Roto Rooter

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:"We give free estimates with no obligation or committment until we receive approval for work"
The tech service us, did not give any info about it and he finish the jobIn fact I ask him how much would it be?
And tech said "I need to check"
That's it, then tech required me to pay $for the job he done.
I do not think that is right at all
Regards,
*** ***

We use a program called Xactimate for all of our insurance estimatesRoto-Rooter does not generate the costs on these claims.The deductable was discussed an written on work folder as ($2,500.00)All of our paperwork including our Water Extraction agreement and Certificate of Satisfaction were signed off by Mrs ***.Roto-Rooter is willing to refund the original costs of the plumbing repair if Mrs *** is willing to accept that

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/07/09) */
Contact Name and Title: Courtny OFfice Manager
Contact Phone: ***
Contact Email: ***
Issued refund of $to the customer and they stated they were happy with this
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 9,
2015/07/10) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
This complaint should be closedThe business and myself have agreed to terms

FYI…. The $requested is being refunded to Mr***

Horrible service!!!! Doesn't call you back, doesn't show up when he says he will!! Didn't even call in to have dig come out! We had to call them to get them out to find out where gas lines are! Then he says he would come out and DOESN'T EVER SHOW!!!!!!! Horrible, horrible service

*** ***, Water Restoration Manger, spoke with the insurance adjuster and the homeowner and we came to an agreement that the homeowner will pay $3,and we will accept that as payment in full

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved
Regards,
*** ***

Our Company apologizes for not diagnosing the situation properlyWe do accept refunding $to the customer per his requestThe check is being mailed out to the customer today (09/21/2016)This morning Doug M***, the President of the company, talked with Mr*** regarding the entire situation and Mr*** is aware the check is being mailed to him today

On Friday, August 5, I had a clogged sewer pipe in my basement I contacted Roto-Rooter and they scheduled a plumber (*** ***) to come out on Saturday, August 6, *** unclogged the sewer pipe and I was very pleased with the work performed, and the cost was under $ This was great news since the same pipe had clogged last year and it had cost over $from a different plumber (and I cleaned up the mess myself)
When the work was finished I looked into the basement and noticed that there wasn’t as much of a mess as I had anticipated *** agreed with me that it wasn’t bad, but stated he would request a clecrew, but I said that I could clean it up since the same pipe had backed up last year and I had cleaned up the mess myself, and it had been much worse than this instance But *** insisted that he schedule a clecrew because my insurance would “pay for it” and there would be “no cost to me.” *** made all the arrangements At that poi

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved
Regards,
*** ***

Our Branch Manager, *** ***, has attempted to contact Ms*** regarding her complaint and has left voice mails for her on two separate occasions: May 9th at 1:PM PDT, and May 10th at 8:AM PDT As of now, he has not received a responseIt is our desire to have a
conversation with Ms*** to better understand her complaint, and request that she return Mr*** calls by contacting him directly at ###-###-####Thank you

Revdex.com:
"line-height: 150%;">I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,

I AM EXPECTING – AND DESERVE – A REFUND.

Something is blocking my basement drain. I am not sure what it is – but I suspect something fell down the pipe. At least ten or twelve years ago.
But, up until now, has not obstructed water from passing thru.
I had a basement flood maybe eight years ago and the water drained past the ‘unknown object’.
I have had a dehumidifier draining into it the last three or four years – without any flooding what-so-ever.

That unknown object has been in there for years (at least ten, maybe twelve) and water has bypassed it successfully all these years. But I suspect the accumulation of incidental debris has clogged the gaps around the obstruction over time.
I discovered standing water a couple of days ago (8/12). My dehumidifier water was not draining. I could ‘wiggle’ the object – but could not hook it or reach it with anything to grasp it.
And I made the mistake of calling Roto-Rooter before I read the reviews. Not good.

This guy who was dispatched validated every complaint that I have read.
He kept escalating his ‘estimates’….
Then his ‘service estimate’ went up to what presented the impression of prize money!
“IF I can get it out it will be (approx.) $300.00”
“And if I can’t it will be $94.99……” ?
[The $300.00 was not his exact figure – but it was in the general number I recall him quoting.]

There was NEVER any expression of reluctance or doubt or the unlikelihood of an inability to remove the obstruction. Or the possibility of making matters worse.
And I had the impression and belief that he knew how to remove the object. So yes, I agreed to let him proceed and would have been willing to pay the higher costs once the object had been removed.
Which – at first - he assured me ‘should be no problem’.

But his first effort was to fish for the object with a coat hanger (that was lying next to the drain) I had used previously 100 times.
MY COAT HANGER! (How unprofessional!) In this day and age, I would expect some higher level of process, expertise, and technology. AND, if nothing more, at least; A WARNING THAT HE COULD MAKE MATTERS WORSE.
Then he tried a tiny flexible magnet – which I have also tried. I have two of the same flex magnets and yes, I tried that as well…using BOTH flex magnets in tandem.
Before his ‘work’ - I could at least wiggle it. It was not jammed – just lying at the bottom of the verticle pipe.
It was approximately 14” to 15” straight down.

He never used any camera to assess or possibly identify the blockage.
He never used any claw - or grab type tool, or auger type tooling – just a blunt-end snake.
He never opened the main drain access to try to come in from behind the blockage.
I would expect, and as I have been told now, these would be basic primary efforts.
He never cautioned me that he could make matters worse. Which is exactly what he did.

He begrudgingly decided to get his power snake “I don’t think this will do any good – but I’ll try it.”) ?
And that’s when he offered the ‘prize money’ sounding quote. “IF I can get it out it will be (approx.) $300.00”

Then he just proceeded to jam and force the blockage deeper and deeper and he said, “Well, it’s been pushed up into the trap. And there’s nothing more I can do.”
(As I’ve already said, It previously just lay at the bottom of the verticle pipe. And I was able to wiggle it. It was not ‘jammed’ into anything.)
His clearly stated approach was to, “drive the object into the main” – which logically suggests it will then be lying in the path of my main.
How will that help? Then it will become an obstruction in the main! ?

Then he says I will need to have the whole line dug out and he could not provide an estimate.
He said that 2 x 4 framed walls would have to be torn down and a jackhammer would have to be used. !
I REPEAT – this was a loose, moveable obstruction lying straight down at the bottom of my verticle pipe – until he shoved it further into the drainage pathway
He said someone will get back to me today (8/13) or tomorrow (8/14).
No one has gotten back to me at all. (An agent just called, (8/15 – 8:45 AM) – but I did not accept his quote. I have seen enough of your work already.)
This technician displayed an apathetic and negative attitude from the moment he arrived. It seemed as if he was just going through some poke-and-hope motions and acted as if he didn’t much care.
It seemed pretty obvious this job was an annoyance to him.
It was reflected in his attitude, his half-hearted approach, and effort. It seemed his apathetic mood and futile results could and would simply be passed up the ladder.
Leading to a much more involved and much more expensive piece of work. He didn’t care – he just wanted to move on to his next call…or end the day altogether.
Very disheartening and unacceptable work.

While he was here maybe an hour – he sent most of his time repeating efforts that I told him I had already tried. (Coat hanger and very tiny magnet).
Then ten minutes getting the snake out of his truck and into the basement.
Maybe fifteen minutes of simply driving the ‘object’ deeper into the drain with the power snake.
Then calling it quits, and returning the equipment back into his truck and writing up the invoice.
I find this totally unskilled and unacceptable.
Using a coat hanger? And a tiny magnet, that is normally used to fish a small object out of the kitchen drain. Incredible.
I sit here wondering if a twisted coat hanger is state-of-the-art standard Roto-Rooter equipment?

I have previously been able to at least wiggle the object – but not retrieve it.
NOW it is deeper and solidly jammed somewhere further down – as he himself stated. And it does not even wiggle now.
He just kept jamming it further in with the power snake.
At that point, he just gave up and wrote an invoice. Which took another ten minutes of that hour.
$95.00 to NOT fix something – and in fact, make it much worse seems contrary to ‘services rendered’.

I paid for it – but after speaking with another plumber I can see only a haphazard, unskilled approach. A reckless and unprofessional effort which ultimately made matters WORSE!
Now I may be looking at a major expense! – when this could have been resolved with a little more innovative and alternative approaches.
Or at least the honesty in stating up front the unlikelihood of drain clearance. But he just forged ahead.
While yes, I did agree to pay the higher service charge if he did remove the object – I did not expect him to make matters WORSE by driving the obstruction deeper into the trap!

I tried to stop payment - but my message to my bank was apparently too late.
Therefore I expect and deserve a refund.
If I do not receive a refund I will continue to escalate this performance and charge accordingly.

I have written this complaint to Roto-Rooter personnel several times. And that, I have been told, has passed it along. No one has replied.

This issue has been resolved by the company

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I was traveling out of the country and just returned to US yesterday (October 15, 2015). They should write an email to me if they could not reach me by phones. Now they should be able to contact me by calls or emails to...

resolve this issue.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me. 
Regards,
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that the response would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
1)  Pump was not "a little noisy".  A different HVAC service fixed the problem by removing debris stuck in one side of the impeller.  Continuing to run the pump off-balance as it was would have ruined the bearings and caused hot water leaks at the system joints.  Problem had to be fixed for safe operation of the system and Reynolds' techs did nothing to fix it. 2)  Water levels in toilets were incorrect and were fixed by a different plumbing service.  I accept this explanation and reduce my claim to seventy-five dollars ($75), the cost of the heating system service call. 3)  Reynolds' Plumbing has made no attempt to contact me.  I left three messages, with my correct phone number, for the service manager, and he has not returned any call.
Regards,
[redacted]

In response to the complaint, we have tried several times to contact the customer, and have yet to make contact with him.The first call was on a noisy, older boiler system. Everything was working properly, but the pump was a little noisy.Second, was for slow working toilets. our tech ran the closet...

auger in the toilets and we wanted to adjust the water levels up in the toilets to allow for better flushing. The Owner did not want the water adjusted so he could save on the water usage.  W have still been unable to reach the customer to discuss this with him.

Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 9, 2015/07/30) */
In the mail today, a check for $ 405.00. It's been deposited, and I'm assuming that it'll clear. I think that that closes the case for me. In an ideal world, they would also be responsible for any further cost, but somehow I feel that I was...

lucky to get the money back that I spent on them. Thank you for your assistance. I think that simply having to answer to the Revdex.com must have helped them come to a decision to issue a refund.
[redacted]

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 10, 2015/10/30) */
Contact Name and Title: [redacted]
Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX
Contact Email: [redacted]@rotoco.com
The Sewer line was cleared , also the work came with our standard 6 month warranty. The customer who was present at the job was [redacted]...

he also is who signed and paid for the work.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 12, 2015/10/30) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
the sewer line was NOT cleared by Roto Rooter. That is a flat out lie! [redacted] was there, as was I. We both live there and were told that the only thing that would clear the line would be a hydro flush. We couldn't afford a hydro flush and were told by the tech we should call around because we could probably find it cheaper through another company. That's exactly what we did except the other company told us we didn't need a hydro flush and he cleared the line with a regular snaking.
Final Consumer Response /* (3000, 14, 2015/11/02) */
It seems like a conflict of interest when the same tech I am filing a complaint about is the same person speaking on Roto Rooters behalf.