Plumbing Detectives

Firstly do not confuse "On Time Local Services" (which carries on business as a plumber) with another unconnected business called "On Time Local Plumbing". There are 2 takeaways from this post. First, if ever you have a sewerage blockage, call your local water authority (in my case Yarra Valley Water) and not a plumber. Second, do not use "On Time Local Services" for anything. Here is my story. I woke up on Monday 26th October 2020, to find that both of our toilets had filled with sewerage. Obviously we had a sewerage blockage. So I hunted around on the internet to find a local plumber in Blackburn who could clear the blockage. I found "On Time Local Services". I telephoned them to ask if they had a sewer rooter and could they come and clear the blockage. Yes .. they had a sewer rooter and they could be here in 2 hours to clear it. [name removed] arrived about 2 hours later but did not have a sewer rooter. "We now use a high pressure water jet because the old sewer rooter damages plastic pipes.." OK. So [name removed] used his high pressure water jet but could not clear the blockage. He said the blockage was caused by tree roots invading the U bend buried 2.4 metres down at the bottom of our stink pipe in the rear left corner of our block. He then gave me a written quote for $8,012.26 "discounted" to $7,211.03 to "excavate in garden ..up to 2.4 m deep to expose existing inlet and outlet drain cut out boundary trap shaft and install new PVC boundary trap shaft.." That also meant removing a 20 year old fejoa tree. He was here about an hour and fanged us $352.00. Taken aback by all of that, I spoke to another plumber. He said almost certainly it was not tree roots but a blockage in the main Yarra Valley Water sewer line which runs in the easement at the back of properties over our back fence. He told me to telephone the Yarra Valley Water emergency number asap. [name removed] from YVW arrived within 15 minutes!! Yep .. it was likely a YVW blockage and he will find the service pit somewhere over the back fence and get an emergency crew to unblock it. As [name removed] is walking out the door to look for the pit he says.. "Whenever you get a sewer blockage.. call us not the plumbers.." We got great service from YVW.. sewer was unblocked.. toilets back to normal levels within 30 minutes. No tree roots.. [name removed] never mentioned that it could be a YVW problem. Why would he when he was ready to fang us for $7,211.03. ?? I shudder to think what would have happened if i agreed to his quote. By that time 1 cm of stinking sewerage water was flowing thru our bathrooms and our bedroom. There would have been significant damage to our floors, our backyard chopped up from his excavator.. tree removed and the problem still there. Bouquets to YVW who came and cleaned our house that night and removed wet sodden carpet and brought in blowers to dry the floors. Brickbats to "On time Local Services" who clearly tried to rip us off. I have asked for a refund of the $352.00, but [name removed] from head office has refused. DO NOT USE EM. I did some investigation. "On Time Local Services" is owned by Plumbing Detectives Pty. Ltd. Look that company up on Google. They have been exposed as rip offs on A Current Affair and Ray Hadley's radio show

I called the plumbing detectives around 8PM and had Adam a young nice smelling man arrive to my house within an hour. He took care of my burst pipe and cleaned the mess it had made. I wont hesitate to use Adam again for any plumbing issues in the future. Thanks for leaving a trace of your cologne behind and thanks for cleaning the mess the burst pipe made.

Outstanding service. We had a blockage in our kitchen drainage pipe. Adam was punctual. He was spotted on with his task and carried it out professionally. Definitely use again and recommend it

I was reluctant to believe all the bad reviews for this company. I wish I had. This company has the most unprofessional people I have ever come across. I wish I could give them 0/10. Avoid it all costs. FYI: These people are also known as 'on-time local'. It seems they operate under different names. Very murky.

This company is clearly run by people with no morals or business ethics who (we can only assume by our experience and reading the many scathing reviews by other unhappy customers) are out there to rip off their customers. A simple job of replacing old taps with a new all in one tap and mixer (that according to another plumber that came and fixed the holes left from the removal of the original taps one can purchase for around $40.00 from Bunnings) that in total took less than 45 minutes after I had already switched off the mains water supply and they have charged me over $1000.00. Multiple business names, my credit card being charged for an amount I DID NOT authorise, no one responding to the more than 10 phone calls and messages I have left asking for someone to please deal with my complaint, and misleading websites claiming that they are a 'Local' plumber in our area. Absolutely unacceptable. We are lodging a complaint with Fair Trade & the ACCC.

Our job was carried out very quickly with queries covered off effectively throughout the process. Our plumber was very friendly and mindful of mess, which was very welcome. I would highly recommend.

I needed a simple drain unblock.. Quoted me $529 and if I didn't accept I would have to pay $95 call out.. I accepted and advised I will be taking the matter further... On time local. Was there 40 mins.

Definitely no response to emails sent stating work number. They have the money and dont give a toss. Consumer Affairs notified, who then called back. Very interested in details. We Been done and accept our stupidity, I just dont want elderly pensioners being preyed upon.