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

  3603 Metro Pkwy San Antonio, TX 78247

• 

  Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

  87 Carando Dr Springfield, MA 01104

  
• 

  Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

  12034 Exit 5 Pkwy Fishers, IN 46037

  
• 

  Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

  18544 US Highway 19 N Clearwater, FL 33764

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:01/27/2023

  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 work done on our sewer drain on 11/29/19 and the technician had to cut a hold in our pipe. He said that he would be coming back that week to put a proper cover on the pipe that he cut as he used duct tape to cover the hole as well as provide us with the video that he took inside our pipe. We also had Roto Rooter come out on 11/26/19 and that technician was not able to fix the issue so the reason for the 11/29 visit with a new technician. The technician said that he would see about getting me a credit back for the 11/26 service since they had to come right back out. I contacted Roto Rooter to learn that the technician that came out on 11/29 is no longer with the company and my case would be escalated to management. I have yet to hear from anyone.

  Business Response

  Date: 03/05/2020

  This morning(Wed. 3/4) I s/w ***** *. directly.  She re-iterated her request to resolve the matter.  After researching the matter further, I responded candidly to let her know coincidently the two people she was working with prior had left our employment.  Regretfully, her request was overlooked.  With that said, Roto-Rooter offered to dispatch a technician to make the repair to the cut sewer pipe as well as video inspect the main sewer line.  Naturally, there is no fee for the aforementioned service.   ***** accepted.  Technicians were dispatched.  Next, *****’s final request was to secure a credit for the first (11/26/19) of two services provided by Roto-Rooter.  Management approved her request.  I dropped a message on  her voice mail stating a credit in the amount $475 shall be applied to the card # on file in the next day or two with copy of the credit transaction to follow by email. 

   

  We appreciate BBB and ***** *. for the opportunity to address the concerns and request in satisfactory way.

   

  Thank you,

   

  Denell C. N******

  Administrative Assistant

  Roto-Rooter Services Company

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

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

  ###-###-#### ; ###-###-####, Fax

   

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

  Business Response

  Date: 01/30/2023

  Our Manager John made contact with the customer, we have scheduled a senior tech  to service the residence on 2/1/23. Senior tech will inspect cap to ensure it was installed properly in 2022. Tech will also video inspect line at no charge and leave customer a copy of the video on a flash drive. Customer has also requested a refund of $475 for service performed on 11/26/2019. Our Office Manager is researching 

  check and bank logs to ensure it has not been processed previously. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/26/2023

  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 October 26th 2022 roto rooter sent out a plumber named Randolph to unclog my bathtub drain. Not only did he damaged the over flow drain which I found out later, he didn't finish clearing the drain and told me he had to leave abruptly but I needed to pay and he will come back the next morning to finish up with a different snake. He informed me to call dispatch in the am to have him come back and finish the job. I've called multiple times to have to drain cleared and for someone to explain why water is pouring through the over flow when it use to go down slowly just the day before he worked on the tub but he would never come back. The third plumber that was sent out on January 3rd finally cleared the drain fully and explained what was wrong. The over flow drain was separated from the tub. I then realized that the first plumber sent out in October stopped working on the drain and left because he broke it and didn't want to take responsibility for the damage. I've called to complain several times and explained this situating to multiple employees at roto rooter including a manager with no response. They finally sent out a different plumber to access the damage but all he did was point to a different leak I have and not the fact that water pours through the space between the bathtub and the over flow drain. He shows me pictures of the space between the tub and over flow drain but doesn't send those pictures to me when I asked for them so I can get a second opinion. The manager deceptively only seems pictures of the leaking that was already there and no pics of the over flow drain at all. This company is the worst plumbing service available with horrible plumbers that damage property, won't take responsibility then lie about it, and deceptive practices to scam their customers especially women who are alone and trust them to be honest.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/03/2023

  We sent our Senior Plumber to assess the issue and resolve ***** ***** complaint.  After our technician assess the issue in the customer bathroom and crawlspace, it was determined that the lead is coming from an area between the tub and wall.  The wall tile is separated from the tub and missing grout causing water to enter that area and leak in the crawl space.  Roto Rooter is not responsible for this issue.   

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/26/2023

  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.

  This is the first time I am using any drain cleaning service. It was an emergency and when I expressed shock at quote of nearly $500 for a cleaning drain of tree roots, I was told that is the list price and not negotiable. Instead in response I could have been easily advised of a $75 coupon on your website if RotoRooter really cared about helping customer save some money. But I think your techs are trained not to talk about it and instead charge full price. With emergency like a gun to one's head, homeowners like me end up agreeing to what is asked. I am really bummed that you run your business this way by not advising customers how they can save some money.
  
  I called your local office to complain and they told me that I should have been looking for the coupon just like when I say go to a restaurant. I think we can all agree you are in a very different business where homeowners like me are often calling in an emergency. At 9:30pm I could not think of anything else but getting this fixed and agreed to whatever I was asked.
  
  You are entitled to stick to your company policies. But I can tell you this experience has left me with a sense of being price-gouged

  Business Response

  Date: 01/30/2023

  We have been unable to reach the customer via phone and email to honor the coupon. Should we receive a response, we will be happy to honor it.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/02/2023

  The local manager contacted me and took care of the issue by letting me use the coupon. Appreciate the prompt action both from the business and for BBB to helping me resolve this.
  
  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/25/2023

  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 on 1/23/23 at around 4 pm after seeing their advertisement of 24/7 emergency plumbing services. I have a broken toilet with water damage. They said they could not get anyone to my location that day but that they would schedule an appointment with me for the next day. I booked an appointment and they gave me 5 hour time slot from 12 pm to 5 pm. At 7:30 pm still no one arrived to fix my problem and provide the services requested. I was told someone would be there shortly as they were finishing up a job. After another hour at 8:30 pm I called and they said still no service workers were available. I asked to speak to a manager and spoke to one named Ellen. She said she will check on availability and call me back. At 9:15 pm she said that they had service workers just jump on new jobs and no one could come until the next day now despite me having an appointment.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/25/2023

  Reached out and spoke with **** *****.  He was disappointed in our scheduling department, and our team in the field being delayed late into the evening.  We did send out one of our employees, but were turned away in his frustration.  We apologized for our delays in service and take our complaints and try to better the organization and learn from these issues.  I thanked **** for speaking with me this evening and for his time.  He did thank me for the call, and following up on this issue.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/24/2023

  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.

  12/11/22 - Sewage overflowed into our basement & we called Roto Rooter for cleanup, mitigation & sanitation. Their field tech Brandon H******* was very dishonest & used switch & bait tactics with RR's pricing. First, he talked us into agreeing to their financing with ********* Bank & never mentioned the $29.00 sign up fee. Second, he told us that all of our correspondence had to be conducted through his personal ***** account since his RR email account would not accept outside emails. Brandon quoted us a rough estimate but we had to figure out if our home warranty would cover any of it or if this was an insurance claim. He assured us that it would be covered and set us up for the ********* financing just so we could take the insurance check & pay off the ********* bill. Clearly RR must get kick backs for signing up customers for a ********* account. Throughout several days, Brandon tried to "coach" us as to what to say or not to say to our insurance company, making the whole process seem very dishonest (we were up front & honest with our insurance company). Next, he dragged his feet supplying us with a detailed invoice. Brandon claimed his colleague Eric W******** had our invoice. Got a hold of Eric only to find out he had given Brandon all the detailed info & pricing of our invoice. Clearly Brandon wanted to ensure the full $20K amount would hit our ********* account before our insurance company got their eyes on the bill and that's why RR dragged their feet supplying our bill. When our insurance company finally saw the bill, they informed us we were grossly overcharged. We sorted through the bill line by line with RR finally revising the bill, cutting off some $ they knowingly overcharged us for. Unacceptable. They then claimed that they could charge whatever they want for insurance claims and admitted that their pricing is above average for insurance claims. There is still a $3K discrepancy, insurance claiming we were overcharged for.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/26/2023

  On 12/11/2022 Field Supervisor, Brandon H******, was dispatched to the ******* property. Upon arrival Brandon discovered that sewage overflowed and affected the basement of the dwelling. Brandon proceeded to talk about the different ways to get the sewage mitigated. After talking to the ******* they decided to open up a ********* account to pay for the mitigation and get full reimbursement from their Insurance company. After all of the paper work was signed, Brandon dispatched the mitigation team that very same night. The team finished the mitigation work a little after midnight the next morning. The ******* signed the additional paperwork, including the Certificate of Satisfaction, when the mitigation work was completed. The ******* became very unpleased with the situation after talking to their Home Owner's Insurance adjuster. After weeks of negotiations Roto Rooter and the ******* came to an agreement of  $17,540.81

   

  Attached is the complete file for the account which includes signed invoices and pictures. Also attached are the signed ********* sales slip along with the refund. 

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/24/2023

  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.

  Absolutely horrible company! Not only do their employees not know how to drive (the one going to my office passed someone in a school zone), but they are price gouging! There is absolutely no reason why snaking of a drain should cost me $500. Then when I mentioned how expensive it was they didn’t offer to work with me at all. I reached out to give a bad review and the manager called me (manager of the escalation team) and he was SOO rude! I told him I could have bought a snake for less than that price and he said well you didn’t. And when I mentioned the price he told me that I didn’t ask for a discount and that’s the price I get. He also mentioned he and the team mate are veterans on several accounts, and basically feel he can charge that price and belittle women because he is a veteran (my spouse is a veteran so I have 110% respect for people who go in service, but it’s no reason to talk down to someone) then he states that I need to stop giving him so much information and just answer the questions he’s asking me. I own my own company and I’m telling you this guy would be FIRED at the lack of respect for clients. I would never refer them to anyone, and also if the tech was a veteran, he should have more respect for the laws and not pass vehicles in a school zone! He could kill someone. I asked him if he knew he did it and he said I didn’t know that wasn’t allowed.

  Business Response

  Date: 02/01/2023

  *** ********* invoice has been scanned in, showing acceptance of the quote for service, in addition to the signature of satisfaction.  *** ******* was charged fairly based on our job flat rate pricing for the commercial rate for clearing the main sewer line from a cleanout access. The attached handwritten invoice does reflect a web discount of $75.00 off that does not appear to have been applied, and the credit has been issued (also attached). Unfortunately we are unable to provide a full refund because the pricing is in line with our company standards and pricing format. We also have reviewed the technician GPS records and coached him with regards to the driving concerns that *** ******* had.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 02/01/2023

  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.

  -rude and disrespectful behavior from management

  -getting hung up on by the "escalation manager."

  -being told he could behave that way because he is a veteran

  -very sexist, asked me why i didn't just do it myself

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

  Business Response

  Date: 02/06/2023

  Unfortunately, there is nothing further we can do for *** *******.  The pricing for the job is in line with our flat rate book price for her service, and we have refunded her the coupon that was not applied at the time of service.  We are unable to do anything further, and have explained that to *** ******* on more than one occasion.  

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/21/2023

  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 4/15/22 Roto-Rooter came out and unclogged our house sewer drain. On Tuesday, January 10, 2023 we experienced sewage backup again and called Roto-Rooter. They came out the same day and inspected the line. Mike, the tech, said the clog was covered under warranty from a previous repair, that he would have a camera come out and most likely they would have to water jet the clog. No one called or showed so on Thursday Jan 12, we called and spoke to customer service at the ###-###-#### and was told we were in the system and that someone would call. We called on Friday, Jan 13 at 9 AM to ###-###-#### and was told someone would call. No had called by 4:35 so we called ###-###-#### and were rudely told "yes, you are in the system, we will get back to you". 7 days go by and no call, so we called Friday, January 20 at 2 PM to ###-###-#### and spoke to Brittany who told us someone would call us back, I asked "Today?" and she said yes. No call. So 11 days later we are still dealing with a backed up sewage which is a health hazard to our family. We do not know why we are being ghosted, the first repair was close to $7,000 - it is a upsetting that a company would knowingly let us live in a house with backed up sewage into the house for over 11 days.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/30/2023

  The customer had a spot repair excavation in April of 2022.  They called back in January of 2023 due to additional issues with their line. We have opened a work order to get a camera in the line so we can jet it at the customer's request.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/19/2023

  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.

  The transaction occurred on 12/20/22. We paid $9747 total. We need to have a form filled out by the technician in order to get reimbursed by insurance, they told us it would be no problem to get it filled out while we were still deciding to hire them. We were going to have additional work done, but only chose to get the $9747 job done. After hearing this, they charged us the total amount before even finishing the job (which was fine because they completed it) but they stopped contacting us afterwards & have completely ignored our request for the from to be filled out. We also requested they put 2x4s on the ground while they excavated our main sewer line, they refused & completely ruined our lawn. When we contacted the technician regarding this they completely ignored us.

  Business Response

  Date: 01/20/2023

  We have made attempts over the last few weeks to reach the ***** family to confirm they have received the service line verification form. We have sent the information to ********************* and have not received any responses.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:01/18/2023

  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 called Roto Rooter on 10/15/22 to do a job a my secondary house. They came out to the property to unclog a toilet / sink drain, they were suppose to do a job. I had a relative home at the time of the service. They exlained to him what was going on, so he called me for them to explain to me what was going on. They told me they would snake and try to clear the drain, the toilet worked for 3 flushes before it backed up (it was doing this previously). They charged me $567 for this. I called them back the next day, which was Sunday. They couldn't get noone out until Monday. When the new tech came out monday they refused to clear the drain without additonal money.
  I am going to attach the email I sent to their Customer Manager, and I never got a repsonse after 4 attempts. This email detail everything going on and what happenend. It has been 2 months an noone has gotten back to me yet for my refund, after a manger promised me a refund. I have called an been given the run around for months. At one point I was texting a manager and he stopped responding to me and never responded back. I am attaching the screenshots ass well.
  
  The emails were sent on 11/5/22, 11/9/22, 11/11/22, 11/27/22. This is suppose to be their corporate email for complaint. The email is to long to copy and paste, so I am attching it in a word Doc.
  
  Please review the attachments, they contain all the information.
  
  Thanks,
  ******

  Business Response

  Date: 01/23/2023

  I had spoken to ****** and submitted for the refund in November. After looking into the refund it had never been processed. A check was written and mailed out 1/23/23.

  Customer Answer

  Date: 01/27/2023

  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:01/18/2023

  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.

  Roto-Rooter of ******* completed work in my crawlspace to install a new sump pump and ensure proper water drainage in late June 2020. The cost to complete that work was $6,900 and I spent another $2,000 with them to clean up the issue with all of the water damage/drainage. The work they completed did not solve my problem and the sump pump never worked - I continued to have water issues in the same space. I called 4 times over the last 2 years and no one would come out to review.
  
  The latest time was the worst in terms of storm run-off into the crawl space and I pleaded with their corporate office in ******* to have someone sent out. The local office delayed for 10 days until I called corporate again - someone finally came out on January 18th 2023 and said the warranty on the work ran out after a year and that there was nothing they could do. He said the sump pump was incorrectly installed, but that they would have to charge me to fix it. They even charged me another $181 just to visit. I now know they didn't want to come out because their original work had a warranty of 1 year and they were letting it run out without fixing the work they completed.
  
  At the end of the day, I spent $8,900 to have nothing fixed - and they are not willing to do anything to help the situation they caused. They are literally taking my money and running without attempting a fix.
  
  Please let me know how you can help.
  **** *********

  Business Response

  Date: 01/20/2023

  We are working with **** to get his issues resolved and plan to begin possible repairs or corrections on 01/24/23. **** has direct contact information to managers in the branch to communicate any possible further issues.