Owner of Tampa plumbing company responds - WFLA-TV Newschannel 8

The owner of a Tampa plumbing company is responding to complaints about his business and its practices.

Jim Myers is the owner of Plumbing Rescue Company.

On Thursday of last week, the Florida Department of Financial Services said their office received ‘multiple complaints' about Myer's company.  Employees pressured homeowners to make thousands of dollars in unnecessary repairs by using ‘scare tactics and false statements,' the press release stated.

Timothy Wayne Sexton, 25, was a representative of Plumbing Rescue.  Sexton was charged with fraud and grand theft charges in connection with the investigation.  Myers said Sexton was an employee of his company for "a very short time;" calling the incidences "an unfortunate situation."

In each case, the complaints all alleged the same type of behavior from Plumbing Rescue including misleading homeowners to believe that their pipes had been overrun by roots, which would cause the eventual collapsing and condemnation of the home, The Florida Department of Financial Services stated. 

Myers said his company has served the area since 2010;  priding itself with providing customers affordable plumbing services.  "As the owner of Plumbing Rescue I deeply regret any association between Mr. Sexton and Plumbing Rescue," Myers said.  "We are determined to learn a lesson from this experience and are undertaking a broad-scale review to further improve the supervision of employees and the customer service we provide," he said.

In the statement released by The Florida Department of Financial Services on Thursday, Sexton was mistakenly identified as the owner of Plumbing Rescue.  He had actually been an employee of the company.

The Florida Department of Financial Services said the investigation is ongoing, and that additional arrests are likely.