Complaints

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

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• 

  Roto-Rooter

  2125 Montana Ave Cincinnati, OH 45211-2741

• 

  Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

  6356A Corley Rd Norcross, GA 30071

  
• 

  Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

  18544 US Highway 19 N Clearwater, FL 33764

• 

  Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

  1750 S Finley Rd Lombard, IL 60148

• 

  Roto-Rooter

  1691 Town Center St Aurora, IL 60504

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:12/18/2023

  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.

  In early 2021, my main sewer line backed up and Roto Rooter found out that the line was damaged by tree roots. So they replaced 6 feet of a sewer line in the basement and provided a 5 years guarantee. 2 years later, about March 2023, the sewer started backing up again and I had to call new companies to have it cleaned out and camera inspected.
  It t**** out that new roots penetrated the sewer line, as their 6 feet replacement was sagging and not properly connected to the old cast iron. The camera inspections (also done by Roto Rooter, later on) showed a lot of water sitting in the pipe, and a gap between the new PVC (installed by RR) and the cast iron.
  As the work was guaranteed for 5 years, after several emails, calls, and a letter from my lawyer, they came to replace that 6 feet section. But first, they made all the efforts to deny responsibility, then provided me a quote for $14k to replace the PVC a second time, all because they didn't want to honor the 5 years warranty. It took six months of smoke and mirror games with them, but they eventually replaced the line in September.
  However, after new camera inspections (done soon after), it was shown that the bellying of the pipe persists, and there's plenty of water sitting for at least 4 feet in the section they replaced. It actually looks worse than it was before this 2nd installation.
  RR had it camera inspected, although never shared the video (I guess they were ashamed of their own work). I kept on emailing them and they kept on ignoring my emails, so I hired another company to get a new report that details all the problems with the sewer line. They wrote a detailed report about all of this and the responsibility lie squarely with RR's poor job. However, roto rooter refuses to do anything about it to correct the job they carried out. They promised they'd call me but they never did (well one time someone called but admitted he didn't know what was going on.... so unprofessional)!! Stay away from them.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/19/2023

  Have a scheduled call with the customer on Thursday at 9am to address issues and finalize solution

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/23/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* ***********

  Problem:
  Original Complaint ID: ******** The issue has not been resolved, they just contacted me to say that they will resolve it. But nothing actually happened. I keep contacting the general manager, Cameron (C.J.) B****, and the Customer Service Manager, Pat S******, but to no avail. They either don't reply or, more recently, have said that "someone will reach out to me to schedule the work". But nobody then actually contacted me. They've not included any specific scope of work for "the work", plans, schedule, nothing at all. This would be the 3rd time trying to address the issue and they can't even describe how this one will be different from the other two times. Complaint ID: ******** is NOT closed or resolved. All I am asking is that my sewarage pipe is working properly. My contract with them has a warranty for 5 years, signed 3 years ago. At this point, their goal may be to stall so the warranty expires. Shameful.
  
  
  Desired Resolution:
  Repair
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/24/2024

  Customer contacted to schedule repair

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/25/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  
  "Contacting the customer" doesn't resolve the issue, it's just the first step. They said tomorrow they'll come to repair it, and once the is truly gone, and they showed it via camera inspection, then I'll close the case.

  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* ***********
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/25/2024

  The work is scheduled to be completed tomorrow. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/25/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  We already did this in December, and the case closed without the business taking any action. Now, this complaint will stay open until there's final determination the issue has resolved.

  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* ***********
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 01/26/2024

  Excavation crew was on-site today and the line has been repaired. We will go back out next week and re-camera the line per the customer request.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/31/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* ***********
  

  Business Response

  Date: 02/02/2024

  Customer is satisfied with the resolution- we had a crew go out and repair the work.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/14/2023

  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.

  RotoRooter came in and provided a quote to the leaking pipe service. They said it would be $750 less $100 discount all in. They did the work and then demanded an additional $516 which they claimed to be for parts, which they had not told us about. We had to pay as we felt intimated. RotoRooter when I called/emailed them are saying that is incorrect.
  
  The pipes started leaking again the next day. They came back and fixed it. This happened another 2 times. They then said that the person that came in to do the fixes did not do it right. The plumber also then said that this would no longer be under warranty as they had come in three times already (which they had never told me was a term of the agreement).
  
  This was poor service which was done incorrectly and I am looking for my money back on this job.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/21/2023

  Please see attached video showing the completed job . We informed the tenant of parts that were needed for the job before purchase. We informed the landlord that the warranty is still valid. We completed two separate jobs and only charged for one. The tenant signed off on completed job before we left. 

  Business Response

  Date: 01/03/2024

  to clarify when we was talking to the tenant. We explain that we had to go out and purchase parts. We give the tenant a rough estimate on how much the parts will cost. Because we have to go out and buy them. We have not been intimating when we only talk to the landlord over the phone. Everything was done correctly and we did an extra job with the no cost. everything was explain before we left.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/12/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  Rotorooter had to come in 4 times to fix the same problem, with the work done not fully resolving the issue. Rotorooter at one point even blamed their own plumber for not having done the job right. So not only was the job not done right upfront, and yet I was charged for what were not transparent fees.

  Unfortunately, the manager I am dealing with disagrees with the assessments above and thus, this is likely to not go anywhere.
  

  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** *****
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/12/2023

  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.

  We called Roto-rooter after our upstairs hallway toilet stopped flushing. The 2 men who came to assess the toilet did not even wear booties over their shoes and tracked mud up our carpeted steps and all over our bathroom. After attempting to fix the clogged toilet, without success, we noticed a water stain and peeling on our kitchen ceiling right below where the toilet was. We addressed this with the plumber and were told to file a claim with our homeowner insurance. This issue, however, was directly caused by this plumber, and has nothing to do with our insurance. The two men left a huge mess in our bathroom. Literal water splash stains from the ground up to about 3 feet high on the walls and even on our bathtub. There was no attempt at cleaning up their mess or apology for leaving it that way.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/14/2023

  At the time of service our customer did not let us know there was any issue with the technicians or their cleanliness. Our technicians cleaned the area with a wet vacuum, wipes and rags with disinfectant spray. Once they took the equipment from the home we had two field supervisors come to the home and the customer did not let either of them know of any issues with the cleaning that was performed by our technicians. The customer had an overflow of their toilet from the issues with their sewer line. One of our field supervisors advised them on getting their issues of water damage taken care of via their home owners insurance. The customer provided pictures to our field supervisor that we have uploaded here that show damage to their baseboard and the ceiling below that could not have been done in the time our technicians were working. We would be happy to have sent technicians back to clean up the splatter as shown in those same pictures but the customer has not contacted us about any such issues. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/11/2023

  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.

  On 6th December Wednesday my Basement was partially flooded due to water drain block at my basement. So I called another plumber to see check and he quoted 3000 dollars to resolve the issue. For a 2nd opinion I called Roto Rooter ( address 2125 Montana Ave, Cincinnati, OH 45211) to give me a quote. The sales person Jason Hood came to my house and showed a video to my wife ( since I was out of country USA, my wife was alone at home) showing there is a water pipe breakage outside my home but inside my driveway and that will cost $17200. He said the water blocakge in the drain will cost between $5000-$10000 which will be charged to my insurance compnay but this $17200 will be out of pocket since Insurance will not pay for it. He scared my wife who was already stressed out since she was alone and told her that unless it is done immediately on an urgent basis, the whole basement will be flooded causing more damage to electrical units since water will flow backward again. So my wife took a loan from ********* Bank thro Roto Rooter and signed the papers. After that 5 days over - Roto Rooter couldn't replace the pipe ( even today 12/11) even after taking the full payment thro ********* Bank. Moreover they have damaged my Internet Connection today (12/11) while digging out the place. My wife had signed the contract under duress and she thought this job requires immediate resolution to avoid the further damage, but Roto Rooter clearly misrepresented that fact and they don't have any sense of urgency to repair the pipe. We are under tremendous stress since we cannot take the bath or maintain hygene due to this water leakage issue. Moreover Roto Rooter has charged exorbitantly by frightening my wife about urgency since my other plumber who came to my house earlier on the same day quoted $3000 for thye same job ( Vs. Roto Rooter's tota; price of $17200 for the Pipe and $10000 for the Dran clean up = Total $27200 ) . Please help

  Business Response

  Date: 12/15/2023

  We attempted to excavate in the customers driveway in front of the house. during the excavation it became very unsafe do to soil conditions and trench collapsing. We offered a different solution to the customer that was declined. We backfilled and are making a repair to the driveway. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/16/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  (1) On 6th December, Roto Rooter fraudulently charged $17200 for the driveway Pipe breakage ( which never happended - I had engaged another 2 Plumbing companies  and both said there is no breakage in pipe. The company whom I have engaged ultimately, showed me a video where they proved there is no breakage in the pipe.

  (2) So in the 1st place itself, the Roto Rooter tried to extract money from me (17200) fraudulently knowing fully aware that there is no pipe breakage

  (3) As such they offered me another option which was not valid and tried to charge another 9800 dollars

  (4) They have dug a 10 feet trench on my driveway for nothing, damaging my driveway, snapping my Cincinnati Bell Internet connections. 

  (5) Roto Rooter on 6th Dec opened a Loan Account from ********* Bank in my name. Since I was outside the country, my wife was alone and she signed the contract. But after I cancelled this 17200 dollar contract with them, even though they have acknowledged that the contract is cancelled, they have NOT REFUNDED the money to ********* bank or reversed the transaction. Today 16th Dec 2023 I called the ********* Bank office and they said not only Roto Rooter Did not refunded the 17200 dollars, they have also opened a Credit Card Account in my name ( since they had access to my Social Security number) without my knowledge.  I have opened a Fraud case for this against them

  (6) They have not yet restored the driveway. It is in complete mess. I am parking my car outside on the road and itb is too risky

  (7) They have not refunded the 17200 dollars to ********* Bank yet. Neither cancelled the transaction.  Moreover opening a credit card account in my name without my knowledge is a fraud 
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ****** ********
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/08/2023

  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.

  Date of Service: 11/21/23; Total paid: $1550.00. I requested they check my bathroom because after work done by another plumber earlier in the day (cleaning the left sink trap), that evening there was water on my floor. They checked the sink and then snaked both sinks. I also asked them to check the kitchen sink because it was draining slowly. It was not snaked. (The disposal was not jammed as is indicated on the invoice.) On 12/7 another company came in and snaked it. That company found that the pop up stopper/trap on the right sink was damaged and no longer worked and appeared to be sealed and would have leaked. Since no one had been in that room until 12/7, it appeared the damage was done by Roto Rooter. They sent someone out and determined they could not tell who did the damage. I just know that I don't use that sink and nothing was wrong until after RR came. I would like a reconsideration of their determination.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/10/2023

  I will review the job with the technician and gain detail as to what happened on site. The last communication we have is that we would be sending another technician out 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/10/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ******* ******

  Damage was done to a sink that only Roto Rooter worked on. Plumbers came in at the request of the condo management company and we saw the damage and they said they could see that it was patched and would have ultimately leaked. I will have to incur additional expenses to repair the sink. Also, they charged me for doing something to my kitchen sink and I had to get it redone by the company that came in because whatever they did did not work. The amount for that needed to be taken off the bill.  I have no reason to claim they did the damage other than that the sink was broken after they did work in the bathroom on a sink I don't use. They snaked the sink. 

  Business Response

  Date: 12/12/2023

  The cost for resting the kitchen garbage disposal is $395 which will be refunded back on to the customers credit card.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:12/04/2023

  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.

  My downstairs bathroom drain clogged and leaked into the basement. I called a local plumber (*******), they came out and fixed the leak. They don’t deal with clogs so they recommended roto rooter.
  I scheduled an appointment on 11/6/23 for 11/7/23 from 11am-1pm. They came out and unclogged the drain and replaced one thing at the cost of $4. The plumber wrote up an invoice after the work and the total cost was $826. After the plumber left, I cleaned out the bathtub and the water didn’t go down, we were able to fix this on our own.
  On 11/27/23 the toilet clogged again, on 11/29/23 the toilet overflowed and the bathtub backed up flooding the kitchen, spare room, and basement.
  I called roto rooter at 5:16pm and they told me they would have someone come out. (They offer 24/7 emergency plumbing) they called me every hour to tell me they were still looking for someone, I went to bed and they called and left a message at 9:09pm stating they were still looking for someone. They called again at 9:56pm telling me to call them back. At 10:39pm they called and left a message stating they had to reschedule for the morning since they couldn’t reach me.
  In the morning on 11/30/23 I called them back at 8:18am, they told me my case was closed and they would open a new one, the time window was 8:19am-10:19am, I called at 10:12am to see where the plumber was and as I called, they pulled up.
  The first question I asked the plumber was how much they charge an hour and he said $450, I told him I was no longer interested and he asked to look anyway, I let him. He tried get us to let him fix it for $100 under the table but we still declined.
  We ultimately called another plumber.
  On the same day I submitted a complaint. They called me 4 times that day and then once each business day after that.
  I received an email 12/4/23 from a Jacqueline B*** that told me to call them about the complaint along with some random other customer’s name, address, email, and phone number.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/06/2023

  We understand our customer's frustration with their line backing up after their original service was performed. When the original service was performed they were shown on video the issues with the line that caused the clog and explained that it would be an issue again at some point in the future. Once they called us back out there our second technician was to honor the guarantee given by the first technician and clear his line at no additional charge. The customer sent our technician away and told him they don't want to deal with us anymore. Since putting in a complaint with our customer service team our customer has not responded to any phone calls or emails to try and resolve the issue.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/06/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  When the second plumber came out the first question we asked was “how much do you charge an hour?” We were told $450. At no point in time did anyone tell us that it would be cleared at no charge to us. Considering they wrote the first invoice after the work was performed, we did not want to risk having to pay again. 
  when submitting my complaint, I selected to be emailed, I have instead been called countless times. 
  In the one email I received, I was told to call and given another customer’s information. Therefore, I want no communication with this company directly because there is no respect for personal information.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** ******
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/21/2023

  We have attempted to email customer and have not received a response. If the customer does not want us to contact them we are unable to work with them on a solution. The technician answered the customer's question of how much is our hourly charge. Then the technician called and spoke with management and was told to perform the service as part of the customer's guarantee from their original work. The technician called management back to let us know the customer had asked them to leave their house.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  
  I have been emailed 2 times by the company. First time was telling me to call to address the complaint with another customer’s information and the second time was to apology for the mistake in the first email. At no point were we told we would not have to pay for the second visit. The second plumber offered to do the job off of the record for $100. We refused.

  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** ******
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/26/2023

  We have attempted to email customer yet again to resolve.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/26/2023

  My response email was sent 12/26/2023 at 7:56am to Nicholas M****. I’ll forward it to Joe A********, who emailed me on Christmas directing me to call again in case it was missed.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/06/2024

  We have not received any responses via email for either Nicholas M**** or Joe A******** as the customer has stated. The emails the customer can reach us at are either *********************** or **********************. The customer can also reach the office at ###-###-####. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/29/2023

  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.

  I had plumbing work done back in December due to constant sewage flooding going on in my basement from the pipes being broken underground. I had contacted Roto-Rooter and was given an estimate to fix the issue and paid them to come out to fix this issue. Roto-Rooter then came out to fix the issue. On Sunday, 11/26, there was flooding coming from the pipes again and the water smelt like sewage. I had to get another plumber to come out the same day, due to Roto-Rooter being closed on Sunday. I had to pay $150 for them to let the water out of the pipes. I then contacted Roto-Rooter on Monday, 11/27, because my warranty with them is good through 12/2/23. The guy that I spoke with from Roto-Rooter on Monday, told me that he will be out on Tuesday, 11/28, to see what the issue is with the plumbing being back up again. He never came out to see what the issue was, and when I contacted him, he told me that he was having car issues, so he could not come out. I contacted him today, 11/29, and asked him again can he come out and that my warranty will be expiring soon. He told me that he will be out this afternoon to see what the issue is. I am reaching out to you guys because I don't want this to be a recurring issue with them telling me that they are going to come out to check the issue with my plumbing, and then my warranty expires and then I'll have to issue out more money.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/29/2023

  We spoke to customer and agreed to send out a high pressure jet at no additional cost. Customer agreed to service and is closing complaint with BBB. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/28/2023

  Type:Billing 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 Friday, November 24, between 12-4pm, while I was out of town my spouse **** ****** had Paul K***** of Roto-Rooter of **** ** ***** *** ****** **, phone ###-###-#### or ###-###-#### give her an estimate at her parents residence at ***** ******* ***** in ******* ******* **. Paul gave my spouse **** an estimate for her parents garbage disposal replacement. Paul gave her a quote of just under $2,200.00 to replace the garbage disposal, a new kitchen faucet, and to redo the plumbing under the sink with shut offs. Since I was out of town my wife called me and i told her to to cancel the job as it was too much in my opinion. Apparently she felt she could not cancel and felt committed, so she allowed Paul to do the work, which was satisfactory to my knowledge. I understand my spouse consented to the work without any pressure and paid the bill via a credit card, however it's my opinion the fees was inappropriately high and almost criminal as he was there for 4 hours. I would like assistance in seeking a $800.00 dollar reimbursement. Thank you.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/30/2023

  We have tried several times to reach out to this customer, they have not answered nor returned our calls. In response the the customer's request of a $800 refund, the management team has reviewed the work done by the plumber and have determined that the work and pricing is in line with our standard pricing structure. Also, as mentioned by the customer in the original complaint, they agreed with the pricing provided up front, signed to authorize the work, and then signed afterward stating that the work was done to satisfaction and paid via credit card. Roto-Rooter will not be issuing any refunds at this time. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/01/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  

  The explanation that the fees were appropriate is inaccurate as no plumber charges $300 an hour for that job. I and my wife want to see a detailed invoiced of how much the garbage disposal, faucet, and extra plumbing supplies cost.  Also, they made an untruthful statement they only tried to reach my wife once during the day on November 30. She was busy at work and could not get to phone, she tried to call back at 4:50pm, but received no answer and she left a message but no call back to my knowledge. I'm anxious to see if they produce a legible receipt as the carbon copy was unreadable and they had no cost for the items they replaced. Let's see how transparent and honest they are with the detailed invoice of services rendered. I will persuade my wife to stop the credit card payment if necessary and/or until this is resolved. 

  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  *** ******
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/21/2023

   

  ** ******,
  We have no problem being fully transparent in an itemized
  breakdown of your bill. Roto-Rooter has set Flat-Rate pricing for each hour
  worked plus a set mark-up on parts that we provide for our customers. I have
  detailed it below and also attached receipts for your review of the purchases
  of the parts needed to complete the job. As you mentioned in prior
  communications, you not only agreed to the upfront pricing provided to you, you
  also signed an agreement for the work to be completed and signed when the work
  was completed stating it was done to your satisfaction. After that, you paid
  the bill in full. Below you will find a breakdown.
  Total Charge: $2192.13
  Labor: $1285.60 (The technician logged into the job at 11:20 am
  on 11/24/2023 and logged out at 3:45 pm.) Approximately 4.5 hours on the job.
  1st hour: $339.00
  2nd hour: $237.30
  3rd hour: $237.30
  4th hour: $237.30
  25 min: $100.70
  We also charge $134.00 trip
  charge when a technician has to leave and go by parts at a store.
  
  Parts: The tech bought
  $322.49 worth of parts at ******* to complete this job. He had the garbage
  disposal in stock on his van, our price for that item is $147.27.
  
  Our standard markup is 2x. so
  our cost was $469.76, and you were charged $939.52.
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/28/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  *** ******
  

  Business Response

  Date: 12/28/2023

  ** ******,
  We have no problem being fully transparent in an itemized breakdown of your bill. Roto-Rooter has set Flat-Rate pricing for each hour worked plus a set mark-up on parts that we provide for our customers. I have detailed it below and also attached receipts for your review of the purchases of the parts needed to complete the job. As you mentioned in prior communications, you not only agreed to the upfront pricing provided to you, you also signed an agreement for the work to be completed and signed when the work was completed stating it was done to your satisfaction. After that, you paid the bill in full. Below you will find a breakdown.
  Total Charge: $2192.13
  Labor: $1285.60 (The technician logged into the job at 11:20 am on 11/24/2023 and logged out at 3:45 pm.) Approximately 4.5 hours on the job.
  1st hour: $339.00
  2nd hour: $237.30
  3rd hour: $237.30
  4th hour: $237.30
  25 min: $100.70
  We also charge $134.00 trip charge when a technician has to leave and go by parts at a store.
  
  Parts: The tech bought $322.49 worth of parts at ******* to complete this job. He had the garbage disposal in stock on his van, our price for that item is $147.27.
  
  Our standard markup is 2x. so our cost was $469.76, and you were charged $939.52.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/27/2023

  Type:Billing 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.

  This business charged me for an unnecessary part. The part was a water valve that serve no purpose. I was told that the valve was to determine if my water heater was bad or if I had underground pipe problems. When the valve was placed they told me it determined the problem. They tried to sell me a water heater and the water heater was not the problem. It was an underground pipe problem. I called for a second opinion through another plumbing company and was told the valve was a rip off. The other company suggested if I need their expertise to confirm I could contact them.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/28/2023

  Spoke with **** and advised why we installed the valve on the tank. It helped determine the leak was underground. **** agreed that she was explained prior to the work that we needed to do this to determine the issue.

  Business Response

  Date: 12/21/2023

  Spoke to customer and came to resolution on work done.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 12/21/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ** ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** ******
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:11/22/2023

  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.

  On January 13th 2023, I went online to see places that I could call to have my tenant's bathroom sink
  
  drain unclogged because the snake I had to clear it out broke. The top of the search was Roto Rooter
  
  and the next one was another company charging $150. I called Roto Rooter first. They told me they
  
  would send someone. I told them it was a small job that should not take more than 20 minutes as I've
  
  cleared several drains before. I asked them what the price would be before coming, so I can know what
  
  the price was. They said they would tell me, that they didn't have that information. I called them again
  
  and they still would not give me a price. 2 hours later, they sent a plumber without calling me before
  
  sending him to tell me the price. It was now later in the afternoon and much tougher to get a plumber
  
  by quickly. They left me in a lurch now because I was sick that day with covid-19 and my tenants took
  
  a day off work to be there to let the plumber in. The plumber was there and told me the cost was $600
  
  which was total theft. I ended up having no choice but to ok it because the tenants had been waiting
  
  and they just moved it. I was robbed by this company because I asked them twice what the price was
  
  and they would not tell me. Had I known that they were going to rob me of $600 for 20 minutes work, I
  
  would have gone to another company. The plumber they contracted then called me 2 days later saying
  
  my complaint was unwarranted that Roto Rooter does not know the prices. They were in Cincinnati.
  
  That is a lie since the Roto Rooter office I called had a local area code and was a few miles away from
  
  me. They could have told me the price. I was ripped off here and had they been honest and not
  
  fraudulent about not telling me the price claiming they did not know and would have told me from the
  
  beginning, I would have never gone to them for anything. I will be letting everyone know what Roto Rooter did to me.

  Business Response

  Date: 11/22/2023

  Prices are not given over the phone as the call centers are not located in local area and they handle the whole east coast.  Also we can not diagnose an issue over the phone and do not want to give a customer a price and the issue is not the issue.  This was explained to the landlord more than once over the phone and they could have than called an other company who will give prices over the phone.  We explained this to the landlord in January when they called in a complaint.  From the time the landlord called to make the appointment at 126 pm, or technician was on site with in the hour.  When he arrived on site the he diagnosed the issue and gave the tenant and the landlord the pricing, which is a standard $600 plus tax whether the process takes 30 minutes or 4 hours, they agreed to the price and had him fix their issue.  There was no deception as they knew our pricing before we started and knew we do not give estimates over the phone. They were not made to wait as we were at their residence within an hour of their phone call.   They also had to opportunity to turn down our services and not be charged anything as we do not charge a service fee to come out and give an estimate.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/22/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  

  This is a flat out lie as the only reason I called is because the Roto Rooter office was in ****** and had a ****** phone number, yet they sent me a thief plumber from ******* County, 2 counties away.  I will make sure to get on ******* to let everyone one know to avoid Roto Rooter and show them this report with their nasty response trying to blame me and lying.  I will also let everyone in my area know to avoid Roto Rooter for anything and they are clearly a theiving company supporting thieving plumbers.  The nasty obnoxious response further shows that this is a sub-par company with no courtesy or ethics to the customers they rob.

  
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  ***** ****