In the Court of Common Pleasof Allegheny County, Pennsylvania
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania,
Plaintiff,
v.
Gillece Services, LP, et al.,
Defendants.
Consent order
Settlement announced by Attorney General Dave Sunday on October 22, 2026
AG settlement
A sewer and heating company will pay $700,000 in restitution under a Pennsylvania Attorney General settlement that sets rules for its diagnoses
Gillece Services will pay $700,000 in restitution under a settlement with the Attorney General. Before it sells a repair, it must now document sewer defects and have gas leaks confirmed by the customer’s utility.
Exhibit A Most of the settlement goes back to customers
Pennsylvania Attorney General Dave Sunday announced on October 22, 2026, a settlement with Gillece Services, LP, Gillece Plumbing and Heating, Inc., Thomas Gillece Sr., Thomas Gillece Jr. and two former Gillece technicians. The consent order, filed in the Allegheny County Court of Common Pleas, calls for $700,000 in consumer restitution, $50,000 in costs and $250,000 in suspended civil penalties.
It resolves the office's allegations that the company sold unnecessary sewer pipe replacements and used scare tactics to get homeowners to sign home improvement contracts. The order also sets rules for how the company diagnoses a sewer, a gas leak or a furnace before it sells the repair.
What the settlement pays
$700,000 goes back to eligible customers, and $250,000 in penalties is held back
Restitution is money returned to customers. A suspended civil penalty is a fine the court holds back, which generally comes due only if the defendants break the order. The Attorney General's office says customers eligible for restitution will be contacted by the office and do not need to do anything.
| Part of the settlement | Dollars | Bar, on one scale |
|---|---|---|
| Consumer restitution | $700,000 | |
| Suspended civil penalties | $250,000 | |
| Costs paid to the Commonwealth | $50,000 |
The two former technicians named in the case, James F. Hackwelder and Joseph A. Nikoula, are barred from the plumbing industry for five years. The announcement adds that a settlement is not an admission that the law was violated.
What the office alleged
The office alleged that $93 drain calls ended with customers told the pipe had to be dug up
According to the Attorney General's announcement, the company advertised a "$93 or Free Clog Crusher Special" to homeowners with sewer backups. Once technicians arrived, the office alleged, many customers were told the clog could not be cleared with a snake, the coiled cable plumbers feed into a drain, and could only be fixed by digging up the pipe.
Exhibit C Under the order, a sewer dig now waits on three checks
The service call, as the office alleged it
- An advertised "$93 or Free Clog Crusher Special" for a sewer backup
- The customer is told a snake cannot clear the clog and the pipe has to be dug up
- A sewer pipe replacement is sold2
Before a sewer sale, as the order requires
- Several attempts with a snake, and notice that the customer may get a second opinion
- Defects documented and severe enough under NASSCO defect standards
- Seller certified in NASSCO's Lateral Assessment Certification Program
Then the sewer excavation, repair or replacement
The lawsuit alleged that the lines could have been cleared without excavation, and that many customers were told of pipe defects that later turned out not to exist.
The office also alleged scare tactics: telling customers they had gas leaks or cracked heat exchangers, the furnace part that keeps combustion gases out of the house air. The announcement says those diagnoses were later discredited by third parties, including customers' natural gas utilities. Other allegations covered shoddy work that did not match written warranties and failing to hand customers copies of their contracts and cancellation notices at the time of sale.
Decided before the settlement
The same court ruled for the office on summary judgment in August 2023
Some of the case was decided before the settlement. In August 2023 the same court ruled for the office on summary judgment, a decision a judge makes without a trial when the key facts are not in dispute. The announcement says the court found the company had:
- failed to let customers cancel within three days,
- penalized customers who cancelled by entering their properties without permission,
- made false or misleading advertising claims,
- and misrepresented its flat-rate pricing.
The orders from that ruling stay in effect, including one requiring the company to honor a customer's spoken request to cancel.
What the company must do now
Each kind of sale now waits on a check, from a snake to the gas utility
The new terms tie each kind of sale to a check that has to happen first. A sewer lateral is the pipe that runs from the house to the public sewer main, and hydro jetting cleans it with high-pressure water. NASSCO, the National Association of Sewer Service Companies, publishes standards for grading pipe defects. NATE, North American Technician Excellence, certifies heating and air conditioning technicians.
| Line | Diagnosis or sale | What the settlement requires before the sale |
|---|---|---|
| Sewer excavation or hydro jetting | Seller certified in NASSCO's Lateral Assessment Certification Program | |
| Sewer pipe repair or replacement | Defects documented and severe enough under NASSCO defect standards | |
| Sewer line that will not open | Several attempts with a snake and notice that the customer may get a second opinion | |
| Gas leak | Generally confirmed by the customer's natural gas provider | |
| Cracked heat exchanger or other dangerous condition | Confirmed by two NATE-certified Gillece technicians | |
| HVAC service | Technicians NATE-certified and carbon monoxide meters calibrated on the manufacturer's schedule | |
| Any contract | Copies of the contract and notices of cancellation given at signing | |
| Advertising | No claims the company knows it cannot or will not honor |
The company must also keep detailed records of the defects behind certain recommendations and give them to the office on request. Any nondisclosure agreement it has customers sign must let them speak to law enforcement.
The state law behind the case
The state act covers home repair jobs over $500, which takes in most sewer and furnace work
Several of the terms repeat duties that Pennsylvania's Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act places on every contractor. The act covers repair and replacement work at a home when the total cash price is more than $500, which takes in most sewer replacements and furnace jobs. Section 10 makes a violation of the act a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law, the state's general consumer protection statute.
| Line | Provision | What it says |
|---|---|---|
| Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act section 2 | Covers repair and replacement work at a private residence when the total cash price is more than $500 | |
| Section 7(b) | The person who signs may rescind the contract without penalty within three business days of signing | |
| Section 7(c) | The contractor delivers a completed copy of the contract with all required notices at no charge when it is signed | |
| Section 9(8) | No one may advertise a home improvement without intending to charge the price advertised or offered | |
| Section 9(9) | No one may demand or receive payment before the contract is signed | |
| Section 10 | A violation of the act is a violation of the Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Law |
Section 7(c) puts the rule on contract copies plainly:
The contractor “shall provide and deliver to the owner, without charge, a completed copy of the home improvement contract at the time the contract is executed which shall contain all required notices.”
What to do when a service call turns into a big repair
Ask to see the defect, and call your gas utility before you agree to a leak repair
A drain call that ends with a quote to dig up the yard is the situation this case describes.
Ask the technician to show you the defect, such as camera video of the pipe, and to put the diagnosis in writing on the estimate. You can get a second opinion before you sign anything, and the act bars a contractor from taking payment before the contract is signed.
If a technician says you have a gas leak, call your natural gas utility before you agree to a repair. The settlement requires this company to have the utility confirm a leak before it sells the work.
For a cracked heat exchanger, ask to see it, and consider having a second technician look before you replace a furnace.
When you do sign, you should leave with a completed copy of the contract and two copies of the Notice of Cancellation. You then have three business days to cancel, as our article on the three-day right to cancel explains. A real emergency is handled differently, through the card described in our article on emergency work authorizations.
Check any contractor's registration with the Attorney General's office at 1-888-520-6680, the number every home improvement contract must list, and see our guide on hiring a contractor in Pennsylvania. Complaints go to the office's complaint page.
Caveats
The terms here come from the announcement, and the settled allegations were not decided by a court
The settlement terms here come from the Attorney General's announcement. The consent order itself is posted as a scanned filing, and its full wording could not be verified for this article. The announcement does not say where the affected customers live or how many there are, so how many, if any, are in Montgomery County could not be verified. Restitution goes only to customers the office identifies as eligible.
The allegations that were settled were not decided by a court, and the settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing. The findings from August 2023 are the court's.
This is general information, not legal advice. If you think you paid for unnecessary work, ask the Attorney General's Bureau of Consumer Protection or a lawyer about your own contract.