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

  220 Demeter St East Palo Alto, CA 94303

• 

  Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

  3 Alan B Shepard Jr Pl Ste A Yonkers, NY 10705

  
• 

  Roto-Rooter Services Company

  175 Maple St Stoughton, MA 02072

• 

  Roto-Rooter

  5115 7th Ave Kenosha, WI 53140

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:08/16/2023

  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.

  I had a leak in my bathroom out of no where and water all over my kitchen floor, we kept cleaning it and the water kept flooding the area, we didn't know where it was coming from. I called Rotor-Rooter and they said it is from a leak under the bathroom sink, the pipe/hose had a hole and it's going through the walls into the kitchen. The RR technician said that they have someone from his company that could come out and examine all the walls and surounding areas and take pictures with her special camera to see if there is water damage, and that it is free of charge, and if she finds water damage, they will send out a team from their water restoration department to clean all the water up and put machines to dry everything up. As well as remove all the damaged areas and that they will submit the claim to my home insurance and they will pay for everything. The lady that took the photos said she found water in the walls and said not to worry at all that she always works with my insurance company (Citizens) and "they always approve the claim but they just take a little long in responding" and that if I have any issues to call her. She sent the team out the same day and they literally came and just started breaking things and saying they are all water damaged (the kitchen floor, bottom kitchen cabinets kitchen sink, bathroom vanity and sink, borders, and all the bottom half of the walls in the kitchen and the walls between the bathroom and kitchen. They removed the refrigerator, stove and all other appliances from the kitchen and brought huge heating machines that made the house extremely hot (about 93+ degrees) and they connected them to our house Electricity outlets and said "they will try to come back the next day to bring generators because they don't know if the house could handle all the machines" they never came until a few days later which they didn't bring the generators and the machines were still connected to our home electrical outlets. Our bill went up extremely high due to this and the amount of high heat the machines were letting out through the house.
  
  This whole situation has been a nightmare and beyond stressful to say the least. I had just finished renovating my kitchen not too long ago, and now it is all destroyed and literally can not be used. I have no sink, no walls, no floors. My life is upside down. I feel like I'm drowning.
  
  They broke my water and ice hose that was connected to my refrigerator when they pulled it out of its place. They also broke a few tiles on the kitchen wall, cracked a part of my dining room floor tile that was connected to the kitchen floor as well as some tile in my bathroom.
  
  The insurance claim examiner called me and said they will not cover anything because it looks like it happened from time and long ware. My heart crushed when I heard these words. I called ******* (the RR water restoration manager lady that said she deals with them all the time and they will definitely approve the claim and I told her what they said and she said "that's ridiculous and if she had any initiative that they wouldn't accept that she would have never told me to go on with this." On top of all this, the RR company had estimated the total cost of breaking and removing the damaged pieces to be between $3500 to $4500 which is what was signed on and now they sent me a bill showing $9k+!! I called ******* and told her everything and she said "there is no way and that can't be true at all and that she will email me the bill with the actual cost" she then told me to contact a public adjuster. Also, she never emailed me anything and I contacted her again to get an update and told her that I have not yet received any email and she never responded). Please, if there is ANYTHING you could do to help me with this horrifying situation, I'd be greatly appreciative! It's holding a great effect on my younger brother and I and our health and our well being. We can't cook and have to use our bathtub as a sink, which is not easy at all.
  
  Thank you for your time.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/17/2023

  I have reached out to customer at number provided and left a voicemail as well as contact info for us, I also had another number on file called that number no answer and couldn't leave a voicemail.  I sent an email to customer with contact info and awaiting a response and will try again tomorrow. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/18/2023

  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.

  I called the number Mr. Joshua M******* provided me in the email (which I have attached a screenshot of it in this message) and it says "you have reached a number that has been disconnected or no longer in service" I called twice to make sure. I emailed Mr. Joshua and informed him. I will try calling him back again shortly. 

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

  Business Response

  Date: 08/26/2023

  Spoke with customer working with her to resolve concerns and invoice 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/15/2023

  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.

  Very disappointed. 6/12 Called to have a backed-up floor drain looked at. The first technician couldn't fix and senior technician(Mark S********) was called to evaluate. Mark inspected and determined that the floor drain p trap was faulty and needed to be replaced($6500). His crew would be out to repair next morning. 6/14 They were late arriving and didn't show up until afternoon. They dug out the old floor drain, replaced p trap, and poured new concrete. Problem was they didn't recess the drain in the floor like it was originally. So now the basement will need to flood a 1/4" before any water flows in. Contacted Mark and was assured that this would be fixed. Same crew came out and I explained that the drained needed to be below grade. They claimed they understood, but instead just added more concrete around the drain, creating a "volcano" or "peak" effect. Called back and said that they still haven't fixed issue and was told that they installed how I requested and that there was nothing they could do. Have tried calling and texting and just keep getting ghosted. Now stuck with a new drain that will flood the basement.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2023

  I have offered to credit 1500.00 back to the customer I am waiting for a response. Will update when I have an answer 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/14/2023

  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.

  When looking at the bill the representative told me the unit of measure for was on the bill. There are many items that say 1 and have an out ragous charge. The unit for fuel says 1 and $406.
  
  Sixteen man hours at $400 per hour. I thought I was getting a plumber not a doctor.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/16/2023

  Please provide me
  the full service address, including zip code, so I can look into this…Thanks!

  Thank you,
  Pat S******
  Customer Satisfaction Manager

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/13/2023

  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 transaction: 7/22/2023
  Amount: $441.00
  Invoice #********
  Technician attempted to fix the issue on 7/22. He did some snaking out of the drain but was unsure if this was the real issue. He said that a camera technician would come out at no additional charge and that I was to get a phone call for scheduling. It is now 8/13.
  
  I called again after the second flooding to see if I could schedule this person to come out. I was told that they have to call me. I made another request on 8/7 after the fifth flooding (online). On 8/11 I spoke with someone named ***** who told me to call back in an hour if no phone call was received. I called an hour later and ******** told me that someone would call shorty. Called again an hour later and ******** transferred me to ******* ****** gave ticket ********* and scheduled a service time of 10 am on 8/12. On 8/12 I received a call changing my time from 1pm to 3pm. I received another call at 2:27pm saying that they were waiting for the technician to check in. At 5pm that same day I called back and spoke to ***. *** said he needed to do research and would call right back. at 6:10pm I called back and *** said he confirmed service would be done by a ****** from 8-10 am on 8/13 and that this was confirmed with his manager "Carl."
  
  Today is 8/13 at 11:00 am. I called again at 10:30am after no one showed for the appointment. I spoke with an Alyssa who claimed to have spoken to ****** and that he was finishing up another job and was not sure of a time frame. In the previous scheduling with *** I was told I was the first job in the morning.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/14/2023

  Field Supervisor will be on-site to help with a solution today 8.14.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/10/2023

  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 was told that my main drain needed to be excavated cleaned out and polished and a liner installed and driveway put back in when the project was done they didn’t put the liner in but they still charge me $18,200 and when I contacted them, the guy said I decide you didn’t need that and I didn’t put it on the quote but as far as all the verbal information I received I was under the understanding that I was getting a liner put in because the guy told me without it within a few years the problem would come back and now they’re saying they didn’t say any of that and he will do nothing for me

  Business Response

  Date: 08/10/2023

  This customer was given a proposal contract that states "Excavate in driveway where marked 6.5ft to 7ft deep & up to 8-10 feet long for a pit/cleanout and 2 way cleanout install. Descale and hydro jet line up to 70 feet of cast iron. Backfill and replace concrete when finished." This customer signed the proposal. Then the work was completed and he was given a final invoice that states " Dug at marked location in driveway approximately 7ft deep to find sewer line. Cut out approximately 8 feet of cast iron pipe. From open hole line was descaled, cutting scale and restoring pipe to it's original shape. Line was hydro jetted pulling scale out and cleaning line, Installed new 2 way cleanout pipe. Backfilled and replaced concrete." This customer signed this invoice stating " I acknowledge completion of the above described work which has been done to my complete satisfaction."  At no time in either the written proposal or invoice did it say we were going to be doing a liner of any kind. A liner was discussed, but it was determined that we could effectively restore his pipe. If the customer wanted a liner his cost would have increased significantly. 

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/10/2023

  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,
  
  
  
  ******* **********
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/08/2023

  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.

  On July 16th, 2023, Roto Rooter came to ***** ****** **, Rocky River Ohio *****, when I had an issue with water backing up into my basement from the drain by my washing machine. They came out and snaked the cleanout at the front of my house in the basement but did not try and snake out the drain that was backing up at that time. They said they ran into a blockage in my front yard and that they needed to dig up my front yard to install new cleanouts.
  
  Roto Rooter got permits from the city, but never checked to see if there were existing cleanouts in my front yard. Neither did Roto Rooter access the existing cleanouts in the front yard to check the blockage from the other side. Rather, Roto Rooter chose to dig up my entire front yard without adequately investigating options to remove the blockage. They came on July 18th and dug up my front yard and put in the new cleanouts at a charge of $10,622.92.
  
  The excessive work in the front yard failed to solve my problem. I still had the problem with the basement drain not draining. Roto Rooter then wanted to come inside the house and dig up a concrete area in my basement that they had not yet tried to snake. The estimate to address the drain that caused the main problem was $8,822.10.
  
  After Roto Rooter dug up my front yard, the City of Rocky River Sewer (City Sewer) division came out to verify that there were no issues from my yard to the street. The City Sewer division was confused as to why Roto Rooter did not start at the existing roadside clean outs before digging up the entire yard. I also now question the competency of the Roto Rooter staff.
  
  To make matters worse, there is also an area of my sidewalk that was possibly broken by Roto Rooter when digging up my yard. I feel I was charged for unnecessary work. A competent service would have found other possible ways to fix the problem before digging up my yard.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/09/2023

  Roto Rooter cabled the line multiple times and used a camera to verify a huge blockage in the line to determine a resolution and showed the customer. Line was fully charged and made visibility low due to blockage not allowing sewage to leave the property. We successfully relieved the line with permission from the customer and we further inspected the line and reported other issues. The city would not know what was wrong as it was repaired before they arrived. Customer was made aware and signed off on all work...

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/09/2023

  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. The fundamental problem is that before assuming that digging was the best course of action, Roto Rooter did not thoroughly investigate all potential solutions. There is a chance that the obstruction could have been cleared if Roto Rooter had checked the roadside cleanouts, but they never did and instead concluded that taking the most expensive path was the best course of action. I feel I was
  charged for unnecessary work.  A
  competent service would have found other possible ways to fix the problem
  before digging up my yard. 
  
  
  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** ******
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/07/2023

  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 5/16/2023, I hired a roto rooter technician to provide a service.
  
  When the washing machine in the kitchen would drain, water would back up into the sink of the kitchen. To remedy this, I hired Roto Rooter to snake the pipes and clear whatever was causing the backup. They attempted to snake the laundry drain pipe and ended up drilling a hole with their pipe auger THROUGH the 1.5" PVC pipe in the wall. Feeling they were not making "progress" there, they moved on to trying to snake through the kitchen sink pipes, where they were successful in clearing the apparent clog. Months later now, I walked into my office on July 4th and the carpet was wet near the wall that was shared with the laundry machine. I ripped up the dripping carpet and padding and removed the drywall that had since accumulated a fair amount of mold. Once the drywall was removed, I saw the hole in the pipe that was caused by the roto rooter machine. The thing that bothers me most about this is not the carpet in my office needing to be replaced, but the damage to the kitchen flooring. The tiles under my washer and dryer are loose and the flooring has absorbed so much water under hard tile that even the tiles in my kitchen have raised up and began cracking. I requested a quote from Restoration 1 that it would take over $5,000 just to do the remediation and removal of all damaged components ahead of necessary repairs, which have yet to be estimated for cost and time. Roto rooter has been claiming that they are protected by the hold harmless agreement, but I claim that in order to put a hole in a relatively new pvc pipe, gross negligence is required. Their hold harmless agreement doesn't extend to gross negligence and thus they are responsible for the damages and repairs that their mistake caused.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/07/2023

  Brett W***** - General Manager has discussed with the customer that we are not accepting liability.  We have a signed hold harmless which waives us of any responsibility of unknown conditions of pipes hidden in walls.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/07/2023

  Brett W***** - General Manager has discussed with the customer that we are not accepting liability.  We have a signed hold harmless which waives us of any responsibility of unknown conditions of pipes hidden in walls.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/07/2023

  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.

  Drilling through a pvc pipe is gross negligence. If they believe otherwise, they are wrong. Having a hold harmless is overkill and nobody should trust someone who needs one signed to operate. 

  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** *****
  
  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/07/2023

  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.

  Drilling through a pvc pipe is gross negligence. If they believe otherwise, they are wrong. Having a hold harmless is overkill and nobody should trust someone who needs one signed to operate. 

  Regards,
  
  
  
  **** *****
  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/08/2023

  Brett W***** - General Manager has discussed with the customer that we are not accepting liability.  We have a signed hold harmless which waives us of any responsibility of unknown conditions of pipes hidden in walls.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/08/2023

  Agreement attached.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/08/2023

  Agreement attached.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/06/2023

  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.

  I hired Roto Rooter plumber on Friday, 8/4/2023, to unclog underground gutter water spout system at my house. The plumber led me to believe, based on his experience, that problem with rain water not draining and backing out of the underground drain was clogging in the pipe and he will charge me $913 + tax to fix it. After struggling for couple of hours he tells me that the underground pipe which leads the water to the city drainage system was broken and needed to be dug out and replaced. He said he doesn't do that and I will have to hire someone else to replace the broken pipe. So, I was not only out of $900 but was looking at another thousands of dollars to fix it, Additionally, I noticed that he had missed unclogging one of the spouts and doesn't return my repeated requests to tell me exactly does he see the pipe broken while the crew I had hired to digging was waiting.
  
  Afterwards when I googled, I learned that the typical fees charged by professional plumbers for this kind job is around $250. I would appreciate any help in getting a partial refund from Roto Rooter for a job unfinished.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/07/2023

  Spoke with customer and agreed to refunding money for work that was completed.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/08/2023

  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,
  
  
  
  ****** ****
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:08/01/2023

  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 called for water mitigation services on June 5, 2023 and experienced a myriad of poor service and unscrupulous billing practices. Poor services to include not coming back daily to check on progress as contractually agreed (I was told they were too busy), refusal to move washer and dryer back and reconnect by service technicians (called local office and they agreed that the technicians should have put the washer and dryer back and reconnected - took them over a day to come back) and service technicians tracking water all over our wood floors on one occasion they came when it had been raining - they didn't use any "footies" to avoid the mess as most reputable service provides would have). The drying equipment they provided was left in my home for an additional day because they were "too busy" to come pick it up when they were supposed to - I was told I wouldn't be charged for the additional time. The invoice came and not only did they charge me for the additional time, they charged me for a drying mat that was not part of the original quote. The service technician told me that it should have been part of the original quote, and that it was being provided at no additional charge. I was still billed for it. When I complained about the original invoice, they acknowledged that the contract showed a maximum amount I'd be billed for which was exceeded - so they revised the invoice...to exactly match the maximum amount of the initial estimate. They also acknowledged that the drying mat was never part of the initial itemized estimate for equipment (air movers, dehumidifiers, etc.) but refused to remove it or acknowledge that I should not have been invoiced for the extra day. They then threatened to put a mechanics lien on my home if I didn't immediate pay their invoice. I have paid the remaining balance ($2000.00) after the initial deposit ($1000.00) to avoid a lien. But I want them to refund me for drying matt and extra time the equipment was in my home.

  Business Response

  Date: 08/01/2023

  On 6/5/23 Roto Rooter Services was contacted about a pipe leak in the basement of the ******** residence.  Mr. ******** had contacted another plumber to repair the leak, and he needed water mitigation services to dry out the finished basement.  Roto Rooter quoted him $2500 - $3000 to dry the property.  Roto Rooter performed $3990.22 in work (see the attached "******** complete" and the pictures that document the work).  Roto Rooter enters the work performed on the home into Xactimate, a software program the insurance industry uses to determine the price.  Every line item we charged for has an associated picture to document the charge.  When the job was completed, we had to revise the charges down to $3000.00 because that was the amount that was in the scope of work and approved by Mr. ********.  While it is very apparent that Mr. ******** is unhappy having to pay the bill, he agreed to the scope of work, and the price.  It is unfortunate that the collection process escalated to a discussion and written follow up of the legal collections process, including a lien but all other attempts to resolve this failed.  We fulfilled our contracted scope of work, and it was time for Mr. ******** to complete his obligation and pay the bill.  No refund will be issued, we consider this matter closed.  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/02/2023

  It is unfortunate that our response was rejected by Mr. ********, but our position remains unchanged.

  I had already attached both the initial invoice, and the revised invoice to my response.  A drying mat is standard dehumidification when dealing with wood floors in the industry.  We did not add any cost to what we are billing Mr. ******** for the services we performed.  He was quoted a price range of $2500-$3000 and was billed $3000.00.  We dried the home to the IICRC standards using the equipment that is supposed to be used on this type of loss.  Roto Rooter performed an additional $990.22 in service work and adjusted that off the invoice (that was also attached as the revised copy) because it fell outside that quoted scope of services and price.  That portion of the scope of work and equipment used was performed for free. 

  I did address the initial bill, and the adjusted final bill.  As I previously stated, we do not determine the price, we enter the work performed in the Xactimate software and the industry standard pricing for that work is given to us in the program.  The work we performed came to a total cost of $3990.22.  The amount we collected was $3000, which is exactly what the ********s agreed to pay in the contract they signed.  When Mr. ******** made us aware that he had no intention of paying more than $2000 when the work was completed, we informed him that was not acceptable to us and we would be placing a lien on the home to secure our interest in the amount under dispute until the collections process was completed.  This is not illegal as Mr. ******** has claimed. 

  A mechanics lien: "If a contractor or materialman has not been paid, s/he can file a mechanics' lien.  A lien is a legal right or claim against any type of property that can be used as collateral to ensure the repayment of a debt.  We were well within our rights to file a lien when Mr. ******** told us he was refusing to pay anything more than $2000 for the work performed.  A figure $500 below the lowest number on the scope of $2500 - $3000 that was agreed to and contractually signed for by the customer.  

  As I stated in my previous response, we performed the work, we have photo documentation of that work, and we now expect to be paid in full for those services.   We have a contract that Mr. ******** signed agreeing to pay $2500-$3000 for the work, and he was invoiced for that amount.  The bill has been paid, the contract satisfied, and we consider this matter to be closed and final.  

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 08/02/2023

  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,
  
  
  
  **** ********

  Once again, the response from Roto Rooter contains several inaccuracies and falsehoods.  

  1.  "A drying mat is standard dehumidification when dealing
  with wood floors in the industry."

  This point is both inaccurate and irrelevant. We've had to have water mitigation services in the past in this same exact area.  Never has a service provider used or recommended a drying mat.  And if it standard, then that begs the question of why wasn't it included in the original quote that I received?  Regardless, the question at hand isn't whether or not the drying mat is standard.  The question is whether or not I agreed to pay for said drying mat.

  2.  "We did not add any cost to what we are billing Mr.
  ******** for the services we performed.  He was quoted a price range of
  $2500-$3000 and was billed $3000.00."

  This statement is not accurate on several counts.  I was provided an ESTIMATE of $2500-$3000.  Based on the equipment that I agreed to (dehumidifiers and air movers) and the time involved, I anticipated the cost to be LESS than the estimate.  If you deduct the cost of the drying mat, then I was correct.  It is also completely ludicrous to suggest that Roto-Rooter did not add to the cost of what they billed me.  Their itemized invoice shows what the cost of the drying mat added to overall price that I paid.  As has already been well established, I was not quoted a cost for the drying mat.  Obviously adding the drying mat added cost to the final bill.  Suggesting otherwise is indicative of Roto-Rooter's deceptive business practices, as illustrated by their abysmally low BBB rating.

  3. "We were well within our rights to file a lien when Mr.
  ******** told us he was refusing to pay anything more than $2000 for the work
  performed."

  This statement is yet another misrepresentation by Roto-Rooter.  They've illegally billed me for equipment I did not agree to pay for, and instead of using legimate means of arbitation, they opted to exploit the law and threaten to illegally place a lien on my home.  I stated SEVERAL times that I was willing to immediately pay my invoice (which I can prove in writing) if they simply corrected their invoice.  As demonstrated by my sizable deposit, I always had every intention of paying a legitimate invoice.

  4.  "We have a contract that Mr. ******** signed agreeing
  to pay $2500-$3000 for the work, and he was invoiced for that amount."

  What you have is my signature agreeing to an estimate based on hourly costs for dehumidifies and air movers.  What you don't have is my express agreement to pay for a drying mat.  You didn't provide me a quoted cost for the drying mat.  Had I been provided the cost of the drying mat, just as I had been provided the cost for the other equipment which I did agree to pay for, I would have declined the drying mat.  Please process a refund for the cost of the drying mat.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/31/2023

  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 6/13/23 my main pipe was clogged. I called roto rooter to service my home. the worker stated that he needed to use pressured water with a comppesser. Within a few minutes water backed up into my home causing black water to enter my bathroom and shower in the basement. The worker then called his supervisor to explain the problem. The supervisor calls me right after and stated "dont worry Mr.********* we will be back out tomorrow (6/14/23) and we will clean up your basement". I paid them a total of $580 dollars for their services that night in cash. They came out the next morning and did the clean up. They never mentioned anything about me being responsible for the cost of the clean up. They thought that my house insurance would pay for the clean up but it was not covered.On 7/6/23 i received a call from roto rooter to inform me that i owed them 14,224.50 but that the company will settle for 2,000 which at that time i said im not going to pay because roto rooter caused the damages. On 7/28/23 i received a bill for 14,224.50 for the basement clean up

  Business Response

  Date: 08/11/2023

  A drain technician advised that and had documentation signed releasing Roto Rooter of any liability if any damages were to occur due to the clog in their line. The water damage occurred due to the clog in the main sewer line, and not due to negligence on the part of Roto Rooter. 

  A Roto-Rooter Representative advised the customer that we have worked on losses similar to the one that occurred at the customer's home, and that the loss could be covered by their homeowner's insurance if the policy allowed for it. Roto Rooter has not yet advised of a settlement offer, at the moment there is an outstanding balance for the services rendered. 

  
  

  Business Response

  Date: 08/21/2023

  Please see the attached