GLEND D

This review is from a real person who provided valid contact information and hasn't been caught misusing, spamming or abusing our website. Check our FAQ

Verified Reviewer
| map-marker Newark, New Jersey

Plumbing ripoff

i called roto rooter for two clogged drains,well the first guy did nothing told me he would send another guy out.the other guy came out was a great guy ,after a couple of hours full of bull the two drains were cleared with his electric snake.the cost was extremly high for the work done.1000.00 plus tax.please do yourself a favor dont ever call these rippof artist never.i will never again call roto rooter again what a joke of a company.they only want to charge you high prices for light work not good company at all shame on roto rooter.
View full review
Loss:
$1037
6 comments
Guest

I had a plumber to work on a clog sewer line, it was a very old pipe so the cable busted thru and busted my main supply line into the property, He gave me a price to repair the line which he busted for $428.90 I declined and elected to repair that line myself. The cost for parts $7.41 time to make the repair 1/2 hr.

It boils down to Trust, who can you trust and not be taken advantage of. Sure we are paying the person for their expertise but at what cost and is it worth it?

I've made several attempts to contact the business owner with no response, so reviews from others are important, don't knock them. A review is just as powerful as a family member co-worker, trusted friend giving you their approval or warning about a business, providing the reader with the events that happened to them.

The question is would you buy a product or service that has bad reviews and bad rating?

If my mother had a bad experience and she took the time to write a review about it, would you trust her?

As you read bad reviews it is almost always a result of how people are treated and very seldom about a defective product or service because the defective product can be exchanged for a good one, right.

Guest

Roto Rooter is being sued in Federal court for Minimum wage infractions and unfair labor laws, being sued in Massachusetts for sending unlicensed people to do work that requires a license. They are being sued for sex discrimination and i also believe for consumer fraud in another state....Bottom line their business model seems to depend on paper plumbers and fraud!!!!!

Guest

:cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry :cry shame on you all for living....

Guest

what are you roto rooter groupee.shutup and get a life .

Guest

your comments must reflect your ignorant upbringing.note to yourself get a life mr know it all.you dont even know the entire story.so you can go and keep loving this ripoff artist plumbimg company.check the complaints against this company before you start making ignorant remarks.ohh thats right you probably cant help youself. get a life and a brain fool.

Guest

If it's light work work you lazy *** why don't you do it then? These drain cleaners are out there to help and give a free estimate before work is done.

It's amazing how when you can't use your plumbing your willing to pay anything, but as soon as the work is done by a professional who know how to fix the problem right and quickly. You then complain about the price or the services.

Please do all professionals a favor and don't call any of use when you need us. You won't be missed you lazy ***...

View more comments (5)
lexylu
map-marker Washington, District Of Columbia

The worst plumber I ever used

this company does lousy work and is very expensive. I had a new shut off valve and hose bib installed. They had to come back three times and it still wasn't done right. the first plumber used a hammer to make *** in my ceiling. He didn't bother to use a drop cloth. The second time they installed the shut off they installed it backwards so the release valve was on the pressurized side. We eventually had to fix it ourselves. I'm not sure the men they sent were licensed plumbers. I will never use them again.
View full review
Loss:
$413
4 comments
Guest

I dont know I bet some of us know a few diy types worse than him :grin

Guest

sounds like rj works for rotorooter. I have the right to choose to hire a plumber and expect that the work be done correctly.

Guest

What's a release valve I think you mean relief valve and if you're relief valve is leaking you may have bigger problems than you could even comprehend so think about that before you bash a serviceman because you actually had to spend money to solve a problem why didn't you fix it yourself to begin with if you're so capable

Guest

You can check his License...if he wasn't licensed you should file a complaint with the Attorney general and the dept of consumer protection.

View more comments (3)
milmom
map-marker Tampa, Florida

Roto-Rooter Unbelievably tardy and expensive

My initial appointment was scheduled for 6:30PM on May 16th, 20011. When the plumber didn't show by 7PM, I called to hear that he would not be here until around 8PM. That was too late for my family, so I rescheduled for between 8 and 10AM the next morning. By 10:30, no one had come, so I called the office again to hear that the plumber would be here around 10:45AM. The lady on the phone told me about a $20 off coupon online. I heard nothing until 12PM at which time I received a call telling me that I could expect the plumber in one hour. By 1:15PM, no one had come, so I called AGAIN. The person informed me of a $40 off coupon and I was assured the tech would arrive soon. He arrived at 2:45 PM, one hour and 30 minutes later. He looked at the presenting issue, said it would cost $175 and told me what I already knew about the issue. Other technician I had contacted in the phone book estimated between $80 and $100. I was disgusted by how long it took just to get someone out here, and even with the coupon, felt I would be robbed if I agreed. All that needed done was a simple valve replacement. The valves cost less than $15 at Home Depot. I am completely dismayed by my experience with this company. May 17, 2011 Roto-Rooter 5020 Tampa West Blvd Tampa, FL 33634 http://www.rotorooter.com
View full review
2 comments
Guest

If you could buy the part for $15, assuming that is the right price for the proper part, why didn't you save the $100 from the other plumber and do it yourself? Seems you know more than the plumbers do.

How much was the other plumbers bill in the end. RR is one of he few companies bat will come to my house and give me a price. Other people I have called give me a cheap price over the phone but when the arrive, it's add on this and add on that.

the bill was twice of what RR estimated. My next need for a plumber will be a company like Roto Rooter.

Guest

They often send people posing as plumbers...but who are in fact not licensed...check your government license check site or call and ask for his license number....you may get a refund if he wasnt licensed

View more comments (1)
john Efm
map-marker Las Vegas, Nevada

Scam scam scam scam

What a SCAM this business is. They came over to my house for 4 days strait trying to fix my water pressure problem in my showers.

They told me that I had bad cartridges in all of my showers. They then told me it was going to cost 500.00 per shower to fix this problem and the reason it was so expensive is because we have Kholer showers and the parts are very expensive. So I agreed to fix 2 showers out of my 4 because my family was desperate for a shower (We just moved into the house)........the first day they came (there was always 2 of them trying to figure it out) one of the men was trying to upsell me on a water softener because he was sure that hard water was the problem(without even looking at the shower) I told him no, no and no 3 more times. So after 4 days of them dancing around the problem, they fixed my kids shower, but was still working on the shower in our master bathroom and told me that they couldn't fix the pressure in the master shower because there was blockage in the pipes in the wall and that they are going to have to rip out the wall to get to the problem ( an 1800.00 fix)...I told them that I wasnt going to rip out my wall just because they have a theory.

I told them to just leave and I would figure it out on my own, and they said that's fine and I would just need to pay for the part they "purchased" for that shower. Afer they left I went into the shower they had been working on for so many days without a successful fix and turned the water on and there was still no pressure. I then looked up and noticed that the Mr. Rooter guys had failed to see that the shower head was in the off position and all that was needed was for them to turn it counter clockwise to the on position.

(These clowns were going to rip out my wall to fix the water pressure problem when it was the shower head?!)....Where do these Jerks get their training? The second part of the scam is when they told me the price of the Kholer part. Kholer has a lifetime warranty on all their parts and will replace them free of charge. So Mr.

Rooter charges you an arm and a leg for these parts just to get the part for free from the manufacturer? If you want to be ripped off then by all means hire these people!?

Also, I'd like to meantion this is a brand new home, which means everything is brand new! UNBELIEVABLE!

View full review
Loss:
$1000
3 comments
Guest

The shower head was on when i checked it.....The problem wasn't that we werent getting any water, the problem was that we weren't getting any HOT water. The Mr. rooter boys turned off the shower head while they were working on the cartridge and didn't turn it back on while testing the new cartridge.

Guest

Another *** customer mixing up the two. some people think plumbers carry everything in our trucks like we know what every house is gonna have for fixtures.I like how you call the techs clowns when you could have easily looked at the shower head too.

Next time try something before you bother any contractor. Oh yeah if a light doesn't turn on try changing the bulb first....

Guest

once again mr.rooter is a compleatly difrent company than ROTO ROOTER , as far as the part for kholer yes you can get it from them but you have to order it and wait if you buy it they will not re imburse you , i wonder how many of these compaints are actually about ROTO-ROOTER ?

View more comments (2)
Anonymous
map-marker New Bedford, Massachusetts

Roto-rooter rip off artists

Called root rooter to fix septic back up in Canton Ct. They came and tried to talk me into replacing all my pipes for $5000. They said the pipe would burst otherwise. I told them to go east and just clear the backup. So he took out the biggest rotor he had and went in the wrong direction until the pipe burst. Thankfully I had my handyman here and he saw what they were doing and told the guy to stop. He plugged the pipe where it cracked and I told him to leave. Called my plumber who came next day and replaced the pipe (that guy wanted $5000 for) and charged me $500.
View full review
3 comments
Guest

OK folks,im tired of the broke my pipe complaints with a cable machine,it takes in excess of 4000 psi to break a pipe,no cable on earth is that stiff-cables dont break pipes,but they will break toilets/urinals if the cable makes a bad turn in the plumbing and the tech cant hear because of location,so yes you dont want to *** while getting roto rootered,you literally may lose your britches.

Guest

You had a handyman there that knew enough to stop the work AND you have a regular plumber. Why call someone else?

I don't get it. I also don't get how a pipe is burst from snaking...they are designed to be snaked.

Guest

Few years back Roto rooter employees in CT wrer arrested for doing plumbing without a license. make sure you check their licenses

View more comments (2)
Anonymous
map-marker Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Roto Rooter out of Ft. Oglethorpe, Ga overcharging for time worked

Contacted Roto Rooter and was told to be at our site at 10:00am and they would be there to repair a stopped up sewer line. They arrived at 1:15pm and my company was told the previous day that it would be a full days job and the estimate was $1100 - $1200. They only worked 3 hours and still charged the full $1200! I called the office we had been going through in Ft. Oglethorpe, GA but was told the "owner" said there would be no adjustment that it was a difficult job with lots of shrubbery roots. My husband is a retired master plumber and was at the job site the entire time and said there were a total of 3 roots involved and that their saw was so dull that it would hardly cut through a 1.5 inch root. I am posting this complaint in hopes that other customers will be prepared that the estimate given is the actual charge. But, bet you anything that if they had actually worked a full day that they would say now that that was just an estimate!!! BEWARE!!!
View full review
4 comments
Guest

Same think happenned to me with Roto Rooter. Was told that 10 ft sewer pipe had to be replaced.

Need to bring a crew with a tractor to dig.

Agreed on it, thinking that it is a major projectTurned out that 2 guys came and digged a 5 ft lenth by 5 ft depth and replaced a 4 ft pipe within 3 hrs and still asking for $3100. And by the way, the tech let us sign the completion section prior to strating the job which we noticed it later.

I asked for an itemized bill and did not provide stating that this is their price and it is fair.

Joe Bxi

When they came to your house, and gave you an estimate...did you sign for the estimate, contracting them to do the work? Was the estimate based on an hourly rate, or was it a contract bid?

Before you fly off the handle, and post a rant full of misspellings, you might look at it from a business perspective.

Some of these guys have years of experience, in which they develop the skills that allow them to anticipate situations, and perform what might take a beginner or lamen 2 days to complete in a fraction of the time, possibly hours. You call a professional company out to "help" you with YOUR problem, you should treat them as such.

Worst case scenario, if you don't like the estimate given, don't sign the contract, plain and simple.

Guest

Theyre several class action suits already.I would suggest checking that persons license...if he did actual plumbing/not drain stuff...you may be due a refund

Guest

i was mislided,lied to ,intraptd,intimidated,arrased,extorted by ROTO ROOTER employee Robert[Bobby]PADILLA,out of Hemet,california branch.like beeing held at gun point with mecanic's lien,had to pay them over $ 790.oo per hours of work.Real bandits,theves,thugs,etc...when will a nationwide class action law suit HAPPEN!!!!!

View more comments (3)
Anonymous
map-marker Woodstock, Illinois

Roto Rooter - Rediculous Pricing

Roto Rooter quoted a price of $599.00 in May of 2011 for installation of a water heater (I had the new unit ready to go so we're only talking about installation). A local plumber did the job for $170.00. They were also 4 hours late for the scheduled appointment to look at the job. They were also claiming that I had stood them up on a previous appointment saying that their technician waited over an hour. No such appointment was ever made. I definitely will not be calling them again. (Subject area is the southeastern part of Wisconsin.)
View full review
2 comments
Guest

Wisconsin requires a license..check to make sure he was licensed and if he wasn't ask for your money back. If they say no sue for fraud

Guest

I suspect you did have a bad experiance,but in all fairness to the tech-he probably owns a dairy farm and wanted to make sure his next batch of cheese to go with your whine,was perfect.

View more comments (1)
Anonymous
map-marker Stone Mountain, Georgia

RotoRooter SCAM

We had toilet leak and called RotoRooter, the technician showed up. He immediately gave us a card for the emergency water restoration company name and number, he even dialed the number from his cell number. (I bet he gets a commission from the water restoration company) He charged a service charge and disappeared. He repeatedly told us to call the water restoration company! They still have not fixed the problem and we have customer service on the phone for more than an hour and they are playing games. We still have watr pouring from the toilet and no technician! I cannot believe the service these people provide.
View full review
6 comments
Guest

We had clog problem in our entire home, called rotorooter las vegas coz everybody knows they are nationwide, even ghost hunters in syfy channel use rotorooter anyway, a guy came, went around the house looking for the main valve and said he doesnt know where it is because he did not build the house and was waiting for his coworker for the jet machine, we have to sign a 2 hour work for more than 700 dollars and if they go more than 2 hrs, they have to charge another 200 + dollars so i said lets do it. the first guy said that they found another pipe that they can use on the side of the house.

They started work at exactly 1230 noon. After 2 hrs, jetting and draining, then suddenly they said they found the main valve which was in front of the house HOW DID THEY SUDDENLY Find IT, THEY USED A TOOL TO FIND IT, NOW my big question is, WHY DID THEY NOT USE THIS KIND OF TOOL TO BEGIN WITH.

Once they started on the main valve, they were done in ten minutes AGAIN, WHY DID THEY NOT USED THIS KIND OF TOOL TO BEGIN WITH INSTEAD THEY USE 2 HRS, DOING SOMETHING. WE USE ROTOROOTER COZ WE THOUGHT THEY ARE PROFESSIONALS, NEVER AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN, NEVER AGAIN.

Guest

If one ever tries to prostisolicite me for sales,your next main sewer backup might just reveal a duct taped salesman in the line,we will take our time digging them out,cable em a few times first,and then bill them for your inconvienience.

Guest

You said you had water pouring out of your toilet, why wouldn't you want someone to come out and clean all that *** out ofvyour home. Mold, virus, all kinds of bad stuff and you complain about Roto Rooter not giving you good service or advice? Looks to me like you chose to live in an unhealthy home after all that *** being all onerous your house.

Guest

The Branch i worked for had several companies giving them kickbacks. If this manager didnt let his employees get referalls its because he was getting them directly. Its a sleeeezy company.I happen to have pictures from one of these barbeques on turn in day with these guys flipping the burgers...ill try and post them if this site allows

Guest

"They get a commision" is partly correct. Damage restoration companies regulary solicit referrals from my employees.

However, they do not have BBQs nor do they pass out any "heartwarmers" of any kind. A few years ago, one of the big-name restoration companies slipped in unbeknownst to me and put a pocket calculator in each employee's mailbox.

I removed them all, donated them to a nearby grammar school and called the company warning them that I will have them arrested if they stroll into my building again. There are a lot of very reputable restoration companies out there but I do not allow my employees to recomend any, much less accept a referral payment from one.

Guest

These water restoration companies directly solicit roto rooter.In fact have Barbeques for thye employees hand out cards and tell them the techs get 100 bucks cash per referal.So if he charged you a service charge without fixing the problem Roto rooters insurance should cover your damages. He was there to fix said problem and didnt.

View more comments (5)
McGriffMydear M
map-marker Newark, New Jersey

Roto Rooter Rip Off Attempt 5/6/11

I called Roto-Rooter (800- 768-****) on Friday May 6, 2011, to unclog my kitchen sink. Guy arrives on time, works for a few minutes, couldn't find clog with his few moments of snaking then guessed problem was unvented pipe. We explained that pipe has never been vented in 7 years and it has NEVER clogged before. Roto-Rooter guy demands $150.00 even though we were all still looking at my clogged sink. The Roto-Rooter man leaves my place a mess and leaves my house angry. I called the same number (800-768-****) back on Monday morning, May 9, 2011 and they tell me that they are calling their attorney. I hope they do because we called another plumber on Saturday May 7, 2011, who found the clog and fixed the problem in a little more than 1 hour. No Clog...hah..Roto-Rooter?! Bottom line, don;t call Roto-Rooter, call your local plumber they will fix your problem!!
View full review
iHateRotoRooter m
map-marker Chicago, Illinois

Roto Rooter's customer service is awful

Updated by user May 16, 2011

After several weeks of following up on my requests, and submitting a complaint to the national customer service rep, and disputing the charge on my credit card, I was refunded half of the cost. The manager was apologetic and was under the impression that someone else was fixing my issue.

Original review Apr 08, 2011
Several weeks ago, I had RR out to snake a pipe. The service man was very professional so I was fine with paying the price he mentioned (although we thought $365 was steep), but it was my understanding, as he explained on our bill, that he was only able to go 4 to 5 feet before he experienced a block and could not continue with no guarantee to the work. Because of this, we rented our own snake and my father was able to go 35 feet with no problems. Since then, I have tried numerous times to contact people at the Roto Rooter offices for an explanation, only to have the line keep ringing until it circles back to the general message, or to leave a message that is never returned. I did speak to Ron Shifflett once (after leaving several voice messages) and he claimed the service man was able to go 40 feet (the invoice and our conversation did not indicate that-otherwise we wouldn't have rented our own equipment). He said he would call me back after speaking to the service man again but its been 2weeks. He has not returned my call or email. I will never recommend or use RR again. If they would have clearly explained their service in person, on the invoice and answer my call a month ago I wouldn't be this furious. At this point the customer service has been inadequate to the point of negligence and I will not be using Roto Rooter in the future.
View full review
Loss:
$365
Rosalie B Rwh
map-marker Sacramento, California

RotoRooter rip off

Roto rooter was called to our home after the water company told us we had roots in the main drain. Their tech stuck a few blades through and told my husband we had a collapsed pipe. We finally had good weather to dig up the pipe and found that it was full of roots. I emailed rotorooter to tell them and stated that I think I should get my money back. They did investigate, but since they weren't called IMMEDIATELY after digging up the pipe and finding the problem, so they could check it they decided nothing would be done in our favor. Watch these people, if they say one thing, make them write it on the pink receipt, all ours says is "clogged drain". Duh!! I guess we are liars in their eyes, and they are ????
View full review
3 comments
Guest

Rotorooter is being investigated for pressuring customers to do repair work that isn't needed... contact your consumer affairs office and notify them...lawsuit pending?

Guest

Roto Rooter charged me over $600.00 for a drain cleaning and camera check. They told me there was a "broken pipe" that would cost $1800.00 to fix before they could complete the camera check to see if something else was wrong. I got a 2nd opinion from a more honest company who showed me that there was no broken pipe!

We must spread the word.

Len :?

Guest

Roto Rooter charged me over $600.00 for a drain cleaning and camera check. They told me there was a "broken pipe" that would cost $1800.00 to fix before they could complete the camera check to see if something else was wrong. I got a 2nd opinion from a more honest company who showed me that there was no broken pipe!

We must spread the word.

Len

View more comments (2)
Anonymous
map-marker Washington, District Of Columbia

Poor service from Roto Rooter

My basement was flooding due to two failed sump pumps. Roto Rooter advertises that they provide emergency service. I placed three separate calls with the call center and as of yet I have not received a call from anyone regarding my situation. I have had two separate companies show up, work and leave yet no Roto Rooter response yet. They should not advertise emergency service if they cannot provide that level of service. If I would have continued to wait on Roto Rooter the damage to my basement would be amplified beyond what has already occurred. They should have some back-up mechanism when one of their local plumbers cannot respond in an appropriate time-frame.
View full review
1 comment
Guest

Did you ever stop to think if it's raining so hard to flood "your" basement that maybe the company has many emergencies that called in ahead of you? They can't supply an endless number of plumbers.

Maybe you should have had them come out and perform a routine maintenance on your pumps BEFORE the big storm. Think ahead next time and don't blame others for your lack of maintenance.

Anonymous
map-marker Boston, Massachusetts

Roto-Rooter warranty seems worthless

Problem started 3/29. Technician arrived and apparently did not listen to description of problem.

Did not write problem description on invoice. When I arrived home, problem still existed. Called RotoRooter and new technician arrived and wanted to charge me again. I refused and spoke to dispatcher again; they agreed and promised to send someone else out - no one came.

called the next day and a third technician arrived. After being promised there would be no charge, technician wanted to charge me again; in my humble opinion, first technician misdiagnosed problem and did not demonstrate that it had been fixed. Management agreed to repair problem without charge. All drains now backing up into cellar.

Called RotoRooter and was assured that this was covered under warranty. First technician returned and said that warranty was voided because another tech had worked on the job. I refused to agree to pay and he left... Waiting for several hours to hear from RotoRooter; expect no response tonight after last experience.

Cannot use any plumbing in house!

Local service has been excellent in the past - am a returning customer. What has changed?

View full review
2 comments
Guest

Had drain from house to street cleaned out. Four months later have the same problem again.

Roto Rooter tech's performance looked in competent, but "what do I know".

Apparently my original assessment was correct. Calling a real plumber this time, but OF COURSE will pay againto get the old problem fixed!!!

Guest

If you paid full price then they have to honor the warranty... The techs get paid regardless...the person who did the original job gets the money taken out of his next pay check and given to the person sent to do the second repair....its screwy but take advantage of it...the drain cleaner is probably earning time toward his plumbing license illegally anyway so everybody wins.

View more comments (1)
Anonymous
map-marker San Antonio, Texas

Roto Rooter Plumbing are rip off artists

I was charged $195/hr for leak detection. Also,$324 extra for a pin hole leak. The entire job (soldered copper pipe)should have taken an hour. But the guy had to make it seem as though he was doing a time consuming job. going back/forth outside by design)He also claim he gave me a 10% discount.I noticed how he manipulated the cost. This guy claim they do not repair what they cut out to find leak. Told to hire someone else. They work on commissions. So beware!!!! people have become more greedy. Roto Rooter Dishonest employees.
View full review
1 comment
Guest

I called for a serviceman to root out our main sewer line.

The guy was a rank amateur(and a slob). I had to do part of his job for him and he ruined the bathroom floor in the process.

They do not deserve your business.

Weatminster, CO

Johnmark Mic
map-marker Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Butler Pennsylvaia Roto Rooter Ripoff

They did work for my mother and told her the price was 3500. Then they told her that more work needed to be done and the total cost would be 8500. The 8500 was to include the cost of the previous work as well. But then they billed her for 12000 instead of the 8500 that was quoted and agreed upon. And all that for 2 days work, no less. Absolutely horrible. I know times are tough but when you resort to ripping off senior citizens to make a living - thats just despicable. Case is currently pending in the Pennsylvania Attorney Generals Office.
View full review
Loss:
$12000
  • 1
  • ...
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • ...
  • 47