New England Plumbing

Looking for an unreliable, wildly overpriced and dishonest plumber? Look no further, John Patrick, owner of New England Plumbing, is your guy. Let me explain: I live in a small 24-unit apartment building, and for the past six years, our association has relied on New England Plumbing for everything, from emergency repairs to major maintenance work in our building. They were our trusted go-to, and we even highly recommended them to all our residents. A few weeks ago, I had a broken bathtub drain and naturally called New England Plumbing. I provided detailed photos and a video to help them assess the job in advance, ensuring they arrived prepared with the necessary part. Their receptionist, Mikah, scheduled my appointment for Thursday with a two-hour arrival window. I took the afternoon off from my work. They never showed up! An hour after the missed appointment, I called, only to learn, without any prior notice, that my appointment had been canceled due to “a big emergency in a high rise building.” No phone call, no apology, nothing. Just a vague promise to “try” and fit me in the next day. Despite this, I chose to stick with them, believing our years of good experiences and trust weren’t a fluke. Huge mistake!!! On Friday, John Patrick himself showed up at 3:50PM (50 minutes late) with a young assistant. From the moment he walked in, something felt off. He seemed exhausted, irritable, and completely unfocused. His decision-making was all over the place, and to make matters worse he wasn’t prepared at all. His inexperienced trainee spent over 40 minutes digging through their truck looking for parts, tools, batteries while Patrick just stood around, waiting, doing absolutely nothing. The job itself was simple and straightforward: replace a single brass waste and overflow shoe. A competent plumber should’ve had it wrapped up in 60-90 minutes tops. At some point when I realized he didn’t have what was needed I suggested a quick trip to Home Depot (3 miles away) to get the right part, his response: “There’s too much traffic. I won’t waste my time.” But apparently, wasting my time and overcharging me wasn’t a problem. Instead, due to Patrick’s lack of preparation and without any discussion, he unnecessarily went to replace the entire waste and overflow system, copper piping, P-trap, and even a large section of cast iron pipe- all using standard PVC parts that you find at any hardware store. Shortly after he finished around 7:10 PM, I got slapped with an outrageous invoice for $1,088: - Labor: $931.50 for 4.5 hours (though they were only here for exactly 3 hours and 32 minutes). - Parts: $156.50 (a 200% markup on common parts found in any hardware store) I even have timestamped security footage showing their exact arrival (3:50 PM) and departure (7:22 PM), proving I was overbilled. Or maybe Mr. Patrick pretends the clients to pay for the trainees he brings and add additional delays to the job? When I politely emailed New England Plumbing the following Monday to ask for a review of the labor charges, Patrick quickly dismissed me with a 3-line reply, saying that “ I’m taking even more of their time and that I had already received the above and beyond discount that I deserve” and made it clear the price wasn’t up for any discussion. Despite my frustration, I paid the full invoice because I believe in fairness and paying for work done. But let’s be clear. This was a ripoff, a total incompetence and full lack of professionalism. I respect hardworking tradespeople and have no issue paying for quality work. But this? This was dishonest, inefficient, and way overpriced. So…, unless you enjoy being overcharged for wasted time, do yourself a favor and find an honest, reliable plumber. New England Plumbing used to be solid. Not anymore. This was the last time we will ever do business with John Patrick and his company.