Roto Rooter Services Company

From: *** S*** Date: Fri, Aug 28, at 5:PMSubject: Re: You have a new message from the Revdex.com of Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania in regards to your complaint #***.To: ***I have received my money from rotor rooterOn 08/27/have deposited check into my bankThank youResolved, thanks to your help. *** S ***

Roto Rooter broke a cable line in my sewer line and I had to replace the entire sewer line as a resultThey claim is was not their cable but they were the last company I have consistently used

Checked with corp, refund was put in mail todayShould get this check by tues or weds

Roto Rooter broke a cable line in my sewer line and I had to replace the entire sewer line as a resultThey claim is was not their cable but they were the last company I have consistently used

Refund was sent up to corp to cut a check on weds 08/05/after customer spoke to managerCustomer was informed it will take days for refundWe did offer on 08/01/to fix the issue while field supervisor was at the house

Tell us why here...
Reached out to the customer, waiting for a responce so we can set up a service call to return to the property and clear her rear yard drain under guarantee.

Credit card refund was put through today at 240 pm, it may take a day or two to reach the card company, tech will also be sat down and talked too. dean younkin.

Review: needed service on my water heater, was told the price was 350.00later found out the part cost 40 dollars and the technician was in my house for a total of 9 minutes. I feel everyone should make a fair profit but 300 dollars for 10 minutes, not fair, feel I was taken advanatage of. When I tried to call to explain that this was not fair or right the lady was rude, and explained to me that because he only stayed for 9 or 10 minutes that it should have no bearing on the price. Lets be fair... it does!!!Desired Settlement: DesiredSettlementID: Refund

some kind of refund willing to pay what is fair and honest, not that kind of money for that little bit of time and 40 dollars for one part

Business

Response:

Will refund 100.00 to customers credit card today 04/22/2013, this should show up on card in next 5 days. Customer was charged 295.00 after 50.00 coupon was used . By our flat rate pricing, job was priced right before discount used. Thanks [redacted]

Review: In November 2011 I hired Roto-Rooter to waterproof my basement. When the salesman came to the house, he assured me that as it shows in their advertising brochure, proble** of the mold on my basement walls, moisture on the walls and a crack that appeared moist on the floor would be solved by replacing my french drains. I paid almost $11,000. for the job to be completed. I was very unhappy with the work. They left a mess as well as did not do the job well. At that time my husband was very sick, so I asked my neighbor who is a contractor to be present when a representative from RotoRooter came out to address my concerns. My neighbor questioned RotoRooter's work and their representative told me that either he would leave or my contractor neighbor would have to leave. After a very contentious discussion about the work and the proble**, I was refunded $2,400. I was also told at that time that they do not address mold proble** which is inconsistent with the brochure I have and what the salesman told me. I paid to have another contractor clean and seal my basement walls. In the last 1 1/2 years I have had more water proble** in my basement than prior to the french drain replacement. I still have mold on walls. Water came into the basement in a corner after a heavy rainstorm (which I have not had in the 37 years I have owned the house), and there is cracking on my basement wall. After contacting the company's complaint department in August the Water Restoration Manager, came to my home again, he told me RotoRooter does not cover water moisture on walls, but only on the floor and since I did not have a picture of the water in the corner, he said there was nothing he could do. At the end of the summer, I emailed the customer service department yet again, the email I received said someone would be in touch with me. I have yet to hear from them. I feel that this company has misrepresented their work and not honored the agreement they initially made with me. The sales person at the time, assured me that replacing the french drain would address my basement water proble**. I even asked him if I should do any outside work around the house, and he said it would not be necessary. I have come to find out that he no longer works for the company and that he may have given the manager incorrect information about the nature of my basement water proble**. He told the manager that there was standing water in my basement when he came to the house, which there was not. Recently, I have been in touch with a company called Serv-Pro to consult me on the basement. The gentleman from Serv-Pro told me if Roto-Rooter had completed the job as stated in the contract, I would not have water proble** with my walls. Roto-Rooter's advertising pamphlet shows exactly the type of water problem I was trying to solve. I paid a huge sum of money to this company to address my basement water proble** which they assured me they could fix. Not only did they not fix the problem, but my basement is in worse condition now than before they did any work. I have gone through this company's complaint process multiple times and feel my concerns and proble** have not been addressed sufficiently. I am writing to you in hopes that you can help resolve my problem with Roto-Rooter.Desired Settlement: I would like for Roto Rooter to repair the french drain they installed to address the current basement water proble**. Because I am a widow, I also want to have the opportunity to have one of my neighbors present during any conversations with RotoRooter at my home to address my concerns and ask questions.

Business

Response:

We are working with a expert in mold, this gentlemen teaches and certifies companies on the east coast, he went out to look at the basement, and came away uncertain if this was a mold or a bacteria growing on the walls, walls had been scrubbed down by another company before we came out . He did find no levels of moisture in the block wall at the time off inspection. With not being able to know for sure, what was used to paint walls, if it was a anti mold paint or not. His suggestion to us, is to repaint walls effected after we get room to perfect temp, and use a monitor device to watch levels of moisture. We have beed in contract with customer, and just waiting for device to arrive at our office to set up day to install.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Roto Rooter's proposal addresses the damage that water and moisture has caused, but does not address the issue of why I have more moisture and water in my basement now then I did before they put in the french drain.

Review: I contacted Roto-Rooter on November 20, 2014 because my sewer line had become partially blocked and wastewater from my gutters and my bathroom was overflowing back up the washer drain and onto my basement floor.

When the technician arrived that evening, I explained the situation to him and he recommended a video inspection and cleaning of the line. He asked me to sign a blank inspection and repair estimate, explaining that this was required to authorize him to start work. He then performed a video inspection of the line and told me the following:

1. The curb trap had shifted and was disconnected from the line and riser.

2. There were multiple breaks in the sewer line beneath the sidewalk.

3. The sewer line was partially collapsed and obstructed under the basement floor due to tree root intrusion.

I observed the monitor during the video inspection, but had difficulty discerning what I saw since it was black & white / low resolution. I’m not a plumber by trade, so I deferred to the his judgment of the situation.

His recommended solution was the excavation and replacement of the riser, curb trap, the entire sewer line from the curb to the foundation, and the collapsed portion of the line beneath the basement floor. He then proceeded to make at least two somewhat theatrical calls to his supervisor to “try and get me the best possible price,” which turned out to be $4,925 (excluding the cost of new concrete). He then cabled the line to attempt to clear the blockage. After the cabling, he filled out the video inspection report, the estimate for excavation, and the work order, writing “no warranty” on it.

Given the potential cost of the recommended option and the fact that the sewer line remained partially obstructed, I engaged another plumber to inspect the line and provide a quote for replacement. The second inspection revealed the following:

1. The curb trap had not shifted and remained connected to the line. The riser had shifted but had not detached from the trap.

2. The multiple “breaks” in the line were actually transitions between cast iron and terra cotta/clay. Neither junction reflected any evidence of failure or intrusion by dirt or foreign objects.

3. The sewer line beneath the basement floor had not collapsed but was partially obstructed by paper that had accumulated at a junction with a laundry sink drain. (The blockage was easily removed and the line now flows freely.)

I have three issues here: first, the technician failed to conduct an adequate and thorough video inspection of the sewer line. As a result, he grossly mischaracterized its condition and also misdiagnosed the cause of the water backup. This misdiagnosis seemed to be designed to scare me into an unnecessarily expensive resolution. Furthermore, the technician failed to clear the blockage, as the sewer line remained partially obstructed after the cabling.

Finally, at the conclusion of this misadventure, I attempted to use a $40 coupon from the Roto-Rooter website towards the cleaning and video inspection. The technician told me that if I agreed to not use the coupon, he would not charge me for the cleaning and give me a $77 “discount” off the $428 inspection fee; however, if I used the coupon, he would have to charge me extra for the cleaning and could not provide the $77 discount, resulting in a higher overall price. I believe that advertising a coupon that results in a higher overall price is deceptive advertising.

Needless to say, the services rendered were of absolutely no value, as they provided neither relief from the problem at hand nor any credible insight into its origin or resolution.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of the $351.25 that I paid for the video inspection and "free" cleaning.

Business

Response:

Credit card refund was put through today at 240 pm, it may take a day or two to reach the card company, tech will also be sat down and talked too. dean younkin.