STAY AWAY!!! Will take your money and run! As the other reviews on Yelp, Ripoffreport and BBB reflect, this is a very old company that had a very good reputation but the current owner has run it into the ground by taking people's money and then delivering only excuses for months on end. (He openly says "I'm on the way out"). NEVER PAY A DIME UP FRONT!!! He refunded just the deposit but the CHECK BOUNCED!!! I have never posted an online complaint in my life but felt obliged to do so in this case even though I doubt this company could possibly be in business much longer. These words would be enough for me, but if you want more detail, read on.
I had used Stephen Thorpe plumbing a few times before and the work was okay except for the fact that on their last visit, they poured hot water into my sump pump, which damaged the unit and the piping out of the pump. I called them to replace the old sump pump and pipes with a hot water sump pump that I would be buying to prevent the issue from happening again. Mike was very quick to come over (he claimed to be in the neighborhood). He quoted me a great price on the pump if I ordered it through him instead of on Amazon as I had planned. He asked for a cash deposit and that's when the problems started.
Just like other reviewers, I have been subjected to near daily EXCUSES and FLAT OUT LIES and CROCODILE TEARS for over two and a half months. Emergencies at a nursing home, family emergency, truck towed, allergies, workers calling out sick, inability to bend over, mistaken about the time or day of our appointment, needing his nephew to come help him because he has no guys left, etc. These are just some of the excuses that he used more than once. There were many more excuses given by telephone or when he appeared in person to beg for more time. Like one other Yelp reviewer noted, these conversations were often accompanied with tears (or a voice acting like he was crying). I really can't say if he actually has some problems. What I can tell you is that many of his excuses to me are demonstrable lies. Just the other week he admitted that he didn't have the money to buy the pump - the pump he claimed he bought in April, the pump he claimed was on the truck that had been towed, etc. ... you get the idea.
The only reason that I put up with this as long as I have is because he would keep promising a refund PLUS several additional services and materials for free to make up for my wasted time and blown appointments. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TRICK! He has promised me these things in recorded voicemails and in writing and expressly in exchange for my forbearance. It is obvious to me now that he has been lying the whole time and just wanted to get his hands on my cash. I finally ended things last week when he admitted that he has been lying to me for months and has never purchased the equipment that he claimed to have purchased with my money the first week of April (I am posting in mid-June).
Maybe you want to be the one to figure out if his tears and drama are real or just a cover-up to prevent more people from calling him on his fraud. If you are looking to be robbed or interested in hearing months of Mike's detailed and sometimes creative LIES about why he cannot do your work or refund your money - you have found the right company. If you are looking for competent plumbing work that will actually be provided, you should obviously keep looking.
Stephen Thorpe Inc Reviews
STAY AWAY!!! Will take your money and run! As the other reviews on Yelp, Ripoffreport and BBB reflect, this is a very old company that had a very good reputation but the current owner has run it into the ground by taking people's money and then delivering only excuses for months on end. (He openly says "I'm on the way out"). NEVER PAY A DIME UP FRONT!!! He refunded just the deposit but the CHECK BOUNCED!!! I have never posted an online complaint in my life but felt obliged to do so in this case even though I doubt this company could possibly be in business much longer. These words would be enough for me, but if you want more detail, read on.
I had used Stephen Thorpe plumbing a few times before and the work was okay except for the fact that on their last visit, they poured hot water into my sump pump, which damaged the unit and the piping out of the pump. I called them to replace the old sump pump and pipes with a hot water sump pump that I would be buying to prevent the issue from happening again. Mike was very quick to come over (he claimed to be in the neighborhood). He quoted me a great price on the pump if I ordered it through him instead of on Amazon as I had planned. He asked for a cash deposit and that's when the problems started.
Just like other reviewers, I have been subjected to near daily EXCUSES and FLAT OUT LIES and CROCODILE TEARS for over two and a half months. Emergencies at a nursing home, family emergency, truck towed, allergies, workers calling out sick, inability to bend over, mistaken about the time or day of our appointment, needing his nephew to come help him because he has no guys left, etc. These are just some of the excuses that he used more than once. There were many more excuses given by telephone or when he appeared in person to beg for more time. Like one other Yelp reviewer noted, these conversations were often accompanied with tears (or a voice acting like he was crying). I really can't say if he actually has some problems. What I can tell you is that many of his excuses to me are demonstrable lies. Just the other week he admitted that he didn't have the money to buy the pump - the pump he claimed he bought in April, the pump he claimed was on the truck that had been towed, etc. ... you get the idea.
The only reason that I put up with this as long as I have is because he would keep promising a refund PLUS several additional services and materials for free to make up for my wasted time and blown appointments. DO NOT FALL FOR THIS TRICK! He has promised me these things in recorded voicemails and in writing and expressly in exchange for my forbearance. It is obvious to me now that he has been lying the whole time and just wanted to get his hands on my cash. I finally ended things last week when he admitted that he has been lying to me for months and has never purchased the equipment that he claimed to have purchased with my money the first week of April (I am posting in mid-June).
Maybe you want to be the one to figure out if his tears and drama are real or just a cover-up to prevent more people from calling him on his fraud. If you are looking to be robbed or interested in hearing months of Mike's detailed and sometimes creative LIES about why he cannot do your work or refund your money - you have found the right company. If you are looking for competent plumbing work that will actually be provided, you should obviously keep looking.