Fast Ontime Local Plumber
Verified465 reviews
DO NOT BOOK. SCAMMERS and OVERCHARGING. I needed a simple job completed, replacing a fitting on a pipe. I have had other plumbers review it and confirmed the issue. They charged me $250 call out fee, to then claim they didn't know what fitting was needed. Then called me 2 days later quoting me $950 for the works, claiming it was a burst pipe (it was not). The customer service woman was extremely rude as well. Do not book!!
I booked 247 Plumbing for today with an appointment window between 8:00 am and 12:00 pm. By 8:30 am, no one had arrived, so I called to check. I was told the plumber would come and would call 30 minutes prior, as I needed to leave for the office by noon. The plumber arrived at 11:35 am without calling. The issue was that cold water was not… Read more
coming from the tap. I had already purchased a new tap from Bunnings as a precaution. The plumber said the tap was the issue and replaced it. The problem still remained.
Only after that did he check further and said the actual issue was the cold water filter cartridge under the sink. When I asked to replace it, he said he didn’t carry any filters. Instead, he disconnected the filter completely, meaning the cold water is now unfiltered.
I was then sent an invoice for $319.20 for work that did not properly diagnose the issue in the first place.
I now have two taps, both working, but if the plumber had identified the real issue from the start, I would have saved around $200 and avoided unnecessary work.
Overall, poor communication, late arrival, and incorrect diagnosis. I do not recommend 247 Plumbing.
Came over and quoted $500 for replacing the whole system after just giving it a shake. Took $50 from my senior mum and then left. Promised to come back Monday 8 am and didn't show.
Reviews with attachments
NOT on time – Awful - booked an attendance the next day between 10-2. At 1.30 I called up to ask if they were coming. At 2 they called back to say they couldn't do that day and asked if I could rebook for another 3 hour window despite me advising I could only do before work for the rest of the week. No flexibility at all and no advance notice of non attendance. Useless.
Bullying Plumber Who Thought He was Dealing with an 88 year old Lady – My 88 year old Mothers kitchen Tap water dispenser that swings between 2 sinks to dispense the water had broken off so the water would squirt everywhere so she just needed the outlet piece between the 2 taps....call 0420 102 210 for "EMERGENCY LOCAL ON TIME PLUMBER" Makes booking Guy turns up next day...I'm in the house but he hasn't seen me...… Read more
Comes in and in 3 minutes he's talking $1,500 for Taps Pipes Upgrades....I appear from another room..Bully Boy PLUMBER Looks surprised and annoyed. I simply state my mum has little money and just wants the centre swivel outlet replaced ( been done previously for around $150) supplied and fitted. Guy Looks angry and almost shouts"I hear you " I said "Just the centre piece how much is it?" He stammers and says everything has gone up heaps so you're looking at around $350... I said OK when will you be able to do it.He States the next day between 2 and 4 pm.... I look up the part at Bunnings..It's $38-$70 for high quality.....So the PLUMBERS wanted $300 for Fitting a simple unscrew/ screw in piece. I called the office and asked when the PLUMBERS were coming and was told there was no booking as the guy got the Sh.ts I questioned his prices and wouldn't give me a printed quote. He decided he wouldn't come without informing my 88 year old mother...Rubbish service and a Dishonest Bully Tradie..we will take it further.email for details [Content Removed]
DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!! OLDER PEOPLE BEWARE, THEY WILL RIP YOU OFF! – In March 2023 my 84 yo mother was quoted and invoiced $6500 by Fast Ontime Local Plumber to clear and repair a blocked toilet sewer. Being a trusting old lady, living alone and just getting by on an old age pension, she was understandably distressed when smelly black water and partially dissolved toilet paper started welling up through the… Read more
overflow pipe outside her bathroom. She had kept a fridge magnet from Fast Ontime Local Plumber that was dropped in her letterbox and called them. A company employee came the following day and inspected the sewer pipe with a camera. He then quoted Mum $5500 to reline the pipes, asked her to sign the quote on his e-tablet then asked her for a $500 deposit up front. He failed to tell Mum that there were another seven pages of conditions and fine print in the document she just signed. Mum has no experience or knowledge of the cost of plumbing repairs and in her stressed state she overestimated the urgency of the situation and did not source any more quotes. On the following Monday two workers came out to re-scope the pipes and water jet the tree roots. They then decided that relining the pipes was no longer an option, and that the damaged pipework would have to be cut out and replaced. The quote was then increased by $1000 to $6500. The workers informed Mum of this then asked her for a $3000 progress payment 'to cover the cost of materials and labour', for which she had to go to the bank to withdraw the cash. This completely wiped out her emergency household expenses reserves. I find this highly unusual, as in over 45 years of engaging plumbers to do work for me, I have never once been asked for a deposit or progress payment. The two workers were on site for 6.5 hours on day one and manually exposed the pipes. As the soil is sandy loam it was easy to dig and no machinery was required.
When Mum rang me the next day and told me what had transpired I rang Fast Ontime Local plumber and spoke to the Operations Manager of the company. I questioned their methods and accused him of ripping off my mother, and although he was unapologetic and defended the outrageous quote, he wasn’t too keen on us talking to the VBA or Consumer Affairs. When I told him I was going to report him he very quickly offered to reduce the invoice by $2000, and confirmed this in an email that afternoon. I told him that because Mum had already paid $3500 (which my regular plumber and I believe is more than double what the job should have cost), I expected him to complete the job as specified and accept the $3500 as full payment for the job. He agreed to this the following day.
With regard to the original quote, $6500 for two workers for two (part) days work seemed an outrageous amount of money, and I believe that she has been taken advantage of and ripped off. I asked the Operations Manager for a detailed breakdown of materials and labour costs and received a materials costing of $792 for approx 3metres of 100mm PVC pipe, joint fittings, glue and primer. Labour costs for two 'technicians' (Fast Online Local Plumber's term) for 2 days were $5708. These materials prices are outrageous and at least double what their retail cost would be, let alone trade price! Their labour charge for one Registered Plumber and one 4th year apprentice is even more outrageous! I showed the job description and quote to my plumber of 30+ years and he said the job should have cost an absolute maximum of $1500 - $2000, requiring one experienced plumber a maximum of 1 to 1.5 days to complete. The Victorian Building Plumbing regulations clearly state that major sewer works have to be supervised and/or overseen by a Licensed Plumber. At no stage during the two days of plumbing works was a Licenced Plumber on-site to actively supervise or oversee the works. The workers were polite and amicable, but unfortunately the quality of their work was less than impressive, demonstrating a lack of experience in replacing pipe work. When they started rebuilding the pipework they did not lay the pipes out to ensure they would line up with the existing earthenware pipes before applying the solvent glue, resulting in them having to cut out and throw away the new pipework twice before they finally got the lengths and alignment right. Not only that but several pipe fittings were laid straight onto the dirt on the rim of the pit after having the solvent adhesive applied to the ends, which contaminated the glued surface with grains of sand and dirt. This demonstrated a lack of care and attention to detail. Also had I not been there to oversee their work they would not have haunched the pipework with screenings as quoted, which could have resulted in the pipes settling and the joints being compromised, resulting in future leaks and root ingress.
In addition to this, two weeks after the sewer repairs were completed we had to chase them up for the Certificate of Compliance that is meant to be completed and supplied to the client within 5 working days of the sewer works completion. When we did eventually receive it it was incorrectly dated in order to comply with the five day requirement.
In summary, people need to be warned of this ruthless and unprofessional company and others like it. I shudder to think how many older people have been pressured into signing a job contract and massively overcharged for the work. This was a blatant rip off so please be warned! Ring around and find a genuine local plumber (these guys came from the other side of Melbourne) who will charge you an honest, reasonable price for the work they complete. Throw their fridge magnets in the bin and warn your friends!
Fixed burst water pipe – Found out late that we had burst water pipe in the bathroom. Rang fast on time plumbing , they came out the very next day repaired the broken pipe and put my mind at ease . Can’t thank you enough ontime plumbing and most of all Ben .
Great service, very happy – I had an emergency gas leak, Fernando came out within the hour like mentioned noticed there was a faulty gas vault at the mains. He himself called and arranged Jemena to come & assess the work, he was unsure when Jemena would arrive so he left for another emergency and came back out once Jemena completed their works. It was now 11pm and Fernando… Read more · 1
worked tirelessly to secure & fix the gas leak, cleaned up after himself & assured to give him a call if anything changes! For a gas leak Fernando made sure my kids and I all felt safe by walking us through the issue & taking all measures to fix the issue! Would recommend to family & Friends, Thanks Fernando!
Positive reviews
Fast and efficient service for water heater replacement – After calling for a plumber to look at a failed hot water service the company had someone call the same day. Next morning a replacement unit was delivered by Reece and later that day Alexander arrived and installed the unit. He was fantastic and completed the job well after his normal working hours. ( He then had a two hour drive home through peak… Read more
hour traffic. ) Alexander also noted that our main water meter valve appeared faulty and suggested that we call SEWater to get it rectified. They came the very next morning. Very happy that we got Alexander!
Excellent in every way – I had a job done at my premises and I wanted to let everyone know that I was very happy with the plumbers that did the job; they were very efficient and friendly, kept me informed and up to date with things like turning the water off and where they were at with the job proceeding; They also were happy in their work, with a pleasant demeanor and… Read more
attitude to their work and each other; I am in a wheelchair and it is important to me to have tradesman like this in my home, that I feel I can trust; I believe it is always well worth praising people for outstanding work and a job well done; the job completed, looks great and I am very happy with it; Will be using your company again and referring to anyone who needs a plumber; Many thanks to Adam also for the reasonable quote; Best Regards Mary Vassallo
Decent service – Took a few calls to get update on plumber. However, when a new plumber was allocated to our job, it was quick and the plumber had great customer service, very informative and completed the job very well and in a timely manner. The call centre staff were considerate and friendly.
Negative reviews
My mum's house had a leak in one of the pipes and because she had a fridge magnet with this mob, I decided to call. They told me that they will come over at 10AM - 2PM and didnt arrive. When i tried to look for another plumber and I was curious to see the reviews for On Tim Local Plumber and I am now glad they didnt come by.
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Absolute rip offs. I’ve made a complaint to consumer affairs. My 70 year old in laws regretfully used this poor excuse for a plumber to fix a leak on their property. Charged them through the roof and didn’t provide an invoice or anything. I’ve been chasing them for a month now for the plumbers report and they never get back to me. AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
These people are scammers and try to take advantage of women. The plumber who came to my house didn’t know I was home and tried to tell my wife a whole story about fixing a pin hole leak in a copper pipe was going to cost $420 to repair and $45 call out few. On top of this the job would have to be booked in - maybe 3 days. I challenged him on… Read more
it and he was defensive and realised he had tried to rip my wife off. I found SJS plumbing locally and they came and fixed it within a few hours for 1/3 of the price - SJS should have been my first call!
Recent reviews
Crooks – CROOKS $ RIP off thousands on Unnessary work ,Quotes are a CON and so is company. Liars,no morals, scam customers. Many negative reviews speak for themselves. Only interested in getting your money anyway possible. Dodgy at best. Surprised not closed down yet. RUN AWAY.been warned.
Very Bad Service and Lack of Professional Process – I booked a plumbing repair service two days in advance, and the company confirmed it and sent me an email. However, on the day of the appointment, the plumber was over half an hour late and then cancelled the appointment, stating that they were fully booked for the week and had no time to come to my house for repairs. The customer service was… Read more
extremely unprofessional, with a dismissive attitude, claiming that this was a common occurrence and that it was acceptable. I am very dissatisfied with the company's service attitude, lack of reliability, and lack of professionalism.
Steer clear of these cowboys! – My 82 year-old mum had $11000 job done a few months ago to replace all pipes in the back yard. Nothing but trouble with this company. The tradies, once there, were fine and worked hard, the management however is a different story. Late starting the “3-day” job. Pulled tradesman off the job frequently without warning or they just didn’t show… Read more
(quite a lot of “sick” people in the company, funny, the tradie said he wasn’t sick). Left mum without toilet facilities for a week. Left her place looking like a war zone when they had finished nearly a month later, yes, a month, and they only rectified that after a heated phone call to them. And unfortunately my frail and elderly mum paid them. Do not touch these people, they are the worst company I have ever dealt with!!!
Unprofessional and overpriced – Waited two days for a plumber. Called to ask if there was a time frame and customer service was awful, very rude and even hung up the phone while I was talking. Plumber turned up 2hrs after scheduled time then complained it was almost his time to finish work. He quoted enormous price for a minor job. Will never use this company again. Would rate a zero rating if I could.
Rude and Extremely Unprofessional – We've requested a plumber to assess what is required to move our wall mounted centralized vacum and the "dude" came in this morning. First of all they sent an electrician. We've explained the work required anyway but his attitude was that we were providing a service to him and not the opposite. Extremely rude and unprofessional, my husband had to… Read more
intervene. Ended up that his company can't do the job but they still need to charge $45.00 for the visit. Basically we were charged this morning to be dealing with a rude and unhappy person. DO NOT USE THEIR SERVICES otherwise get insulted.
Absolute ripoff - 4x more expensive than other plumbers – Quoted $700 to replace a kitchen faucet that had a minor leak. $400 to address a minor leaky tap. Totally outrageous prices. Got another quote which was 4x cheaper.
Don't Even Consider Using Them! – This is the worst customer service experience that I've had in my entire life! I contacted the business in question, Ontime Local Plumber and requested that they attend my premises in order to clear a blockage in the sewerage pipe at the rear of the property on June 11 2021. I was charged $464 for a call-out fee and then a further $794 a few days… Read more
later and this was apparently because the first call-out fee didn't go through and also to stick a camera down my pipe in order to investigate the blockage. I never even ended up getting the work completed by this company due to finding someone far cheaper.
I strongly believe that I was grossly overcharged for the little work that was done when evaluating the job, but it's gotten to the point where I've accepted this. My Community Advocate, Michael Ericsson and I have contacted the plumber who did the evaluation multiple times to request an itemised bill and receipt, he replies once and then refuses to engage with either of us anymore once we advise him who we are and what we're asking. I have also tried reaching out to the main office of Ontime and my email bounced back. I know that the address is correct because I copied and pasted it off their website.
I have discussed the matter with Consumer Affairs Victoria and they are of the opinion that Ontime Local Plumber may be in breach of section 101 of the Australian Consumer Law by refusing to provide this. I have had a lot of health and medical issues and this is just extra pressure and stress that I don't need, so that's why I haven't done more about this until now.
An itemised bill and receipt is all I'm asking for, is that seriously too much to ask? Pull your socks up ontime!
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Bad Service, Bad Attitude – Not fast, not on time and prices were exhorbitant. Customer service is lacking and the manager needs to curb his smarmy attitude. An extremely unpleasant experience.
Prompt and professional service – Called early in the morning to replace hot water service and they arrived on time to assess. New hot water service ordered and delivered same day and installed later the same day. Excellent and professional service by Jacob.
Great guys – I wanted to provide some outstanding feedback to the two plumbers that came to my house. Harris and Josh. Fantastic customer service, worked hard all day to resolve my blocked pipes and cleaned up and made my backyard look like new. Thank you for your speedy fix and lovely customer service.
No show – Terrible service. Had our hot water system start leaking profusely. Called 0488 885 185 And was told a plumber would be there between 10 and 2. Received a call back at 2.30 stating the plumber had “gone home sick” but will do the job tomorrow. I was suspicious about the timing as only heard he was sick after 2pm and assumed they just couldn’t fit… Read more
the job in. I then called another plumbing company and within half an hour the plumber was at my home and problem solved. Never using these guys again.
Professional plumber / Professional Service – Oleksandr was a true professional. We discovered a water leak in the main pipe but Oleksandr not only fixed that he also discovered a secondary leak. After a couple of visits we had a new pipe installed in a short period of time and now our water pressure is better than ever. His communication, attention to detail and hard work was second to none.… Read more
Having dealt with plumbers previously I would highly recommend this company and Oleksandr specifically!
Total professionals – Dear Team, just want acknowledge how grateful we are for our first time experience using Fast Ontime Local Plumber. BJoshua & Darcy assessed the scope of works honestly, were on time - even early, and did a thorough job. This has made us feel confident to refer on in our building also. Thanks to you both for the expert & prossional experience. Lisa & Steve, Melb. CBD.
High praise for Ontime Local – My experience with Ontime Local was a very positive experience. The three staff members I met were all true professionals. They were always “on time”, efficient, polite and fully explained the situation to me. I would have no hesitation in recommending them and score them a 10/10. What could have been a most stressful experience was positive. Thanks guys.
Sewage disaster! – Thank you so much Josh for fixing the sewage disaster at my place. It was a tough job but you were extremely determined to find a solution. Your experience was very needed on this job, thank you again.
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