ComplaintsforRoto-Rooter

• Initial Complaint

  10/02/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In Sept 2020 I had a plumbing collapse, I hired Roto Rooter to reroute the outgoing plumbing, they missed a line which I did not know until 4 years later when I had a leak and had to hire someone to fix it, at that time the plumber showed me the pipe that was missed and the leak going on. He offered to fix it since he had to be there to fix the other issue( not related) so I had to pay him an extra 2000 and to fix what should have been replaced 4 years prior. Now I have floor and cabinet damage, from the pipe that should have been replaced or rerouted 4 years ago.

  Business response

  10/04/2024

  Good morning, 

  I spoke with ****** ***** 10/2/24 and she expressed her concerns. These concerns were discussed with our management and we are reviewing the job details. ****** and I discussed a dollar amount in regards to what she is looking for in reimbursement to resolve the matter. I assured ****** that we will have a firm answer for her by 107/24 and come to a fair resolution. I provided ******* my direct line should she have any questions along the way. 

• Initial Complaint

  09/27/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had a water leak on 8/20/2024 in our crawl space which is partially carpeted. We called Roto Rooter( RR) for a plumber to come and fix the leak. Before the plumber came, RR person, Amber, showed up. We thought she was the plumber. But, she turned out to be a sales person for RR for water mitigation. WE DID NOT MAKE ANY CALL FOR WATER MITIGATION. OUR CALL WAS ONLY FOR THE PLUMBER . Amber, the sales person went and saw our crawl space and started to talk about involving our insurance. We specifically said we will not like to involve our insurance. Because, we thought, we just have to dry a small portion of our carpet and we will call someone and it will cost us may be $1500 and our insurance was $1000 deductible. She assured us that it will be better for us to go through insurance and RR will help us get paid by the insurance. SHE CALLED OUR INSURANCE COMPANY, talked to them and gave the phone to my husband to get the claim number. She then got some paperwork signed by my husband. During this time the plumber came, fixed the leak and we paid him $365 for fixing the leak. Next morning their people came and put some fans and 2 dehumidifiers to dry the small portion of our wet carpet and the crawl space. When our insurance adjuster came and saw it all, he estimated that the work to dry that area will be about $2795.12. After RR’s work was finished they billed us for a a Very high amount of $6067.51. Our Insurance says that RR is highly overcharging and is not justified. We feel exactly the same. We feel RR has TRAPPED us in our emergency situation.WE have paid RR $2795.12 the amount our insurance thought it was worth. WE DO NOT WANT TO PAY the balance $3372.39. Which is $6067.51 minus 2795.12. WE STRONGLY FEEL: RR’s PRACTICE OF SENDING THE SALES PERSON RIGHT AWAY SHOULD STOP. IT SHOULD NOT HAPPEN TO ANYONE ELSE. THIS TRAPS THE SENIOR CITIZENS LIKE US. We hope you can help us and take care of the problem. Thank you. ****** ******

  Business response

  09/28/2024

  On 8/20/2024 Roto Rooter entered a contract with the ******* to perform water mitigation on the home located at *** ******* ***** **** in *********** ****.  The scope of work to be performed was given to the homeowners, as well as an estimated price to complete that work.  They agreed to the scope and price, and signed the work authorization form approving Roto Rooter to begin the process.  The water damage was caused by a plumbing leak in the home, which is a covered loss on there policy.  A call was made to the  insurance company to file a claim.  

  The work was completed to the standards of the industry (IICRC guidelines) and every step of the process documented with photographs that we provide to the insurance company.  Roto Rooter does not determine the price for the work performed,  that pricing is provided by ********* software that the insurance industry approves for this type of work.  It is industry standard.  We plug the work performed into the ********* software and it tells us the prices to bill for that service.  Each and every line item.  Each of those line items have a photo taken in the customers home of that service providing proof it wad performed.  Again, that is an industry standard.  

  The amount Roto Rooter billed for the work performed was less that the approved estimate on the contract the ******* agreed to and correct for each service performed.  While it is unfortunate that the ******* "feel" that amount was to high, it does not change the reality of what those services cost.  We did not alter any of the prices the ********* program presented for the work performed.  We simply followed the guidelines.

  Roto Rooter performed a service, pricing for that service was accurate and correct and this complaint should be closed for those reasons.  

   

• Initial Complaint

  09/27/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  The initial tech came out and the sewage in the tub and shower had cleared itself. He checked both toilets, and all bathroom drains. He asked if anything could have been accidentally flushed as everything was draining perfectly. I thanked him for his time and he left. He was professional and courteous. Right after I finished cleaning and sanitizing, an area supervisor came knocking without warning. This was concerning as it was very late on a Sunday/Monday night. He recommended a video inspection of the drain. I agreed to pay $475 for this service. He ran the camera down the drain and found 2 areas of pipe he claimed needed patching with a stint link device and an area that had bellied between the house and the city system. It was dark outside and difficult to see what he was indicating as he was constantly moving the camera. He then quoted a price for all of the repairs close to $12000. He then pitched financing and said since I had already paid $475, if I financed, he could get it down to $9800. The whole encounter felt more like a financing pitch than a solution to my problem. I received a quote/agreement the next day. I have since contacted the ******** office twice requesting photos or video from the camera so I can review the images and better understand what course of action is needed. The first time I called, I was sent to someone's voicemail which had an out of date message and to date I have received no response. The second time, the operator put in a request for the footage/photos and received no response. Once I filed a complaint on the website I was called on a Sunday after requesting email contact. The manager apologized and stated someone would call Monday. Stephanie called Monday and stated I was charge for a repair, not video. I informed her no repairs were ever conducted. She promised footage after the supervisor returned from vacation. I texted her for follow up a week later. I never heard from her again.

  Business response

  10/03/2024

  We have made several attempts to reach out to the customer by email and phone with no response.  Video that the customer has requested have been resent to both email addresses that we currently have on file.  We will continue to reach out but without contact from the customer, we are having trouble coming to an agreement.

• Initial Complaint

  09/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Roto Rooter was hired on 6/21/2024 to do plumbing work to route our washer to the septic system vs a clay drain. The drain had failed and needed to be adverted. Roto Rooter took it upon them selves to send out a high pressure salesman to request our home owners policy for water mitigation, which is something we did not request, as there was moisture in the basement. I was assured that there was nothing to worry about as I had the correct water damage insurance with **********. Long story short, the invoice was egregious, included many items such as "cleaning water heater" which we do not even own. I'd be happy to challenge this invoice bullet point by bullet point and provide pictures and proof of what was done from the insurance agency. RR offered no payment plans other than a credit card that is out of scope. Their business practices boarder on the edge of bullying and are predatory in nature. I would NOT recommend ANYONE engage with them for water mitigation. This has been an absolute nightmare.

  Business response

  09/25/2024

  On 6/11/2024 Mr ******* hired Roto Rooter to perform Category 3 (sewage) clean up from a backed up floor drain.  The scope of work, and cost to perform that work was given to him.  He accepted the offer and signed the agreement authorizing us to perform the service.  The price proposed was $4,000 to $9,000.  A claim was filed with ********** insurance.  We completed the job, within the proposed price range (total of $5002.80).  A bill was sent to the insurance company.  ********** sent him a check for $4028.34.  He kept $1028.34 of those funds (meant to pay Roto Rooter) and paid us $3000.00 in total.  This leaves a balance due of $2002.80 plus collection fees.  

  He stated in his complaint that he does not own a water heater.  There are pictures of us cleaning his Navient tankless water heater in the enclosed file.  He stated he feels our pricing is egregious.  We do not determine the prices, the insurance industry sets those.  We simply perform the work, photo document each step of the process (again see attached file) and enter it into the Xactimate system which produces the final price for the customer.  Those prices are standard for every vendor that performs water mitigation.  The customer states he would be happy to challenge the invoice.  We have photo proof of everything we did at the home. When the work was completed, Mr. ******* signed the certificate of satisfaction stating the work was performed properly, and the price agreed to.  It is all accounted for in the attached file.

  We expect to be paid for the work we performed for Mr ******* and we will not be adjusting the amount we will collect.

• Initial Complaint

  09/24/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  State farm cannot pay out my home owners claim because roto rooter will not provide a breakdown of costs of the excavation due to water damage. A broken pipe under the kitchen concrete floor.

  Business response

  09/25/2024

  A**** M*****, Excavation Manager tried to reach out to the Customer. We will provide whatever information he is looking for, as much as we have to provide.  We did supply the original documentation showing what we would be doing.

• Initial Complaint

  09/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On July 31, 2024, I put in a quote for Rotor Rooter to unclog a main drain after seeing a promotion they offered of save $100 on main drain cleaning. Later that night I was emailed that a service tech R**** D would be at my house. The service tech preformed the service and cleared the clog, then tell us he needs to call R*** that had a camera as I was told he checks R**** D’s work and is a complementary service. R*** showed up, uses the camera and tells us that we need to replace a pipe in our yard, or the basement will be filled with raw sewage tomorrow. He tells us we need to do a loan for $10,853 to complete this service. The wife and I feel pressured so, we sign with no other choice. We are struggling new homeowners with two kids and I’m also a full-time college student. My wife and I spend the night removing our landscaping, arborvitae, and flower bed as they said they don’t do that, and they will destroy it digging. The next day one young kid shows up and spends 3 hours to replace one 5-foot pipe then covers it up. The kid dropped a rock off the excavator fully raised into the air, it lands in the street. (Good thing no car was coming on our main road) Loading the excavator he turns around in my neighbor’s yard tearing up the lawn, my lawn got torn up as well, they left uneven surface on the refill, destroyed my sidewall to my driveway, and left. Whole job took less than 4 hours.. for $10,853 and one 5-foot pipe.. R*** returns with the camera. He says it needs further work, it’s going to cost 30,000. That if we don’t replace the pipe, (30,000) when we sell the house no one will buy it, that we must do the job. I already feel disgusted over the first 10,853 but nothing I could do, but tell him no on additional work. My wife and I spent the next two days fixing landscaping and basement. We were taken advantage of, manipulated and overcharged for this service and deceived by R*** who said it must be done immediately and gave us no other choice.

  Business response

  09/23/2024

  Hello,

  All our main drain service includes scoping the drain to ensure there are not problems in the piping causing blockages. The initial problem that was found was a house trap that we could not pass our camera through. We quoted the customer a price to remove the house trap, which he agreed to, in writing (attached). Once the house trap was removed, we were able to scope the rest of the drain and recommended that all of the drain be replaced. The house is an old house and the drain is probably original to the house. We were up front with everything and the customer was not required to use us but chose not to get other quotes and use our services. 

  We take customer concerns seriously. I am not aware that they attempted to contact us prior to contacting BBB.

  Thank you

  J** D******

  General Manager, Roto-Rooter Services

  Business response

  10/22/2024

  We wish to reiterate the previous offer of $2500 to the customer.

  Customer response

  11/06/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  
  

  
  

  6,500 profit is a 185% markup, plus 2,500 would make it a 66% markup. That is still outrageous that Rotor Rooter did 0 percent of the work, lied to me, used deceptive business practices giving me no alternative and ultimately making us feel forced to sign for a loan on the spot or in your employees words “Your basement will be flooded tomorrow if you wait.”
  
  
  I’ll settle with Rotor Rooter making a 10% markup, that’s a total cost to me of 4,409
  
  
  3500 to the contractor that did the work
  909 to Rotor Rooter 
  
  
  5,591 is what I am seeking returned to me
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  **** *****
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I initially contacted the company to repair an issue with a rental property on 9/2/24 and stated project would be worked on an completed that week, 3-5 days of work. They came out 9/3/2024 and started the project after i submitted half the total cost $5,175.36 9/3/2024 they contacted me after showing up to the project and quoted me an additional issue to address and collected an additional $2,500 - half the cost of the add-on problem. They re-assured me they would never leave the project being 'not functional'. I had to contact them 1 week later after as they never returned to the project after day one. They never called saying they were not coming back the next day (as they stated this would be a back to back project completion until completed). At this time, I also complained that they did not contact me to say they were going to be delaying the project for any reason. They returned to the project the next day after I called to complain of incomplete work. It has now been 2 weeks with only presenting 2 days for work. Project is not complete. Tenant cannot complete laundry at facility still. Additionally, after the second day they worked, left the utility lights on and tracked mud and loose dirt/debris up the basement steps and throughout the tenant's main floor. Tenant is now expending extra funds to source laundry and was inconvenienced to clean up after the crew's second day.

  Business response

  09/19/2024

  Please provide me the full service address, including the zip code, so that I can look into this issue as soon as possible.
  
  Thank you,
  Pat S******
  Customer Satisfaction Manager

• Initial Complaint

  09/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have attached a copy of the letter I sent to Roto-Rooter on the same date. They came out on September 1st charged almost $600 and did not fix the leak upon calling them again they said they would charge another $500 just to find another leak cuz there could be more than one apparently and then it would cost a couple hundred dollars more to fix it I do not feel like that is fair considering they did not fix the leak to begin with and my water bill proves that

  Business response

  09/19/2024

  I have reached out to this customer a few times and left a few messages 

  Customer response

  09/20/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  I have not received any communication from Roto-Rooter.  They did send out an employee but he wanted an additional $500 to find the "other" leak and a couple more hundred to fix it.   I advised that given that they allegedly fixed a leak on September 1, 2024 that had no effect on the amount of water being used which clearly no leak was fixed.  I need something done ASAP.   I just want them to fix the leak and compensate me for the water I have been charged for since if they would have fixed it to begin with my bill usually runs 35$ a month not the approximate 200$ in 2 months.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***** *****
  

  Business response

  09/30/2024

  The customer had a visible leak that the tech saw in the crawlspace and the tech made the repair for the quoted flat rate price.  Unfortunately due to the line being older galvanized pipe there seems to be other leaks possibly underground, a field supervisor was sent out to evaluate and quote.   I am sorry that the repair to the existing leak did not fix the overall problem and so we are happy to refund $250 to help with the high water bill, but we would only be able to dig and replace the entire water line for the quote that was given. 

  Customer response

  10/12/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  When they initially came out I advised them that I thought that it may be leaking where it was coming into my home. At no time did no one from Roto-Rooter get up underneath my house and look at anything. The only thing they did was look through the vent and made a educated guess is the best words I can come up with. I advise them that I had my hot water heater replaced about 2 months prior to them coming out. That is the only reason why they charged almost $600 to put a $20 piece that was not even needed. A refund will not help me at all because it was paid for by my brother who is in *******. So that will not help my water at all. When Roto-Rooter was hired they were hired to come out and fix the leak. I still have the same leak I had prior to them coming out same amount of water is going out is not changed it's not increased is not decreased. The only thing they did is go on what I said and have another guy come in 30 minute patch job that wasn't even necessary and charge $600 for it I expect when I hire something someone to come and fix a problem I have I expect for them to do that and in this case they did not and I'm not willing to let them off the hook with $250 credit to my brother in *******? No someone needs to come out here and fix what they were hired to do. Thank you I will look forward to hearing from you soon.
  Regards,
  
  ***** *****
  

  Business response

  10/22/2024

  the tech looked thru the vent seeing the leak that is pictured in this complaint.  The obvious leak was quoted and fixed as this was a leak on the system that was likely and reasonable the cause of the high bill.  When a job is quoted it is not in a way that a company says "we will fix all the problems", an example would be if you took your car in for a rattle and they fixed the rattle but then you hear another sound there would be another price to fix that issue also.  I hope this makes sense and our previous response still stands.   I would however suggest that the customer verify they still have a leak, the water bill does not normally come in real time and the next bill would possibly reflect the repair that was made and be lower I would hope.  The offer to refund the $250 still stands as a courtesy but please note that the price that was charged is within our flat rate price matrix and would not cover any additional work.   

• Initial Complaint

  09/16/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 8/23 engaged company to replace an Ejector Sewage Pump in a basement storage room. A slight smell started to come and go at times till it became unbearable on 9/12. The odor was coming from the storage room and when the door was open it was clear that sewage water was being leak from the ejector system and had soaked the fiberglass insulation and wooden studs along with contaminating other items. Called company and Carlos immediately came took pictures informed men he was with the water treatment sister company and that they would be able to have a team come out the next day and clean and treat the room with an anti-bacterial and everything that was non-porous could be saved. The company also sent a plumbing technician ******* who confirm the pipe had not been attached properly and fixed it. On Friday I waited all day to end up calling them at 3:13 to then schedule someone to remediate on Saturday morning making it very clear that it had to be in the morning because I was traveling that afternoon. Again no one showed up but did receive a phone call from a very understanding gentleman that promise that he would have a crew out Sunday morning and if not that he himself would show up after church and do the job and again. Unfortunately, no one showed up on Sunday. Starting calling at 1:29 with a promise that a manger would call me which never occurred. After multiple phone calls, was place to Bernand an area manger on duty who proceeded to tell me that I was lying, and the damage was already there, and they would not be dealing with it. In the interim the alarm in the ejector pit started to go off. I have requested multiple time for them to deal with the situation which they refuse to do so saying that I am lying. I left Adam D**** a message that I needed the resolution to this complaint or would be going through the BBB and hiring someone to sanitize the room and pursuing legal action for reimbursements due to the environmental hazards.

  Business response

  09/27/2024

  I've reached out to to this customer mutliple times and no response

• Initial Complaint

  09/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On September 7th I had a technician by the name of Z*** come to one of my homes and install an inline ice maker valve for a refrigerator that I was going to have installed the following day. Upon completion of the task, I informed Z*** that I had a coupon for $100 off the service. Z*** stated that he had already written the invoice and that it could not be changed however I could call the office number on the invoice Monday morning to have the amount taken off the bill. Because of this I went ahead and paid the invoice which was $450 with the expectation that when I did call the office Monday they would be able to credit me the $100. I just want to state that Z*** was completely professional and that my issue is not with him. Fast forward to Monday 9/9/24, I called the number on the invoice and spoke to J**** T**** who stated that he would be able to take off the $100 however he was on his way to a meeting and that he would call me later on that day around 1 pm. In the meantime, he asked me to send him a pic of the coupon to phone # ********** which I did. This is where the problem begins. Of course, J**** never calls back. I thought to myself things happen I understand so I decided to call the next morning. This time I got his voicemail so I left a voicemail to call me back. Again no callback. I called again Wednesday morning and I spoke to a woman whose however I forgot her name. She stated that he usually gets in around 9:30 am and that she would reprint my invoice and put it on his desk to give me a callback. Again no callback. As I stated this is one of the homes I own not to mention various other rental properties in the area. I was looking for a company to service these properties however because J**** T**** failed to do what he said he would in fact do this has led me to do business elsewhere. His actions have cost this company thousands for something as simple as $100 which is a shame.

  Business response

  09/16/2024

  there was a refund sent out to this customer on 9/12 for the amount that was discussed of $100 Left a message for customer still awaiting response. 

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩