Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/14/2024

  Type:Billing Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The date of service was 10/10/2024 and 10/11/2024. Amount charged my bank was $308.85.
  Roto-Rooter was supposed to go to my son's house at **** ****** **** in Warr Acres to give me an estimate of how much it would cost to unclog my son's drains. The technician showed up 10/10/2024 in the afternoon to look at the problem. Root-Rooter never called me with an estimate. They charged by Debit Card $308.85 on 10/10/2024 before finishing the job on 10/11/2024. The technician did not have working tools on 10/10/2024 and had to come back the next morning. The technician did a good job. This Roto-Rooter charged me $19.00 to schedule the work. Not ever told to us it cost money just to schedule work. The local company blamed the charge on Corporate. I talked to Corporate on 10/11/2024 and I was told the $19.00 was a bogus charge. They also told me this local company should have given my son a military discount which he asked for of $90.00. None of these charges were ever given to me prior to work being and done and never prior to charging my Debit Card.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/14/2024

  Hello there,

  It sounds like some miscommunication has taken place, I can help sort some of this out for you. The call for service was for a washing machine and sink that were backing up, our technician went out ran some water tests and diagnosed the issue, then communicated that with ******* ****** (we were told he owned the home) . He approved the work and signed for it allowing us to proceed. 

  Our technician ran the line with his 3/8' cable and was able to successfully clear the debris from the line. He then ran heavy volume of water to verify and found no backups or leaks. ******* then said he would like us to have a look at his tub and noted it was draining slow, which was on a different branch line. It would have been after hours charge since it was 4:41PM and the technician wanted to have his tub machine looked at so this was rescheduled for the following morning. 

  Yes my service manager was correct, when booking through **************, the corporate website they do charge $19 per booking. We don't have a military discount, we keep our prices fair for everyone. You can search by zip code on the corporate site and you will find that they don't offer any coupons/discounts in the Oklahoma market , they are all independently owned here. We were informed you were covering the cost of service, as you had called earlier in the day to provide a card to be put on file so when your son said work was completed to his satisfaction it was charged.

  Hopefully these added details help clear up your concerns, feel free to reach out to our office with any questions and we would be glad to help!

  ****

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/06/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  We had a sewer line issue, called Roto-Rooter to diagnose the problem. They came out, used sewer camera and identified the issue was tap connection to the ********* slipped, charged me $303 for the inspection and quoted repair for $7,844.98, and said work need to be permitted and inspected by the city!Called another company. They run the camera again and find the issue was the pipe that 3 feet away from the clean out was busted. Nothing wrong with tap connection. Cost $4,160 for repair. Called Roto-Rooter again trying to get the $303 inspection refund since they failed on inspection. They refused, saying they went there, used camera, nothing wrong with them.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/08/2024

  Hi ******,
  
  We have reviewed your complaint through our internal process. ************** identified an issue further down your line, this is consistent with what your handyman said as well (25 ft out). Just because another plumber came out and found an additional issue with the line does not qualify for a refund. 
  
  Best,

  ****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/09/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  
  The  issue that Roto rooter identified doesnt exist, please check the previous uploaded documents. 

  And the tap connection still in good shape, never been repaired/replaced.

  Roto rooter can run the camera again to verify. 
  

  my handyman has no sewer camera and never said theres a problem with tap connection. He doesnt know whats wrong, that is why I called plumber to diagnose the issue.

   

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********

  Business Response

  Date: 02/14/2024

  Hello **,

  The pictures you took are of a smaller branch line no the main line we were saying had the issue with the connection. So again an additional issue does not nullify there being a problem with the tap connection.

  We're willing to come back out and camera the line again. If we are wrong we will credit back the former camera charge but if we're right you will pay for the camera to be run again.

  We believe that's the fairest way to handle this. Let me know if you're in agreement and we will get it scheduled.

  Thank you,

  ****

   

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/14/2024

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  please check the description I uploaded from the other plumber!

  Update: upon arrival I scope the sewer line with an inspection camera and discovered a break in the line roughly 3 feet away from the cleanout, was able to get past that point and scope the line to the city main past the break in the yard, the line is good all the way to the city main saddle tap on the main is still intact. The only issue is the break in the middle of the yard.

  In addition, the sewer backed up 3 times in 5 days before the fixed and its been good for 2 weeks  now.

  I also dont understand how could Roto-rooter guy miss the busted pipe. You have to get the camera pass the broken pipes to get to the city main!

  That at least means you failed diagnostic.

  And No Im not paying for additional cameras. If Roto-rooter believes the connection was slipped, show me the picture, I asked the picture first day on the inspection and never received it!

  
  Sincerely,
  
  *********

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/09/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Jan. 18, 2023, I contacted Roto-Rooter for an estimate on installing a Water Heater at my property ******************************************. The Tech (Gage P.) and another Tech came out and gave an estimate of $1686.88 for installation and upgrades for necessary codes. I was charged a service charge of $88.00 plus additional $9.00 for fuel fee which I was not informed of by dispatch the total was $97.00 (See attachment) I purchased the Hot water Heater, Stand and drainage pan. (See attachment for Estimate *********). On Jan. 20, 2023 (Gage P.) and same previous Tech began, installing the Hot Water Heater. They were paid $1686.88 (See Invoice *******). *********** informed that he was unable to do a video inspection and that the city inspectors, will need to come to the residence. I called several times the following week spoke with a young lady, she stated there was an issue with which city inspector office would need to come and do an inspection. On Feb. 6, I received a text from Roto-Rooter stating the City Inspector will come out on tomorrow or wednesday to do an inspection. On Feb 7, the City Inspector came out and found several violations and place a red tag and a list of violations (See attachment). On Feb. 8 (Gage P. and two other gentlemen came to the home and look at the hot water heater and review the list of violations. Afterward, *********** came to me after discussing with his manager and informed me that there will be an additional cost of $964.00 for a vent kit, I told him I wasn't going to pay an additional cost. I stated that I'm not a plumber, he should have known as a plumber, what was required to bring the hot water heater up to code he then stated that he usually, installed water heaters, that don't require city inspections and that he thought the installation would passed. I mentioned that the inspector also stated that there need to be a flashing on the roof and wood and metal cannot touch he (Gage) then stated to me that there was a flashing on there, I told him there's no metal flashing on the roof. I would like my monies back. Why would I have pay monies for a hot water heater installation, not to meet upgrade codes and additionally, why would a professional plumber take out a permit knowing the work would fail a city inspection.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/14/2023

  Hello,
  We have received the complaint from ************************* and it has been carefully reviewed and discussed within the quality review process of our company. 

  We would like to refer her to your estimate details, where the scope of work was was provided and signed for on site by her;

  "We will install the customer supplied water heater in the closet behind the house. All necessary code upgrades will be made including a pan, stand, drains, water shut off valve, gas flex line, gas drip leg and shut off valve. We are not responsible for the flashing on the roof or additional venting required."

  We performed every bit of the work that the contract stipulates and all of that portion passed inspection. We had provided ******* with an estimate for this portion of the work for the venting but she declined so there was nothing further we could do.

  All work was completed correctly fulfilling the contract and there is nothing that warrants a refund being given.
  
  Best,
  ****

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/15/2023

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: The Technician (Gage) mislead me as to the necessary upgrades, for the water heater to pass city codes. As per my conversation with ****, he mentioned the age of the roof, as it pertains to installing the vent and flashing, and the additional costs. As, I state again, I'm not a plumber, by the Tech. being a "professional Plumber" he didn't state in the estimate that the additional items would be needed to pass inspection his bid for the job should have included all the necessary items to complete the job IAW, with the *** Codes. From this, experience I will personally, contact the city development office in the future for information on what are the requirements for ************* upgrades codes on any future works that require permits. I'm so disappoint
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  Business Response

  Date: 02/20/2023

  Hi *******, we provided you with an up-front estimate that detailed the scope of work that would be done and at what price. In the estimate it states, Customer Supplied Water Heater Install: We will install the customer supplied water heater in the closet behind the house. All necessary code upgrades will be made including a pan, stand, drains, water shut off valve, gas flex line, gas drip leg and gas shut off valve. We are not responsible for the flashing on the roof or additional venting required.
  
  This wasnt a multi-page document where, the above quote is every bit of the estimate you were provided before work began.
  This was agreed upon and signed for by you and serves as the contract. He let you know up front the old venting may not pass but you didnt have the funds and he informed you it would be a 50 50 chance of passing without getting that portion completed. Youre accusing him of misleading you but he couldnt have been clearer as to what upgrades he was doing and was sure to notate (see above) that he wouldnt be doing the venting or the flashing on the roof at that price.
  
  Our work was completed in its entirety and under the amount.The only reason it failed was for the portion of the work you didnt have the funds for- I have to deny your request for a refund because you have failed to demonstrate an issue with the work.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/25/2023

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/07/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On December 12, 2022, **************** and ********** from Roto Rooter came to my house to try and solve a problem with my plumbing. The house has two bathrooms on opposite sides of the house. One bathroom is near the garage, the laundry room, and the kitchen. The laundry backed up one afternoon while I was working on my computer and flooded the back bathroom, the laundry room, and the kitchen. The toilet in the bathroom on the opposite side of the house wouldn't flush and the bathtub next to it wouldn't drain. ****** proceeded to run a camera through the pipes in the backyard to see if there was a blockage. I watched the screen, too. I discovered the pipes were all PVC until the system got to the very back of the yard. Then it connected to some ********** that went under my fence and into the backyards of two neighbors before it connected to the city system. **************** told me it would be $7423.46 to add some new pipe and clear the clog. I was stunned by that amount.. I am a fully disabled, retired teacher who just moved back to *************. I didn't know at the time that plumbers at Roto Rooter worked on commission. ****** watched me while I called my bank and took out a loan to fix the problem. Within 2 1/2 weeks of their "fix", the same problems were happening and my garage was flooding from the back bathroom. I called them back expecting them to stand by their work. ****** looked back at the area he had been before, and said they needed to replace the ********** and it would be between $10,000 and $12,000 more. I spoke with a contractor friend and he said they overcharged me by at least double what any other plumber would charge and didn't correct the problem. I called a reputable plumber who mapped the pipes in the yard and said ****** didn't remove the second blockage just one foot behind where he had originally been working. The new plumber removed the second blockage, charged me $175, snaked the drains that ****** didn't finish, and I haven't had any problems since.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/13/2023

  Hi there,

  We have received the complaint from ************************* and it has been carefully reviewed and discussed within the quality review process of our company. Customer was informed at the time the initial estimate was given that the line was **********. She declined to get the entire line replaced and only wanted the portion of the line repaired to her neighbors yard. The fence marked the boundary. So that's what we provided an estimate for- that part of the line was replaced and a cleanout added to give better access to cleaning the line and work was completed under the given amount.

  January of the following year customer reported a backup, we went out at no cost. The backup was not being caused by the portion of the line we repaired but further down the line the ********** was catching things. We expect this will continue to cause buildup eventually leading to a clog. Since there is no issue with the line or cleanout we installed no refund will be granted.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/18/2023

   
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because: it is not truthful. See my response below, please.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

  In response to Roto Rooter, their statement is not truthful. Their plumber and I discussed that part of the line might be ********** (he wasn't sure at the time),but there was NO GUARANTEE that the ********** was causing the problem. No further discussion of replacing the ********** took place on the first visit, nor was an estimate to replace it given at this time. The plumber said it might be the problem, but he encouraged me to let him clean out what he thought was the only blockage and put in the clean-out piece of pipe for more than $7,400. Their plumber did a poor job, as there was a second blockage less than a foot behind what he worked on. It WAS NOT in the **********, nor was it under the fence. He just did a poor job and charged me double what he should have. When I got better plumbers here to sort out the issue, we discovered his incomplete work and that the ********** actually runs under TWO different yards than mine. The Roto Rooter plumber had not done a thorough inspection at all! The better plumbers said the ********** was not that damaged,and could easily last years more. They cleaned out the SECOND blockage in the *** pipe in my yard that Roto Rooter did not, and it has been running very well ever since. The Roto Rooter plumber told me not to put toilet paper down the toilet. I put it in a plastic bag for weeks. The better plumbers said that was ridiculous because toilet paper dissolves. He was working me trying to get me to spend that $12,000 more on needless repairs.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/22/2023

  Hello *****,
  Thats correct it wouldnt have been wise to guarantee the ********** was the issue- you should only use such an absolute term when you know it as a certainty. The line the repair was made on was open and functioning at time of service.

  
  If its just a complaint to try and get a refund because a competitor said he would have done it cheaper,since we had an up-front agreement on the price thats not a case in which qualifies for a refund. Many of our competitors (usually much smaller companies) say that so you call them next time.

  
  On the other side if you feel we didnt install the cleanout correctly or there was an issue with the portion of the line we repaired, I highly encourage you to call in. I checked the call records and we havent heard from you in 7 weeks (January 2nd)so this will be the next step.  Request to speak with a service manager and if we failed to do something correctly be assured,we will be back out and get you taken care of.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/04/2022

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Sorry if this is a duplicate. Roto-Rooter a lot of franchises and the main corporation does not seem to care how the franchises operate. On 11/22/22 my mainline was clogged. This is not the first time, the last time I called a local plumber and they were able to clear it fairly quickly through the roof vent, unfortunately, that plumber was busy so I called Roto-Rooter. RR sent 3 techs out. They ran a snake about ten feet into the vent and got it stuck. I was present and I saw it suddenly and violently broke loose. They tried a couple more times and then said they can only do it if they install a "clean out". I, of course, said if I am going to install a clean out I am not going to go with the first person that tries to strong-arm me into it. I then called the other plumber back and they were able to get a team out to me. That team quickly found the broken joint (about 10 feet down the vent). Instead of trying to con me into a "$3k-$4K" like Roto-Rooter, they went to work, fixed the joint, and snaked the mainline, clearing it in about an hour. Roto-Rooter wants me to pay almost $500 for nothing but likely damaging my system, the other plumber only charged me just over $500 for fixing the damage and clearing the line successfully. BTW, the other plumber came back the next week and installed a clean-out for $600 flat.
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/07/2022

  Hi ****,
  
  We informed you before the work began that going through the roof vent was not the proper way to clean the line. We werent trying to strong arm you into a repair, as was explained on site its because the access is so much more restrictive.
  
  It looks like you forgot to mention we had several hours of work on your line and were going to find the stub out that comes out from the house but you stopped our work and said you would like to reschedule to the next day. You then refused to pay and while we were waiting your regular plumber showed up.
  
  Im unsure of why you thought we wouldnt charge anything just because you stopped the work, I did review the invoice and you were only billed for the service up to that time. Excellent, were glad to hear you followed through with our advice of having a cleanout installed so the main line could be accessed, even if not by us.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/24/2022

  Type:Order Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 10/17/22 I paid Roto-Rooter Plumbers to complete a sewer line repair in my backyard (Invoice # ******* for $6,174.88). The plumbers dug two large, deep holes in my backyard for the repair; the deepest hole is approximately 10 feet deep. Roto Rooter said they would return to backfill the holes after the City inspected the work. The city completed the inspection Tuesday 10/18; I informed Roto Rooter the inspection was completed and Roto Rooter told me they would be out Thursday 10/20 or Friday 10/21 to backfill. They never arrived, nor did they call to explain why they failed to show. Since then, I have called and spoken with Roto Rooter on two occasions to inform them they never completed the backfill. To date, nobody has contacted me about why they failed to show up last week as stated, nor have they provided a commit date. I have called twice and whoever answers the phone for Roto Rooter simply takes messages but nobody has called me back. The incomplete work now presents an unsafe situation for my son. I need Roto Rooter to come out to my home and backfill the two holes they dug; they failed to show up last week when the weather was nice. Now it is raining and I'm sure they will use that as an excuse. Roto Rooter needs to complete the job ASAP and backfill the deep holes; they had a week to complete the work before the rain arrived. I am not really interested in whatever excuse they have, or choose to come up with, I simply need the work completed as soon as possible. Thank you.

  Business Response

  Date: 10/27/2022

  Hi ******,
  I see that you submitted this on October 17th and the backfill was completed that same day October 17th at 3:34P. Please understand that a permit was required since we were reconnecting it to city tap. The city had to inspect it before we could get it back on our schedule to be backfilled. We're sorry wrapping this up took longer than your expectations but glad to see your issue has been addressed.