Terms of Service

These are the terms Critical Plumbing Ohio ("we", "us") works under. They apply to every estimate, job and invoice.

1. Estimates

• An estimate lists the work we propose and its price. Where it offers options, each option is priced separately and you choose which to accept.
• The prices on an estimate are good through the date printed on it, normally 30 days. After that we may need to re-price it.
• An estimate may require a deposit to put the job on the schedule. The amount is printed on the estimate. A deposit is applied to the final invoice.

2. Scope of work

• The work we agree to do is the work written on the estimate or invoice you signed, and only that work. Anything not written there is not included, whatever was discussed.
• Work you would like added, and work we find is needed once the job is under way (see Hidden conditions below), is priced separately and approved by you, in writing or by signing the updated document, before we do it.
• If there is a question about what a signed estimate or invoice covers, its written description of the work decides it.
• We may decline or stop work that we judge cannot be done safely or to code. You pay only for the work done up to that point.

3. Hidden conditions

Many of the homes we work in are a hundred years old or more, and a good part of any plumbing system cannot be seen until it is taken apart. A price is for the work as it can be seen when the price is given.

• What counts. A hidden condition is anything that could not reasonably be seen before the work began: a cracked or rotted toilet flange under the toilet, lead or cast iron that fails when it is disturbed, piping inside walls, under floors or underground, a rotted subfloor, seized or corroded fittings and valves, earlier work not done to code.
• It is not included in the price, and it is not damage we caused. A part that was already broken, worn out or at the end of its life, and shows it when the fixture is removed or the line is opened, is a condition of the home. Example: a toilet is pulled to replace its wax seal and the flange beneath it is found broken. The seal cannot be properly replaced until the flange is repaired, and the flange repair is additional work.
• What we do when we find one. We stop, show you the problem (and photograph it for the job record), explain what it needs, and give you a price for it. We do the additional work only after you approve that price.
• If you decide not to go ahead. That is your choice, and you still owe for the work already done: the labor to that point, including removing or opening up what we were asked to work on, any diagnosis, and any materials used. We will leave the work area safe and the water or gas secured. We cannot promise to return a fixture to service when the condition we found makes that impossible or unsafe; for example, a toilet cannot be reset on a broken flange.
• No promise that the first repair is the whole repair. We price the repair that the visible problem calls for. We do not promise that it will be the only repair needed when a hidden condition lies behind it.

4. Access to the property

• An adult aged 18 or older must be at the property for the whole visit. We do not enter, or remain in, a home without one. If no adult is present at the appointment time, the visit is rescheduled.
• Please clear the area where we will be working and the way to it. We are not responsible for belongings left in the work area.
• We need working access to the water shut-off and, where the job requires it, to electricity and gas.

5. Animals

• Before we start, every animal on the property must be shut in a room we will not be working in, or secured in a kennel or crate, and kept there until we leave. This applies to every animal, including ones that have never harmed anyone.
• If an animal is not secured we may wait, reschedule, or stop the job.
• You are responsible for your animals. If an animal on the property injures one of our people or damages our tools, equipment or vehicle, you agree to pay the costs that result, including medical bills and lost wages, as the owner, keeper or harborer of the animal under Ohio law.

6. Respect and safety

• Our people are entitled to work without being threatened, insulted, harassed or interfered with, and we ask the same courtesy of them toward you.
• If anyone at the property becomes hostile, threatening or abusive toward our people, or the property is unsafe for them, we will stop work and leave, whether or not an estimate or invoice has been signed and whether or not the work is finished. The decision is ours to make on the spot.
• If we stop for this reason, you owe for the work done to that point and for any materials used or specially ordered for your job; a deposit you paid is applied to that amount and any remainder is refunded. We will make the work area and the water or gas safe before we leave if it is safe for us to stay long enough to do so. We are not obliged to return to finish the job. A job we had to stop for this reason carries no warranty of any kind, including on the work we completed before we left.

7. Payment

• Payment is due when the work is complete, unless the invoice says otherwise. Where a job stops because of a hidden condition and you decide not to go ahead, payment for the work done to that point is due that day.
• We accept cash, check, and cards. Card payments are processed by Stripe; we never see or store your card number.
• A deposit you have paid is credited against the invoice. If the final total comes in below what you have already paid, we refund the difference.
• Late payment. A balance unpaid 30 days after the invoice date carries a late charge of 1.5% per month on the unpaid amount, or the highest rate the law allows if that is lower. If an unpaid account has to be sent to collection or to court, the reasonable costs of collecting it are added to what is owed.
• Cancelling a booked job. You can cancel or move a visit at no charge; please give us as much notice as you can. The exception is a job we have already bought materials for: if you cancel it, your deposit first covers materials that cannot be returned and any restocking fee the supplier charges us, and the rest is refunded.

8. Our warranty

We stand behind our work in writing, so you know exactly what that means.

• Workmanship: one year. If a repair or installation we did fails within one year because of how we did it, we come back and put it right at no charge.
• Drain cleaning: 30 days. If a drain we cleared stops up again within 30 days, we return once to clear it at no charge. This does not cover stoppages caused by foreign objects, grease, wipes or roots, or a line that is broken, bellied, collapsed or otherwise in need of repair; when we find one of those we will show you and tell you what it needs.
• Parts we supply carry their manufacturer's warranty, and we handle the claim for you. During the first year our labor to replace a failed part is included; after that, labor is charged.
• Parts you supply: 90 days on our labor only. We cannot warrant a part or fixture we did not provide.

What the warranty does not cover:

• A new or different problem, even in the same fixture or the same room. If we come out and find the problem is not our earlier work, the visit is charged as a normal service call.
• Existing plumbing we did not replace, and hidden conditions (section 3).
• A temporary or partial repair you chose when we recommended a fuller one. When you ask us to patch what we advised replacing, the invoice will say so, and the patch carries no warranty.
• Damage from freezing, misuse, accident, chemical drain cleaners, or anything outside our control.
• Work that anyone else has repaired, altered or taken apart since we did it.
• Any job we stopped because of hostile or unsafe conditions (section 6). No part of that job is warranted, finished or not.

Conditions. The warranty applies once the invoice for the work has been paid in full. Tell us about a problem as soon as you notice it, and before anyone else works on it. Warranty visits are made during normal business hours. Our responsibility under this warranty is to repair or redo our own work.

9. Photos and records

We photograph our work, before and after, as part of the job record. How we handle photos and the rest of your information is set out in our Privacy Policy. Text messages about your visit are covered by section 10.

10. Text messages (SMS terms)

Critical Plumbing Ohio sends text messages to customers about their own plumbing visit: a confirmation when the visit is booked or moved, a reminder the evening before, a message when the plumber is on the way, a thank-you when the job is paid (which may include a link to leave a review), and answers to questions you text us about that visit. We do not send advertising by text.

• Opting in. You opt in by giving us your mobile number when you book a visit, by phone, in person, or on the booking form on our website, which says that we will text that number about the appointment. Consent to receive texts is not a condition of buying anything from us.
• Frequency and cost. Message frequency varies, typically two to five messages per visit. Message and data rates may apply.
• Stop and help. Reply STOP to any message to stop all texts from us; reply START to turn them back on; reply HELP, call (216) 440-2045 or email info@criticalplumbingohio.com for help.
• Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
• Privacy. We do not sell or share your SMS opt-in data or personal information with third parties for marketing purposes. See our Privacy Policy.

The same terms, with sample messages, are on our Text Messaging Terms page.

11. If something is not right

Call us first at (216) 440-2045. We would much rather come back and put it right than argue about it. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio. Nothing in them takes away rights you have under Ohio consumer law.

12. Changes

If these terms change, the new version is posted here with a new effective date. The terms that apply to a job are the ones in effect on the day you signed for it.

Contact

Critical Plumbing Ohio · Cleveland, Ohio
Phone: (216) 440-2045 · Email: info@criticalplumbingohio.com · criticalplumbingohio.com