Customer ReviewsforMr Rooter Plumbing of London ON

I'd thought very well of Mr. Rooter until this experience, which literally had me fearing I was going to lose my house due to the exorbitant repair cost I was quoted. My sewer backed up(tree roots),so I had them out to clear the line. They came, but said they could only partially clear it, & their manager would call me with possible solutions. The manager started by telling me my main sewer line was in such disrepair it was in danger of collapsing, & that I needed to have the whole line replaced (the 'whole line' as quoted by Mr. Rooter was actually only 40' of the 70' to the city drop off, as discovered when I had 4 others out to quote the job, and as it turns out, the issue was at about 60', so they wouldn't have even addressed the real problem, & I would've had *another* back up after **** ******* ** anyway) At any rate, he quoted me a price of $32,000. That is not a typo. He said $32k would solve the problem. I said that was outrageous, & asked what my other options were. Long story short, my least expensive option from him was a $7800 'spot repair' at the 'worst spot' at 20'. With no guarantees & a 'caution' (i.e. intimidation tactic) that if they got that fixed and there were more issues further down, it'd be even more expensive still. They said my main drain was so damaged, they were afraid to even try anything other than a full replacement. i.e. their 'platinum' option. I was so stressed, I am sure it damaged my heart. I couldn't abide by this, so I had 4 really awesome independent plumbers come out to have a look. The most expensive quote for a full replacement I got from them was $10k, but *ALL* of them agreed, that was not necessary. Long story short again, I had one of them clear the line of tree roots *ON THE SPOT!!*, and he kept me informed and showed me high quality video the whole time. When completed, he viewed the WHOLE line with me all the way to sewer drop off at 70'. The line was not in disrepair... at all. How much was it, you might ask? $300.

Mr. Rooter is highly unreliable. ********, and once they have your money you don't exist.
I read their reviews online. They seemed to be credible so I called their emergency line as my sewer backed up. They came the next day. They charged me to snake the line and to cut the cast and install a PVC. Well that cost me $900. I've since learned that is WAY too much. Then they told me they were going to dig up my basement, lawn and driveway and quoted me $11,000!!! They were going to call in permits to dig. They day they were supposed to come- They were a no show! I called them and they hadn't gotten permits because they waited 4 days after deeming this an emergency to call in permits. They claimed to have called the day before to let me know this information, but they didn't- no missed calls, no voicemails, no emails, nothing! I took a day off work for this. With all my free time I did some investigating. The "plumber" they sent- ************- is an apprentice and is NOT allowed to work without a licensed plumber. I called the city and no permits had been requested. This was 10 days after the initial call. That day I called 4 times to speak with the manager who ALWAYS seemed to be in a meeting. I told them to cancel their "plumber" and told them everything else I had figured out.
I called a different company. They came the very next day, they augured my line and got it draining enough that I could live in my house, he called for permits right away and was back in 3 days to do the work. He DIDNT dig up my driveway and he filled in and repaired all the digging he and his team did. He was prompt, knowledgeable and guess what... LICENSED!!!! He did it all for $7500. He also informed me that he would have cut the cast and replaced it for $150+tax.
Mr. Rooter works on a commission base. Makes sense why they charged WAY too much for the cast and tacked on an extra $3,500!
If you need a plumber and do NOT want an outrageous bill and repairs to your property AFTER they are gone, I HIGHLY suggest you call someone else. These guys are crooks.
And don't give them a deposit. Because, good luck getting it back.

At first I thought this company was great. I had the workers come and do hard work. They were booked quickly. However, we discovered that the waste wasn't leaving my house (and they recommended that I rip up walls and concrete for another 6k). I decided I'd get a second opinion. This plumber said that the issue was likely the gradient at which they installed the new pipe and asked if it passed inspection.

They never even got permits (which they charge you for!)! The work was carried out 2 weeks ago, and they canceled on me today my inspection and rebooked a week out. This is unprofessional and unacceptable. (I had a different plumber replace a lead pipe in my home; he did work on Friday & Sunday, and it was inspected Monday with a signed copy in my inbox by Monday evening. That's what I expect!)

They actually told me the reason for the cancelled inspection was the city was unable to come and inspect. I called the city and found out you can book a next day apt without any issues!

I don't know if the work itself would or would not pass inspection. All I want is to get the work done and done correctly.

This company is a nightmare to work with. You call and get 1 of however many receptionist and the supervisor is a nightmare to get a hold of when you open a "complaint".

I went with this company even though they are more expensive because I expected the work to be carried out properly without cutting corners.

So now it's been 21 days since I've been dealing with this same plumbing issue with no end in sight, unable to do laundry during a pandemic. Fun times.

Mr. Rooter, never again!

Update 1:

After being told by the company that they were doing me a favour by organizing an inspection (which is actually required by the city! I asked the head of building permits and he was actually going to charge the company 2x the fee until I talked him out of it), it failed inspection and now I'm basically back at square 1 again (bring out the jack hammering again!). I called to make an apt July 6th and we are now July 29th. They have wasted my vacation time from work, and are causing issues with my insurance company by having so many delays.

Update 2:

They sent two different guys who fixed the problem so it passed the inspection. They did cement the backwater valve in place and didn't bother discussing options on the level of the box so now the lid doesn't close. They also left my house without telling me that they broke the zipper plastic door that my insurance company put to stop dust from the basement which has no door from coming up to the rest of the house. (And critically stops my pets from going down there so now they are locked up in 1 room causing them stress.) So in total, I called them July 6th and am done working with them on Aug 5th. They didn't even bother discounting the price of the work on my invoice for all the inconvenience, stress and their lack of competence. Still DO NOT recommend this company. Not worth the headache. You can find better and cheaper companies out there. *************************************************************