An Oceanside couple is warning others about the potential drawbacks to digitally signing home repair contracts after saying a misunderstanding left them with a bill of more than $35,000 for plumbing work.

Linda and Randy Stevens said the issue happened after they hired Anderson Plumbing, Heating, and Air to replace the HVAC system in their manufactured home, a project that cost about $25,000.

All went as planned with this project, but while the technicians were working, they discovered a plumbing leak under the home, according to the couple.

Linda and Randy Stevens say they signed a digital contract that was different from what they understood the agreement to be.

That meant they were also looking at the added cost of some plumbing work.

Randy said they were then presented with three options on a damaged device that was hard to read.

“When he gave us the quotes, I was under the impression that it was three different levels of repair, not different kinds of material,” Stevens said. “He used an iPad that was fairly pitted, and we scrolled through them very quickly.”

$35,000 misunderstanding

This is where the $35,000 misunderstanding apparently happened, according to Randy. He says he picked what he thought was a $3,500 job.

“When I saw the amount, there were no commas in there,” he said. “Typically, you would throw a comma.”

The copper repiping work for the couple’s two-bedroom, two-bath manufactured home was completed within two days.

The Stevens said they did not realize the full cost until they received the bill.

“Didn’t we say you’re joking, right? We thought he was,” Linda said. “And he said, ‘No, it’s $35,000, and that was with discounts.’”

“First, it was shock, and then immediately panic because I had no idea how we were going to afford it,” Randy said.

The digital contract was sent to the wrong email

The couple said the digital contract was also sent to the wrong email address. They later found that a letter was missing from the address entered into the system.

As a result, they said they never received a copy of the agreement to review before the work began, nor did they make sure they had it.

The technician and the company had no way of knowing there was a mistake in the email address, either, since it went through to a valid email.

“I guess I can’t fault him for that because the email did go through, but it is not our email,” Randy said.

NBC 7 Responds contacted Anderson Plumbing, Heating, and Air about the situation.

The company did not provide an official statement, but said in a phone call that the technician involved has 20 years of experience and orally explained the repiping options and pricing to the homeowners.

The Stevens said they ultimately paid for the work, but their retirment budget is in shambles.

“We used a personal loan, credit card, and then to finish it off, we had to sell a car,” Stevens said.

Now, the couple is encouraging homeowners to slow down before signing digital agreements and to always obtain copies and read a contract before work starts.

“Anyone seeing this should make sure they get a printed contract in their hands. Hard copy. Hard copy,” Stevens said.

The Stevens also recommend getting multiple quotes and having someone trusted review contracts before signing.

Anderson Plumbing told NBC 7 Responds that the company offered the Stevens a no-interest payment plan to help avoid credit card interest, along with a free service plan for two years and drywall repairs that were not included in the original contract.

This story was originally reported for broadcast by NBC San Diego. AI tools helped convert the story to a digital article, and an NBC San Diego journalist edited the article for publication.