O.G. Croteau Plumbing & Heating

Sixty-nine years in one small city leaves a paper trail. BuildZoom counts 1,370 permitted jobs under O.G. Croteau's name, most of them Fitchburg gas, water-heater and plumbing-fixture permits filed between 2018 and 2022 — the everyday work of replacing a tank or a fixture, at volume, in one place. The company says it has handled plumbing in Fitchburg since 1957, calls itself family-owned, and lists Fitchburg and Leominster as its service area. Its Better Business Bureau file goes back to 1984, accredited, graded A+. Then there is the other half of the picture. On Google the average is 3.4 across 72 ratings, and the reviews split into two piles with almost nothing in the middle. The people who like them tend to have used them for a decade or more. A 2024 reviewer described close to 15 years of leaks fixed quickly; another, writing in 2022, described 20-plus years of work on a friend's properties. Office staff get named — Donna, Sheila, Joanne, Bonnie — in the way people name someone who actually picks up the phone. The sharpest example is a January 2023 review: a relief valve leaking at 3 a.m., a call first thing in the morning, a technician at the house inside an hour with the part already on his van, everything repaired within three. A February 2022 customer described a furnace and water heater installation that ran cleanly from the quote visit through the cleanup and follow-up, and the newest review, from June 2026, is positive. The complaints are not vague, which is what makes them worth reading. A January 2025 reviewer said a technician swapped parts for close to $600 without solving the problem, then sent them to an electrician who found no electrical fault. An August 2025 review blamed a toilet installation for rust and debris that blocked a wastewater pipe, and said the company put the trouble down to the septic system. Further back: a 2023 customer said an HVAC board was wired wrong and burned out a motor, and that the invoice they asked for three times never arrived; a 2022 renovation client said the company wanted a 50% deposit with no paperwork behind it and then withdrew from two projects; another 2022 review said a water meter was disconnected without notifying the water department, leaving an $1,800 bill. Several of these turn on the same question — who owns the problem once something goes wrong. One thing to settle before anything else: the Massachusetts registry lists plumbing license 2253-PL-C under Og Croteau Plumbing & Heating Inc and shows it expired. BuildZoom's profile still displays #2253 as active while itself noting a May 2026 expiration date, so ask the company directly for its current standing. If you hire them, get the scope, the deposit terms and the invoice in writing first — that is exactly where their unhappy customers say things came apart.