Kristen Richter
10 months ago
Costly Plumber Flubs Hybrid Heater Installation, Leaves Mess
When approached about a hybrid water heater installation, Mark Vedette implied that he was familiar with Rheem hybrid units, their installation requirements, and that he had completed similar installs successfully.
Mark produced an estimate ($9,866.37) that included two surprises — a FlowTech Max water treatment system ($2899.99) and an MVP member program, which included a 10% to 15% discount on all services ($1197.99). He promised the estimate could be adjusted, but demurred until he could be back in the office. Emphasizing how busy MVP was, Mark insisted on a 50% deposit to schedule, and I reluctantly paid $4800.
I called for an updated invoice (I would purchase the Rheem myself and was not interested in the FlowTech). The main office did not call to schedule services despite my large deposit. I emailed frequently, updating Mark and requesting an updated invoice (emails sent on 7/11, 7/13, 7/19, 7/27). After scheduling service, Mark said the updated total would be $5178.64, but declined to provide an invoice.
Mark came on 7/29 to install the water heater. After 7:30 pm, he filled the hot water tank by bleeding water through the TPR line. Mark startled when suddenly water poured out along the upper seams of the tank. He accused me of purchasing a defective unit. After much confusion, Mark stopped claiming that the unit was defective. He explained that he had plumbed the condensate drain line of the hybrid hot water heater into the TPR line. He insisted that the TPR line was blocked and a new TPR line was needed.
Mark packed up, displayed the invoice on his iPad, and asked me to pay the remainder ($1073.74). I pointed out that our estimate had included an expansion tank, and Mark confessed that he had completely forgotten. I requested that Mark remove the expansion tank from the invoice, and we argued. Mark brusquely said that unless I paid the balance then, he would not be obligated to return to my home for any future work. I felt bullied and extremely ill at ease but paid.
I called for a second opinion. Reddi Services found the plumbing very problematic. The TPR line (as re-run) took bends that created enough backpressure to flow up the condensate line instead of draining outside the building.
At further expense, the condensate line was capped and, afterwards, the TPR drained full strength.
Reddi Services pointed out that both building code and the manufacturer, Rheem, require the condensate line to be plumbed into a conventional drain and, explicitly, not into the TPR line.
I requested a $325 refund for the expansion tank that was not installed. MVP said that this request was impossible. They offered two options — either schedule installation services or accept a refund of $81.25 ($325 minus a 75% restocking fee). I told the office person that both proposals were unacceptable.
I have had no further communication from MVP Plumbing, and the requested refund was never received. In researching this issue, I discovered that Mark Vedette is the main contact of MVP Plumbing in the ROC and listed as the business owner on LinkedIn. I found this surprising because, on several occasions, Mark referred to policies set by the owner of the company.
While reviewing the final invoice, I also discovered that after the initial estimate, Mark removed the 10% discount on hot water heater installation services while still charging $1197.99 to join the MVP member program that entitles me to this discount. The terms of the MVP Protection Program remain identical on page 2 of both invoices, but the PMA Customer Discount calculation has been removed before calculating the total on the final invoice issued 7/29/22. This is fraudulent.
In the end, I have been left with a hybrid hot water heater that does not have a code-compliant condensate line in an area of my house where there are no good options for becoming code-compliant. Additionally, I have had to remedy MVP's poor work and repair the secondary issues Mark caused at my own expense.