Who you are dealing with
Fox Valley Plumbing & Backflow, Inc., a licensed plumbing contractor serving Elgin and the surrounding communities. In these terms, “we” and “us” mean the company, and “you” means the customer or the person using this site.
Asking for service is a request, not a booking
When you submit the form on this site or leave us a message, you are asking us to get in touch. A submitted form is not a confirmed appointment. A job is booked when we have spoken to you and agreed a time. We read every request, and a person decides what happens to it.
If you have an emergency, telephone us. Water actively running, no water at all, or the smell of gas are not things to put in a web form. Call (847) 624-3872. If you smell gas, leave the building first and call your gas utility.
Estimates and prices
An estimate is our best assessment of what the work will cost based on what we can see at the time. Plumbing frequently uncovers conditions that were not visible — corrosion, previous repairs done badly, pipe that fails when it is disturbed. If the work turns out to be different from what was estimated, we will stop and tell you before we continue. You will not receive an invoice for work you did not agree to.
Prices quoted on this website or in advertising are indicative. The price for your job is the one we give you for your job.
Getting to the work
We need safe access to the property and to the equipment at the agreed time. If we cannot get in, or the area is not safe or not accessible, we may have to reschedule and a trip charge may apply. Please tell us in advance about dogs, alarms, locked gates, tenants, or anything else that affects getting to the work.
We confirm every appointment the day before by text, email or telephone. If we cannot reach you and get no reply, the appointment is released so the slot can go to someone else, and we will not arrive the next day. Please answer the confirmation even if the answer is “still fine”.
Please give us at least 24 hours to cancel or reschedule. Cancellations within 24 hours may be billed one hour of service at $200. We will give you the same notice whenever we possibly can.
Backflow testing and compliance
Backflow prevention devices are required by law to be tested, and the results filed with the water purveyor for the property. Some things about that are worth being clear on:
- The obligation to have the device tested is the property owner’s, not ours. We can remind you, and we do, but a reminder is a courtesy and not a transfer of responsibility.
- Test results are filed with your village, city, or water district. We are required to file them, and we cannot withhold them at your request. This is covered in our privacy policy.
- A device can fail. If it does, it has to be repaired or replaced and retested. That is a separate job with its own cost, and a failed test is not a failure of our service.
- Reminders depend on the information we hold being current. If your device, your property or your contact details change, tell us.
Payment
Invoices are due on the terms stated on the invoice. Labour is billed in one-hour increments.
- Cards are accepted, with a 4% processing fee.
- Zelle is accepted at foxvalleyplumbing@gmail.com.
- Returned cheques carry a $40 fee.
- Late payment. A finance charge of 1.5% per month (18% APR) is added to invoices more than 30 days past due.
- Unpaid debt. A lien may be filed on any balance unpaid after 90 days, and lien fees of $600 are payable by the customer, along with any court, collection, and attorney’s fees.
Parts and materials remain ours until they are paid for.
Emergency call-outs carry a $300 fee, payable before the plumber leaves for your property.
If we give you a written estimate
Larger work is quoted in writing, and the signed estimate becomes the contract between us. The following apply to estimated work:
- Anything not listed on the estimate is not included and will be billed separately.
- 50% deposit, with the balance due on completion.
- Any change to the specification that adds cost is carried out only on a written Extra Work Order and is charged as an extra.
- Permits and letters of intent are applied for by us and paid by you.
- Waste is disposed of on site, in a dumpster provided by others. Concrete removal and replacement is by others. The site must have a power source.
- We carry public liability insurance and will provide certification on request. You should carry fire and other property insurance as normal.
- Delays caused by strikes, accidents or anything outside our control are not a breach of the agreement.
- An estimate reflects our interpretation of your requirements, and we reserve the right to correct errors and omissions.
Our guarantee
We do our work in a workmanlike manner and in line with applicable plumbing codes.
- Labour is guaranteed for one year, limited to one return visit.
- Parts carry the manufacturer’s own warranty.
- We do not guarantee labour or parts supplied by others. If further repairs become necessary because of somebody else’s defective parts or work, those repairs are charged separately.
- If you authorise us to begin a repair but not to finish it, we will charge for the disassembly, reassembly and partially completed work.
We are not responsible for problems arising from work done by others, from the condition of existing pipework or fixtures we did not install, or from a failure to maintain equipment according to its manufacturer’s instructions.
If you ever have a question about our work, please call us. We would rather hear it than not.
Drain, sewer and jetting work
Drain cleaning, cable rodding, milling and hydro-jetting are invasive procedures carried out inside pipework whose condition we cannot see beforehand. We are not responsible for pre-existing defects, deteriorated piping, cable breakage, drain or sewer line breakage, concealed conditions, or damage caused by an already failed or compromised sewer system. Any repair needed because of the existing condition of the drain or sewer is not included and will be quoted separately.
Text messages and email
If you agree to receive text messages, message and data rates may apply, and message frequency varies. Reply STOP to stop and HELP for help. Agreeing to texts is never a condition of booking work. How we handle your number is set out in our privacy policy.
Using this website
The content of this site belongs to us. You are welcome to read it, print it and share links to it. You may not copy it wholesale for your own commercial use, attempt to break into it, submit false information through the form, or use the form to send us advertising or solicitations.
Information on this site is general. Plumbing is specific to your property, and nothing here is a substitute for having someone look at it.
The software we use
We use a private software connection between our own scheduling system and our own Intuit QuickBooks Online company, so that work we book becomes an invoice without being entered twice.
- It connects only to our QuickBooks company, authorised by us. It does not connect to any QuickBooks account of yours.
- It reads and writes records. It never deletes anything.
- It is a private integration for this business. It is not offered, sold or licensed to anyone else.
- It can be disconnected at any time. How, and what happens then, is on our QuickBooks connection page.
QuickBooks and Intuit are trademarks of Intuit Inc. We are not affiliated with Intuit beyond being a customer of theirs.
Limits
Nothing in these terms limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, and to the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our liability in connection with a job is limited to the amount paid for that job.
This site is provided as it is. We keep it accurate, but we do not warrant that it is error-free or always available.
Illinois law
These terms are governed by the law of the State of Illinois, and any dispute belongs in the courts of Kane County, Illinois.
Changes
We may update these terms. The effective date at the top will change when we do. The terms that apply to your job are the ones in force when the job was agreed.
Contact
Fox Valley Plumbing & Backflow, Inc.
Elgin, Illinois
Telephone: (847) 624-3872
Email: foxvalleyplumbing@gmail.com
