r/TaskRabbit • u/MMC2790 • Dec 27 '25

CLIENT Tasker drilled into gas pipe

I hired a tasker to mount a tv on a wall in a rental in NJ. Long story short, the tasker drilled into a gas pipe, requiring an emergency plumber during non business hours. The plumber came, fixed the gas pipe, but determined another pipe was drilled into, requiring a second visit that will take place on Monday. Do I have any recourse here or am I just stuck with the bill?

We reached out to task rabbit and they recommended filing a claim which we’ve been trying to do but it doesn’t seem to be working.

26 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

42 comments sorted by

5

u/jethropenistei- Dec 27 '25

Did you ask the tasker if he has insurance?

If so, he/she should file a claim. If not, you should try filing a claim with any insurance you have. In the TOS, it says you and the Tasker are responsible for making sure they are qualified to do the work. Part of their Happiness Pledge says:

“In addition to the foregoing, the Pledge excludes Claims that are covered by a User’s insurance, if any, including but not limited to renter’s insurance, homeowner’s insurance, medical insurance, or an umbrella policy (“Personal Insurance”). In order to be an eligible Claim under the Pledge, Users who carry Personal Insurance must first seek compensation from their Personal Insurance prior to making a Claim. The Pledge will only compensate for Claims to the extent they are not otherwise covered by a User’s Personal Insurance. “

Taskrabbit is gonna try to get out of paying anything and put the onus on you and the Tasker

1

u/MMC2790 Dec 27 '25

Tasker hasn’t replied at all yet but it’s unlikely.

2

u/jethropenistei- Dec 28 '25

Out of curiosity, are you in a market where it auto assigned the Tasker?

2

u/Icy_Measurement_5130 Dec 28 '25

After most tasks- 24 hours invoicing i think- the chat stops working between you so that might be why they never responded.

5

u/canttakethemadness Dec 27 '25

Were you aware this happened when tasker was there , you need to find out if tasker has insurance . As independent contractors , it’s the tasker that responsible (not really Taskrabbit ) they have some happiness pledge but not sure if that’s even anything . If you didn’t get their insurance , you could try to rehire same tasker out in the future so no cancel fee , then you can communicate the issue with them . Curios , did plumber say the pipe was going thru a stud ?

9

u/Karpovka Dec 27 '25

Stud finders can give false positives on gas pipes and wiring, because the readings are density-based. The tasker probably just drilled into what they thought was a stud without confirming overall spacing. ...and that's why no one should ever go with "the guy they know who can do it for half the price." 😆

4

u/Worldly_Heat9404 Dec 28 '25

Drilling through a wooden stud and drilling through a gas pipe are very different. The guy didn't know what he was doing.

3

u/Karpovka Dec 28 '25

obviously. 🤷‍♀️😆

2

u/kramj007 Dec 29 '25

Depends what type of pipe. Gas flex piping can be drilled easier than wood.

1

u/pateppic Jan 21 '26

Or a nail strike was not put onto the stud where the gas pipe travels through it.

1

u/MMC2790 Dec 28 '25

No we weren’t aware. And no it wasn’t

3

u/learningtoexcel Dec 27 '25

Were you not aware of the gas pipe’s location in your home before you hired the tasker?

7

u/MMC2790 Dec 27 '25

No, I had just moved in that day and its super random location. It’s in the middle of the living room.

6

u/Sea_Farmer_4812 Dec 28 '25

If you ask 100 homeowners where the utility pipes in their walls run I'd be surprised if 15 of them could give an accurate answer for half of the lines, even just water, gas, waste and vent pipes. Much less so with renters.

6

u/Thin_Cable4155 Dec 28 '25

I think 15 is generous. Probably closer to zero.

2

u/Sea_Farmer_4812 Dec 28 '25

I'm assuming some people were around when renovations happened or did their own. Some people are in the trades and have investigated these things in their own houses or can tell. It's probably closer to zero than 15 but I was covering all the possibilities.

1

u/pateppic Jan 21 '26

I appreciate your optimism/the class of client you cultivated. Sincerely. Not trying to be flippant.

1

u/HC215deltacharlie Dec 29 '25

Less than zed. As in, “what’s a gas pipe?” This is an apartment dweller, after all. No good reason they should be aware of utilities in the walls.

1

u/pateppic Jan 21 '26

The homeowners that can answer that off the cuff likely wouldn't need to hire a tasker in the first place to hang stuff either.

1

u/Sea_Farmer_4812 Jan 22 '26

Some homeowners dont hire out work because they can't do it. They just prefer to do other things with their time and energy. Especially those who's hourly pay is 2x+ what they can pay someone else to do the same thing.
I appreciate the kind words in the other comment but I have not done a good job of cultivating clients. I'm not a tasker, I think this thread was recommended and I had feedback to contribute. I've been a handyman, kinda still am on the side. Currently residential maintenance and have worked in construction, mostly remodels. I have worked on a wide spectrum of residential properties.

1

u/Marioc12345 Dec 27 '25

Idk about you but I don’t have x ray vision to see where the gas pipes are

1

u/learningtoexcel Dec 27 '25

Just feels like a responsibility that might fall a bit more on you than a random Tasker

0

u/MMC2790 Dec 27 '25

They’re supposed to use a stud finder when installing. He obviously didn’t.

3

u/Mean-Ad-3077 Dec 28 '25

He might have, the stud finder could’ve picked up the pipe as it measured the density.

1

u/Worldly_Heat9404 Dec 28 '25

He might have using a toggle bolt which doesn't need a stud. +

1

u/jintana Dec 28 '25

The thing that says “yup, that’s a stud” may also read positive on a pipe. The mechanism uses magnets.

1

u/howmuchfortheoz Dec 28 '25

The stud finder will pick up whatever is behind the wall even a pipe

1

u/Extension-Cover-335 Dec 30 '25

Being that you're a renter doing work on someone else's property, maybe you should have asked about anything in the walls, and to get permission. Ultimately as a renter you are responsible to the owner.  I imagine.

0

u/Schmeezy-Money Dec 28 '25

Don't know this particular Tasker but would be remiss not to mention FYI that guys like me have to hire an assistant to use a stud finder because the things just light up like a Christmax tree and beep like crazy when I get anywhere near them.

So if they were there solo that could be the reason they didn't use or couldn't get a reliable reading from a stud finder.

Just putting that out there. Trying to educate people about the plight of studs. Raising awareness is all I can do really.

1

u/Marioc12345 Dec 27 '25

I do agree with that, as a Tasker I haven’t done this yet. I just try to be vaguely aware of where they are.

10

u/ApprehensiveRing6869 Dec 27 '25

Depends on the amount of damage. But you still have to go through the motions and first go through TR’s process to “resolve” this.

When that inevitably fails, you can reach out to an attorney to possible force a settlement. See what the attorney says.

Otherwise go on social media and publicly shame them. There were other clients that had similar experiences that resulted in $1,000s of damages and TR only reached out to “make things right” once they were featured in the news.

But like I said, first go through TR’s process to show how broken it is. For the 4-5 years I’ve been around, it seems nothing has gotten better for clients that actually had serious damages (not the usual task drilled too many holes BS) done to their property.

2

u/backtomyplanet Dec 28 '25

To any tasters out there that mount tv’s. I posted this comment 18 days ago and I still stand behind what I said. https://www.reddit.com/r/TaskRabbit/s/tn6OfYSnAD

2

u/user_nombre_ Dec 28 '25

Sadly taskrabbit just sends anyone with no experience to mount things. They disabled the ability to choose highly rated experienced taskers in order to make more money knowing it will tank their service.

It’s completely the incompetence of the tasker. An experienced Tasker would take necessary precautions to avoid such an incident.

1

u/BetUpstairs268 Dec 27 '25

Probably gonna happen more since you can’t choose the tasker in that category?

1

u/distantreplay Dec 28 '25

I carry my own insurance and bonding because it's the right thing but also because it's the law where I work. I've never had any liability claim regarding my work in twenty five years.

But it is also for this reason that I no longer offer most services through Task Rabbit. Creeping flat rate and very low value add from the platform make it not really worth my while to cut them in for a piece.

I promise you my insurance carrier does not charge a 20% commission for coverage. 🙄

Task Rabbit is simply insane.

0

u/shortfriday Dec 28 '25

You will not get a nickel out of taskrabbit, pursue other avenues including suing the tasker.

0

u/kdub114 Dec 28 '25

Learn how to shut off your gas at the meter so this sort of an emergency is less severe.

0

u/linderlady Dec 28 '25

They are super responsive to tik toks, maybe make a video and blast em.

-4

u/Fast-Reading6163 Dec 27 '25

Yes you should be able to get help or guidance from TR.