Roto-Rooter Plumbing and Drain 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.
Good Evening,My responses to Howard's comments are below.Howard claims that we discharged a pump into his ditch.   In fact, the sump pump discharge was placed in the middle of the yard by the house, 25 or so feet from where the cement was being poured.  Even if it was discharged near the cement area, we are talking about the cement being poured by Roto-Rooter in the middle of winter (February 24th, 2017).  Roto-Rooter came and poured the cement on an oddly nice day, the first nice day in many months.  All the snow had melted and the entire front lawn was heavily saturated.  The sump discharge, even if it was directly in the cement area, which it wasn't,  would have had very little added effect. The ground was already soaked everywhere. There was literally a small pond in the area that received the concrete. This was the lowest part of the yard.  Howard states that water was the core issue.  Why then did he move forward and pour the concrete anyway, right into the water?  Howard's crew did NOT remove any water from the area at all and they did NO prep work at all.  Roto-Rooter dumped the concrete into the standing water without properly preparing the area to receive the cement.  No water was drained, no reinforcement mesh was used, no pins were used to keep it from sinking, no proper sub-base was used, it was poured very shortly after the ground was dug with no time for the soil to settle, and with a single piece of rebar holding the 2x4 frame which of course proved to be very inadequate   Absolutely horrible workmanship.  As I stated in my complaint, I have security video showing this and proving this.  I have asked Howard several times why he neglected to properly prepare the area to receive the concrete. His reply has always been the same, just as he replied to you, that it was too wet with no explanation as to why the proper preparations were not performed.Yes, Howard did indeed offer to re-do the cement.  At that point I asked yet again why the proper preparations were not made.  He neglected to answer, yet again.  He would eventually reply to my repeated questions with only this: "we do many each year".   I then stated that since he is choosing not to comment on,  or address any of my questions or statements regarding his lack of proper preparations for the cement, I can then only assume,  that he intends to lay the cement again,  in the exact same manner, which both he and I agreed is unacceptable.  Obviously there is no point in letting him do the same thing again only to have the concrete look terrible and sink again months later just as it has the first time. I then received quotes from several cement contractors with an average price of $1985.00, and told Howard I expected him to pay for that since he is obviously not a professional cement finisher and is incapable of getting my cement back to the same or comparable condition to what is was before he removed it.   It was then that he offered the $1000.00 dollars and said he would come and level the yard AFTER I cashed the check.  Agreeing to this and cashing the check, according to Howard, means he would be exonerated from all wrong doing, and everything would be satisfied. I argued that I should not have to bargain for a service (yard leveling) that I paid for back in January, over 7 months ago.  Now, Howard states that I am entitled to the yard leveling, yet here we are almost 7 months later, still waiting!   We were verbally told by a member of his staff back in January, that they would be back in spring to finish the yard to make it look nice again.  Now we are being told by Howard that it will be leveled to "construction grade".  That means it will be sort of flat, no grass seeding, not finished. As soon as Howard started using the "construction grade" verbiage in the last week or two, I knew then it would not be finished and I will have to hire a landscaper to come and fix it properly to get me back to the same or comparable conditions to what it was before Roto-Rooter.  This construction grade term is new and solidifies to me that there is no point in having Roto-Rooter come and do the job halfway.  Frankly, based on all that I have seen, I have no confidence they were ever coming back anyway since it has been 7 months.  Howard blames all "the rain" as to the reason they haven't come back.  Perhaps in Butler County where he is at, it rains daily, but here in Erie, 100+ miles to the north, it has been dry with VERY little rain.  There has been so little rain, the ground is dry and cracked almost everywhere.   Even if it has been raining, it hasn't been raining for 7 months!  I don't know what Howard feels is an acceptable time to wait but 7 months is ridiculous and I think we have been more than patient and more than fair before opening this dispute.  After 7 months and a summer with a front yard that looks like a bomb went off,  I have been waiting, emailing, waiting, emailing and waiting.... and wasting my time.  I have not been able to get my life back and my house in order because I have been waiting and waiting,  very fairly and generously I might add.  Well,  no more. My family and I have suffered enough and we are finished with Howard's lack of cooperation and lack of communication. Howard will no doubt argue that he HAS been communicating with us. However,  sending emails that repeat the same non-specifics with no answers is not communicating. It is an attempt at pacifying. I explained to Howard in my last and final email to him on July 23rd at 2:59pm, that I apparently need to take control of this and fix it myself,  even if it severely burdens me financially.   I went on to say that Howard and his crew were NOT welcome on my property.  Howard states that we had a pre-existing water condition.  We have never had "flooding" in our home in the 17+ years we have lived there.  In the process of replacing our sewer line, Roto-Rooter disconnected our drain tile from the sewer line with no explanation and the house subsequently flooded.      Contractually, Roto-Rooter may not have been obligated to explain this in detail, but ethically and morally they certainly are, or should have been.  I had no idea what a drain tile even was when this process began.  I hired Roto-Rooter because of name recognition assuming I was getting a competent professional who I could trust, because I knew nothing of plumbing.  Clearly I didn't get what I expected. Howard has stated that the water was entering into the broken pipe and that is why the house flooded because that pipe was replaced.  Howard, the 2nd plumbers I hired ([redacted]'s plumbing) and I, all agree that some ground water was likely going into the broken pipe. However during the sump pump installation by [redacted]'s plumping, we found, tested and proved that the house has a perfectly good and working drain tile system.  The house flooded because the drain tile system no longer had any outlet because it had been disconnected from the sewer line, where it was connected when the house was built. Again with no explanation.  Today, understanding the situation to its fullest extent, I do not dispute that the drain tile system could not be connected to the sewer line for legal reasons.  However, as previously stated, this was never explained to us at all.  [redacted]'s plumbing and several other plumbers I have consulted with, all told me that there are several ways to alleviate this drain tile connection issue while the area was already torn up, all very inexpensively.  Instead we are now forced to have a sump pump.  We can't afford to dig up the floor and yard again to do it "right".Howard states he "quoted a price to alleviate the condition but we chose another plumber to make the repair"  Howard offered a sump pump AFTER the fact, after he disabled our drain tile, and after the flooding,  and after the area in the basement in which they worked was already filled in and re-cemented by Roto-Rooter.  At this point, we had absolutely no reason to believe that they were either competent or honest.  Yes, we chose another plumber for another opinion and moved forward with them. I emailed Howard a link to a very short excerpt of a video of our drain tile working perfectly.   Howard commented that he hears someone in the video asking if the drain tile is plugged.  Yes in the video, the question is posed about the drain tile being plugged and the plumber clearly and immediately answers that yes, it is working.  Further, the drain tile being discussed in the video was broken earlier by the jack hammer when they opened the floor.  The [redacted] plumber freely admitted that.  When it was broken, gravel fell in and filled in the single 12" long drain tile.  Even in this condition, it worked fine as water works through gravel easily.  The jack-hammered 12" broken tile was the only tile that had any debris in it and was replaced by [redacted] plumbing before they left.  That video excerpt was a very small portion of the entire day in which everything was discussed and tested.  Obviously Howard does not understand what took place that day, but perhaps he does now.Howard states that since our Sump pump was installed in the opposite corner of our home, as compared to where Roto-Rooter dug previously, that somehow proves the flooding wasn't his fault.   It is sad that I had to explain it to a plumber, but I explained to Howard that water will always find the lowest point in any system.  We know now that the drain tile exists around the entire perimeter of our home and lies about a foot or so below our foundation.   When the drain tile starts to fill up, it reaches a certain level and exits the drain tile system into the sump pit which is far below, several feet in fact,  below the tile. On any rainy day, I have and still can witness the water flowing from the drain tile in to the sump pit, because the sump pit area is now the lowest point in the system and has yet to have been cemented closed so it can be viewed freely.  Further, the plumber ([redacted]s) and I chose this area of the house because it was our preference to have it drain out the rear of the house draining into the side yard.  Howard's recommendation was to re-dig the basement are that had just been dug up and drain it into our driveway which was not at all preferred.  I agreed with Howard that some of the basement walls show longer term damage because of some improper waterproofing on the basement block wall.  That area is not in dispute and is not part of my claim.   However, if it makes it easier, we can eliminate all basement walls from my complaint so there are no gray areas. I am not unreasonable at all, and I don't see us ever agreeing that certain walls were damaged by the flooding and other walls were damaged by longer term block seepage.  So I will eat that part of the claim in the spirit of trying to reach a conclusion.   But I certainly wanted it mentioned in my claim because the wall damage due to flooding is very real and in the end will cost me even more money.  Surely these costs are of the many that could have and should have been avoided had Roto-Rooter operated in a moral, ethical and thorough manner. Howard states that we agreed that once the check was received and the yard leveled the matter was concluded.   After asking and receiving NO answers to any of my questions, I told Howard he was being uncooperative.  I clearly stated in an email that there was absolutely no point in continuing a conversation with him because he refused to answer any questions or give any specific details on anything. He refused to answer questions about the concrete and refused to commit to a day when he would come and rock hound the yard.  As a last ditch effort to try and get any results at all, to get him here to fix the yard,   I said that if he sent me a check AND came and leveled the yard IMMEDIATELY,  I agreed I would not reach out to HIM anymore.  I have no doubt that reaching out to him for anything at this point, would get the same lack of response and cooperation was pointless. Once again, Howard would not commit to a day to come and rock hound. Even after pressing him for a specific day so that I could coordinate with the cement finisher, he would not answer, but instead comment with:  "if it doesn't rain", or  "soon" or "weather permitting".  Not only has the entire summer been dry here, but every day for the last several weeks during that part of our email conversation has been dry as well. Howard also pressured me to cash a $1000.00 check and/or send an email stating that all matters between us were closed. In one of the many discussions where I asked him when he would come and level the yard... Howard's exact words were:  " The weather seems favorable so I can accomplish it as soon as the check is deposited."   He wanted me to cash the check so he could claim that all matters were resolved.   I explained that I refused to bargain to have something done (yard leveling) that I already paid for back in January, and frankly I felt bullied, with him holding the yard leveling over my head until I exonerated him from all other liabilities. I can and will share the entire email conversation with you at any time if that is desired.  Yes I agree he replaced the sewer line, and the sewer line trap, as he was hired to do.  That part is not in dispute.  It is in nearly every result of him doing so, where I have an issue.  Howard states my claims are false.  I am stating nothing but facts.  If any of my claims are false I would love to hear a detailed explanation as to WHY he thinks they are false. He has yet to offer any answers or any details at all to back up his claims.  As stated, Roto-Rooter disconnected my drain tile with no explanation and no options given.  My house flooded as a result.  Absolute horrible cement work was performed, and when questioned, Howard refuses to comment on it other than to say "it was too wet" and "we do many each year".  No one should be surprised why I won't allow him to try the cement again.   All this while hearing false weather related excuses and waiting 7 months for the yard leveling I paid for 7+ months ago. I will be more than happy to provide photos, emails, and video links at any time if needed.Thank you,[redacted]

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.
I am sure Mr. [redacted] wants the matter closed after seeing those videos of the quality work that he has been saying was done and as you can see was not completed. Plus he gets paid for!
All I am asking for here is that he deduct the 47.95 that was promised off of the invoice after they clean and camera the line correctly. That was what was suppose to happen. None of his responses ever have anything to do with addressing the issues. 
He he is so proud of his work lets put out the video of his quality work of cleaning and camering for more customers to see! That is what this is all about getting what you pay for.
I am the manager of this facility and yes I did sign the paperwork and have never denied that, but at 425.00 dollars per hour I was not going to watch the video well a crew of 3 men got paid to see the quality of the work they did. I just expected they had totally cleaned line and cameraed the whole line as per quote. I did question serviceman [redacted] a few times when I went out and you can hear it on the video that I was not satisfied with the cleaning of the pipe.I even brought him into the office and showed him pictures of how the company pictures where from previous year. He was surprised! That is why I told him to wrap it up.My company was going to get into to much money. The initial quote for the job was for 1691.70 that is why I went with them they said they could clean and camera and be finished for that amount. Obviously they could not.
[redacted]

ID# [redacted]
1. Please see invoice #[redacted] for the work in question.
2. Please note customer signature indicating his complete satisfaction with ali work.
3. We did make a billing error and it was immediately corrected.
4. As indicated, we performed work to significantly improved...

pipe flow and removed a lot of scale and debris. We quoted the job hourly since the brine line in the condition it was in could take an unknown length of time to completely clear. At the customer's request, we stopped.
5. The video is given as a courtesy, and he received it as promised.
6. During our conversation, I offered to return and re camera the line to discuss the situation. The customer was completely unprofessional, swore at me and hung up!
7. He got everything the contract stated and that he paid for. He is both unprofessional and incorrect.
[redacted]

My final response is again,note the customers complete satisfaction as indicated by his signature.  My offer to personally recamera the line was met with profanity and as I stated in my previous response that will only happen if the owner of the facility is present.
Please close this matter as you have the documents in your possession indicating his satisfaction. If he wants to schedule another camera please let me know when the owner of the facility is available.

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.
Once again Howard is holding the yard leveling hostage in exchange for me cashing a check for $1000.00, even though I already paid for that back in January.  I shouldn't have to negotiate for for a service to be completed that I already paid for!Howard's request for simple clarification: I would like $2500.00 dollars refunded to me and I will go away.  Until I receive that, I will NOT go away.   That is MORE THAN FAIR considering I have well over $7500.00 dollars in costs to face since Roto-Rooter left my home and has not returned in what is now 7 months!  That doesn't even include many costs I have yet to have quoted for repair.  $2500.00 dollars will not even pay for the cement to be fixed and the yard to be landscaped.  Howard sates "simply put we did nothing wrong at his home".     So is he is saying that he did NOT disconnect my drain tile with no mention or explanation?  THAT is what caused my house to flood.   Is he now saying he poured the cement correctly back in the middle of winter, when he has already admitted himself that is it not good and needs to be redone?Howard says my own video and pictures prove I was wrong?  HOW?   As usual, Howard provides no detail and no specifics to back up his claims.  Again, I am not asking for an unreasonable figure. $2500.00 and I will eat the rest just to be done with this.  BUT...  I will NOT go away for any less.   Not a chance. I'm am already taking a huge loss because of Roto-Rooter.  The fact that they never returned to finish the job, the fact that they will not bend in any way what-so-ever to admit any wrong-doing, and the fact that they are unwilling to fairly compensate me, a paying customer for damages they caused is completely ridiculous.Howard can stop trying to get me to bargain for the yard leveling.   I paid for that 7 months ago. He had 7 months to come and do it and I've heard nothing but excuses.  I had the yard bid and it will be fixed by a competent landscaper. $2500.00 will help pay for the cement that Howard messed up and will help pay to fix the yard he never finished... and it won't even cover those costs completely.    Regards,
[redacted]

Mr [redacted] yard will be fixed as soon as he acknowledges his earlier e-mail that yard leveling completes our business since he acknowledged receipt of the check. He has sent so many e-mails with different info I request simple clarification. We broke nothing in his home. His water issues are longstanding and I would not enter a claim to any insurance company taking blame for wall rot and groundwater . I am not responding to his incorrect allegations since I have done so. To summarize I will level the yard once he reconfirms that settles his complaint. He did state that once but has sent many contradictory messages since then. Simply put we did nothing wrong at his home. His own video and pictures with arrows prove he was wrong. Did we bring a lake to his home or is his home like 90% od erie homes that have groundwater issues. He certainly never told me before excavation began that he was illegally dumping his french drain into the sewer. I am sure he did not know but how is that my problem.

The dispatch fee was due since the full service was not performed at that time. That is the whole purpose of a dispatch fee which was quoted in advance. There is no warranty on a sewer full of roots. It is absurd to think otherwise. I will be happy to credit the money paid to date to replace the sewer. No refund us due. We performed the contract service and again the customer signed acknowledging their complete satisfaction. I would not introduce the very expensive cable into a sewer again even for a full mpaid attempt since the condition is sopoor it could easily snag and break the cable

I have been in contact with the [redacted]. I did do the concrete outside in cold weather to try to make their home more accessible and should have waited for better weather. The concrete was also adveresely affected by them pumping a pump discharge into my ditch. Regardless the concrete turned out...

poorly and I agreed to redo it. They declined and as a courtesy I agreed to give them $1000.00 towards the replacement since that actually exceeds my cost to replace it. They also are by contract entitled to a leveling of their yard to construction grade. This can only be accomplished with dry ground and we have had a lot of rain.  They have a preexisting ground water problem which appeared nowhere near our excxavation site and was due to our repairing the sewer so the ground water could not illegally infiltrate the sewer. I quoted a price to alleviate this condition but the customer had another plumber make the repair. The customer sent a pictorial video which they claimed shoe=wed us damaging their perimeter system but actually showed the opposite and their other plumber can be heard stating their perimeter system was clogged.They wanted me to look at their damages and I did. Once their baseboard was removed you can clearly see the long term rot and water damage to their wall and paneling. Mr. [redacted] does not agree with my assessment and I questioned why he demanded his check many times by e-mail and I questioned why he did not process the check. We agreed that once the check was received and the yard settled that the matter was concluded. I just want a confirmation of that agreement and I will level the yard or if he chooses I will level it at my first opportunity regardless of ground conditions if he will accept the result. All our needed and contracted pipe work was done properly and inspected. His grounde water problem has nothing to do with me and his false claims that it did are the reason I need verification of ouyr agreement

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.
I realize Mr, [redacted] does not want to talk about the issues that he has brought up.
47.95 which was for the mans time to come and give me the quote was never deducted from the bill as promised.
I have tried to send the video so everyone can see it but can not figure out how to change over. Then I will not have to say another word because it speaks for itself. If he considers what I see ON THE VIDEO AS cleaned, shame on him. There is just this flash drive and he has never seen it either. I will figure it out though then there will need to be no more discussion it is obvious. 
He talks about a courtesy video - that is not true. As you can see from paperwork it was requested.
I did hang up on Mr. [redacted] it was because he was swearing my secretary was in the office and heard him. He had a employee in the office but he does not mention that because he would have to have that person lie also. Plus he was the man that did the work.
I learned from this. I live where his business is. If that is how he works word of mouth can not be good. This could have been a every 6 month job for him, but work has to be done close to what is promised.
Regards,
[redacted]

I will review your documents and get back to you. I am not willing to cable for $300 but another misunderstanding:L I am willing to excavate as needed.

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.
As can be seen on the initial estimate, the line was scoped and we were quoted with a one year warranty.  Since the line was scoped at the estimate it was known that there were roots in the sewer line and we were still quoted the one year warranty with it.  The initial $47.95 was paid in cash to the technician who provided the estimate; this was never returned when the work was performed.  For the second invoice where the work was actually completed, we felt as though we had no choice in signing the receipt since it was work that we paid for.  However, you can see on the left hand side of the page that the changes to the estimate were not actually initialed off on.  The sewer line was initially working, but it wasn't until approximately two weeks later that we started having problems again.  Upon speaking to the technician, Jason, he told me that there were too many roots in the line and that he wasn't able to complete the job.  Since we were never directly told that the warranty was voided, we thought that we would be able to call and have Roto Rooter come fix the problem.  It was only then that we found out there was no warranty.  We were also never told that we would need a full line replacement (we wouldn't have moved forward with this regardless if we had known that).Also, don't forget that the debit card used to pay for the work was authorized for payment twice causing $70 in fees that had to be paid out of pocket by us despite the fact that it wasn't our fault that the card was authorized twice.We have been quoted by other plumbers and went with Roto Rooter as we believed they could fix the problem based off of what we were told at the estimate.  Had we known that they have terrible business practices and clearly do not care about their customers we would have never chose Roto Rooter.
Regards,
[redacted]

We jetted the line as stated and got it opened. The line has scale and debris and we jetted and pushed debris to the main and line was opened and flowing and the customer signed the invoice acknowledging their complete satisfaction. Camera work was performed at no charge and as a courtesy. The...

rejetting under warranty was also no charge. The line is cast and has mechanical issues and we stand behind our recommendation of a replacement to offer a permanent solution. This line has a verifiable history of clogging dating to 2013 with Roto-Rooter. [redacted]. may have rejetted and removed more scale and debris and that condition will continue to reoccur at some point. We did the job we contracted to do,honored the warranty with an additiuonal service,and performed a free camera. No rebate is due.Customer also signed the no charge warranty invoice indicating the line was opened again and indicating their complete satisfaction.                                     Howard S[redacted]                                      Owner

All contracted work was completed. The customer is a liar stating that I swore at him. The video may have had other items on it but it also contained the correct info on his line. His line  was scoured with multiple heads and was much improved. He was charged correctly after the adjustment which was a simple mistake on the written verbiage in his contract and the result is in his favor since he was charged less than the normal charge since my tech did not specify that the pumping was hourly after the first hour. Prior to his unprofessional verbal abuse I offered to return at no charge to recamera and rerecord his line. That would now have to be done in the presence of his supervisor or business owner who could control his threatening behavior. regardless as you can see by his signature on the invoice he acknowledged receipt of the services listed to his complete satisfaction and is due no additional work.
                                      [redacted]
                                     roto-Rooter

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.
There is a difference between the previous contracts signed on Feb 17 and Feb 19, and the two contracts signed on Feb 24 for 2,600.00 and 7,500.00 doll. They asked and received two checks for payment, no longer 1/3 when signed, a 1/3 in the middle and a 1/3 on completion. The circumstances were also different. I had a hole in the basement exposing the French drain and the sewer line, and the lines were already broken. I saw no options to refuse the contract. In the end there was no extra excavation site for the French drain line as I was told. There is no need to continue this this dialogue. I respectfully ask what is the Revdex.com opinion about this matter. 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.I appreciate quality workmanship, contracts that are professional and agreed in advance, and understand that payment should in proportion to the amount of work. However, my last 2 contracts, both minutes apart on Feb 24, were not professional or agreed in advance. They were for 2,600.00 and 7,500.00 doll respectively for exploration and for replacement of the French drain discharge line. I was in no position to either refuse or seek another opinion. My basement was all dug out, with an excavation on the sewer line and along three internal walls for the French drain. I questioned then the price, higher than the 7,500.00 for replacement of the sewer line, being aware that the both lines were side, in the basement and in the yard. The excavation, inside and outside, that was done for the sewer would be the same for both jobs. I was told that more excavation would be needed for the French line as it would diverge to reach its destination at street level. That did not happen.Regards
[redacted]

This will be resolved in court

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.
Thank you for reviewing that.  Just so there in no confusion, you'll see on the first page where the Courtesy Pay fees were incurred on Dan's account on November 7.  The second page is a report generated on November 4th that is showing the first authorization from Roto Rooter that wasn't released until November 6th when the payment actually posted.  The third page is another authorization that was put on Dan's account on November 7th and not released until November 9th.  This authorization was the one that fell off of the account after the ninth; the payment didn't actually post to the account which is why it wouldn't show on an account authorization.  Again, please let me know if you have any other questions.
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: My water heater blew up, called Roto Rooter for service call. Plumber came out told me I needed a new water heater. We had an 80 gallon tank, he told me he couldn't get a 80 gallon so I would have to settle for a 50 gallon, I asked him that would work with a 4 bedroom house but he assured me the way they make tanks now a 50 gallon would be fine. He then told me the way the old tank was attached to the water pipes it would take more time and effort because he has to cut the pipes and re-thread it to attach the new tank. The quote was $1560.95. He came back with a tank in a Home Depot box, it took him 20 minutes to attach the tank. After he left I found out the tank he bought from Home depot was $268. It is not big enough for our house, he didn't take the old tank because he couldn't figure out how to empty it. There was no extra time or effort to attach the new tank, so I was charged $430.66 an hour and the only reason he was at my house for 3 hours was because he couldn't empty the old tank and he ended up leaving it. This was a massive over charge, I have called the office 3 times to talk to [redacted] the supervisor each time told he was busy and would not talk to me. So as of today I have an inadequate tank and an old tank in my basement and a bill of $1560.95.Desired Settlement: I would like my bill reduced, old tank picked up and a 80 gallon tank installed.

Business

Response:

The plumber did overcharge the customer and they were unhappy for other reasons as well. We are refunding the overcharge which was a mistake by the tech and additional refund for inonvenience and the customer is satisfied with the result

Consumer

Response:

Review: Double charged me for work. Didn't complete work as promised. Late all the time. Bad workmanship caused me more expense and ruined items in the basement. Request to fix the sidewalk that they installed was met with an attitude. Second fix of the sidewalk is worse than the first. Basement is a total wreck where they jackhammered it up. It's now sinking and cracking further. I have 210 pictures of the work during and afterthey said they finished the job. I've had to hire competent people to fix what they ruined. For $19,649.00 you would think that they would take pride in their work. One window in the basement I can't even open because they put a pipe in front of it. I think this old lady was taken to the cleaners. Also, inappropriate "hugging" by two of this man's sons was not welcome on my part as I have fibromyalgia and am in pain constantly. I am just disgusted with the whole dealings with them. And I truly believe that the first time they came, they caused the damage buy flushing 4400 PSI at 22 gallons per minute in my sewers. It started the pipes cracking and eventually collapsing. I can only get one of the bills on here. I have three of them. I also have 210 pictures during and after the job.Desired Settlement: Based on my findings from other plumbers, I should have been charged only 1/2 of the $19,649.50 I was charged. I also would like to be reimbursed for the money I have put out to correct the problems they caused. $550.00 to brick up the window so my cellar doesn't flood anymore. $2,000.00 to correct the sidewalks so that they are no longer a hazard to people walking on them. For a total of $11,099.75. I feel that they took advantage of a disabled senior citizen who is on a fixed income.

Business

Response:

all contract work was completed and inspected by the municipal inspector. The damage to her basement was caused by her downspouts which were not part of our contract but which we at our own expense ran with pvc pipe after her failure to have her downspouts rerouted. We redid concrete including extra concrete which had settled due to her downspout leakage. She signed letters of satisfaction with all work and all work is complete. I have 4 other plumbers who told me that I undercharged her for the large amount of excellent work completed. There is nothing due as all contracted work is complete as well as additional work at no charge.

Consumer

Response:

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 whom it may concern.

Here is my picture album of the work done. There are 5 pages of pictures.

http://[redacted]

I beg to differ with Mr [redacted]'s response.

First sentence is incorrect. The [redacted] Sewage Authority only inspected the pipes where they hooked up to the main

sewer. Mr [redacted] had to tell them to correct the placing of the pipes then he came back and took a picture of where they hooked their pipes up to the main sewer line. He didn't check anything else.

Second sentence. Totally incorrect. I offered to buy the down spouts and [redacted] said no that he would run a pipe for me. The pipes he used were not PVC pipes. They were corrugated flexible pipes that they use in field tiles. The corrugated pipes and the PVC pipes are in with the pictures attached. [redacted] came back and put some PVC pipes on but I told him I didn't want them on. They were huge and ended right at a window on the other side of the house. I am the one who had to put the solid PVC pipes on thru an independent party. Name of party is [redacted] Phone # ###-###-####. You can also check with my neighbors.

I have no idea of what he's talking about when he says about the concrete. Which concrete? The one in the basement where the place sunk after the first job or what? In the pictures, the first and the second concrete pours are noted by the dates taken. As for the settling of the concrete outside. NO NO NO. They poured it crooked to begin with. [redacted] said that he "put it back the way it was and it was crooked when he took it out" that was a lie. The "extra" concrete he mentions was [redacted]'s Idea. The slab where he poured more concrete over top of my sidewalk had not settled. It had been that way for years. Pictures are in the album. Also, it is no where near the down spouts.

The under charging is false too. For the amount of pipes used and their time, it should have been 1/2 of what he charged.

I might add that Mr [redacted] has never been out to physically look at the finished product. So how does he know?

I was told repeatedly by [redacted], [redacted] and their worker [redacted] (unknown last name) that my place would be put

back to the condition it was before they started digging up the front yard. New top soil and grass included.

The flooded basement was cause by [redacted] placing the corrugated field pipe against my basement window. I am not

asking for the reimbursement of the items lost in the basement just the cost to fix it.

I have been on total disability and on SSDI since 2006. I live on a fixed income and what little money was left over

from my divorce in 2012. I am a diabetic, I have had one heart attack and also a stroke. I also have arthritis in my back and legs and to top it all off, fibromyalgia which flared because of all the stress. The stress that this was causing me was getting to me to the point where I was having chest pains and anxiety attacks and couldn't sleep. There were quite a few times I had to pop a nitroglycerin during this Roto Rooter process. I try to keep stress out of my life but sometimes it just can't be helped.

Because of my health problems and the stress this was causing, I signed the second paper under duress just to get them off my property. I called [redacted] at Roto Rooter and told her I was advised to tell them not to come on my property again. She got the call probably before [redacted] was out of [redacted] borough limits. I have no complaints for the first work they did on the inside of my cellar. [redacted] did that work and it was satisfactory to me except for him putting the pipe in front of one of my windows in the cellar. It's the second time that I have the complaint about.

The pictures are all dated and time stamped. I live between the [redacted] High School and two houses away from the [redacted] Public library. The sidewalk is in constant use. The way the side walk was poured the first time and the way it is poured now is a hazard to anyone walking on it. If someone injured themselves because of the way it was poured, I would be liable.

As for excellent work, I truly beg to differ. It's horrible to say the least. I'm sure I too can get 4 other plumbers to say that I was grossly over charged for this work. I was taken advantage of by [redacted] to begin with. He said "don't worry, I know this is a lot of money to spend within a short period of time and we'll take care of you I promise." And there were things said about me looking like his mother and inappropriate hugging which being in a fibro flare was very painful. I don't like to be touched and that was totally uncalled for. Same with [redacted].

$19,000.00 was the total not to mention the $650.00 the very first time they came out to unclog the drain.

I was on the internet a few days ago and found a blog by an elderly lady's son who also was totally unhappy with the work

these guys charged and the amounts they charged for the work they did.

Oh one more thing. [redacted] was to come by the house to check it out and never showed up. He called in the

morning and said that he was on his way to Erie and he'd call when he got to [redacted]. He never showed up. Yet he

told his dad that he was here at 3:00 and everything was OK. At that point I still had the forms for the cement for

the first pour. I belive that was about 3 weeks after they poured the cement the first time. [redacted] came and took the

forms out and promised me that someone would be down to do the lawn and redo the sidewalk. He also took pictures and supposedly showed them to his dad on his phone. He told me he would have [redacted] come down and replace the sidewalk. [redacted] came down with three bags of quickset to pour over top of the sidewalk. He had to go back to the shop because they told him wrong. He was not a happy camper to say the least.

I still want restitution for the shoddy work done the second time and for the gross overcharges made. The placing

of the field tile also caused my neighbors on both sides to have water in their basements.

Please contact me if you can not open the 5 pages of pictures.

Sincerely

Business

Response:

The alleged flooding in her basement was the result of her not repairing the downspouts. This was not a part of our contract and any temporary fix was done as a courtesy. All contract work is complete at the agreed to fair market price. All work is done correctly and professionally. All stated warranties are in effect. The customer twice signed satisfaction letters including one that states how wonderful our employees and workmanship is. (copy available upon request). Her diabetic condition and marital status are certainly unrelated. We have completed all work at an agreed to price in advance. Why did this lady request us to do additional work 5 weeks after the original job. Where were all these other contractors and estimates. She got everything she paid for and is due nothing except the honoring of her warranties.

Consumer

Response:

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 [redacted],

Did you not read any of my email or look at the pictures? In it I told you that I was not asking for reimbursement of anything destroyed in the basement only the cost to fix what he broke. I have since fixed the downspouts and am not asking for reimbursement on the cost or labor for that job. The fact that I had offered to go and get the downspouts that day is proof enough that I was not trying to get something for nothing. Why does you keep harping on that? Is it because you know I am correct about double charging?

I would like to see the satisfaction letters I allegedly signed because I do not have any such thing in my files. Bring them on so I can have proof that you are a liar. I will expect them in your reply.

The diabetic, heart, fibromyalgia and stroke absolutely play a part in this. Anyone knows that undo stress can play havoc with the diabetes, heart, fibromyalgia problems and may also cause a stroke. I used this to tell you why I signed [redacted]'s last paper just to get you off my property not as a pity statement.

Reason for requesting to do additional work 7 weeks after the original job. Pay attention to this.

I THOUGHT THIS WAS UNDER WARRANTY. That's why I called you back.

After the original work was done, [redacted] showed us, my brother who works for the bourough and myself, on the camera where the pipes were now clear all the way out to the sewer hook up and I should not have any more problems. That was on March 28, 2014. On May 18,2014 which is actually 7 weeks take or give a few days. And I'm sorry for the 5 weeks statement in previous emails and now make that correction. I went down stairs once again when my toilet wouldn't flush and found another mess in the basement. This should not have happened. [redacted] came out ran the camera and said that the pipes outside are now collapsed and will have to be replaced. How did they go from being perfect to a total collapse in a short time? Then he said that the reason the cost is so high is because they have a special tool that they actually put in the ground and it pushes the old pipes outwards so they can put the new pipes in. Never saw this machine at all. [redacted] also told me that they would have to tear off my front porch to do the work but not to worry, they would fix it. I told him NO. The next day when [redacted] and [redacted] showed up, [redacted] just looked at me and asked what happened. I told him [redacted] told me the pipes collapsed. He then said "but they were OK". I saw the pipe that hooked into the sewer that they removed and it didn't look collapsed to me at all. I truly believe that this second collapse did not happen and was [redacted]'s way of getting another commision. He also promised me that things would be taken care of, I told him that if they needed to they could pull out the bush by the front steps because I was getting rid of them anyway. He then offered to pull out all of my bushes in front since the backhoe would be right there and to put everything back the way it was.

Note: I was never given a fully itemized bill either time. Here's a website full of complaints against Roto Rooter that I found yesterday. All over the country its the same thing. Read it. I found out why the bills are not itemized. http://[redacted]/

I am not a satisfied customer at all. I paid twice as much as I should have paid for the mess that was created by them to begin with. 4000 PSI at 22 gallons per minute is a bit much isn't it? ( I stand corrected on my previous statement on the pressure cleaning as I found the paper it was written on) Look at the pictures once again. It shows some of your lies. You try to twist my words around to your advantage but I'm not buying any of it. I've learned in the past from other people and from lawyers what I need to do in case something like this has happened. One was to keep everything that was given to me, two was to take as many pictures during and after the jobs were completed, three keep track of the times I try to reach them by phone and vice versa and four, try to come to an agreement before going to court. I also learned that what you tear up to do your work is your responsibility to replace to the customers satisfaction.

I will be awaiting your reply. I am due a refund and an appology from Roto Rooter for not holding up their end of the bargain.

Business

Response:

Myt original reply stands. All contract work is properly completed. Her downspouts were not part of her contract and any work we did would be as a courtesy. Her prices were quoted in advance and all work was completed. She had the option to shop with other contractors prior to all work being done and any iussues related to her illegally connected downspouts which were required to be disconnected were her responsibility and totally unrelated to her contract. I also have pictures of our beautifull finished work including the FREE dowspout relocation work. She was charged a fair price quoted in advance,all work was done to professwional completion,and the contracts and her written letter of satrisfaction speak for themselves. We had many men for many days with over a huindred thousnd dollars worth of equipment on her job. The water jet truck has a capacity to deliver 4000 and is used to attempt to open a cloogged drain before excavation. The equipment does notr damage pipes;only extends their life. I am requesting this case be resolved by the Revdex.com and copies of her contracts and multiple letters of satisfaction are available on request. Her health issues while sad are completely unrelated to her plumbing.

Consumer

Response:

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.

Dear Mr [redacted] and the Revdex.com.

I'm getting the run around by Mr [redacted]. He is not addressing the issues here. The issues are the front lawn and also the hazardous sidewalks that are there, and the outrageous amounts charged.

Second request: Bring on the pictures and please do not use mine. Bring on the alleged letters written by me. I can assure you that none exists as I do not write letters. Still waiting on my fully itemized bill.

The downspouts are not an issue here. I've had them fixed. END OF DISPUTE ON DOWNSPOUTS. By the way, it was a suggestion not a request by the Sewage Authority of [redacted] to remove the downspouts because as Mr [redacted] said "in a few years, they would be illegal" Your guys offered to pull them out at that time for FREE. As stated in prior emails. I offered to get the downspouts that day. The offer was refused by [redacted]'s saying "I'll just put some of the pipes on and you'll be fine."

For the pricing, you have yet to provide me with a fully itemized bill as requested prior to the work being done each time. I was told that we dont know how much we are going to use so a bill will be provided to you at the end. Please provide me with a fully itemized bill which is required under law. I need a full breakdown of supplies used with prices on each item. This was not provided to me either time. Everything that you used needs a price including the amount of labor. As for the many men and many days, prove it.

According to other Roto Rooters across the country, it looks like I was charged double for the same work done each time.

Mr [redacted] has never once showed up at my house before, during or after the work was done so how does he know what the finished product looks like? How can he answer questions when he was never here? Beating around the bush so I'll give up. NOT GOING TO HAPPEN.

As for my health problems, they are not an issue here. As stated in a prior email, I used them to justify my wanting you off my property and to show you that the last paper from [redacted] was signed under duress.

Like I said at the begining, bring on the pictures that are not mine and bring on the letters because I can tell you straight out that none exist. New pictures taken today.

As for the beautifully finished work, here are pictures taken today. Revdex.com do you think it's beautifully finished work?

http://[redacted]

Business

Response:

I will respond in writing to you including contracts and other documents

Business

Response:

Review: Roto-Rooter came to my home to clear the drains in my basement due to a plugged septic pipe.The technician was unsuccessful in his attempt. He then told me he could come back with more equipment which would cost another $599.00 on top of the $274.50 he was already charging me for the failed attempt. I said I would think about it and call him in the morning. I ended up hiring [redacted] Drain Cleaning services. He was able to do the job and Charged $120.00.I called Roto-Rooter to complain of such ridiculous prices for not completing the job. The owner [redacted] returned my call and informed me that the technician should have only charged me half price for not being able to clear the septic pipe, he then said he would call me back that same day, which was August 1, 2014. I have not heard from him since and I have tried contacting him two more times.Desired Settlement: I would like a refund of half the cost of the failed attempt, which is what the owner told me was their policy.

Business

Response:

I told the customer I needed to speak to the technician to evaluate the situation. I have done so. He tells me that the customer had repair work done and was getting information about the repair since the plumbing system was not piped properly and she would call the next morning. We worked for almost two hours. I was only able to speak to the tech yesterday and I never said the next day. I would have called her this morning but this complaint preempted that. If the customer mails or faxes me an invoice from another REGISTERED LICENSED plumber as to their activities at her residence I will evaluate the situation and refund money if legitimately due at that time.

Consumer

Response: