State attorney general accuses Gillece Services of 'bait-and-switch' tactics on clogged sewer jobs

The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office has filed a lawsuit against Gillece Services in Allegheny County alleging a “bait-and-switch scheme” that lured customers in with deceptively low prices only to tell them the job required different, expensive home improvement work.

The complaint filed Tuesday seeks restitution for every customer the attorney general’s office said has been wronged; civil fines for every violation of the state’s consumer protection laws; as well as a ban on Gillece from registering as a home improvement contractor or working in the business. Gillece, based in Bridgeville, provides plumbing, heating, cooling and electrical services in the Pittsburgh area.

The lawsuit followed an investigation by the AG’s Bureau of Consumer Protection into the use of Gillece’s advertised “Clog Crusher” service. For $93, the lawsuit said, Gillece said it would clear out customers’ sewer backups.

However, the investigation showed that technicians for the company would tell people who called for that service that their clogs couldn’t be cleared through the use of a snake, but only through expensive excavation work.

“In many such instances, [Gillece] technicians recommend this costly excavation work without even making a good-faith effort to clear the consumers’ sewer lines using a snake,” the complaint said.

In addition, it alleges that the company’s trucks are stocked with “the smallest, most basic type of snake cutter (known as the ‘starting drill’) that is designed to get the water flowing but is not designed to clear stubborn clogs/hard stoppages or retrieve foreign objects.

“In essence, corporate defendants set themselves up to fail at opening consumers’ sewer lines in order to sell consumers costly work that they do not need,” the lawsuit said.

Often, when customers would seek a second opinion, the lawsuit, said, other plumbers were able to clear the blockage by using a traditional snake.

John Linkosky, the attorney who represents Gillece, said the company categorically denies every allegation against it.

“If you go through the specific consumer allegations in the complaint, Gillece or its employees did absolutely nothing wrong,” he said.

The lawsuit also names as defendants owner Thomas Gillece, former service manager James F. Hackwelder, and field supervisor Joseph A. Nikoula.

Other allegations include that Gillece failed to properly complete contracts it had with customers; made false statements relative to the prices it charged; and used scare tactics to convince customers they were in danger if the work wasn’t completed quickly.

“They have never endorsed or encouraged employees to use scare tactics,” Linkosky said.

The complaint also alleges that employees were often paid on a commission basis per job, encouraging them to increase services and fees.

Gillece operates in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Fayette, Washington and Westmoreland counties.

The complaint noted that since 2016, the Better Business Bureau received 77 consumer complaints against Gillece.

But Linkosky said that since 2018, Gillece has served 60,000 customers and has an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau.

“Out of those, 77 people complained,” the attorney said. “You do the math. That’s an extremely, extremely low percentage. … You don’t get an A+ rating by failing to mediate complaints and make customers satisfied.”

According to the complaint, the attorney general’s office met with Gillece about consumer complaints in 2015, and on Dec. 17, 2015, Deputy Attorney General M. Susan Ruffner sent Linkosky a warning letter outlining remedial measures they had previously discussed.

The letter, it said, was to serve as official notice of the alleged violations. It also noted that it did not preclude the office from taking enforcement action against the company if necessary.

Linkosky said that Gillece has been in compliance with every measure listed on the letter. He questioned what prompted the filing of the lawsuit this week.

“I intend to get to the bottom of where this is coming from,” he said.

The lawsuit asks the court to order Gillece to make full restitution to every customer who suffered a loss; to pay civil penalties of $1,000 for every violation of the Consumer Protection Law and $3,000 for each violation involving victims age 60 or older.