The original bill for $2621.89 was for the only following charges. Antimicrobial of the affected areas in the basement, 1 dehumidifier for 3 days, 8 air movers for 3 days, 1 air scrubber for 3 days, 1 day for equipment set up and take down, a charge for personal protective equipment and a...
decontamination charge for equipment due to being a Category 3 loss. All prices were based off of a version of an Xactimate. Three days is the standard for drying according to the IICRC standard so this is all that Mr. [redacted] was charged for. After hearing his original concerns we reduced his bill down to $2200 dollars as a discount since he used Roto-Rooter Services Company for his plumbing needs also. I am willing to work with Mr. [redacted] as much as I can as we value all customers.
I spoke with Jeremy on 09/11/2017 at approximately 11:55. I stated to him that I did speak with my insurance agent who stated that he did reissue out the check on 08/28/2017. The check was sent to [redacted] I will be waiting on them to contact me so that I can endorse it along with them to get my refund of $500.00. I will be filling a class action lawsuit
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Here is an email I sent to Chris Redd on Wednesday 9/27/2017: Hello Chris Redd, I received your message on the Revdex.com site. Thank you for getting back to me. I am just going to get straight in to my concerns. I honestly and completely feel used by Roto Rooter. When this all started I was very apprehensive about filing another claim considering I had to last year when a tree fell into my home. I felt like I needed to get my basement cleaned properly for my twin boys and for my elderly grandfather who lives with me as well. Micah the guy who was there all through this process kept reassuring me everything would be fine. I signed that form before I spoke to my adjuster from the insurance company. When my husband and I found out that there was a limit of $5000.00 we spoke to Micah and told him that we can stop the process now so we don’t go over that limit. I explained to him that we are still paying the deductible and other things for the tree that fell last year. We can not afford to go over that. Micah assured us that the job should only be between $3000.00-$4000.00 and that he would speak with the insurance. I expressed my feelings multiple times about the price and stopping. Micah kept reassuring me that everything would be okay. I then receive the bill in the mail and became extremely angry. I was lied to and I feel like I have been taken advantage of. I have been lied to multiple times by Roto Rooter. I did not want this stress while my husband is away for the military. I would like to come to a reasonable solution for this. I need to keep a decent amount of the $5000.00 so that I can repair my basement to its original condition. My grandfather lives in the basement and there are studs and nails that are exposed that he could hurt himself on or that my twins could get hurt on. I need to be able to repair all that for their safety as well as the mortgage company wants it repaired. Hopefully we can come to an agreement on a price, I can make a down payment and then make monthly payments for the rest that I can afford. Like I have explained, money is tight, my husband is away for the military and we are still paying for the tree from last year. I will say again how disappointed I am with the service of Roto Rooter and how I feel that I was used and lied to. Even though I am completely dissatisfied I am still willing to pay for the services and hopefully we can come to an agreement.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Customer said business has not finished the job; there is a sinking hole in her garage. Also, customer was told that business takes care of all the paperwork and all the work would be covered by insurance. Customer went with that information and therefore did not get a second estimate. Customer was told anything over $3,500 would be tax. Customer would have gotten a second estimate if she knew she would have a bill. Customer wishes business to wait on sending her to collections until this matter is settled.
Regards,
[redacted]
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it. If you and the business have reached an agreement and compliance is set for a future date, we trust the business will comply. Please contact us after that time if the matter is not resolved as agreed and we will review the complaint and proceed accordingly.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]
Tell us why here...I have attached the gps reports for the day 3/12/17 Mrs. [redacted] claims my men were there for 15 minutes and states we charged 4000 for 15 minutes worth of work. As per the gps reports and the AS400 time tracking system my men were on site for over 5 hours repairing her sewer...
line. On 4/17/17 She did have another issue with her water main and meter my technician was on site for 4 hours repairing that issue at a cost of 1535.10. On 3/10/17 Mrs [redacted] with her Grand Daughter whom was on site relaying all questions and concerns with our Restoration Specialist [redacted] was made aware that if the insurance company does not cover the mitigation she would be responsible for payment. All documents were then explained and signed by Mrs [redacted]. At no time were blank documents given to her to sign.
Customer talked to business, Jeremy [redacted] on Tuesday, 8/22/17. Business was to contact insurance company about issuing a new check, and refunding customer $500 when check was received. Customer received a letter dated 8/22 of notice of intent to file a mechanics lien. Customer called business today for explanation, and has not received a return call. Customer called insurance company today and requested they send the check directly to business. Please advise about meaning of the letter to file a lien.
I am unable to locate this customer in our database. Please email me with your
full service address including zip code so I can look into this issue. My email address is [email protected].
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] Mr. Trebec’s offer is appreciated, but it does not cover all the expenses incurred to fix Roto-Rooter’s unfinished work.I agree with Mr. Trebec that we should look at facts at our disposal and then try to conclude what happened by logically evaluating them.Fact: I am a mechanical engineer. I worked as a plant engineer for Eveready Battery at the [redacted] Edgewater plant. I know piping. I had a good understanding of the problem. Both of my sewer lines were old and made with sections of ceramic pipe. Roots from my tree would eventually be able to enter the pipes through the joints and plug them. Fact: Roto Rooter told me that my storm sewer was completely blocked.Fact: My wife is very non-technical and had at best a hazy understanding of the two sewers and the problems with both.Fact: I did not sign the proposal submitted by Mr. Trebec as evidence. MY WIFE DID. I was at work.Fact: When I arrive home from work, Roto-Rooter was loading their equipment back on their trailer. They had opened my front yard and filled in the excavation in less than 8 hours.Fact: I was unhappy that they had just dug sidewalk to sidewalk, but the trench was already filled in and I assumed, based on the very recognizable name of Roto-Rooter, that the problem had been fixed. So I signed the invoice.Fact: Roto-Rooter never demonstrated to me that the plug in my storm sewer had been repaired.Fact: water was pouring into my basement sump every time it rained after Roto-Rooter had finished the excavation of my front yard.Fact: I contacted Roto-Rooter about the problem shortly after it began. They sent a servcieman out. I did not get his name, but he had very recognizable features. He wasn’t 6’4” tall with a big red beard, nor was he 5’6” tall and 300 pounds. He did have strong East Asian features. He told me there was nothing wrong. I asked him to run a camera through my storm sewer and he requested $350 which I declined. That meant a lot of water was pouring through my basement wall and eventually into the sump probably causing damage.Fact: Finally, Roto-Rooter agreed to run a camera through my storm sewer months later. It was done by Dennis [redacted] and he did find a break in the line only several feet from where Roto Rooter stopped the excavation.Fact: I tried to fix the problem myself, but after digging down and finding the broken connection, I ran into the sidewalk.Fact: I called Mr. [redacted] to remove a piece of the sidewalk.Fact: I realized that I couldn’t fix the problem myself and asked them to fix it for me.Fact: I asked them to replace both the old storm and sanitary sewer lines between my house and where Roto-Rooter had left off (I assumed it would be at my sidewalk based on the the invoice I signed.) They charged me $2200 to do it. They had to bring out their equipment and start from scratch other than the hole that I had dug.Fact: Mr. [redacted] discovered that Roto-Rooter had not stopped where they said they had. They stopped 3 feet short of the sidewalk with the storm sewer and 8 feet short of the sidewalk with the sanitary sewer. The water main was lying on top of the sanitary sewer. It is made of copper and would certainly have been severed if a power shovel were used, so they had to excavate a lot by hand which slowed them down. Roto Rooter would have also seen the water main there. Mr [redacted] charged another $1500 for the additional excavation and piping.Fact: I have many pictures with tape measures showing where Roto-Rooter left off.Fact: City inspector Dan D’Agostino saw Roto-Rooter’s proposal that my wife signed and also the open excavation showing where Roto-Rooter left off. He was surprised the previous inspector signed off based on what he read in the proposal. He has the type of license that allows him to testify in court and would be willing to do so.Based on the facts, I think a reasonable person would agree to the following conclusions:Why would an engineer or a mechanically inclined person or even a person with common sense who had a clear understanding of the problem consent to have someone just dig a trench and lay pipe? No, they would expect the problem to be fixed.Roto-Rooter wanted to get in and out as fast as they could to reap maximum profit. They took advantage of my wife who did not understand the issue and who had not discussed the issue with Roto-Rooter. The fact that they didn’t even do what they had charged (not even close) bolsters this conclusion.They could have easily done the job right, but it would have taken them an additional day or half day.The invoice from Mr. [redacted] is $3700. I expect Roto-rooter to pay that amount.[redacted], 8/21/2017
I (Manuel Ruiz, branch FTM) called customer on date of complaint. Customer explained to me his problem with one of my technicians. After speaking to the customer and receiving all the details, I stated I would talk to my technician and if what the customer stated was true, I would determine the...
correct disciplinary action for my technician. Called my technician into the office the next business day and sat with an additional manager and asked what had happen. Technician stated that he wasn't disrespectful to the customer but he did tell the customer he didn't think it was necessary to go to the basement again. At that time, I thought it was appropriate to verbally counsel my technician and to warn him that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. If a customer kindly request a service, we are more than obligated to give them our full attention. My technician understood and I explained to the customer that I will offer them a 20 percent discount on their next service for the inconvenience. Customer was very happy with my response and I assured him this will not happen again.
In response to the customers rejection of our position, I completely disagree with the statement the customer has provided as it is just not true. Not only did we provide an estimate, we have a copy of the estimate that was signed by the customer prior to completing any work which is standard policy for all of our business transactions. We would be happy to provide those documents if needed. We do not charge for estimates, trip charges to the customers home, emergancy, or after hours fees. The technicians travel to the customers home, diagnose the problem and provide a free estimate for the solution. That estimate is reviewed and signed for by the customer prior to any work being completed, agreeing to the solution and the price. If the customer does not agree to the price or solution method, nothing is charged to them. The customer then signs again once the work is completed to state they are satisified with the outcome, and at that time funds are collected. Every charge and an explanation of those charges are listed on the document signed by this customer. All things were done in accordance with these procedures and policies therefore we consider this matter closed.
Spoke with Ms. [redacted] and explained that Fela attempted to stop the leak in the meter pit. He let them know if this was not successful there would be additional charges. The leak did get worse and we sent Ron out to give a quote to repair since the meter pit had to be excavated for the proper repair....
She insisted that she would not pay more than $239. Offered her a 20% discount off the normal repair and would not accept.
As stated in the signed landscape waiver, it takes several weeks or months for the dirt to settle. They could not put the 5 or 6 blocks back in place till after the dirt settled, and it was stated verbally and in the waiver that we were not responsible for putting those back. And the blocks are 14 pounds lighter than the stated 75 lbs that he said, according to online specs on those blocks. As you can see in the picture attached, it was a small spot that needed backfilled, just as we stated before the dig. This is a final notification of this completed job, and we will not be back-paying anything.
Spoke with customer, she is working with her insurance company to try and get them to push the third party company as well for either a response to us or resolution for her.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]1. In response to Troy from Roto Rooter; the city contacted me with concerns about previous interactions with his company. I did not initiate the contact with them. The work had been started when I had clearly been told it would not and it left me in a position of not having much choice. In addition, Troy called the city and gave them a hard time about having contacted me, when they were clearly acting on previous experiences and trying to make sure I was being given clear and accurate information.2. The technician that did the video inspection told me clearly that there was no need to look at my floor drain and did not do it at my request. In fact, the part of the video when I originally asked him about the floor drain is missing that segment of the conversation. The only reason he came and looked at my floor drain is because the technician doing the excavation had concerns and he called and asked for more equipment because he could not even get his camera into my floor drain. The technician that sold me the job ignored my previous concerns and did not come out on his day off to be nice to me. 3. I am not convinced that the mainline was the cause of the backup and the additional video they provided has no audio and only shows the floor drain after they cleaned it. They claim there is no other video.4. They only provided the second video and the invoice/guarantee after two complaints with the Revdex.com. I have set up payment with them as they threatened to put lien on my house multiple times. My intention was never to not pay for the work that was done, but to know for a fact that it was actually the cause of the backups. Roto Rooter has not proven to me that the mainline was the actual cause and they have been dishonest.
Regards,
[redacted]
In response to [redacted]'s second submission to the Revdex.com:[redacted] ended her letter to the Revdex.com with concern that we did a repair that wasn't needed and one that she can't afford. She agreed in writing to have us perform the work, the city agreed the work was needed. [redacted] now stating she cannot afford the work isn't anything I can speak to, except to say that we expect to collect payment for our services. We had a signed proposal from [redacted] to perform a main sewer line repair. On the day of the excavation, she had interaction with the city, expressed her concerns and we stopped work. She is correct that we started the work, but stopped immediately after she asked us to. The city viewed the video recording of her sewer line which clearly demonstrated a needed repair. The city spoke with her and with me giving us the go ahead to proceed with the work. I spoke with [redacted] that day, answered any concerns she had, and she agreed to have us move forward.We complete the work and then she cancelled payment.The floor drain [redacted] speaks of is a separate plumbing line, ahead of her mainline, and not at all the cause of the mainline issue she had that we fixed (again, the city official viewed the video and agreed the repair was needed). The technician that cabled and video inspected it, is the one who gave her the proposal to do the mainline repair. Due to her concern, he went there on his day off, cabled her floor drain and video inspected it at no charge. I'd be glad to provide [redacted] with an invoice for that work that includes a 1 year guarantee. All that was found wrong with that separate line was some hard sludge gathered around an area with heavy scale - common in most floor drain lines. I'd be glad to provide [redacted] with an invoice for the free floor drain cable and inspection with a 1 year guarantee - and will mail that to her next week. There was no invoice because the technician who worked with her on the mainline repair, came to her house on his day off because of the concern with the floor drain. He was simply trying to be nice and satisfy her concern. I personally delivered a video to [redacted]'s home of the main sewer line and sent her an email link to the floor drain video. We had some email issues and miscommunication a few weeks back, but she has everything.[redacted] states she is concerned that she may have had a repair that wasn't needed nor can afford. She needed the repair, evidenced by the fact that when she was concerned she didn't need it, she asked us to stop work until the city could verify it needed to be repaired. I have acted in good faith from the moment she had concern due to a conversation with the city official and sought to answer her concerns for several weeks. At this point, we expect payment in full for the sewer line repair by Wednesday, August 16th.
In response to the customers complaint. The customer had several issues with their sewer line. There was a belly in the line starting at an outside c/o. This will cause the sewage to hold in the line as the pipes are not designed to run uphill. This is caused by age and settling. They also had an...
issue with their inside plumbing due to a bad fitting under the floor. Both these issues were preexisting to our service. The 1st tech spent 2 hrs trying to remove the blockage. Unable to due the amount of solid waste. Normal charge $284.00 per hour. Recommended hydroflushing line as this will do a better job moving solid waste. Jetted out 105' and was able to get line to drain. This will NOT fix a belly in the line. There may have been a "massive blockage" at 35', but again sewage will not flow uphill. We did not know of the problem inside the house at this time. Normal charge for jetting is $419.00 per hr. Spent 2 hrs jetting for $369.00. The line backed up again and we sent a third tech out to give satisfaction. He spent 5 hours on site working from the basement in order to get the line to drain. The home owner lives in an area that does their own excavations. As this program is funded by tax dollars, they only repair what is needed. This is the "other" contractor that was on site. The city determined the only way the home owner was going to have their problem rectified was with a city contracted back hoe. Our third tech did charge for a camera and locate of the problems under the home. As you can see, we spent almost 10 manhours on this line and discounted every service we did. We are not responsible for damaged and deteriorated piping. We did everything within our power to satisfy the customer and get their line draining, but an excavation was the final solution as determined by the city. We were the ones who told them of the city program to repair their service.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Mr. Trebec is a master of the red herring.It's irrelevant whether my wife was standing outside and listening to [redacted] or not. I didn't agree to the terms on the document my wife signed and she wouldn’t have either had she understood what was being proposed. She obviously assumed that the document contained what I and [redacted] agreed to do. It did not.This whole “exploratory work excavation” claim is ridiculous. [redacted] pinpointed the site of the break in five minutes with a camera and a locating device. He ran the camera from the other side of the sewer system starting from the downspout at the back of the house. I hope this exploratory excavation story isn’t a typical way Roto-Rooter snows potential customers.At any rate, I never discussed exploratory work of any kind regarding the break at the front of the house. My sewer system is very old and I was hoping that there wasn’t more damage to it along the side of my house and I discussed with [redacted] that I would forgo any work on the side of the house and hope the sewer there was OK, and that the problem would go away after they fixed the blockage at the front of the house. Strange that they didn’t do the obvious and run a camera from the other side as [redacted] did many months later. The less information one has, the murkier a problem appears and the more opportunities to confuse a neophyte. If they had discovered a break in the sewer along the side of the house but not too far from the front, I might have asked them to fix it in addition to the blockage in the front. It turned out that the line is fine along the side of the house, which was demonstrated by [redacted]. Up to that point I didn’t know where the leak was in the line. He did however discover that Roto-Rooter had never even tried to fix the problem in the front. Maybe they knew that all along and that’s why it took so long for them to finally come out again. I would recount the outrageous statement [redacted] made once the break was discovered to try to deflect Roto-Rooter’s responsibility, but there is no proof. Another red herring is the basis for the partial refunds Mr. Trebec is proposing. The amounts he is proposing assume that Roto -Rooter is on site and has the trenches dug up to that point. I am discussing going back in and fixing and unfinished job. [redacted] gave me an estimate of $3200 just to go in and fix the break. Mr. [redacted] did what [redacted] proposed plus they dug down all the way to the sanitary sewer and replaced the old line up to where Roto-Rooter was supposed to have put pipe in plus they finished Roto-Rooter’s job and had to lay 8 feet of sanitary pipe and 3 feet of storm pipe that Roto-Rooter was supposed to have done based on the document my wife signed. They did all that for $3700. Based on [redacted]’s $3200 proposal, I think Roto-Rooter should recognize a bargain and pay the $3700.
Regards,
[redacted]
The original bill for $2621.89 was for the only following charges. Antimicrobial of the affected areas in the basement, 1 dehumidifier for 3 days, 8 air movers for 3 days, 1 air scrubber for 3 days, 1 day for equipment set up and take down, a charge for personal protective equipment and a...
decontamination charge for equipment due to being a Category 3 loss. All prices were based off of a version of an Xactimate. Three days is the standard for drying according to the IICRC standard so this is all that Mr. [redacted] was charged for. After hearing his original concerns we reduced his bill down to $2200 dollars as a discount since he used Roto-Rooter Services Company for his plumbing needs also. I am willing to work with Mr. [redacted] as much as I can as we value all customers.
I spoke with Jeremy on 09/11/2017 at approximately 11:55. I stated to him that I did speak with my insurance agent who stated that he did reissue out the check on 08/28/2017. The check was sent to [redacted] I will be waiting on them to contact me so that I can endorse it along with them to get my refund of $500.00. I will be filling a class action lawsuit
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Here is an email I sent to Chris Redd on Wednesday 9/27/2017: Hello Chris Redd, I received your message on the Revdex.com site. Thank you for getting back to me. I am just going to get straight in to my concerns. I honestly and completely feel used by Roto Rooter. When this all started I was very apprehensive about filing another claim considering I had to last year when a tree fell into my home. I felt like I needed to get my basement cleaned properly for my twin boys and for my elderly grandfather who lives with me as well. Micah the guy who was there all through this process kept reassuring me everything would be fine. I signed that form before I spoke to my adjuster from the insurance company. When my husband and I found out that there was a limit of $5000.00 we spoke to Micah and told him that we can stop the process now so we don’t go over that limit. I explained to him that we are still paying the deductible and other things for the tree that fell last year. We can not afford to go over that. Micah assured us that the job should only be between $3000.00-$4000.00 and that he would speak with the insurance. I expressed my feelings multiple times about the price and stopping. Micah kept reassuring me that everything would be okay. I then receive the bill in the mail and became extremely angry. I was lied to and I feel like I have been taken advantage of. I have been lied to multiple times by Roto Rooter. I did not want this stress while my husband is away for the military. I would like to come to a reasonable solution for this. I need to keep a decent amount of the $5000.00 so that I can repair my basement to its original condition. My grandfather lives in the basement and there are studs and nails that are exposed that he could hurt himself on or that my twins could get hurt on. I need to be able to repair all that for their safety as well as the mortgage company wants it repaired. Hopefully we can come to an agreement on a price, I can make a down payment and then make monthly payments for the rest that I can afford. Like I have explained, money is tight, my husband is away for the military and we are still paying for the tree from last year. I will say again how disappointed I am with the service of Roto Rooter and how I feel that I was used and lied to. Even though I am completely dissatisfied I am still willing to pay for the services and hopefully we can come to an agreement.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.Customer said business has not finished the job; there is a sinking hole in her garage. Also, customer was told that business takes care of all the paperwork and all the work would be covered by insurance. Customer went with that information and therefore did not get a second estimate. Customer was told anything over $3,500 would be tax. Customer would have gotten a second estimate if she knew she would have a bill. Customer wishes business to wait on sending her to collections until this matter is settled.
Regards,
[redacted]
[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it. If you and the business have reached an agreement and compliance is set for a future date, we trust the business will comply. Please contact us after that time if the matter is not resolved as agreed and we will review the complaint and proceed accordingly.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Regards,
[redacted]
Tell us why here...I have attached the gps reports for the day 3/12/17 Mrs. [redacted] claims my men were there for 15 minutes and states we charged 4000 for 15 minutes worth of work. As per the gps reports and the AS400 time tracking system my men were on site for over 5 hours repairing her sewer...
line. On 4/17/17 She did have another issue with her water main and meter my technician was on site for 4 hours repairing that issue at a cost of 1535.10. On 3/10/17 Mrs [redacted] with her Grand Daughter whom was on site relaying all questions and concerns with our Restoration Specialist [redacted] was made aware that if the insurance company does not cover the mitigation she would be responsible for payment. All documents were then explained and signed by Mrs [redacted]. At no time were blank documents given to her to sign.
Spoke with [redacted], went over the estimate and maded a few adjustments. She will be paying the bill next week and is satisified
Customer talked to business, Jeremy [redacted] on Tuesday, 8/22/17. Business was to contact insurance company about issuing a new check, and refunding customer $500 when check was received. Customer received a letter dated 8/22 of notice of intent to file a mechanics lien. Customer called business today for explanation, and has not received a return call. Customer called insurance company today and requested they send the check directly to business. Please advise about meaning of the letter to file a lien.
I am unable to locate this customer in our database. Please email me with your
full service address including zip code so I can look into this issue. My email address is [email protected].
Thank you,
[redacted]
Customer Satisfaction
Manager
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]
Regards,
[redacted] Mr. Trebec’s offer is appreciated, but it does not cover all the expenses incurred to fix Roto-Rooter’s unfinished work.I agree with Mr. Trebec that we should look at facts at our disposal and then try to conclude what happened by logically evaluating them.Fact: I am a mechanical engineer. I worked as a plant engineer for Eveready Battery at the [redacted] Edgewater plant. I know piping. I had a good understanding of the problem. Both of my sewer lines were old and made with sections of ceramic pipe. Roots from my tree would eventually be able to enter the pipes through the joints and plug them. Fact: Roto Rooter told me that my storm sewer was completely blocked.Fact: My wife is very non-technical and had at best a hazy understanding of the two sewers and the problems with both.Fact: I did not sign the proposal submitted by Mr. Trebec as evidence. MY WIFE DID. I was at work.Fact: When I arrive home from work, Roto-Rooter was loading their equipment back on their trailer. They had opened my front yard and filled in the excavation in less than 8 hours.Fact: I was unhappy that they had just dug sidewalk to sidewalk, but the trench was already filled in and I assumed, based on the very recognizable name of Roto-Rooter, that the problem had been fixed. So I signed the invoice.Fact: Roto-Rooter never demonstrated to me that the plug in my storm sewer had been repaired.Fact: water was pouring into my basement sump every time it rained after Roto-Rooter had finished the excavation of my front yard.Fact: I contacted Roto-Rooter about the problem shortly after it began. They sent a servcieman out. I did not get his name, but he had very recognizable features. He wasn’t 6’4” tall with a big red beard, nor was he 5’6” tall and 300 pounds. He did have strong East Asian features. He told me there was nothing wrong. I asked him to run a camera through my storm sewer and he requested $350 which I declined. That meant a lot of water was pouring through my basement wall and eventually into the sump probably causing damage.Fact: Finally, Roto-Rooter agreed to run a camera through my storm sewer months later. It was done by Dennis [redacted] and he did find a break in the line only several feet from where Roto Rooter stopped the excavation.Fact: I tried to fix the problem myself, but after digging down and finding the broken connection, I ran into the sidewalk.Fact: I called Mr. [redacted] to remove a piece of the sidewalk.Fact: I realized that I couldn’t fix the problem myself and asked them to fix it for me.Fact: I asked them to replace both the old storm and sanitary sewer lines between my house and where Roto-Rooter had left off (I assumed it would be at my sidewalk based on the the invoice I signed.) They charged me $2200 to do it. They had to bring out their equipment and start from scratch other than the hole that I had dug.Fact: Mr. [redacted] discovered that Roto-Rooter had not stopped where they said they had. They stopped 3 feet short of the sidewalk with the storm sewer and 8 feet short of the sidewalk with the sanitary sewer. The water main was lying on top of the sanitary sewer. It is made of copper and would certainly have been severed if a power shovel were used, so they had to excavate a lot by hand which slowed them down. Roto Rooter would have also seen the water main there. Mr [redacted] charged another $1500 for the additional excavation and piping.Fact: I have many pictures with tape measures showing where Roto-Rooter left off.Fact: City inspector Dan D’Agostino saw Roto-Rooter’s proposal that my wife signed and also the open excavation showing where Roto-Rooter left off. He was surprised the previous inspector signed off based on what he read in the proposal. He has the type of license that allows him to testify in court and would be willing to do so.Based on the facts, I think a reasonable person would agree to the following conclusions:Why would an engineer or a mechanically inclined person or even a person with common sense who had a clear understanding of the problem consent to have someone just dig a trench and lay pipe? No, they would expect the problem to be fixed.Roto-Rooter wanted to get in and out as fast as they could to reap maximum profit. They took advantage of my wife who did not understand the issue and who had not discussed the issue with Roto-Rooter. The fact that they didn’t even do what they had charged (not even close) bolsters this conclusion.They could have easily done the job right, but it would have taken them an additional day or half day.The invoice from Mr. [redacted] is $3700. I expect Roto-rooter to pay that amount.[redacted], 8/21/2017
I (Manuel Ruiz, branch FTM) called customer on date of complaint. Customer explained to me his problem with one of my technicians. After speaking to the customer and receiving all the details, I stated I would talk to my technician and if what the customer stated was true, I would determine the...
correct disciplinary action for my technician. Called my technician into the office the next business day and sat with an additional manager and asked what had happen. Technician stated that he wasn't disrespectful to the customer but he did tell the customer he didn't think it was necessary to go to the basement again. At that time, I thought it was appropriate to verbally counsel my technician and to warn him that this type of behavior will not be tolerated. If a customer kindly request a service, we are more than obligated to give them our full attention. My technician understood and I explained to the customer that I will offer them a 20 percent discount on their next service for the inconvenience. Customer was very happy with my response and I assured him this will not happen again.
In response to the customers rejection of our position, I completely disagree with the statement the customer has provided as it is just not true. Not only did we provide an estimate, we have a copy of the estimate that was signed by the customer prior to completing any work which is standard policy for all of our business transactions. We would be happy to provide those documents if needed. We do not charge for estimates, trip charges to the customers home, emergancy, or after hours fees. The technicians travel to the customers home, diagnose the problem and provide a free estimate for the solution. That estimate is reviewed and signed for by the customer prior to any work being completed, agreeing to the solution and the price. If the customer does not agree to the price or solution method, nothing is charged to them. The customer then signs again once the work is completed to state they are satisified with the outcome, and at that time funds are collected. Every charge and an explanation of those charges are listed on the document signed by this customer. All things were done in accordance with these procedures and policies therefore we consider this matter closed.
Spoke with Ms. [redacted] and explained that Fela attempted to stop the leak in the meter pit. He let them know if this was not successful there would be additional charges. The leak did get worse and we sent Ron out to give a quote to repair since the meter pit had to be excavated for the proper repair....
She insisted that she would not pay more than $239. Offered her a 20% discount off the normal repair and would not accept.
As stated in the signed landscape waiver, it takes several weeks or months for the dirt to settle. They could not put the 5 or 6 blocks back in place till after the dirt settled, and it was stated verbally and in the waiver that we were not responsible for putting those back. And the blocks are 14 pounds lighter than the stated 75 lbs that he said, according to online specs on those blocks. As you can see in the picture attached, it was a small spot that needed backfilled, just as we stated before the dig. This is a final notification of this completed job, and we will not be back-paying anything.
Spoke with customer, she is working with her insurance company to try and get them to push the third party company as well for either a response to us or resolution for her.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, we would like to know your view on the matter.]1. In response to Troy from Roto Rooter; the city contacted me with concerns about previous interactions with his company. I did not initiate the contact with them. The work had been started when I had clearly been told it would not and it left me in a position of not having much choice. In addition, Troy called the city and gave them a hard time about having contacted me, when they were clearly acting on previous experiences and trying to make sure I was being given clear and accurate information.2. The technician that did the video inspection told me clearly that there was no need to look at my floor drain and did not do it at my request. In fact, the part of the video when I originally asked him about the floor drain is missing that segment of the conversation. The only reason he came and looked at my floor drain is because the technician doing the excavation had concerns and he called and asked for more equipment because he could not even get his camera into my floor drain. The technician that sold me the job ignored my previous concerns and did not come out on his day off to be nice to me. 3. I am not convinced that the mainline was the cause of the backup and the additional video they provided has no audio and only shows the floor drain after they cleaned it. They claim there is no other video.4. They only provided the second video and the invoice/guarantee after two complaints with the Revdex.com. I have set up payment with them as they threatened to put lien on my house multiple times. My intention was never to not pay for the work that was done, but to know for a fact that it was actually the cause of the backups. Roto Rooter has not proven to me that the mainline was the actual cause and they have been dishonest.
Regards,
[redacted]
In response to [redacted]'s second submission to the Revdex.com:[redacted] ended her letter to the Revdex.com with concern that we did a repair that wasn't needed and one that she can't afford. She agreed in writing to have us perform the work, the city agreed the work was needed. [redacted] now stating she cannot afford the work isn't anything I can speak to, except to say that we expect to collect payment for our services. We had a signed proposal from [redacted] to perform a main sewer line repair. On the day of the excavation, she had interaction with the city, expressed her concerns and we stopped work. She is correct that we started the work, but stopped immediately after she asked us to. The city viewed the video recording of her sewer line which clearly demonstrated a needed repair. The city spoke with her and with me giving us the go ahead to proceed with the work. I spoke with [redacted] that day, answered any concerns she had, and she agreed to have us move forward.We complete the work and then she cancelled payment.The floor drain [redacted] speaks of is a separate plumbing line, ahead of her mainline, and not at all the cause of the mainline issue she had that we fixed (again, the city official viewed the video and agreed the repair was needed). The technician that cabled and video inspected it, is the one who gave her the proposal to do the mainline repair. Due to her concern, he went there on his day off, cabled her floor drain and video inspected it at no charge. I'd be glad to provide [redacted] with an invoice for that work that includes a 1 year guarantee. All that was found wrong with that separate line was some hard sludge gathered around an area with heavy scale - common in most floor drain lines. I'd be glad to provide [redacted] with an invoice for the free floor drain cable and inspection with a 1 year guarantee - and will mail that to her next week. There was no invoice because the technician who worked with her on the mainline repair, came to her house on his day off because of the concern with the floor drain. He was simply trying to be nice and satisfy her concern. I personally delivered a video to [redacted]'s home of the main sewer line and sent her an email link to the floor drain video. We had some email issues and miscommunication a few weeks back, but she has everything.[redacted] states she is concerned that she may have had a repair that wasn't needed nor can afford. She needed the repair, evidenced by the fact that when she was concerned she didn't need it, she asked us to stop work until the city could verify it needed to be repaired. I have acted in good faith from the moment she had concern due to a conversation with the city official and sought to answer her concerns for several weeks. At this point, we expect payment in full for the sewer line repair by Wednesday, August 16th.
In response to the customers complaint. The customer had several issues with their sewer line. There was a belly in the line starting at an outside c/o. This will cause the sewage to hold in the line as the pipes are not designed to run uphill. This is caused by age and settling. They also had an...
issue with their inside plumbing due to a bad fitting under the floor. Both these issues were preexisting to our service. The 1st tech spent 2 hrs trying to remove the blockage. Unable to due the amount of solid waste. Normal charge $284.00 per hour. Recommended hydroflushing line as this will do a better job moving solid waste. Jetted out 105' and was able to get line to drain. This will NOT fix a belly in the line. There may have been a "massive blockage" at 35', but again sewage will not flow uphill. We did not know of the problem inside the house at this time. Normal charge for jetting is $419.00 per hr. Spent 2 hrs jetting for $369.00. The line backed up again and we sent a third tech out to give satisfaction. He spent 5 hours on site working from the basement in order to get the line to drain. The home owner lives in an area that does their own excavations. As this program is funded by tax dollars, they only repair what is needed. This is the "other" contractor that was on site. The city determined the only way the home owner was going to have their problem rectified was with a city contracted back hoe. Our third tech did charge for a camera and locate of the problems under the home. As you can see, we spent almost 10 manhours on this line and discounted every service we did. We are not responsible for damaged and deteriorated piping. We did everything within our power to satisfy the customer and get their line draining, but an excavation was the final solution as determined by the city. We were the ones who told them of the city program to repair their service.
I need to get the invoice or invoice number as I am not sure of the name of the Roto-Rooter customer.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Mr. Trebec is a master of the red herring.It's irrelevant whether my wife was standing outside and listening to [redacted] or not. I didn't agree to the terms on the document my wife signed and she wouldn’t have either had she understood what was being proposed. She obviously assumed that the document contained what I and [redacted] agreed to do. It did not.This whole “exploratory work excavation” claim is ridiculous. [redacted] pinpointed the site of the break in five minutes with a camera and a locating device. He ran the camera from the other side of the sewer system starting from the downspout at the back of the house. I hope this exploratory excavation story isn’t a typical way Roto-Rooter snows potential customers.At any rate, I never discussed exploratory work of any kind regarding the break at the front of the house. My sewer system is very old and I was hoping that there wasn’t more damage to it along the side of my house and I discussed with [redacted] that I would forgo any work on the side of the house and hope the sewer there was OK, and that the problem would go away after they fixed the blockage at the front of the house. Strange that they didn’t do the obvious and run a camera from the other side as [redacted] did many months later. The less information one has, the murkier a problem appears and the more opportunities to confuse a neophyte. If they had discovered a break in the sewer along the side of the house but not too far from the front, I might have asked them to fix it in addition to the blockage in the front. It turned out that the line is fine along the side of the house, which was demonstrated by [redacted]. Up to that point I didn’t know where the leak was in the line. He did however discover that Roto-Rooter had never even tried to fix the problem in the front. Maybe they knew that all along and that’s why it took so long for them to finally come out again. I would recount the outrageous statement [redacted] made once the break was discovered to try to deflect Roto-Rooter’s responsibility, but there is no proof. Another red herring is the basis for the partial refunds Mr. Trebec is proposing. The amounts he is proposing assume that Roto -Rooter is on site and has the trenches dug up to that point. I am discussing going back in and fixing and unfinished job. [redacted] gave me an estimate of $3200 just to go in and fix the break. Mr. [redacted] did what [redacted] proposed plus they dug down all the way to the sanitary sewer and replaced the old line up to where Roto-Rooter was supposed to have put pipe in plus they finished Roto-Rooter’s job and had to lay 8 feet of sanitary pipe and 3 feet of storm pipe that Roto-Rooter was supposed to have done based on the document my wife signed. They did all that for $3700. Based on [redacted]’s $3200 proposal, I think Roto-Rooter should recognize a bargain and pay the $3700.
Regards,
[redacted]