ComplaintsforRoto Rooter Plumbers

• Initial Complaint

  01/11/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I called in to enquire abut a price to have a septic system certified nd the lady on the phone set a appointment with out my consent.The risk here is they plumber has the power to file a lien on my property.

  

  Business response

  01/12/2024

  Sounds like some miscommunication must have occurred here. We can only set an appointment if you have called for service and provided your information. There is no risk of lien being placed unless you have accepted an estimate and signed to authorize work then refused to pay for that work.

• Initial Complaint

  10/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 05/18/23, we had a pipe burst in our home that flooded both bathrooms and we called Roto Rooter Plumbing during normal business hours. The plumber arrived to fix the burst pipe and said water mitigation was necessary as they claimed the water damage was significant. I advised the Roto Rooter employees to only conduct business that would be covered by insurance. My husband was told he needed to sign for the pipe replacement and for water mitigation, which they assured us would not be our responsibility.At completion, Roto Rooter sent a bill to our insurance. Our insurance paid for the associated charges but copied us on an email showing what charges they would not pay for and we should not pay for as they were fabricated/unnecessary....Charging a supervisor fee when a supervisor was not specifically requested and properly trained water mitigation technicians are able to address water mitigation tasks...Charging an emergency services fee when we called during normal business hours...A Roto Rooter technician responded in full HAZMAT style suit to our house to conduct water mitigation business. There was no information from any contractor/insurance agent that led me to believe we were in any type of danger or needed to move as there had not been the start of any construction/asbestos abatement, etc. (It should be noted, Roto Rooters employees were in normal attire leading up to this point and after this visit). I asked the technician and the supervisor if I should be concerned and why he was in a HAZMAT style suit. I was told it was for the purposes of insurance photographs. The technician ultimately changed out of the suit and back to his normal attire before conducting his business. The supervisor confirmed we were not in danger and ultimately the suit wasnt necessary. I now see the technician was wearing the suit so that more charges could be inflated. Calls to Roto Rooter have gone nowhere and instead Roto Rooter has threatened legal action against us.

  

  Business response

  11/06/2023

  Hello, I'm happy to look into the details of your project. Please send me the job address or job number so I can research. I can be reached by email at *****************************************

   

  Thank you,

  *************************

  Customer response

  11/08/2023

  Hello *******,
  
  
  Thank you for your reply to my BBB complaint. The address of the job is our home address, *********************************************************************************. Your assistance on this matter is appreciated. (The BBB website only gave the option to "accept" or "reject". It looked as if "accept" would have closed the complaint so I clicked reject to keep the complaint open while you investigate with the job address. Thank you. 
  
  
  *************************

  

  Business response

  11/09/2023

  Good morning, 

  I see that State Farm has paid less than 50% of the restoration invoice. You are not the only customer this is happening to. We have been told that they are moving their business out of state and will be taking this position with all water loss claims. Their unwillingness to pay the claim has nothing to do with how we performed the work. We use exactimate billing which is the standard for all insurance work. We even hire a third party who negotiates the invoice on our behalf in order to come to a fair settlement but they were unsuccessful because of the position State Farm has taken.

  You've paid your premiums and should not be in this position so your issue should be taken up with your insurance company rather than us. I do see that we attempted to reduce the outstanding balance by more than 20% but that wasn't acceptable to you. Have you spoken to your insurance adjuster about why they are refusing to pay for the services that they are responsible to pay for you as their customer?

  Customer response

  11/14/2023

  Good afternoon:
  
  I appreciate your review and response to my complaint. I know this can be a very frustrating experience no matter what insurance carrier is involved.  However, I would like to make sure my actual concerns and complaints of the continued harassment and threats of filing a lien against my home by your company are what are addressed.
  
  Just to be clear, I have been addressing this with my assigned claim representative on a regular basis as I do not want to be in a position where services rendered are not properly paid out. I have been reassured State Farm has paid what is owed. They are unable to pay any portion of any vendors bills that are excessive or unreasonable. I am told that State Farm stands firm on paying what they owe but as any business they also have to ensure they carefully review and pay out what makes sense so that they can continue to help their customers in the future. At no time, does any of this warrant threats of lien by the local vendor towards the customer. This is NOT something they see as a reasonable business practice nor I as the consumer. I have been advised their water mitigation team will continue to address your outstanding billing accordingly.
  
  I asked my State Farm representative about your comment about them pulling out of **********. I am told State Farm has not pulled out of CA at this time. They have paused new business in CA for homeowners insurance as the costs of catastrophic claims. This again is not a reason for the customer to face harassment or threats by any vendor who HAS received payment for their services under an accepted claim. For this reason, please continue any efforts to discuss outstanding balances with the claims team at State Farm vs. myself. There are plenty of 3rd party collection vendors that understand this and know how to deal with this and whom to reach out to and how to treat customers fairly.

• Initial Complaint

  10/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  10/6 I made an appointment for an appointment on the morning of 10/7 to fix a reoccurring clogged toilet, toilet never overflowed just would not flush correctly. 10/7 morning, the technician, gave me options for service, I agreed to him using an auger to dislodge whatever was causing flow issues. He also increased the water flow for my toilet per his recommendation. He guaranteed his work and warrantied jt. 10/8 I tried using the toilet, it overflowed and spilled water on the floor. I called for an appointment they said theyd be there the next day Om 10/9. 10/9 they were not able to come in the time window previously stated 8am -12pm. I complained and asked to talk to a manager. Said the manager would call me that day he did not. 10/10 I called multiple times for a refund they said the manager needs to approve it and that he'd call me the same day. He did not call 10/11 I called for a refund, they promised me the manager would call that day. He did not

  

  Business response

  03/06/2024

  I see we initially cleared her toilet on 10/7 for $350. We refunded that $350 on 10/10 to the same credit card. I've attached the invoice showing that.

• Initial Complaint

  10/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 8-15-23, I experienced a pipe burst in my home-repipe cost $34,893. Moderate water damage but was told based on moisture readings the damage was significant & would need to tear down a **************** Needed my electronic signature to authorize the insurance company to pay for restoration work. No forms were viewable or provided. It was agreed that no work was to be done without prior approval of insurance company accepting the claim. The plumber mentioned they use drying equipment from ******************** while on their work site. The techs set up fans, removed a piece of padding from wet carpet and took ************** readings. Not all equipment worked or was used. It appeared to me later that this was staged to get money from me if the claim was denied. The tech met with the insurance adjuster & could not ID the source of the leak, provided insufficient Plumbers Report, tried to contact another tech for answers who wasnt available, and was unprofessional and incompetent. His behavior delayed the insurance investigation. I lost trust in this tech, & not under any obligation to use his services I decided to hire Servpro for restoration work. No walls or ceiling needed coming down. He learned of this & appeared disappointed that he lost the deal. A week later I was sent an invoice that was obviously manufactured & indicated that I owed $3614.26 for h2o restoration. This invoice caught me by surprise because I was never told of any pending charges nor did I sign an invoice or was ever made aware that I was being charged for anything. The invoice contained false info with respect to billing. For example, I was billed for a moisture reading on a day I was not ******** noted other discrepancies. I raised my concerns with the accounts **** but got nowhere. The person didnt care and still wants full payment. Now this Roto-Rooter franchise is threatening legal action against me but Im the one whos being victimized. Receiving close to 35K is apparently not enough.

• Initial Complaint

  03/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  RR on march 13 2023 at 10AM promised to drain flooded basement and restore power to hot water heater for the sum of $1550. They demanded my electronic signature to this verbal business contract without ever showing terms. Never in any legal contract issues was a written statement of terms provided to the client! RR took advantage of a state of emergency disaster to extort money from victims of a natural disaster as many did with Covid!On Monday AM RR left the premises to get necessary equipment to drain flooded basement after extracting client's electronic consent!. He returned with an insufficient pump The plumber spent most of his time texting cohorts. His major worry was getting home While the pump was repeatedly failing the plumber diverted his attention to another issue that was also not resolved At 2PM he promise that he would return Wednesday to relight gas pilot!Wednesday 3/15/2023 he calls to say he will be there at 12 noon to relight pilot. At 2 PM he returns. Client insists that the gas pilot be lited. Within minutes plumber announces that it needed internal parts that are not available!Client demands to know why this condition was not made known on Monday!The client elderly and sick is left without a suitable resolution having been without water almost a week!Plumber promises to replace hot water heater and restore hot water to e!**** sick client this is the promise made money 3/13 AMafter extracting electronic consent without seeing terms!The plumber returns with a heater that has no reference to energy requirements. The plumber requires client's electronic signature without any terms available to client for review!EXTORTION!!!The client has no access to billing statements!This kind of business practice is subject to lost of licenses!What recourse is available to client for such unprofessional business practice?He never attempted to resolve hot water heater. He promised to return Wednesday March 15 to

  

  Business response

  05/16/2023

  ******, I believe weve already dealt with this oneJim

• Initial Complaint

  02/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Roto-Rooter Vista came out to my rental property on Jan 31, 2023 to diagnose and repair a clogged sink in the kitchen. The tech left after charging $385 and sink was still plugged up. Without confirming, the tech condemned the garbage disposer -- after snaking main line in house (not the sink line to clear the sink clog). Told tenants that's all he could do. Property manager and I called Roto-Rooter to complain about this and Roto-Rooter never answered us back. Ignored all calls and emails. Roto-Rooter Vista was finally reached by tenants on Friday, February 3, 2023. Roto-Rooter scheduled an appointment with wife tenant to re-check the problem for Saturday, February 4th. Sink was still clogged up. Roto-Rooter did not show up for scheduled appointment and a company rep emailed tenant's husband at work to confirm that they were not coming, as scheduled. Sink was still clogged at this time. Property manager and I called Roto-Rooter to reschedule for Sunday appointment. On Sunday, February 5th, a Master Plumber (and his partner tech) got involved and awaited a Roto-Rooter tech for an appointment for that day. Roto-Rooter tech showed up late, after 6 pm, and left without fixing the problem. Property manager and I called Roto-Rooter on Sunday to speak with a manager about this, but no manager ever called or emailed us back. The sink was still clogged at this time. The Master Plumber and partner tech contacted Roto-Rooter on Tuesday, February 7th, and Roto-Rooter scheduled a meet-up appointment for Wednesday, February 8th. A tech never showed up. When called, Roto-Rooter tech asserted that he had snaked both lines (i.e. main and sink). This cannot be true since the wife tenant confirmed that Roto-Rooter did not request her to move all of the stuff under the sink to access the sink line. Instead, the tech snaked the main line. which was the wrong line. At this point, the Master Plumber and his partner had to fix the problem. Garbage disposer works great & sink unclogged.

• Initial Complaint

  02/06/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Scheduled appointment on 02/04/2023 for 5pm. Company couldn't come out til after 7pm. Reschedule for 8am on 02/05/2023. No show. Reschedule again for 1pm on 02/05/2023. Nothing. Company said couldn't make it out until after 7pm. Then no call no show..

  

  Business response

  02/06/2023

  This is a Franchise location

   

  

  *********************

  Customer Service Manager

  Roto-Rooter Services Co.

  Corporate Headquarters

  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  01/24/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Jan. 14th Roto-Rooter replaced a water heater. They did not leave a paper receipt or estimate. Everything was done on a tablet. I was not shown the breakdown of the total cost. He said his labor would be $325 an hour. Although I thought it was high, I agreed. The plumber said he would email a receipt/ invoice. He has not. I have called three times. Each time they say they will furnish the receipt. The last time I called, they said that they don't know why I have not been furnished a receipt but that they go out ***** business hours after completion of the project. That clearly has not happened. They were here for 3 hours.

  

  Business response

  01/24/2023

  This is a Franchise location

   

  

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Monday afternoon, 11/21 I requested a consultation from Roto Rooter for our upstairs bathroom sink which had been clogged for a few days. This call took place around 4:45pm and I was told that someone will come in a couple hours and that if it's past 7:30pm, they have to charge us $79 for an "after-hours" fee. Around 6:45pm, I was notified that the technician was on his way, and he came soon after that (before 7:30pm). He took a look for ***** minutes and gave me the estimated cost for the unclogging, then left (before 7:30pm). However, I was charged $79 because (according to him and the woman taking my credit card information), "after-hours" begins at 5:00pm (a different time than they mentioned before). They charged my credit card the $79 even though the person left before 7:30pm. I would like the $79 back since they originally told me the consultation was free until 7:30pm.

  

  Business response

  11/30/2022

  This is a Franchise location.
  

• Initial Complaint

  09/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On Monday 9/19 there was sewage coming up my kitchen sink. I called Roto-Rooter. I was charged $454 for the evening service call fee, the cost to snake my line and the camera fee to see what was causing the issue. That evening a technician cleared the clog and claimed to have snaked it. On 9/20 the manager ******************************* along with another worker came out with the camera to see what was causing the issue. After looking at it he claimed that my mainline needed to be replaced because the tree in my front yard had damaged it underneath and the only option to fix it was to have it replaced. The cost would be over $13,000. I asked if there was an alternate and he stated no, that is the only option to fix it. He stated they had financing and we ran my credit to see if that was an option. Thankfully I did not qualify. I told him I would think about my options and contact him later. Later that evening I called because I wanted to confirm that the paperwork I signed was just for the estimate as he had stated and not an authorization to do the work. I had also stated that I would get another estimate and then follow up. He then offered a senior discount, military discount and to speak to his supervisor about a lower rate. I told him that was starting to make me question everything. He then later texted stating his supervisor could contact me about a 2nd option, even though he had previously stated there was no other options. I had another company come out and they showed me my entire mainline pine and there was no issue with my mainline. There is no tree damage and no need to replace it. There was a toy stuck in my drain. I paid $400 to have my drain properly snaked and to have the camera look at my line. I want my $454 back, an apology, and to have the unnecessary credit inquiry removed from my credit. If my mainline is damaged then they should be able to come and show me with their cameras the roots but they can't because it's not there. The lack of integrity is appalling

  

  Business response

  04/07/2023

  Hello all. Looking into this job and speaking to all involved heres what I gather. The initial job was done in Sep of 2022. The techs were able to clear drain and find a root intrusion which we gave an estimate to repair. Clients were offered financing and did not qualify. Neither GreenSky nor 2^nd chance. After financing was denied a couple days later customers daughter ****** called to complain and ask for the 454$ back for clearing the drain. We gave her a refund in full on 9/26. I did reach out to the customer and left a message for her to reach out. Being that its been so long this is going to be difficult to go back and verify by camera inspection. Ill try her again tomorrow to see if I can get her to remove the complaint.

*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. ↩