A-Rooter-Man Plumbing, Sewer & Drain Cleaning Service, Inc.

Expensive! We had a sewer backup in a downstairs bathroom and looked in the phone book for a rooter service. They had a big add boasted "VOTED #1". They said they could be there in an hour to an hour and a half. The man showed up about two and a half hours later. He said it would be $299 PLUS a $25 trip charge. Well, after waiting that long I said OK. It took him no more than 10 minutes to snake the clog out. I felt really duped!!!

Review: On 6/24/13, I called XXX-XXX-XXXX and told the person that answered the phone I didn't have any hot water so I looked at the water heater and there's water squirting out of the top. He said someone would be over right away. When [redacted] arrived he checked the water heater and told me the hose needs to be replaced and the charge is $225.00. I was surprised he diagnosed the problem so quickly. It only took him minutes to finish the repair. I paid him and he left. I kept checking to see if I had hot water, and I called the same number again around 4:00pm and told them I still had no hot water. Jose came back, looked at the water heater for a minute, then told me I needed a new heater. Our conversation became more an argument. I learned that the hose repair he did had nothing to do with restoring hot water so I asked for my money back. He said I didn't tell him I had no hot water - he didn't ask. However, I did tell his rep when I called that morning. He said I should have told him "How was he supposed to know?". I answered that it's not my fault if his company has poor communication. I told him he can have the part back and give me my money back. He said he doesn't work for free and that I was not getting any money back. After quite a bit of argueing, he said he could try to repair the heater by checking the Thermal Coupling ??? He said if it worked the charge would be $325 but he would apply my $202.50 to it and I would pay the balance of $125. If it didn't work I wouldn't owe anything. He wrote this on the receipt and I initialed it. Well, of course it didn't work. We argued a bit more, then he just left with my money and I still had no hot water! I called the company again and asked to speak to the person that handles disputes. When the person called me back, it was [redacted] He said he was the owner and told me I was not getting any money back. I should explain that the initial charge was $225 but a senior discount was applied so the final amount was $202.50.

Product_Or_Service: water heater repair

Account_Number: Invoice #CXXXXX

Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Refund

I absolutely want my $202.50 returned to me. If this filing doesn't result in a refund, I will continue to seek other methods until my money is returned. This situation would be very aggravating as it is. But, I have suffered 3 devastating losses within a short period of time. As a result, I am under a Doctor's care for extreme depression and battle anxiety daily. The last thing I need is to have to deal with something as petty and shady as this!

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

We gave customer a refund.

Copy of check attached.

Consumer's Final Response

Thank you very much for your assistance. Upon receiving the complaint, the company called and we reached a compromise. I have already received a refund from them.

Review: called to fix sewage backing up came out and snake out the pipe and said it was all cleared but it was not still had the same problem sewage still backing up. Called again and told them I still had same problem sewage still backing up they said they would send some one out and they did but they wanted to do the same thing agian and snake out the system and charge me another $135.00. after they just charge me $235.00 for something that did not solve the problem the first time so I told them no leave he went and snake the pipe again on his own and left ,still had the problem after he left the second time. I then called sweet septic and they came out a found the septic tanks were full so I paid them $375.00 to clean out the system and I have not had a problem since. also the copy of the contract that I signed did not have any job description as to what was done.Desired Settlement: refund my $235.00

Business

Response:

At the time of the initial phone call from the customer (12/23/13), the problem was a backed up serer which we cleared upon our first visit. The customer called again due to having the same issue. When the plumber indicated that there would be an additional charge for the second trip the customer advised the plumber to leave the property. As a courtesy, we cleared the sewer at no charge. Had the customer given the plumber the time to research the "bigger issue", he would have been able to determine the deeper sewer blockage issue which would have led to the septic tank--and at that time we could have made some compensation as a result of this discovery. Just because you have a backed up sewer doesn't always mean your septic tank is full.

Consumer

Response:

Hi I received your response from rooter man plumbing service. which I don't agree with you can not clear a sewer pipe or any part of that system with tank or tanks that are full to the top you need to empty them first. so the system that they said they cleared out the first visit was never cleared. that is why I called the second time and they did not quote me a price at that time they sent the plumber back out he got out of his truck and saw that the system was still backing up and at that point he wanted to recharge me $135.00 to do the same thing that he just previously did and I said no that did not work the first time so I was not going to pay again . He chose to run the snake again and that still did not work and then he left the property. I have pictures of the septic tanks showing them to be full to the top both tanks .I also have a receipt from sweets septic system that came out and cleaned out both tanks and the filter. I have not had a problem with my sewer system since and it is four months later. Also on my carbon copy of the receipt it has no explaination of what he did it was just blank and on their receipt that they sent to my master card co. it reads cleared drain which was added to the paper work after the fact that is not on my copy ?

Review: Service was Great! But Billing Dept. NOT SO GREAT!Service was 2-15-14 the check for $135.00 did not hit my bank until 2-25-14 at which time my account dropped $10 below the amount of the check. Five other transactions cleared that day, the check for the $135 was the only transaction that did not clear. Your Billing Dept. did not contact me about the problem nor did they try to submit the check again as it would have cleared. Instead they sent me to collections, I haven't been in collections in years, now I will have this on my credit report. Also the collection agency wants $224.80 and if not paid by 4-10-14 they want $629.80. All this is uncalled for, if I would have been notified or the check re-submitted this could have been resolved without incident. I would have gladly paid the amount due $135 plus a NSF fee. This whole transaction was handled very unprofessionally.I contacted your office in Truckee and Rooter-Man Corporate Headquarters and was told that someone from your office would call me. Still no response from you as of 3-25-14.

Product_Or_Service: Plumbing-Plugged Up Toilet

Order_Number: Invoice #[redacted] Account_Number: N/ADesired Settlement: I am willing to pay the $135 plus the $20 Bank Fee for a total of $155.And I would like to be removed from collections.

Business

Response:

ID: [redacted]

In response to complaint id above, the time in which we deposit a check should not be relevant. The check should have been written in good faith regardless as to when we actually deposited this check. We had no phone number to contact the customer, which is unfortunate. However, our only recourse was to submit the check for collections. We never received a phone call from Mr. [redacted] stating that he got a notice from his bank and that check number 4173 didn't clear his account, which all banks do. The letter from the collection agency is dated March 10, 2014, which was plenty of time for Mr. [redacted] to contact us to resolve this matter. Once we send a customer to the collection agency we no longer can speak to the customer and all correspondence needs to go through the collection agency. The charge stands.

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because:

Payment is not outstanding. Debt has been paid in Full.

I had spoken with a gentleman at Rooter-Man and he was very nice and authorized for me to pay the original amount which I did, see attached

Sincerely,

after the "repair/install" from [redacted] our issues with our sewer returned with said vengence, we decided to call Rooterman last Friday to snake the pipe and see what was causing all of our problems.. their tech Tim discovered we had issues with our line that required more than just snaking the pipe, last Saturday my wife and I dug up the pipe or in our case what was left of the pipe.. [redacted] was right about the break but their presumptions were way off. after digging, I called Tim to inspect the pipe and found we had to dig about 2 more feet, once done the pipe was exposed, he returned last Sunday morning to replace 10 feet of pipe. He came out on BOTH of his days off and showed not complaint but an eagerness to fix our pipe and ensure everything was working properly. after replacing said pipe he ran a garden hose and a plumber's snake down our clean out to remove any mud or other blockages and stayed until he was satisfied with the function of the new pipe and the flow of the water through it... I HIGHLY recommend Rooterman to all my friends and family and will use this company for all future plumbing needs. their pricing was fair and reasonable and Tim's attitude was positive, down to earth and extremely professional...

Review: Serviceman repairing water heater lied and charged for a repair that could not have been made.

I contacted Rooter-Man plumbers to repair my water heater. A service man named [redacted] came to the house. At first he said a coupler needed to be replaced. I gave authorization for him to do that work. When I checked on his progress about 15 minutes later, he told me that he did not need to replace the coupler because it was just a loose clip that he was able to adjust. The water heater was working. I was charged $185.00.

A week later, the water heater quit working again. I contacted Rooter-Man and was told a repair person would be there at 9:00 the next morning. The next morning I was contacted at 9:15 by [redacted] saying it would be three hours before he could get there. The reason for the delay is the person from the day before did not know the schedule. I contacted another plumber who was able to come within an hour. I explained to him the previous repair, and he checked out my water heater. He informed me that there is no "clip" on this water heater coupler that could be adjusted. The only repair that could be made was to replace the gas burner assembly. He also told me that a coupler could not replaced on this particular model because of the way it was made. The water heater is a [redacted] and has a left sided coupler in the assembly that is welded into it. Fortunately, he had an assembly to do the repair. He said he usually did not have this type of assembly in stock, but had it from another job that he had been working on before. I contacted Rooter-Man on October 6. It was difficult to get to a supervisor. The first number I called, the man said that he was the guy who answered the phones but also was a manager and could not tell me who managed the whole company. I called another number and spoke to a man named [redacted]. He said he was a manager. He listened to my complaint and asked me to fax him a copy of the receipt the service technician gave me. I did fax him the receipt along with a description of what had happened. The next day he called me to apologize for what had happened. He said the situation would be addressed. He said my money would be refunded. He first asked if I just wanted my check to be cancelled, but I told him it had already cleared my bank. He said they would mail me my refund. Today is October 16, ten days from my initial complaint and I have received no check. I called Rooter-Man and asked to speak to [redacted]. I was told there was no one there by that name. I explained my situation and the woman said there was no manager by the name of [redacted] but there was one by the name of [redacted]. Possibly my error, but not sure. She said she would give him the message. Four hours later I still have not received a call. I tried calling another number listed on the receipt. The same woman answers the phone. Actually, I called all numbers on the receipt including a number I found online for Sparks, Nevada where the "headquarters" of this business is located. The same woman answers no matter what number is called. I asked for the name of the head person or owner. She told me that she could not give out that information. On line and on the yellow pages in the telephone book, it states that this is owned by the [redacted] Family of Roseville. After a little online research, I think I found the owner to be [redacted] of Sparks, Nevada. A S[redacted] was also mentioned in relationship to this company. I find it suspicious that it is so difficult to know who the managers/owners of this business happen to be. Their technician by "[redacted]" or "[redacted]'s" own admission had lied and charged me for work that he did not do. I just tried calling the company again and was told now there is no [redacted] or [redacted] at this business.Desired Settlement: As promised by the manager either [redacted] or [redacted] who I spoke with last week, I want my refund. I would also expect that someone would investigate the fraud that has been committed by this company.

Consumer

Response:

I thought I should let you know that “[redacted] or [redacted]” from Rooter-Man contacted me on Tuesday, October 20. He definitely was not happy that I had contacted the Revdex.com. He felt that I had misrepresented myself when we had first discussed the service his technician had “not” provided. The understanding on October 6 was that he was to refund my money. I only contacted you after 10 days from that conversation since I had not received a refund, and had been unable to speak to anyone from the company via telephone. I also decided to fax you the documents you requested because no one from the company had bothered to return my call the following Monday (10/19).

Review: I called this company in to do a leak detection. The plumber came and found the leak. He wrote up the work order which listed the work he would do and gave me the charge of $2,668.He said he would be able to do the work the next morning. Being a single parent with a disabled child and Foster children in the home, I needed the repair done as soon as possible not knowing that this outrageous charge would only end up being 2.5 hours of work. I paid half the fee before the job was done and half after the job was done. Once I realized how outrageous this was, I called this business asking for a refund. I called multiple times and even spoke with the manager/owner [redacted]. I have been unable to get this business to work with me and would like to make sure that no other customers are subjected to this type of charging.

Product_Or_Service: Plumbing repair

Order_Number: invoice number XXXXX

Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Refund

I would like this company to refund to me $2,000. The job they performed should not have cost me more than $500 for the job and the $168 for the leak detection.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

We do not charge by the hour but by the job. We offer free estimates. She signed for the work to be done and then submitted the invoice to her insurance company thinking she was going to get reimbursed from them. They denied her claim and that is when she started calling for reimbursement. [redacted] also called her insurance company and spoke to them and they agreed to re opened the claim and was going to get ahold of the owner and we haven't heard anything since.

Consumer's Final Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

I find it odd that they are bringing the insurance into this as it has nothing to do with the insurance but has everything to do with ripping off their customers. I would like to know why this "job" cost $2668? To cut off a pipe, replace the pipe, suck up water with shop vac, go under house and spray chemicals. All this within 2 1/2 hours time(which included time for the plumber to run back to the shop to get a fan). If you don't charge by the hour but by the job then please explain exactly what cost $2668? I have a disabled child and 2 Foster children in my home and needed to have this repaired so as not to put them at any risk by water exposure. That was my main concern at the time. I trusted this company to do a job without ripping me off. [redacted] did call my insurance company. They told me they told him they absolutely would NOT reopen my claim so I have no idea why he is saying that.This company should stand up to it's values and not overcharge their customers.

Business' Final Response

This complaint has nothing to do with the workmanship of the job but our price. She was quoted the price before the work was done and agreed to the price. If she wasn't happy with the price at the time she was quoted, she should have turned us away or spoke to the plumber that did the job right then and there. We stand by our original response.