I had my backflow assembly tested and was told that it failed the test. I was informed that a repair would be needed, followed by a re-test which is free. Without opening the assembly to determine what was wrong with it, I was told that I would be contacted immediately with a quote for the cost of the repairs. Again, without opening the assembly, the rep told me that the repair would take a couple of hours. When I questioned why it would take a couple of hours for such a simplified assembly, the rep said it also included the travel time from their office till my property. The office is located 10 miles from my property, and this was the first time I was quoted for contractual work in this way; to include the rep’s travel time/costs is unheard of to me unless their location is extremely far away.
A week later, I was given a verbal quote of $260 plus taxes to install a repair kit. I asked for a written quote of the work that will be performed, and the next day, I was sent a quote of $535. Not only was I quoted $275 more, but the quote came with the condition that if after the repair kit has been installed, the backflow does not hold, replacement of the assembly might be required.
It is like going to a dentist with a toothache but keeping your mouth closed, and the dentist quoting you for a “repair” – a cavity filling for $260. After the filling is done, the toothache persists, and the dentist quotes you for a second repair – a root canal for $550. Two jobs, totaling $810 are charged to the customer, when only the second job was what was needed to solve the problem in the first place. Obviously the dentist/Dunk Fire & Security's rep would have only determined this if they had taken the time to inspect the issue, vs. looking at a closed mouth/unopened assembly. And on top of that, to verbally quote me $260 and then up the amount in the written quote to $535.
Without an internal inspection of the issue, how can a customer be told the kind of repair needed, and its associated costs? Without knowing such pertinent information, as a customer I am going to be the loser by paying $260 + the cost of replacement if the re-test fails. The organization did not offer to refund the $260 incase the re-test failed. Personally, I cannot take such an expensive chance. Being professionals, the company should have told me what was precisely wrong after the assembly has been open and inspected, and what needs to be done to fix it, and not just presumptions of what repairs might fix the issue followed by changing quotes.
I do not understand the standard operating procedure of the company's certified testers. I would imagine that when a repair is needed, the rep would at a minimum open and inspect the assembly, advice the customer of the work that needs to be done, and accordingly give them a quote. In this case, the kind of repair needed was assumed without opening the assembly, and the quote was given to me based on this assumption. As a customer I did not feel very confident with such a course of action.
Regarding the wrong quoted amount, I gave the company the benefit of the doubt that somehow instead of $260, $535 was typed and overlooked. When I brought this to the attention of the rep, the written quote was corrected and resent to me.
However, because I do not trust or feel confident in the policies of the company, I decided to get my backflow tested by another company.
Though I ended up having to pay a second company to do a re-test, I courteously informed Dunk Fire & Security that I had opted to get the testing done with another company, and I asked them to send me a bill for the test conducted by them. In 2 days I was promptly mailed a copy of the invoice as I had requested.
On June 23 I received an invoice for the test that was done, however, like in the case of the repair quote, this invoice was also for the wrong amount. It was higher than what I was quoted.
For whatever reason this company likes telling customers one quote, and then invoicing them with another; basically whatever number comes to mind at that moment I would guess!
Unfortunately, I should have seen this coming, keeping in mind my previous experience. The same day I received the invoice, I contacted the company asking for a reason for the increase in price. After not receiving a response for two full weeks, I again initiated contact asking for an understanding on the difference in the invoiced price and my quote. With no response for two weeks from the date of my first contact, it seemed like the organization did not care to resolve the issue.
It was wrong for me to ignore the situation as the company was doing and decide to just not pay anything since I hadn't received a response. But, the fact was that the service was provided, and I was obligated to pay. So I re-initiated contact after 2 weeks had passed from my initial contact asking for a reason for the higher invoice amount. I was not offered an apology, but instead was sent once sentence; “How much were you quoted?”
I did not respond to the organization, but sent them my check along with a letter stating my displeasure in doing business with them. My check was cashed with no apology extended.
The company does not seem to have a standardized price for a standard backflow test as many other certified testers that I contacted do. Neither does the company seem to have any idea what they quote customers. This was why the quote/invoice was higher than what I was initialy told on two separate ocassions, and this was why, when questioned, the organization's rep came back to ask me what I was initially quoted.
I do not find this to be a professional business, and I do not recommend them to anyone. Given the recurrence of what seems to be two ocassions of wanting to cheat me out of more money, I would like to warn all potential and current customers to beaware of the practices of this organization, and to reconsider giving them your business. I do not want others to be cheated as this organization has tried to do with me.
Dunk Fire & Security Reviews
I had my backflow assembly tested and was told that it failed the test. I was informed that a repair would be needed, followed by a re-test which is free. Without opening the assembly to determine what was wrong with it, I was told that I would be contacted immediately with a quote for the cost of the repairs. Again, without opening the assembly, the rep told me that the repair would take a couple of hours. When I questioned why it would take a couple of hours for such a simplified assembly, the rep said it also included the travel time from their office till my property. The office is located 10 miles from my property, and this was the first time I was quoted for contractual work in this way; to include the rep’s travel time/costs is unheard of to me unless their location is extremely far away.
A week later, I was given a verbal quote of $260 plus taxes to install a repair kit. I asked for a written quote of the work that will be performed, and the next day, I was sent a quote of $535. Not only was I quoted $275 more, but the quote came with the condition that if after the repair kit has been installed, the backflow does not hold, replacement of the assembly might be required.
It is like going to a dentist with a toothache but keeping your mouth closed, and the dentist quoting you for a “repair” – a cavity filling for $260. After the filling is done, the toothache persists, and the dentist quotes you for a second repair – a root canal for $550. Two jobs, totaling $810 are charged to the customer, when only the second job was what was needed to solve the problem in the first place. Obviously the dentist/Dunk Fire & Security's rep would have only determined this if they had taken the time to inspect the issue, vs. looking at a closed mouth/unopened assembly. And on top of that, to verbally quote me $260 and then up the amount in the written quote to $535.
Without an internal inspection of the issue, how can a customer be told the kind of repair needed, and its associated costs? Without knowing such pertinent information, as a customer I am going to be the loser by paying $260 + the cost of replacement if the re-test fails. The organization did not offer to refund the $260 incase the re-test failed. Personally, I cannot take such an expensive chance. Being professionals, the company should have told me what was precisely wrong after the assembly has been open and inspected, and what needs to be done to fix it, and not just presumptions of what repairs might fix the issue followed by changing quotes.
I do not understand the standard operating procedure of the company's certified testers. I would imagine that when a repair is needed, the rep would at a minimum open and inspect the assembly, advice the customer of the work that needs to be done, and accordingly give them a quote. In this case, the kind of repair needed was assumed without opening the assembly, and the quote was given to me based on this assumption. As a customer I did not feel very confident with such a course of action.
Regarding the wrong quoted amount, I gave the company the benefit of the doubt that somehow instead of $260, $535 was typed and overlooked. When I brought this to the attention of the rep, the written quote was corrected and resent to me.
However, because I do not trust or feel confident in the policies of the company, I decided to get my backflow tested by another company.
Though I ended up having to pay a second company to do a re-test, I courteously informed Dunk Fire & Security that I had opted to get the testing done with another company, and I asked them to send me a bill for the test conducted by them. In 2 days I was promptly mailed a copy of the invoice as I had requested.
On June 23 I received an invoice for the test that was done, however, like in the case of the repair quote, this invoice was also for the wrong amount. It was higher than what I was quoted.
For whatever reason this company likes telling customers one quote, and then invoicing them with another; basically whatever number comes to mind at that moment I would guess!
Unfortunately, I should have seen this coming, keeping in mind my previous experience. The same day I received the invoice, I contacted the company asking for a reason for the increase in price. After not receiving a response for two full weeks, I again initiated contact asking for an understanding on the difference in the invoiced price and my quote. With no response for two weeks from the date of my first contact, it seemed like the organization did not care to resolve the issue.
It was wrong for me to ignore the situation as the company was doing and decide to just not pay anything since I hadn't received a response. But, the fact was that the service was provided, and I was obligated to pay. So I re-initiated contact after 2 weeks had passed from my initial contact asking for a reason for the higher invoice amount. I was not offered an apology, but instead was sent once sentence; “How much were you quoted?”
I did not respond to the organization, but sent them my check along with a letter stating my displeasure in doing business with them. My check was cashed with no apology extended.
The company does not seem to have a standardized price for a standard backflow test as many other certified testers that I contacted do. Neither does the company seem to have any idea what they quote customers. This was why the quote/invoice was higher than what I was initialy told on two separate ocassions, and this was why, when questioned, the organization's rep came back to ask me what I was initially quoted.
I do not find this to be a professional business, and I do not recommend them to anyone. Given the recurrence of what seems to be two ocassions of wanting to cheat me out of more money, I would like to warn all potential and current customers to beaware of the practices of this organization, and to reconsider giving them your business. I do not want others to be cheated as this organization has tried to do with me.