Fast Plumbing & Drains

Our water heater stopped lighting on a Monday and our equally useless home warranty company referred us to this incompetent individual. During our initial interaction on the phone he told me how he didn’t carry some really common plumbing supplies (thermocouples) and it may take multiple days. This was the first clue that he might not be a professional, but we scheduled an appointment for 2 – 4.
I called him at 3 to let him know that I would be on my motorcycle and couldn’t be reached, but provided my wife’s information. No call. Called again at 4:05 to check. No call. Called again 3 – 4 more times. No call. I finally called the warranty company and they were somehow able to get ahold of him. He claimed that an earthquake had him responding to gas leaks in the area. But there were no earthquakes of significant magnitude to cause any problems whatsoever. This guy is clearly dishonest. I will avoid him and I encourage you to do so.

If I could giver zero stars I would! Let me start by saying unprofessional and rude. I have a broken garbage disposal and since our home warranty was paid for by the seller we decided to use it. They set me up with fast plumbing and it started well with setting up appointment and that’s as far as good went. I scheduled 9am-​12pm on my day off and he didn’t show up so I called. He gave me an emergency drain/​flood excuse so I took his word and rescheduled for Monday 3pm-​5pm and again a no show. I work retail so I’m very patient and understand things come up so I called him to find out why no one showed up. He didn’t even acknowledge my appointment and said he stepped out for food and would call me back in 15−20min for an eta, seriously?!! I told him to cancel and I would get my home warranty to get me another service provider and all he said rudely is «why?» Seriously! He did not even apologize or try to make anything right. DO NOT USE!

The guy may be nice but I’m sorry to say I would never recommend this company. I took off 2 days from work in order to meet him. We had a 9am appointment on Monday. No call no show. I had to call him at 11am and see where he was. He said his internet went out and that he had a crazy morning but he would come by at 2pm. Again, no call no show. I called and he said I am so sorry I have other projects I need to finish can we do it tomorrow. When would work for you. We decided on 12pm the next day but I told him I had to leave by 2pm. He said no problem. At 12:30pm on Tuesday he again was a no call no show. I called and he said he was at another job but that he would leave and come to my place. It’s 2pm and again, no call no show. I called and he said I’m on my way. Uhhhhhh… It’s 2. I told him to cancel it. I do give him credit for always answering the phone when I called. But come on. You’ve got to make appointments. I gave him 3 trys.

Honest and fair, Ok. Let me start by saying that since I moved to San Diego I have been having issues with a lot of plumbers in the area. Some rude and some just don’t care to come back. Henry was referred by the insurance company to fix a sewage problem. Let me start by saying that I don’t like BS. Especially if there is money involved. Henry showed up to the house and gave me a no BS answer to my questions. He did what he could to take care of the issue but the sewage problem was a little bigger then what I thought it would be. He was honest and told me he will have to come back the next day. Keep in mind he did come late. He showed up the next day and we went over some options. Being honest it was going to take some money to fix my problem. (I should have had the house inspector check some stuff out my fault) But it had to be done. He was true to his word and took care of the sewage problem and he gave me a honest price. I don’t like expenses no one does but it’s good to have some one that try’s hard to give you good service and at a honest price. I like the guy and I’m sure you will to. Keep in mind that plumbing is not a simple plunger job, it’s a profession and Henry is proud of what he does and he does it well. Thanks dude

Henry is a honest plumber. I reviewed some of the comments and a lot of them are bogus.
#1 — Don’t blame Henry for charging $ 60. Blame your home warranty company. This is a standard fee he collects and part of an insurance contract.
#2 — Time frames. Fixing plumbing issues takes time. He may have two jobs scheduled, but gets stuck on one longer. My job took all day and I know he had to cancel another to finish our job. Sorry, but things like this happen. If you think it will only take minutes, do it yourself…
Henry did a great job and was cordial throughout fixing two items. He is dirt cheap too. If you want an actual license contractor fixing your home, call him.

This company is also operating under HC Plumbing N Drains as Henry Castorena as the owner. I contacted the insurance company yesterday for a kitchen sink issue. The company informed me that Fast Plumbing would be calling me yesterday for of an appointment for the next day. At 10 pm my doorbell rang and I had to wake up to the plumber at my door. He was there for an appointment that I was unaware of was happening that late at night. I let him in the home and what he did was tighten a bolt and then proceed to tell me the plumbing was a code violation and that he could basically do it as a side job. How can someone be so certain of code violations without going inside a wall to investigate? He tried to get me to schedule an appointment for Monday or Tuesday to come back and make it up to code. He also tried to get me to pay the money for the appointment that I had already paid the insurance company for. This morning I contacted the insurance company to state how uncomfortable he made me feel. I would never have chosen this company to come to my home for my plumbing. Unfortunately I had no choice in this decision since the insurance decided who came to the appointment. I am currently in the process of having the insurance company remove this man and his «companies» from their vendor list.

Henry is an excellent plumber and an honest man. After my home warranty company sent 3 other plumbers to diagnose my plumbing issue (all of them could not figure out the problem), Henry determined the cause, fixed the main sewer line, and worked directly with our insurance company to minimize our out-​of-​pocket expense. I highly recommend Henry for any and all of your plumbing needs.

DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY!!! I would give them ZERO stars if I could. My home warranty company forced this plumber on me. I had to call him several times, he kept saying he was coming out to look at the GAS LEAK, but didn’t and wouldn’t call me back. Finally got him to come out Sunday night for about 10 minutes since we live close by one another. He looked around and said ok I’ll get permits and schedule the inspector. He asked, do you have kids? I said no, he said you do now, the inspector will be more likely to speed up the process if you say you have children and don’t have gas or hot water. WHAT? He then said that the issue was probably under the house in the crawl space and that the inspector was not going to crawl under there and look at the repair so we would have to pick a valve somewhere easy for the inspector to see and «repair» it so that he could see the repair and would sign off on it. WHAT? Then he left and said his «crew» would be out in the morning. Somewhere between 0930 – 1000 he showed up alone. I ask about the «crew», he said his son called in sick. We went back over the work to be done and he crawled under the house. When he came back out he said he didn’t know how he was going to repair the spot I suspected the leak to be. Then he said that he wanted to cut a hole in my slab walkway to access some pipes that might be suspect, but would need authorization from the warranty company, but that the warranty company would likely not pay for it. I told him that I was not paying for anything. He said he was going to his truck to call the warranty company. After about 10 minutes I didn’t see him, so I went looking. His truck was gone. So I texted him. He said he went to he the office to call the warranty company and get some parts he’d need to fix the issue. Next thing I get is a call from the warranty company saying that they talk to the plumber and he said the leak was outside the house and that they would not cover the repair. I told them he never even identified where the leak actually was. They said he was their rep and they would take his word over mine and that they were cancelling the work order. I cannot explain in words how upset I am!!! Guess I’ll go take a cold shower and see if I can get someone with actual plumb skill to come fix my GAS LEAK!!!

I would give zero stars if I could. I find it amazing anyone has had good service with these guys. They were assigned my service order by my home warranty company and three business days later still had not called me. I called them and they said, «Oh, we didn’t see that order come through. Let me check it and call you right back.» They never called. I called them the next day and they set up a time to come to my house. Okay great, finally, something is happening. We rescheduled our calendar to be there during the window they provided and… THEY NEVER SHOWED! Needless to say I called my home warranty company back and told them I wanted a new plumber. Don’t waste your time with these guys. They don’t do what they say and have no respect for your time.

Two appointments two no shows and no phone calls. I called after they were one hour late on the first appointment, the person on the phone told me the service man scheduled to come to my house was still asleep… scheduled another appointment a couple of days later still no show and no phone call. Do not use call these people you will be wasting your time.

Nightmare — don’t use them. I was stuck with this company when my landlord’s home warranty chose them to come help with my clogged sink. I set up an appointment time frame between 10 – 2 on a Friday, and my roommate stayed home from work to be there. They never showed. They then said they «might» be able to «fit us in» on Saturday, and that he would call me back to let me know. He never called. He never called on Saturday. We went around the home warranty service and called someone else.

DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE!!! Never on time, they no show, more expensive. Very bad service. He advised me that he didn’t show up this morning because he partied to hard the night before. I wish I could give less stars.

Contacted this business who was referred to us by the home warrantly folks with our insurance company. Finally showed up the day after we were promised. Spent 45 minutes to an hour replacing a drain pipe that was leaking in our garage. After they left, flushed the guest bathroom toilet and it started leaking. Called Henry at Fast Plumbing the very next day. He told me that he would «fit me in» as they were busy. Never showed up that day and it has now been 3 days with no phone call or follow-​up. I will contact the insurance company and complain of very bad work that has not yet been fixed, 4 days. Still leaking. Will absolutely not every use these people again and I hope the warranty insurance people stop using this company as they are both liars and do shoddy work. Very disappointed. I will also contact BBB here in San Diego. I am going to have to get another plumber to fix this screw-​up. Damn it; good help is soooooo hard to find.

It’s funny how some people like Bob S. can be so frustrated on the moment and condemn a person or business from one bad experience that could happen anywhere. Fast plumbing is very competent and the owner and staff are very friendly. That goes a long way with me. This is my plumber of choice and I would recommend them to all. Keep up the good work.

I did not choose this company and really wish the Home Warranty Company did not. I am now sitting here waiting for them an HOUR after the scheduled 2 hour time slot. You gave me a TWO HOUR window and you’re STILL late?! Seriously?
To top it off, I called to inquire about when the guy would be here and Henry is giving me an attitude! He told me that «He made an exception and squeezed me in today.» Seriously Dude, you are not doing me a favor by making me take 3 hours off of work and not showing up on time. So here I sit. Waiting for the elusive plumber to get his a$$ over here. Wonder if he will even show up. Or if when he does, I will be able to restrain myself and not let my Dogs have a little nibble on his sarcastic a$$.

My mom asked me to post a review of her experience here so here goes:
Henry is a great plumber, has been using him for 15+ years and he always does great work at reasonable prices. He recently branched out to do partial bathroom remodels and just did a beautiful job with a very old, very messed up bathroom.

my experience w/​Fast plumbing was fantastic, and henry was always willing to go above and beyond w/​his help. different people have different experiences, so take these reviews w/​a grain of salt. they were fantastic for me and i’ve used them for 3 jobs so far… toilet piping problem, water filter issue, and gas piping.

i’ve had these fellows out for three jobs and they are terrific! on time, reliable, honest, and knowledgable. the prices are fair, and they all know what they’re doingand don’t try to sell you anything you don’t need. as a female consumer, they listen to me and don’t talk over me. they offer all options and honor my choices.
this is a family run business and they treat their customers like family too. my plumbers for life!

Horrible service… a total nightmare! I had to schedule four visits to repair a gas leak; they flat out didn’t show once, and were at least 1.5 hours late for every appointment (e.g. if the schedule was for 3−5pm, they showed up at 630pm). Three times they didn’t have the equipment they needed, so I had to schedule another appointment, which they also showed up late to (if at all). They don’t return calls. I’m still waiting for the job to get finished! Definitely don’t use these guys.