure on the house, we were getting a lot of "pipe knocking" at the time, and were concerned it was due to how the pressure was set when the WH was replaced.
They come out, dont hook up a pressure tester to anything, dont check the pressure at the valve... and proceed to tell us that "your pressure valve needs replaced". Quoted $600 without touching anything at all. Didnt even know the pressure reading, just 'your house is more than 5 years old so it needs replaced'.
I went home, saw that there were cobwebs on the pressure valve adjuster and realized they never even touched it to see if the valve was just set too high.
I did a quarter turn to lower it, checked the pressure and sure enough, it was fixed. Price? $0.
They charged us $80 to come tell us to repair something that didnt need repaired at all. 2 years later no issues since. When I called and asked about it, the supervisor said "we dont test if its X old, we just recommend a replacement". When I asked why they didnt even attempt to test pressure or try a pressure reduction, he said that doing so could cause "a complete failure and risk flooding my home". Be serious.
Fast forward to this week, we notice we are only getting about 10 min of hot water.
Today- Against my better judgement, we called out PHP (again, they installed the water heater, so we give them dibs on the repair/ warranty work). The tech comes out, "tests" the system, tells my wife "everything is working, both elements, themostat, etc". He then tells her its likely that A) the cold weather is causing us to lose heat in our water heater that is indoors in a temp controlled room (huh?), or... and heres a good one... that we may have a CRACKED PIPE in our foundational slab, which is causing us to lose hot water...Now, talk about jumping to conclusions.
After asking if they checked for sediment build up (No), he decided to drain and flush and then test again... well, NOW we have a bad lower element, which sure, can result in a false positive due to calcium build up, but if thats the case, why not test that to begin with vs telling my wife our foundation might be cracked???
So now we have a bad element... cool. We get a quote from them (keeping in mind this is still under warranty) and the quote is...v $500?!?. I call around, and the same quote from every other plumber I check with in the area is min $200 less than PHP quote, INCLUDING another service call charge!
I ask to speak with supervisor (Brice) who then proceeds to tell me that the quote was for both elements (why if only one has failed) and that he would not quote me only the lower needing replaced as its under warranty. I pressed him on this, and he said if he was to quote me just the lower and not both, it would be... $650!!! $150 MORE than replacing both of them (when only one is bad). His reasoning? "We dont want to do one and have the other go bad and the client call us back in a week saying we didnt fix it".
So we are charging for work that does NOT need to be done. When asked what his company was doing that others wouldnt be... crickets. Keep in mind we are still UNDER WARRANTY, and had been under a "service contract" with them until now.
Suffice to say, I am done with PHP.
I suggest that you take your hard earned money and find a REPUTABLE plumber who is not going to treat you like a piggy bank to be broken whenever you call them for a repair, using scare tactics and then attempting to overcharge you exorbanantly higher repair fees for the work than literally any of the competition in the area.
Goodbye Plumbing and Heating Paramedics.