Video: Investigators: Beacon Plumbing in hot water

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SEATTLE – When faced with a plumbing emergency, thousands of people turn to Beacon, the area's largest residential plumber.

Boosted by a multi-million dollar ad campaign and led by owner Bill Cahill, the business has become one of the best known companies in the Northwest.

But the KING 5 Investigators have learned that Beacon customers could overpay for an under-qualified plumber.

Bud Shasteen is one of dozens of homeowners who now regret the phrase that popped into their heads in their time of need: "Quit freakin', call Beacon."

He is still fuming at the price a family member paid for a plastic pipe, nearly $200 plus labor. A plumber installed it to divert downspout water that was leaking into the basement.

The fix was expensive. Experts also say it was also improper, since the kind of pipe used is meant for indoor use only.

"My daughter was shafted, really," Shasteen said. "It's just a vinyl, plastic pipe."

Theoria Engstrom paid Beacon nearly $14,000 for a new sewer line. A month later she called the city with a permit question and learned Tacoma’s average side sewer replacement job cost less than half that price.

“I just felt terrible. I couldn’t believe it. Then of course you feel kind of ashamed that you were taken in, said Engstrom.

It may be the most well-known plumber in the state, but Beacon has plumbed its way right into hot water with the Better Business Bureau, receiving a dreaded "unsatisfactory" rating for not resolving consumer complaints.

The company says only a small fraction of its customers file complaints. They acknowledge that with its ad budgets and 24/7 emergency response – it may be more expensive than other plumbers.

"The industry we're in is a very challenging industry and we have to send capable, experienced people out for those emergency jobs," said William Cahill, Beacon owner.

But are you always getting that service?

The KING 5 Investigators noticed something when reviewing the 40 complaints filed with the Attorney General's Office – many of them about incomplete or poor workmanship. When we punched the names of the Beacon employees listed in the complaints into the state's database of licensed contractors, we found almost all of those we could identify by first and last name were plumber trainees - a license almost anyone can get for $37.

"We don't have to have a licensed plumber for clearing drains and doing menial tasks," Cahill said.

It's true that trainees can do some work on their own. But we found complaints in which people we identified as Beacon trainees were doing work that should only be handled by fully licensed plumbers.

According to one complaint from a Kent woman, Beacon pledged to send a "really qualified" plumber for her bathroom remodel, which she says resulted in a leaky tub and sink. We found that her "really qualified" plumber was actually a trainee.

KING 5 News Investigator Chris Ingalls asked: "Is it fair to charge the rate that you charge if a trainee's going to respond to the call?"

Cahill said: "A lot of my guys can do the work and they're challenged with taking the test."

The state's test is only part of becoming a plumber. Thousands of hours of on-the-job training are also required.

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Beacon has become the area's largest residential plumber and one of the best known companies in the Northwest.

State regulators investigated several complaints and has fined Beacon eight times since 2003 for unlicensed work.

"It's actually the Washington law that plumbers must be certified and trainees must be supervised," said Elaine Fischer, Labor and Industries.

In another case, the state cited a Beacon trainee for plumbing a toilet. Yet one month later the company sent him to a Seattle apartment building where he was accused of botching another plumbing job.

The landlady, Vita Otrubova, didn't know he was a trainee until we showed her the records.

"It's very disturbing," she said.

Beacon says its worker may not hold a plumber's license, but he does have years of experience.

"Why doesn't he have the license if he's so experienced and been on the job so long?" Otrubova said.

Cahill told Ingalls: "I've got a few trainees out there. There's nobody that's been inappropriately charged and my guys work their guts out."

Beacon says many of its competitors use trainees, too. That may be true as state regulators say unlicensed work is a persistent problem in the plumbing trade.

Beacon opened its doors to the KING 5 Investigators allowing us to shoot whatever we needed. They said they have nothing to hide. After we met with them the company launched a major PR campaign. We've heard from dozens of supporters. The company sent out a press release and just today ran an ad in the newspaper saying it's trained its 85 employees to the highest standards.