Complaints

This profile includes complaints for Roto Rooter Plumbers's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations. To view all corporate locations, see Find Local Branches.

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  Roto Rooter Plumbers

  2141 Industrial Ct Ste D Vista, CA 92081-7905

  
• 

  Roto Rooter Plumbers

  35530 Antelope Rd Murrieta, CA 92563

  
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  Roto Rooter Plumbers

  164 S Grant Ave Manteca, CA 95336-5701

  
• 

  Roto Rooter Plumbers

  2141 Industrial Ct #B Vista, CA 92081

  
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  Roto Rooter Plumbers

  5493 E Olive Fresno, CA 93727

  

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:06/23/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On Friday, May 30, I called Roto Rooter to replace my water heater. I signed the paperwork with ****** and he said a technician would come out to replace the water heater on Saturday. On Saturday morning, May 31, I notified Roto Rooter (via text with ****** and Roto Rooter customer service) that I cancelled the service because I found a cheaper replacement elsewhere.I have screenshots of my requesting cancellation with ****** on the morning of Sat, May 31 plus the phone call that I made to Roto Rooter canceling the service. When I called to cancel the service, the representative said that it was fine and that she would inform the technician.I am surprised that I received a preliminary notice for a mechanics lien especially because I cancelled the service and Roto Rooter did NOT replace my water heater. Could you please get back to me at ************ so that we can resolve this matter.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 06/24/2025

  I've looked at this job. It has been cancelled, you don't owe any money. The notice is only a preliminary lien that is automatically sent on every job where an estimate over a certain amount is signed. I'll call you to confirm personally.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 06/24/2025

  
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 23506945, 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,
  
  
  
  Marianne Lavigne
  
  
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:04/20/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Job ID ********** Date: 10/26/2024 Paid Roto Rooter $1450 on 10/26/24 to hydrojet a blocked drain pipe leading to a sewer pump station. Technician ********* ****** was accompanied by a chatty manager named ********** ***** who kept saying that given we had a similar issue back in January 2024, that it's a problem that will require a bigger solution than hydrojetting, but they would try. ***** came the next morning with his camera and said the blockage was returned and he could see standing water, and tried to sell me a $15,438 service to: " Will excavate near tank 10 feet deep to expose main sewer that is affected jetted line was open with in hours line backed up again. Will repair affected area as needed for proper repair. Trench shoring will be need due to the depth."I had another firm out paying another $1800 who did a thorough job hydrojetting and put a root disolver/******ant down the drains and have not had another problem. They advised using the root treatment every 3 months and did not try to sell me an expensive solution involving digging up my front yard.I have attached my Roto Rooter receipt, estimate and the new invoice from Plumbing Plus who solved the problem without trying to sell me a $15000 service!I feel that Roto Rooter didn't in good faith try to resolve my problem, they only wanted to sell me the bigger job because I was a woman on my own. Thankfully my husband was able to sort the problem when he returned to the home and called Plumbing Plus.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 04/29/2025

  If I'm understanding correctly 5 months ago we performed jetting service then recently another company performed the same service. The other company states the same findings, you have severe root intrusion that will cause ongoing issues. The difference is the other company didn't provide a permanent solution for repair and charged you $400 more. So you feel that we should refund you for work done 5 months ago because another company charged you more for the same work and didn't give you an option for repair. Is that correct?

  Customer Answer

  Date: 04/30/2025

  No, that is not correct.

  I'm suggesting you did not perform the jetting service at the expected service level (ie you purposefully did not open the line) in order to try to charge me over $15,000.  I had a jetting service done that actually opened up my pipes and educated us on how to perform a quarterly root treatment to keep my lines open for the foreseeable future.  Your suggested work would have done nothing to address the roots in the pump cistern, you were just trying to move a pipe up that you thought had been crushed or slipped.  Which was clearly not the case as we saw the camera feed after the jetting and the pipes are not shifted or cracked.  

  I just feel that the two staff that were at my house were trying to take advantage of a woman on her own being desperate to get her plumbing pipes working.  When my husband had another company out they were more than willing to jet the line open and show him maintenance steps he can take to mitigate the problem moving forward..  

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/01/2025

  Thank you for the clarification. I investigated further. Our tech arrived at 4pm on the 25th and left at 7pm. Most clogs are cleared within the first 15min. 3 hours of jetting doesn't indicate to me that he was trying to do anything other than a thorough job. Also, your line stayed clear for the past 5 months. We may have given a discount or performed a courtesy jetting had we been given the opportunity however based on the time spent when the service was performed, the amount of time it has been working and the severity of your root intrusions I don't see any justification for a refund. 

  The recent company recommended a permanent repair just like we did. The root destroyer will most likely have very little effect considering the severity of your issues. Also, you requested a permanent solution when you booked the job in October. That's the reason we gave you the 15k estimate.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 05/03/2025

  Just to clarify, the pipes were not opened by yourself and because of this, we did not use the house for five months because the lines were not working and we believed there to be a bigger problem due to the scaremongering  of your tecnician.  We lived elsewhere for 5 months and as a last effort decided to give power jetting one more try because my gut feeling was that your technicians were being tricky and trying to sell me a much bigger solution and problem.  The problem did not go away after your hydrojetting and I would still get flooding inside my house in the weeks after your visit.  I just did not have the time or resources to address the problem any sooner as I felt the problem could be better addressed by waiting for my husband to get involved. Again, my gut feeling was right because my husband found a technician who was able to hydrojet through in 2 hours and then put some root ******ant down the drains.

   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/22/2025

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  about to months ago Roto-Rooter cleaned our septic tank But didn't fix our toilet. I was going to have them come back but after I dealt with the septic tank cleaning. I have requested or made appointments for them to come at 4:30 pm - 5:00 pm when I get home on COUNTLESS times since I work about 10 hours a day. They have countless times said they would only never show up or to call at 8 am-11 am when I am at work and then still never show up so I can pay them. I have spoken to multiple people at the company and told them the same thing and they all acted like they understood only to still send me threatening letters wanting their money. I have recently been threatened to be put in collections for a problem that has been theirs for the past 2 months. I tried one last time today to fix this problem by calling the number on the collection letter only to have the person send me to voice mail after waiting for 40 minutes in line at 3:50 pm on the dot! I am sick of these games and sick of their lies. This isn't a case of me hiding or not wanting to pay this is a case of me telling them I am ready and them not following through or lying straight up to me. THEY ARE ON MY CLOCK! I am not on theirs! Because of the recent collection threat, I will ask for a discount only because of the lies and the failure to fix the problem properly the first time.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/22/2025

  here is a the newest letter from the company with the number I called twice. Once on Monday 1/20/2025 which went straight to voice mail the other time was 1/21/2025 which I was placed on hold behind 2 callers and when I was said to be next (by the system) after 2 or 3 minutes of waiting I was sent to voicemail at 3:50PM PST

• Initial Complaint

  Date:05/12/2024

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  The quote from Roto-Rooter was for $4,050. They charged my credit card $4,500. This took place at my home to install a flush out valve for my septic line. this occured on Feb. 7, 2024.I have talked to the several times and they say they will refund the $450 that they overcharged but I still have not received any reimbursment.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/16/2024

  Good Morning,

   

  Please check your credit card statement. I see a refund went back to your credit card on 5/1. Let me know if you don't see it on your end.

   

  ****** posted Credit Card payment for $-450.00
  5/1/2024 10:38 AM

   

  Thanks,

  ****

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/11/2024

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  I called in to enquire abut a price to have a septic system certified nd the lady on the phone set a appointment with out my consent.The risk here is they plumber has the power to file a lien on my property.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/12/2024

  Sounds like some miscommunication must have occurred here. We can only set an appointment if you have called for service and provided your information. There is no risk of lien being placed unless you have accepted an estimate and signed to authorize work then refused to pay for that work.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/28/2023

  Type:Sales and Advertising Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 05/18/23, we had a pipe burst in our home that flooded both bathrooms and we called Roto Rooter Plumbing during normal business hours. The plumber arrived to fix the burst pipe and said water mitigation was necessary as they claimed the water damage was significant. I advised the Roto Rooter employees to only conduct business that would be covered by insurance. My husband was told he needed to sign for the pipe replacement and for water mitigation, which they assured us would not be our responsibility.At completion, Roto Rooter sent a bill to our insurance. Our insurance paid for the associated charges but copied us on an email showing what charges they would not pay for and we should not pay for as they were fabricated/unnecessary....Charging a supervisor fee when a supervisor was not specifically requested and properly trained water mitigation technicians are able to address water mitigation tasks...Charging an emergency services fee when we called during normal business hours...A Roto Rooter technician responded in full HAZMAT style suit to our house to conduct water mitigation business. There was no information from any contractor/insurance agent that led me to believe we were in any type of danger or needed to move as there had not been the start of any construction/asbestos abatement, etc. (It should be noted, Roto Rooters employees were in normal attire leading up to this point and after this visit). I asked the technician and the supervisor if I should be concerned and why he was in a HAZMAT style suit. I was told it was for the purposes of insurance photographs. The technician ultimately changed out of the suit and back to his normal attire before conducting his business. The supervisor confirmed we were not in danger and ultimately the suit wasnt necessary. I now see the technician was wearing the suit so that more charges could be inflated. Calls to Roto Rooter have gone nowhere and instead Roto Rooter has threatened legal action against us.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/06/2023

  Hello, I'm happy to look into the details of your project. Please send me the job address or job number so I can research. I can be reached by email at *****************************************

   

  Thank you,

  *************************

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/08/2023

  Hello *******,
  
  
  Thank you for your reply to my BBB complaint. The address of the job is our home address, *********************************************************************************. Your assistance on this matter is appreciated. (The BBB website only gave the option to "accept" or "reject". It looked as if "accept" would have closed the complaint so I clicked reject to keep the complaint open while you investigate with the job address. Thank you. 
  
  
  *************************

  

  Business Response

  Date: 11/09/2023

  Good morning, 

  I see that State Farm has paid less than 50% of the restoration invoice. You are not the only customer this is happening to. We have been told that they are moving their business out of state and will be taking this position with all water loss claims. Their unwillingness to pay the claim has nothing to do with how we performed the work. We use exactimate billing which is the standard for all insurance work. We even hire a third party who negotiates the invoice on our behalf in order to come to a fair settlement but they were unsuccessful because of the position State Farm has taken.

  You've paid your premiums and should not be in this position so your issue should be taken up with your insurance company rather than us. I do see that we attempted to reduce the outstanding balance by more than 20% but that wasn't acceptable to you. Have you spoken to your insurance adjuster about why they are refusing to pay for the services that they are responsible to pay for you as their customer?

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/14/2023

  Good afternoon:
  
  I appreciate your review and response to my complaint. I know this can be a very frustrating experience no matter what insurance carrier is involved.  However, I would like to make sure my actual concerns and complaints of the continued harassment and threats of filing a lien against my home by your company are what are addressed.
  
  Just to be clear, I have been addressing this with my assigned claim representative on a regular basis as I do not want to be in a position where services rendered are not properly paid out. I have been reassured State Farm has paid what is owed. They are unable to pay any portion of any vendors bills that are excessive or unreasonable. I am told that State Farm stands firm on paying what they owe but as any business they also have to ensure they carefully review and pay out what makes sense so that they can continue to help their customers in the future. At no time, does any of this warrant threats of lien by the local vendor towards the customer. This is NOT something they see as a reasonable business practice nor I as the consumer. I have been advised their water mitigation team will continue to address your outstanding billing accordingly.
  
  I asked my State Farm representative about your comment about them pulling out of **********. I am told State Farm has not pulled out of CA at this time. They have paused new business in CA for homeowners insurance as the costs of catastrophic claims. This again is not a reason for the customer to face harassment or threats by any vendor who HAS received payment for their services under an accepted claim. For this reason, please continue any efforts to discuss outstanding balances with the claims team at State Farm vs. myself. There are plenty of 3rd party collection vendors that understand this and know how to deal with this and whom to reach out to and how to treat customers fairly.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/12/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  10/6 I made an appointment for an appointment on the morning of 10/7 to fix a reoccurring clogged toilet, toilet never overflowed just would not flush correctly. 10/7 morning, the technician, gave me options for service, I agreed to him using an auger to dislodge whatever was causing flow issues. He also increased the water flow for my toilet per his recommendation. He guaranteed his work and warrantied jt. 10/8 I tried using the toilet, it overflowed and spilled water on the floor. I called for an appointment they said theyd be there the next day Om 10/9. 10/9 they were not able to come in the time window previously stated 8am -12pm. I complained and asked to talk to a manager. Said the manager would call me that day he did not. 10/10 I called multiple times for a refund they said the manager needs to approve it and that he'd call me the same day. He did not call 10/11 I called for a refund, they promised me the manager would call that day. He did not

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/06/2024

  I see we initially cleared her toilet on 10/7 for $350. We refunded that $350 on 10/10 to the same credit card. I've attached the invoice showing that.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:10/10/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  On 8-15-23, I experienced a pipe burst in my home-repipe cost $34,893. Moderate water damage but was told based on moisture readings the damage was significant & would need to tear down a **************** Needed my electronic signature to authorize the insurance company to pay for restoration work. No forms were viewable or provided. It was agreed that no work was to be done without prior approval of insurance company accepting the claim. The plumber mentioned they use drying equipment from ******************** while on their work site. The techs set up fans, removed a piece of padding from wet carpet and took ************** readings. Not all equipment worked or was used. It appeared to me later that this was staged to get money from me if the claim was denied. The tech met with the insurance adjuster & could not ID the source of the leak, provided insufficient Plumbers Report, tried to contact another tech for answers who wasnt available, and was unprofessional and incompetent. His behavior delayed the insurance investigation. I lost trust in this tech, & not under any obligation to use his services I decided to hire Servpro for restoration work. No walls or ceiling needed coming down. He learned of this & appeared disappointed that he lost the deal. A week later I was sent an invoice that was obviously manufactured & indicated that I owed $3614.26 for h2o restoration. This invoice caught me by surprise because I was never told of any pending charges nor did I sign an invoice or was ever made aware that I was being charged for anything. The invoice contained false info with respect to billing. For example, I was billed for a moisture reading on a day I was not ******** noted other discrepancies. I raised my concerns with the accounts **** but got nowhere. The person didnt care and still wants full payment. Now this Roto-Rooter franchise is threatening legal action against me but Im the one whos being victimized. Receiving close to 35K is apparently not enough.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:03/16/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  AnsweredMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  RR on march 13 2023 at 10AM promised to drain flooded basement and restore power to hot water heater for the sum of $1550. They demanded my electronic signature to this verbal business contract without ever showing terms. Never in any legal contract issues was a written statement of terms provided to the client! RR took advantage of a state of emergency disaster to extort money from victims of a natural disaster as many did with Covid!On Monday AM RR left the premises to get necessary equipment to drain flooded basement after extracting client's electronic consent!. He returned with an insufficient pump The plumber spent most of his time texting cohorts. His major worry was getting home While the pump was repeatedly failing the plumber diverted his attention to another issue that was also not resolved At 2PM he promise that he would return Wednesday to relight gas pilot!Wednesday 3/15/2023 he calls to say he will be there at 12 noon to relight pilot. At 2 PM he returns. Client insists that the gas pilot be lited. Within minutes plumber announces that it needed internal parts that are not available!Client demands to know why this condition was not made known on Monday!The client elderly and sick is left without a suitable resolution having been without water almost a week!Plumber promises to replace hot water heater and restore hot water to e!**** sick client this is the promise made money 3/13 AMafter extracting electronic consent without seeing terms!The plumber returns with a heater that has no reference to energy requirements. The plumber requires client's electronic signature without any terms available to client for review!EXTORTION!!!The client has no access to billing statements!This kind of business practice is subject to lost of licenses!What recourse is available to client for such unprofessional business practice?He never attempted to resolve hot water heater. He promised to return Wednesday March 15 to

  

  Business Response

  Date: 05/16/2023

  ******, I believe weve already dealt with this oneJim

• Initial Complaint

  Date:02/12/2023

  Type:Service or Repair Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  Roto-Rooter Vista came out to my rental property on Jan 31, 2023 to diagnose and repair a clogged sink in the kitchen. The tech left after charging $385 and sink was still plugged up. Without confirming, the tech condemned the garbage disposer -- after snaking main line in house (not the sink line to clear the sink clog). Told tenants that's all he could do.
  Property manager and I called Roto-Rooter to complain about this and Roto-Rooter never answered us back. Ignored all calls and emails.
  Roto-Rooter Vista was finally reached by tenants on Friday, February 3, 2023. Roto-Rooter scheduled an appointment with wife tenant to re-check the problem for Saturday, February 4th. Sink was still clogged up. Roto-Rooter did not show up for scheduled appointment and a company rep emailed tenant's husband at work to confirm that they were not coming, as scheduled. Sink was still clogged at this time.
  Property manager and I called Roto-Rooter to reschedule for Sunday appointment.
  On Sunday, February 5th, a Master Plumber (and his partner tech) got involved and awaited a Roto-Rooter tech for an appointment for that day. Roto-Rooter tech showed up late, after 6 pm, and left without fixing the problem.
  Property manager and I called Roto-Rooter on Sunday to speak with a manager about this, but no manager ever called or emailed us back. The sink was still clogged at this time.
  The Master Plumber and partner tech contacted Roto-Rooter on Tuesday, February 7th, and Roto-Rooter scheduled a meet-up appointment for Wednesday, February 8th. A tech never showed up. When called, Roto-Rooter tech asserted that he had snaked both lines (i.e. main and sink). This cannot be true since the wife tenant confirmed that Roto-Rooter did not request her to move all of the stuff under the sink to access the sink line. Instead, the tech snaked the main line. which was the wrong line.
  At this point, the Master Plumber and his partner had to fix the problem. Garbage disposer works great & sink unclogged.