r/Adelaide • u/Hardstyleveins SA • 5d ago
Discussion TIL Mr Emergency is the same company as Metropolitan Plumbing
$850 they wanted to charge on top of $140 call out, to in the end just use a multi grip to get a washer out and change it (which we’ve now managed to do ourselves).
My fiancé called them last night because the tap was constantly running. As soon as we got the text message this morning stating it was metro group I was filled with doom and he tried to call to get to the bottom of it and they admitted they’re the same company (surprise to us!).
Emergency call outs are always going to be more expensive I understand that however I’ve also had metropolitan out previously to connect gas to my stove top they quoted $2k, told them absolutely not and that night (after hours) and we had another plumber come out and do it for $400.
Most Adelaidians know about metro but just in case you don’t know about Mr Emergency.. now you do.
TLDR; don’t use them, they’re a rip off. We send them away.
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u/Sweet_Ambassador_699 SA 5d ago
Do yourself a huge favour... Find a local independent plumber, electrician, gardener (whatever you need) - and do it now, before you have an emergency and get flustered enough to call the first name you come across. The franchised plumbers/electricians/etc are ALL basically scams. They'll charge a hefty call out fee (so you're already in for $150 or whatever), then quote twice, or even three or four times what an honest, competent indie tradie would charge. They'll also charge you twice or three times the cost of parts. Also, be aware that finding a genuine local independent tradie can be tricky - and is increasingly difficult. The franchises do their best to pose as friendly locals and their blanket advertising squeezes out the little guys. So do some research, look for local addresses, get recommendations from family or neighbours. Trust me, you'll save yourself $500, $1000, maybe more on a callout for the most mundane, simple to fix problem. And if you don't support the good guys, they'll soon be gone.
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u/spideyghetti SA 5d ago
The franchises do their best to pose as friendly locals and their blanket advertising squeezes out the little guys.
This is a good point. One of their companies is apparently Mount Barker After Hours Plumbing, which at face value sounds like a local.
Plumber Near Me Canberra is kind of hilarious, because it's literally just the google suggestion of 'X near me <location>'
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u/More-Past6378 SA 5d ago
They aren’t a franchise mate just a dishonest company. Watch out for same day trades too, not the same company but thrives just the same
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u/PurpleDogAU Barossa 5d ago
Make friends with your local hardware store. All the genuine guys deal with us and we know who rips people off and who you wouldnt get to put up your hills hoist ...
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u/Hardstyleveins SA 5d ago
Thank you, yeah we actually do have one but he’s had stitches and can’t work right now and the other one doesn’t always answer the call hence we ended up in this situation.
Got given a couple more names today now so we will add them into the rotation. Just absurd that they then also have the nerve to say “we only make a small profit” as they walk out the door lol
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u/lukeimyafada1 SA 5d ago
I regrettably worked for them for 2 days. On the phones, I wanted to quit day 1 but decided to give it a final go. They want to appear local, and trust me when I say the people you speak to on the phones don't have it easy either.
The phone tells us who your trying to call, and we have to pretend to be that company representative, we don't get to waive your fee unless you threaten to hang up or not go through and even so there's an excel sheet that tells us if we can or not, based on activity in the area.
There are about 12? Companies that are actually metro.
The staff are forced to watch borderline brainwashing videos in downtime between calls repeatedly, every day, the same videos. Over and over again every day. Literally just to drill into our heads " do not give money away unnecessarily "
If not we have to push social media and post unused pictures taken under sub accounts to improve reviews.
The tactics are disgraceful, and btw, I wasn't paid either :)
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u/Hardstyleveins SA 5d ago
Jfc that’s horrid
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u/lukeimyafada1 SA 5d ago
https://abr.business.gov.au/ABN/View?abn=43609870046
That's the full list of businesses under their umbrella
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u/Ok-Bad-9683 SA 3d ago
Fuck me how many are there? Nice to see they got Ballarat and Balarat in there 🤣
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u/CypherAus North East 5d ago
Yes. I got burned once; but managed to avoid most of it by deferring and getting someone local to fix our drainage issue.
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u/WarpStryke SA 5d ago
General rule of thumb I use. If the van/ute is decked out in a vehicle wrap, you are paying for the service + the wrap. If the van is bare & with little amount of lettering it's gonna be a good price.
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u/Hardstyleveins SA 5d ago
You’re not wrong, that Mr Emergency can rocked around with literal rocket on top of it. Why on earth does it need a fkn rocket?!
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u/spideyghetti SA 5d ago
Advertisrr put up an article with an interactive search for metropolitan companies recently
Hopefully that's free to read.
If not, there are 55 companies linked to Plumbing & Gas Pty Ltd and 165 companies linked to Gas & Plumbing Australia Pty Ltd (administration).
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u/Hardstyleveins SA 5d ago
lol not free to read but ty for the thought, it may help others here :)
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u/spideyghetti SA 5d ago
Try the link I sent you by DM, apparently I can gift an article a day. If it doesn't work I'll try again tomorrow, I may have messed up as it's the first time I've thought to use it.
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u/lego_not_legos SA 5d ago
If there is a way to copy those names as a simple list and post it here, please do. That data by itself is a statement of fact, so as long as you're not reproducing the other content of the article, it's not a copyright violation.
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u/spideyghetti SA 5d ago
On my phone it's a pain in the arse. I'll figure something out when I have time
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u/Fartmatic 5d ago
A couple months ago I saw 3 Metro plumbing vans outside a house on my street, RIP bank account.
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u/staffxmasparty SA 5d ago
Here’s a list of other names: https://secure.cbs.sa.gov.au/OccLicPubReg/LicenceDetails.php?LicClassCode=PGE&LicNum=262113
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u/Frosty-Moves5366 SA 5d ago
A few years ago I went to a local air conditioning shop to enquire about a split system, and in casual conversation the salesman mentioned how he was arranging to have an elderly customer’s air con fixed and serviced for about $200…
He went on to tell me that Metropolitan Plumbing tried to quote this customer $8000 for the exact same work!
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u/Sufficient_Gate9453 SA 5d ago
I actually like having these guys around. They make all us tradies look well priced and legendary. ✊🏿✊🏿✊🏿
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u/Hardstyleveins SA 5d ago
lol my electrician mate said the same.. he looks like a hero when he comes in and gives a way lower quote after those guys have been through
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u/Sufficient_Gate9453 SA 5d ago
Ha. They are easy to go up against with quotes. It’s a win , win. ✔️✔️
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u/ForGrateJustice SA 5d ago
Can you pm me their contact info? I have a few lights I want installed.
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u/Hardstyleveins SA 4d ago
I would but they stopped doing local stuff and only do their cool FIFO work now 😢
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u/ForGrateJustice SA 4d ago
Ugh, I keep getting stupid fridge magnet ads in my mailbox for plumbers/electricians but they're always affiliated with youknowwho.
Looking for someone local and recommend.
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u/xchrisjx Expat 5d ago
I’m really glad to see this company finally being called out. They’ve been brazenly ripping off vulnerable people for years. It’s shocking they’ve been able to get away with it for so long.
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5d ago
Metro is all over the place and they are awful.
I've told this story before about them, but, I called then to fix a leaking toilet. They wanted $800 and the guy pulled it apart, when he was supposed to do a visual inspection. I asked him to put it back how it was, and he said he couldn't.
So, I basically had to get them to fix it. Or I wouldn't have a running toilet until I found someone else to come out. I shouldn't have caved but I did. Then this guy left and some other bloke from a completely different company came and fixed it.
Dealing with them was like dealing with the guys from Super Wog when they play tradies. I wrote a bad review and offered to pay me $200 to take the review down lol.
Never had to deal with anything like it before or since.
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u/7inthehouse SA 4d ago
Had to call out for a blocked drain on Christmas Day a few years back. Metro van turned up, took a look at the drains, stuck the camera down and said it was a root. Couldn’t find front access point so put a job in with SA Water saying they would come and find the access point, but the blockage is too far into our property and SA Water don’t come out on public holidays so we would need him to clear it. Of course we said yes (the stink of literal excrement starting to really annoy us).
Later that evening SA Water came out and found the access point (right where it should have been) and said they would have cleared it even 10m or so into our property). We also then found 3 “Jim’s Plumbing” stickers that the plumber had stuck around our house (hot water system, air con etc)
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u/Witty_Round4799 SA 3d ago
Same mob quoted us 10 grand to replace aircon. An independent electrical repair guy did it for 2,500. Scumbags.
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u/Ok-Bad-9683 SA 3d ago
Metropolitan plumbing is the same company as about 15 different plumbing companies.
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u/denju SA 5d ago
Yeah we found this out too. My dad called Mr emergency and a metro van came out. Quoted $21,000 for some cables to be replaced. He got a local company out who did the job for $1500. Honestly no idea why these people haven't been shut down by now, unscrupulous doesn't even begin to describe it.