Mr. Rooter Plumbing

Avoid these "plumbers". Charged me $245 for 15 minutes to free sink clogged in main line using video head on snake. Tech talked me into buying useless bio-chem treatment that he said would eat away grease and prevent future problems. 3 months later, same clog, same problem. On phone, they said no warranty, no discount, nothing. Blamed new problem on egg shells and bad disposal. Had replace disposal with newer, more powerful disposal.

Review: My Fiance and I had noticed we had a slow leak coming from the plumbing in my kitchen leading down to the drain in my basement. The initial slow leak was contained and did not cause any damage to my home. We had to remove a section of drywall to expose the pipes for Mr. Rooter to come and do the repairs. We called them the same day we discovered the slow leak and discontinued using the water in our kitchen until the repairs could be made. They came and gave us a bid back in the beginning of October and completed the work October 7th. On Thanksgiving day, while I was cooking and using my kitchen, I noticed water leaking out onto my kitchen floor coming from the kitchen drain (which Mr. Rooter had completely replaced.) I stopped using my sink, and we went to check our room in our basement which was now flooded with 1/2 water all on my floor. Being responsible home owners, we immediately did our due diligence to stop any further damage from happening, and soaked up the water the best we could. I called Mr. Rooter and they sent out a technician, the same technician that did the initial work on 10/7. The technician confirmed he made a mistake and forgot to put glue on some piping that caused the additional damage, but stated he was not going to replace the floor or anything. I explained I expected them to make it right as their mistake caused damage to all the flooring in that room that would now need to be replaced along with additional damage to drywall. It is now 12/10 and I have called Mr. Rooter every business day since 11/28 and they are avoiding my calls/working with me to fix this. Since the water got UNDER my tile, this is a potential mold / health issue and it must be replaced. I will have no other choice but to engage legal if they do not resolve this.Desired Settlement: Replace all the flooring in the room that was damaged and repair the drywall that was additionally damaged.

Review: In early October my wife, [redacted] Michelle [redacted], and I, [redacted], began the process of purchasing the property for sale at [redacted].

During the course of the process we had a home inspection completed by Mr. [redacted] of [redacted] on October 17, 2014. He identified a number of items that he “called out” as either safety issues or issues that revealed the potential for larger problems within the home. One of these issues was the water pressure in the plumbing system when the hot water was turned on.

We provided our Notice of Inspection to the homeowner, Ms. [redacted] and stated in the Notice that all plumbing and electrical work needed to be completed and documented by a licensed professional. This Notice was provided through our agent, Ms. [redacted] of [redacted], to the seller’s agent, Mr. [redacted] of [redacted] Experts of Billings, on October 17, 2014. The Notice was agreed to and signed by Ms. [redacted].

We completed our second walk through of the property at [redacted] on November 9, 2014. During this walk through we identified several items on the Inspection Notice that were completed to less-than-acceptable quality, including a ‘bracing’ completed as a “fix” for the broken metal material at the base of the banister rail at the top of the stairs leading from the living room to the lower floor, a toilet fixture that had not been properly sealed and tightened to the floor, and the continued lack of water pressure when running the hot water. These items were identified and evaluated by us and by Ms. [redacted]. The level of quality of completion was not considered acceptable, and would not fit the generally and widely accepted definition of acceptable to a normal, rational person.

We were provided receipts from Billings Pump and Irrigation stating that a service call had been completed to evaluate the water pressure and Mr. [redacted] Stated in an email that we had permission to contact Billings Pump to discuss the details. I placed the phone call to Billings Pump on November 10, 2014, identified myself and the situation, and asked what work had been done and to which parts of the plumbing system. At this time the service technician for Billings Pump stated that Billings Pump are not licensed plumbers and do not conduct plumbing activity within residences. Their work and expertise stops at the pump or pump fitting within a residence of this type with this type of domestic water system and they did not evaluate the plumbing within the home.

This information was conveyed to Ms. [redacted], and notice was sent to Mr. [redacted] that a licensed plumber would need to evaluate the plumbing within the home. As conveyed to me by Ms. [redacted], this request was met with verbal resistance and a written claim (via text message from Mr. [redacted] to Ms. [redacted]) that I was being “unfair”. Between that time and present Mr. [redacted] also is alleged to have stated to Ms. [redacted] that I was “ [redacted] and my requests were “above and beyond” normal expectations.

A plumber, Mr. Rooter Plumbing, was hired by Ms. [redacted] to evaluate the plumbing within the home. On November 18, 2014 we received a copy of a receipt via email through Ms. [redacted], from Mr. [redacted], showing that work had been done on the house’s plumbing, with a statement from Mr. [redacted] that we had permission to contact [redacted] at Mr. Rooter Plumbing to ask any questions we may have. The plumbing receipt was dated November 13, 2014 and signed by [redacted].

On November 19, 2014 at approximately 12:40 pm, I called Mr. Rooter plumbing, stated the purpose of my call, and the location of the property. At this time I also identified myself as [redacted], and that I was in the process of purchasing the home at the stated address. I also stated that I was aware of the name of the current home owner, Ms. [redacted].

At this time Ms. [redacted], who answered the phone, advised that they would not release any information to me until they had written authorization from Ms. [redacted] stating such permission. I agreed, stating that I understood the need for such authorization and for keeping with company policies. The conversation ended relatively professionally.

I contacted Ms. [redacted] with the information and request for written authorization to acquire the details, and she passed the information on to Mr. [redacted].

Within the next two hours I received a response from Ms. [redacted] saying that Mr. [redacted] said we received the permission to contact Mr. Rooter. I proceeded to call Mr. Rooter back, and the phone was answered by a person identifying herself as Amber. She stated that Ms. [redacted] was not available and asked if I would leave a message. I told her my name, provided my phone number, and when she asked for the location of the service call I began providing it. At this point my phone reset, ending the call, and I chose not to try calling back, since it sounded as though most of the message made it through.

Between that time and approximately 3:00 pm on that same day, Mr. [redacted] sent a text to Ms. [redacted] stating “I just got a verbal and it is okay they will have paper report over to the bank in a couple of hours.Just so you know your buyer called Mr Rooter and try to pass himself off as the owner to get the information he looking for. The seller already told Mr Rooter to give your buyer any information he was wanting. But when Mr Rooter realize the [redacted] was trying to pass himself off as the owner it really tick them off and refuse to give him anything. They have the that document just incase this guy wants to create problems. He needs to know it is illegal to impersonate someone else.”

At this point I called Mr. Rooter Plumbing to determine whether or not there was confusion, certain I had left my name and phone number. I spoke with Ms. [redacted] and asked her directly if I had given her the impression that I was trying to pretend to be the land or homeowner. She stated explicitly that she did not get that impression from me. She provided a long comment on how the information Mr. Rooter plumbing has available for their clients is protected by law similar to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act and that the rules for her plumbing information required that she call the homeowner to inform her that someone had attempted to access her information. I stated that I understood if there were confidentiality clauses in their contracts with clients and had no intention of asking them to violate business practice; that Mr. [redacted], the agent for the seller, had sent a written statement that I had permission to call and ask about the work done for Ms. [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] immediately repeated her claim to laws regarding the privacy of plumbing information and client information and that Mr. Rooter does not involve themselves in buy/sell negotiations for real estate. I told Ms. [redacted] that I would take all future requests through my agent to Mr. [redacted].

At no point in any of the phone calls or communication with Mr. Rooter was it stated that calls are or may be recorded and no information or indication of such activities was provided to me by Ms. [redacted] or any other person at Mr. Rooter Plumbing.

We had arranged a final walk through of the property with Ms. [redacted] at 4:00 pm on that same day, November 19, 2014. I met Ms. [redacted] at [redacted] shortly after 4:00 pm. We briefly discussed the situation and Ms. [redacted] called Mr. [redacted], told him she was with me, and she placed her phone on ‘speaker.’ Mr. [redacted], in an infuriated tone, accused me of identity theft, stated that his client was very angry, and that my personal reputation and honorable military service record didn’t [redacted]er because I had clearly tried to impersonate the homeowner.

Ms. [redacted] adjusted the direction of the phone conversation to gather information about the water sample results and request that the sample results be sent to her office via email and terminated the conversation.

At this point I informed Ms. [redacted] that I felt my reputation was going to be damaged based on the verbal expression by Mr. [redacted] and his “rant” against my alleged actions and blatant disregard for my personal and professional reputation.

Ms. [redacted] and I spoke on the phone later that evening, after Ms. [redacted] brought the situation to the attention of the [redacted] franchise owner, Ms. [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] indicated in a text message that Ms. [redacted] knew Ms. [redacted] of Mr. Rooter plumbing well, and that they would communicate with her the next business day.

The following day, November 20, 2014, at approximately 10:00 am, I contacted Ms. [redacted] to inquire if there was any further information. We discussed the situation briefly and agreed to communicate later in the day after she and Ms. [redacted] had an opportunity to talk with Ms. [redacted].

Mid-afternoon on that same day, November 20, 2014, Ms. [redacted] and I spoke again. Ms. [redacted] was also on the call. Ms. [redacted] had inquired of Ms. [redacted] what had happened the previous day specifically with regard to my phone call with Ms. [redacted], and according to Ms. [redacted], Ms. [redacted] was claiming to have recorded evidence of my alleged attempt to pretend to be the homeowner of the property at [redacted]. Ms. [redacted] also stated that Ms. [redacted] had provided her a similar explanation about the confidentiality of plumbing information and that it was covered by laws similar to HIPAA. Ms. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted] stated that Ms. [redacted] had confirmed there were “tapes” of the recorded conversation between myself and Ms. [redacted] and that she would have copies of the recordings sent to Ms. [redacted] and Ms. [redacted].

At this point, based on the available information, I became certain that Ms. [redacted] was attempting to defame me and destroy my reputation, and potentially harm my ability to conduct business in the local community as an upstanding professional.

Conclusion:

Ms. [redacted] has engaged in a deliberate attempt at defamation by knowingly perpetuating a damaging and derogatory lie for the purpose of destroying my reputation and for no other reason. This lie has a high likelihood of damaging my professional reputation and causing harm by preventing me from engaging in the business of environmental consulting with local realtors and their clients. I will not be able to interact with realtors and other local business professionals without wondering if Mr. [redacted], Ms. [redacted], or Ms. [redacted] repeated the false information to them, hence preventing me from establishing a professional and ethical business relationship with that clientele.

Ms. [redacted] has, to date, not come forward to apologize or counteract, redact, or retract her actions or allegations.Desired Settlement: I am requesting that the owner of the franchise/business, [redacted], issue a letter to both Ms. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted] stating that the allegations Ms. [redacted] leveled against me were inappropriate and unfounded; that Mr. Rooter Plumbing does not advocate the denigration of the character of others, and requesting that they please restore my reputation in their minds, as I did not have reason to, nor did I attempt to, pretend to be someone else for the purpose of gaining access to plumbing information; it would be appropriate to include that Mr. Rooter Plumbing does not support, conduct or condone recording of phone or personal conversations by employees without the knowledge of all parties involved (this letter should be written and signed by Mr. [redacted], not by Ms. [redacted] or any other employee).

I would also appreciate a personal letter from [redacted] apologizing to me for the inconvenience this has caused and stating that he does not condone the behavior of his employee, Ms. [redacted].

Business

Response:

I'm sorry that this has gone this far. I had no idea there was even any offense in this case. [redacted], my CSR, did tell me that Mr. [redacted] had called requesting information and that she had told him that we would only work through our customer. We have established this policy because we have had prior experiences where we have disclosed information and gotten in trouble from our customer that we have actually done the work for. This is no way a law like the HIPPA law, it is just our policy now.

We are a long established business here in Billings. We have [redacted]c. that is the new construction side of our business for 30 years now. We purchased the Mr. Rooter Plumbing franchise in 2010 to build a reputable, dependable plumbing service business. We would certainly have nothing to gain from trying to defame someone. I totally apologize if somehow in the process of communication that words, thoughts, got turned around that would give Mr. [redacted] this impression. I apologize to the realtors involved that this had to come to this proportion. I especially apologize to our customer Ms. [redacted], and hope this did not leave a bad taste in her mouth about Mr. Rooter Plumbing.

Consumer

Response:

Revdex.com,

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I appreciate the owner taking the time to evaluate the situation and provide an apology. What I want to know specifically:

Review: Mr rooter repaired pipes beneath my cement floor in 2008. The pipes are now leaking water through cement slabs, causing foul smelling water to surface on my carpet and tile. I am unable to use my washing machine because water floods the floor in small bed room on to carpet that I have to remove because of the smell. On November 19th I call mr rooter to come out and check the piping. The technician ,[redacted] answered the call. when I explained the problem he inspected the area where the cement had been exposed to replaced and remove the pipes. He turned on the washer and ran water in the sink and he saw the problem. He said he would have to call the company to see when they would begin the repairs. When he returned he said he would have to take pictures so that his company could see the issue. He used his camera phone and took the picture of the floor plainly showing them where the water was coming from, then went to his truck to send the picture to his company. When he returned he told me that I would have to contact the [redacted] to further investigate to fine out where the water was coming from. In the advertising for mr rooter they plainly states they have camera Inspector to detect leaks to not have to charge a customer for this service, and this is what they used before when they replaced my pipes. but they said that it could not be done and I had to call this other company which is priced over $300.00 for a visit. I've tried to get other plumber to fix the issue, but no one wants to touch the pipes because they say the pipes are to short and don't meet there connecting pipes.Desired Settlement: To repair and replace the pipes to stop the leaks into my house and to remove the water that is settled under the cement slabs which have a continuous odor of wet and foul smell. Also to replace piping underneath kitchen sink which was paid for and never done. They are such a difficult company that I left the issue of the kitchen sink alone until now, but the repair can b plainly noticed by the technician when was here. He even mentioned it to me.

Business

Response:

Ms. [redacted],[redacted] reached out to Ms. [redacted] regarding complaint number [redacted] on 12/17/2014. We have arranged for our master plumber to return to Ms. [redacted]'s home to further assess and diagnose the issue at hand. We will follow up with the Revdex.com once we have determined what if any appropriate remedy is required. Per the customer's request this site evaluation will take place on 12/23/2014.Regards,[redacted]General Manager

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

This message is in response to the E-mail from 1-3-2015. Compliant ID # [redacted].

The plumber we had used for years had retired, so we were trying to find someone to root out the drain pipe from our kitchen as it was clogged and had standing water. I found Mr. Rooter online.
After arriving they gave me a quote that was double what I had been paying for this service,. But ... with water standing in our kitchen sink we went ahead and had them do it.
For some reason they took the faucet off, which I am told should not have been necessary. (Our previous plumber simply disconnected the pipe underneath the sink where it goes into the wall) They did their work and the drain was cleared. However ... after they left I realized that the water pressure from this sink had dropped by 50-60%. Normally I would have called them back to have them fix it. But while they were working one of the guys kept watering around noticing and making comments about nice things we had in our home. To be honest, this made me very uncomfortable. It felt like he was "casing" my house. Nothing ever came of it so perhaps it was my imagination. At any rate, I did not want them back in my house so I asked the local hardware store about what could be causing the problem. It runs out that when they reassembled the faucet they left one part out and put a seal in incorrectly. Once I fixed these everything worked fine.
Can I say not to use them ... no. They did what I hired them for.
Would I use them again ... no.