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Complaint Details
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Initial Complaint
05/10/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Sales and Advertising Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Our septic tanks were not pumped, hydro-jet clean as promised. *** at Rooter-Man in ******, Ca also tried to fabricate an emergency, claiming the septic line between the house and inlet tank needed to be repaired immediately, for $9,600.00 dollars. *** also charged $3,710 to pump the two septic tanks. We found the septic tanks were not cleaned. We had to hire another septic service to clean the tanks, ***** gallons were collected which is full tank capacity, which cost a very customary fee of $718.00.Please note the Rooter-Man invoice does not specify how many gallons were removed.Please note *** used strong arm tactics against my wife who is a disabled senior, including trying to get her to sign a finance contract. My wife ended up in the hospital the next day.
Business response
05/20/2024
Hello,
We are in communication with the customer, he is aware that we are working on resolving this issue. We should be having a resolution very soon. I will be sure to update the BBB shortly.
Initial Complaint
02/13/2024
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
On Jan.29, 2024, I called Rooterman *** my kitchen sink was clogged. He snaked it and said it needs the ******. After the ******, he said there is more clog so he recommended to change a portion of the pipe for $3100.00. We agreed bec he offered a 15 yr warranty. After replacing the that section, he said more pipes need to be replaced for $21,000. The pipes were leaking but said the drain would still work. We did not agree to that so he forfeited the warranty. We did not use the sink much until Feb 2 and the sink will not drain. we called the company but they refused to come and resolve the problem. We called another plumber who snaked the pipes and was able to get the clog out and sink is draining without any problem.Business response
02/23/2024
We are in communication with the customer. We are working on a resolution to this matter. We will update you as soon as we have come a mutual agreement with the customer.Initial Complaint
05/03/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
4/11/2023 I called specifically for a clogged shower drain. The online ad said in bold letters at top:$49 UNCLOGS DRAIN When they arrived, the quote was $125.I talked to the supervisor over the ********** would not honor that price.I agreed to pay $125, but told him I would file a complaint of false advertising. He instructed his workers to not perform the work and they left.What made matters worse was the mansplaining. I understood their explanation, but did not agree with their advertising claim. I explained that the ad was misleading to any layperson. They should be made to change the wording & not claim a $49 price and at the same time should train dispatchers to give some kind of estimate and disclaimer so customers know honestly what to expect. Thank you.Business response
05/15/2023
I am sorry to hear that the customers experience with our company did not meet her expectations. Our coupon (attached) states the $49 special is to snake the drain through a clean out access. In this situation the customer had a shower stoppage which did not have a clean out designated for that drain.
Our calls are monitored and recorded for quality assurance,and upon reviewing the call, the customer did not mention that she had a coupon for $49 drain cleaning. There was no discussion for the cost to snake the drain. Had the customer mentioned the coupon when booking, or asked about pricing our dispatcher would have automatically explained that the $49 special is to snake through a cleanout access, and $125 would be to go inside the home and snake the drain itself.
Again, we apologize for the inconvenience and thank the customer for taking the time to provide us with valuable feedback.Initial Complaint
03/28/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Resolved
The property in question is a rental at ********************************************************************* See uploaded letter sent to business (with no response) for description of problem. Letter was originally sent to address on invoice, copy was sent to mailing address above.Business response
04/18/2023
We have came to a resolution with the Mr. ******************** He has now given us permission to be on his property if needed. We spoke to him via phone and came to a agreement on the steps needed to take to accommodate his demands. We will be able to take the steps as soon as he or CSLB contacts us and lets us know the inspector from the ******************* inspected our work and lets us know what or if any plumbing work needs to be done.Customer response
05/03/2023
Complaint: 19600416
I am rejecting this response because: the first sentence is true. But we have not given Rooterman permission to be on our property. Instead, we have reached a satisfactory financial solution.
Sincerely,
*******************Initial Complaint
01/30/2023
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
They have one technician working for the them named ************************ and he is a well trained con artist. He comes to your home and diagnoses what he says is the problem regarding a clogged drain. After he is unable to open the drain, he comes up with another issue that *** be causing the original problem. He doesn't know what he is doing but does an excellent job of convincing you that he while the original solution didn't work the other solution will. After I signed off and approved of the second solution and it doesn't work , he then recommends a 3rd solution for of course more money. He originally snake my drain which did not get it opened. I paid him $330 for which I never received an invoice. He then explained that the clogged was between my toilet and the drain in the basement. He said that he would have to remove the toilet and snake it directly through that hole. He never removed the toilet but went to the basement and ran a cable through the clean out down there. He claimed that he got it open but after paying him another $460 the drain is still not open. I have not received an invoice for this service as well and the drain is still not open. Now he claims that he needs another $500 to camera the sewer drain to see where the problem is. So at this point I called the office number that I had gotten off the internet to see if someone at his office could explain to me what was going on with my situation and why I hadn't received an invoice for the work he had performed. I spoke with up to 10 different people who all told me that they would have a manager call me and also that they would contact the billing department to have them email an invoice for the work done. I have yet to receive a phone call or an invoice. ********************************* is not who he says he is. He is a con artist taking advantage of customers such as myself who know very little about plumbing.Business response
02/24/2023
Rooter-Man is a Franchise. We service the Los Angeles County. This has to be the wrong Rooter Man. We do not Service **************, nor do we have a Technician by that name. Please have consumer remove the complaint and submit it to the correct Business.
Should you have any questions please give ** a call at ************.
Best Regards,
Aram Madoian
Rooter Man Plumbing
********** County.
Initial Complaint
09/01/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
We had a main line backup in our basement but not overflow or really making that much of a mess initially. Rooter Man (New Jersey) sent a tech ***** out who had no idea what he was doing. Agreed to Jet and camera the line but was too incompetent to do either. Then tried to snake the line and could not do this complaining about the old equipment that you have to attach each length as opposed to ** ***** where he came from previously. He took the snake out but left multiple pieces of the snake in the main line which I asked him about but he denied and I only found out later I was correct! He tried to Jet line again when a second tech (*******) arrived but could not due to the pieces in the snake line that he claimed was not in the pipe. This got feces spraying everywhere in the home due to this as well making this a Cat3 insurance claim needing to rip out and replace tile, rugs walls and paneling because of Rooter Man! The tech even broke the flange on the toilet as well at the time since he had no Idea what to do so we cannot even put the toilet back without a repair of the flange. I eventually had to get another plumber from a different company to fix and this is how I found out ***** left pieces of his snake in the pipe and why the jet would not work. Long story short, I had to pay almost 3x as much becuase of this incompetence. The manager ****** sent out ******* (his cousin) to retrieve the snake lines from the main and he has not returned my call. ******* even agreed that this should have been an hour fix at most and I have visual and audio records of all of this ******* even agreeing to what ***** had done wrong. Unfortunately as the refuse to make this right, I will need to take legal action, as ****** will not take any calls to discuss. Very shady company that needs to have a BBB and Consumer Affairs case opened up as well. Luckily I have ample evidence in my favor to show the level of incompetence and why it cost me 3x to do a simple 1hr job.Business response
10/17/2022
Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/09/30) */ This is the wrong company. We service is the Los Angeles, CA area.Initial Complaint
08/30/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Sales and Advertising Issues
- Status:
- Answered
6/29/2022 I called Rooterman to fix a backup of water to my house $ 1,100 to snake out the pipe to the house. After that was done another worker came from Rooterman and said he was going to use a camera for free to see the pipe going into the house. Then he said the pipe was broken and needed to be replaced. As I took pictures and the performed the work I used my Visa card to pay another $2,300 for a job completed as my Visa was denied. I called them and Rooterman tried to get 10,000 from my Visa? After that they said I could Finance with Synchrony bank and he ask for 15,000 limit which was declined. I was so confused as I am old and alone they took advantage of me with fraud. I am still getting a bill from The bank as 15,000 dollars and have opened up a fraud case with no resolve yet. I have pictures & letters from the bank that there is a Zero balance, than on the other hand on 9/28/2022 another bill came from Synchrony for a passed due amount of 15,000 dollars. This company Rooterman used fraud with a fake signature and receipt! My receipt says 2 withdrawals from my Visa. Their fake receipt says 18,000. Don't give Rooterman any financial information....Business response
10/05/2022
Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/09/16) */ We do not have specific records to the information provided. However, seeing the email provided we were able to confirm that the work being referred to is listed in our system as: ********************************************************** Rooter Man Plumbing was called out to the property due to multiple drain stoppages. The toilet, the tub and the sink were backing up. We snaked the line by removing the toilet to snake the main sewer line and were unable to clear. We recommended a Hydro jet from the vent because there was no proper cleanout to access the main line outside the home. The hydro jet was unsuccessful due to a break in the line. We recommended to repair the broken section of the sewer line and install a 2-way cleanout, work came with 25 years warranty. The customer agreed and the work was completed. However, when trying the make the sewer connection, they noticed the remainder of the line seemed to be in poor condition. A camera inspection was ran of the remainder of the line and recommended to sleeve the line, the customer agreed and the work was performed and came with 50 years warranty. The total work performed was at a cost of $18,350. The customer paid $1,100.00 and $2,250.00 by Visa, and the balance was paid using Synchrony Finance in the amount of $15,000.00. In regards to the Synchrony finance the customer filled out the finance application, and it was called in for approval. There was then a sales slip to be filled out and that was signed and dated by the customer as well. A signature was obtained at every point, the customer was made aware of the work being performed at all times, we called her over outside the home to show her the work being performed and she was home the entire time. There are pictures of the work being completed at the customer's property. No fraud has been committed. Every signature collected was from the customer.Initial Complaint
06/18/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Product Issues
- Status:
- Answered
6-15-22: They responded to snake the bathroom main line. He was able to clear the line. The ****** Operator responded with the hydro jet. The bathroom line was hydro jetted (in the dark, still no SCE power which can be verified by SCE). The kitchen line was hydro jetted after the bathroom line. A lot of "sludge" was backwashed onto the back patio. **** performed the hydro jetting for approximately 20 minutes at which time he said that it was complete. He stated that the field supervisor would be out tomorrow to run a camera thru the lines. 6-16-22: **** arrived at 6pm at which time the camera was used to look through the two main lines. The bathroom line was clear, but, a portion of the bottom of the pipe was rusted out and that it needed to be repaired. Then they went to the main line in the kitchen by way of the main line on the roof. When they got to the kitchen main line, the camera became covered in sludge and could not view anything. He said it was because of the problem with the bathroom line being rusted out.We took ****'s word. X-XX-XX: We called another reputable plumbing company to ask about their hydro jetting service. We briefed them on the hydro jetting and camera service performed including the fact that we were told that the remaining sludge was a result of a portion of the bathroom line being rusted out. Their response was that their protocol and procedure is a 2-hour service including 1.5 hours of hydro jetting then checking the line with a camera to make sure that the line is completely clean. They said after hydro jetting, in our circumstances, that the line should be clear even with a portion of a rusted out line. We called **** and advised our concern about the line not being clear and still having a lot of sludge. His response was that the service was complete. It was a 2-day job, with 2 plumbers, and the sludge was no where close to being cleaned out, we are not satisfied with the outcome of the service performed. *************************Business response
07/11/2022
Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/06/29) */ Got in contact with the customer over the phone to speak of the matter. Customer was made aware that a refund will be issued and is satisfied wit the resolution.Initial Complaint
06/10/2022
- Complaint Type:
- Service or Repair Issues
- Status:
- Answered
Date of the incident June 9 and June 10, 2022 On June 9, 2022 around 1pm I contacted the Rooter Man Plumber to request for their service to unclog two toilets and a bathtub. According to their promotional materials they advertised the service for $49 to clean from outside and $129 to clean from inside. When the technician came to visit our home and he said there is a major issue and requested to do a hydro jet cleaning and informed this job cost $650. Later we found out Rooter Man Plumber just did some work without doing the proper procedures to identify this issue. According to them they just blindly hydrojetting without identifying the issues at our home and charged $650 unnecessary service. After they hydro jet they informed there is an issue with the main line and requested another $3150.00 to complete the job. We were shocked and found out they purposely mislead us by directing us to do unnecessary work just to get more money. They hydro jet without checking the real need without taking care of the real work that is requested at the brining of our service request. Please advice this business not to do these types of actions and it is unethical and not fair for the community that they service. If you need more information, I am available to discuss or provide more information unpin request.Business response
07/12/2022
Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/06/24) */ The sewer line was completely backed up before we attempted to snake it and were unsuccessful at getting the line to clear, we recommended a hydro jet with a camera. The customer agreed and we preceded to hydro jet the line. It was not until the line was hydro jetted and we got it to drain that we were able to run the camera and give our diagnosis of the sewer line. When we ran the camera we found the clay pipe broken and full with roots. We gave the customer a recommendation to permanently fix her issue, which was to do a repair of the sewer line for $********. The customer decided not to move forward. We took the proper steps to properly address the issue.There was no way of us running a camera to determine the condition of the line without clearing what was holding in the line first.Initial Complaint
12/02/2021
- Complaint Type:
- Sales and Advertising Issues
- Status:
- Answered
18 months ago (May 2020) rooter Man provided sewer services to our property. We were never provided with a contract or scope of work until two days ago and only after numerous attempts to secure it. I believe my mother was taken advantage of because she is elderly and at times not in a healthy cognitive state. The contract reflects the tenants name, ****** ******, as the tenant was the person that originally contacted rooter man. Someone forged my mom's signature in two different locations on the contract, each time using a different variation of my moms signature. On thanksgiving day 2021 the sewer system backed up. When my mom called rooter man, they came out and immediately went under the house to investigate. ******, and **** of rooter man stated to mom that she needed to pay $**** to replace the same piping that was identified as the root problem back in May of 2020, ironically back then, they charged $******. That is when my mom engaged me and I discovered this mess and the fact that the cost of the repair work back then was grossly over charged for what said services should have cost. We've since had a separate plumbing company come out and they did an estimate and determined the galvanized piping was never replaced and said piping is corroded and leaking sewerage under the house, this is the issue that was occurring back in May of 2020. Since I got involved repeated calls to rooter man continue to go unanswered. I'm the son of the property owner, *************. My name is **************** - cell: ************** - we seek a full refund so we can use said funds to have the leakage repaired. We seek a release of any future payments, no attempts at a mechanics lien, and assurance that no negative reporting will be sent to the credit bureaus.Business response
04/12/2022
Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/03/30) */ Rooter Man Plumbing, ******* *****, and ************* (the point of contact for ******* *****), have been in communication in regards to work completed at ************************************. Together they have come to an agreement that Rooter Man Plumbing will be back out to the property on March 23, 2022, to replace the section of main cast iron sewer pipe that is leaking underneath the house with new ABS Plastic. Once work has been completed by Rooter Man Plumbing will send pictures of the completed work to ************* and ******* *****. Updated invoice has been attached. The Work has been completed. Pictures have been sent to the customer ******* *****, and *************. Issue has been resolved.
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Customer Complaints Summary
11 total complaints in the last 3 years.
2 complaints closed in the last 12 months.