servicetoday.com.au Avis 

On the 27th of June 2020 my parents found they had a leaking faucet attached to their washer. As I was unable to get to them and having used Jim’s Antennas to sort out a problem for them prior, which was carried out in an exemplarily fashion I asked them to call Jim’s Plumbing. Unfortunately, and I am not quite sure why or how but Service Today (ALLTRADES CONTRACTING SERVICES PTY LIMITED) were the company that arrived to the work. My parents being elderly were already stressed out and did not question this, they were just happy that someone had arrived to fix the leak.

I believe that the work was carried out without ‘Ben’ the plumber providing a quotation or estimate, I have asked for a copy of the signed authority for the work to be carried out but was only supplied an invoice with a digital signature attached which was collected at the completion of the work. The cost was $800 to fix the leak, two sets of taps fitted which I am certain was totally unnecessary.

‘Ben’ also was able to identify a ‘faulty’ extraction fan which he would have Sam the Service Today electrician take care of (he told my parents another handy $800 would be needed to do this, I am not sure where he plucked this figure from).

My parents are in their late 80’s and are trusting and easily manipulated, as are most pensioners of their vintage, so they did as Ben and suggested and arranged for ‘Sam’ to have a look. ‘Sam’ fitted the fan (no signed quotation or authority available, just an invoice with a digital signature collected at the end of the job) and then proceeded to convince them that they were in danger of being electrocuted and that they should replace a couple of trip switches on their power board … another ridiculous $1,188.78 worth of work to remedy the issue. ‘Sam’ also applied pressure to do additional unrequired work. My parents live in Woodland Retirement Village and the village has vigorous safety standards, there was never any danger of my parents being electrocuted, knowing that it would scare them into agreeing I believe ‘Sam’ used it to get my parents across the line. They were also signed up for the “Total Care Club - Lifetime membership joining fee” which I am certain they no need for, and have no idea what the offer includes.

My parents told me of what they had been charged for the work and how little time it took which I found outrageous and decided to pursue the issue. I hold Power of Attorney for my parents and had to request the Tax Invoices be sent to them, they had not been sent and probably would not have had they not been requested . The invoices lacked any detail and I asked for a breakdown of the costs, Service today sent a breakdown consisting of Material Costs and ‘Operational Costs’, the operational costs consisting of “administration, insurance, travel, technology, training, advertising, labour, testing, commissioning and others.” A very convenient way of covering ridiculous commissions I am sure.

Having Service Today give a refund for the unwarranted work is secondary to making an effort to ensure that they do not repeat this sort of behavior with other seniors. Seniors are the most vulnerable of our community and to take advantage of their sometimes mental frailty is borderline criminal.

I have forwarded my complaint to The Department of Fair Trading, I’d suggest anyone else coming up against this unethical company make the effort to do the same.

Do not use Service Today, they will rip you off. The plumbers are polite and punctual and fooled me into trusting them. I had a leaky cistern and was told that sorry that you can't get spare parts for it and that you would either have to replace the whole mechanism or replace the toilet. I asked are you sure about that and he told me yes sorry. Foolishly I trusted him and had the mechanism replaced at a cost of $900. It was either that or pay a fee for his quote. It took him all of 5 minutes. My second toilet which is exactly the same model, developed the same problem a couple of months later. This time I used a different plumber, he told me it was an easy fix and replaced a small broken part that he says wears away with use. He charged me a couple of dollars for the part and a call out fee. I rang Service Today to complain about being told the wrong thing and being charged so much and was told too bad, they are Service Today fees.

Should have known better but the greywater drain was blocked for over two weeks and there was no time to be taken off from work. Somehow, work always gets in the way of life. :)

So Saturday morning I have called Service Today and in case you are wondering, this was the good part of the story.

In a few hours a technician showed up. As it later turned out, he has brought some of his equipment but left his social skills behind. No matter, I thought. He is not here for amusing conversations.

But then he proceed by using the wrong equipment, the one I've said will not do the job and also attacking it from the wrong end of the pipe. And of course about 30 minutes later he lost that crucial nozzle from his high pressure pipe which was the signal for him that it was time to go home to that comfy sofa and the cold beer waiting in the fridge.

But not before I have paid $526.33 for his efforts. Being small in stature, who was I to argue with a large tradie ? Outcame the credit card and he was on his way. Not a moment too soon judging from his attitude, if you ask me.

The following day, I have called another plumber who cleared the blockage using the right equipment this time. It only cost almost as much as the bill I have paid to Service Today.
Since I belive in the Force and Balance in the Universe, I have contacted Service Today. No joy as I was informed that the service call was merely an ATTEMPT and not a guaranteed outcome. That is all my $526.33 entitled me for according to **** who works there.

So I have said, let me put this into another perspective: What if **** goes into his favourite restaurant and is presented with an empty plate and a bill that is to be paid in full. When he expresses his dismay, he's been told that the chef has made an ATTEMPT to cook his meal and that is all there is to it. Naturally, while he as a customer sitting at the table, it was the chef who decided on the equipment and method that was used. It was also the chef who decided what constituted a reasonable effort. On top of all this, he was not presented with any information when entering the restaurant as to what were the conditions to his visit.

Can you see where I'm coming from ? So let me tell you that when you call Service Today, DO NOT EXPECT any guarantee in exchange for your money. Possibly your money will be flushed down the drain.

And I don't think I would advise to call them for getting it back.

Hope my costly experience will be of use to you. Have a great day.

I had a VERY BAD EPERIENCE with this company. They charge arms and legs and then some more. It's not until you are finished dealing with them that you find out you paid way too much for their service

Charged my credit card $49 just to come and quote a new water heater. Then $3,300 to replace it. I had to lose the $49 as I sent them away and got another company to give me a free quote which ended up being $2350. I found there are plenty of companies willing to give a free quote.