Rooter-Man

Jen L.

Predatory business! I had a clogged drain and scheduled an appt for their $49 drain service. The guy came out tried to snake it and said it was too clogged so need to hydro jet it for $650. Ok.. I agreed and about 30 minutes later he said its still too clogged and said a portion of the plumbing needs to be dug up and replaced for $2600, Ok... I was a bit skeptical but agreed.

Another hour later he had a 2nd person come and said the entire front portion of my house plumbing needs to be replaced for $10,000 for 2-3 days of work! At this point I was very skeptical and felt like they were trying to sell on something we did not need. Why would my entire front plumbing needs to be replaced when only my back house was clogged and the front house plumbing was 100% fine? They told me they snaked and hydro jet the pipes multi-times and it keeps clogging back up and is NOW still clogged (this included the front house's plumbing). I politely declined their offer and paid them for the work they did. I asked my license plumber buddy to come take that same day and he literally fixed the issue within 2 hours for less than $200.

Note that the guy from Rooter Man (I think his name is John), told me my plumbing keeps clogging back up and is STILL clogged when he left. His was 100% false, as I haven't even touched the portion of the plumbing that he claims is clogged and it has been working perfectly fine for the past few months.

I honestly believe they advertise such a low $49 pricing to unclog your drain just to get their foot in your door and try to sell you don't need for MUCH more expensive. This is such an unethical business practice. I am a contractor myself but I rarely do plumbing, but luckily I know enough to be doubtful of what he was telling me. If you don't know anything about plumbing be careful with this company, they will take advantage and try to sell you work that is not needed. It is best to get at least a 2nd or 3rd opinion.

Garrick S.

I hope this is the right Rooter Man, the phone number matches the one used to confirm my appts. If this is the wrong one, please correct me.

Issue:
Main line clog. (Toilets, shower, tub backed up with sewage) at my moms house who is 87 years old.

Short Version Learning: Call a few local referred plumbers and take the time to get estimates.

Longer Story...

Day 1, Thursday night.
Initial visit after hours determined couldn't do anything. Bring back hydro jet (500) the following day to clear the clog from the roof vent.

Day 2 Friday:
Supposedly the Hydro jet couldn't bust up the clog, which was ""identified"" in a section of the main, under the house. Camera supposedly showed nothing.

Field Supervisor came and quoted 4300, to change the ""identified""damaged section of the main under the house and install a ""proper"" cleanout.

Quote was high, but it was a Friday, and while this is where I started to feel something wasn't right, I went forward with the job, since ""flow would be restored today.""

End of the day... Flow not restored, and could not finish the job. Apparently, sewage flooded the trench under the house.

Day 3 Saturday:
Arrived back at 11:30, to complete the section of the main under the house. Work commenced for a couple hours.

Field Supervisor came back to show me the camera in now the section of the main outside of the house... So the problem wasn't under the house as originally stated and quoted in the contract.

Here's the other thing. The ""cleanout"" was small, so only their smaller snake could get in there and could not find or clear the clog. Camera showed mud and debris under water but little else. Camera could not get to the source of the clog.

Quoted 10k (all in) to install a proper cleanout out in front of the house and to insert a sleeve in the main to the property line. ""Guaranteed to work or you don't pay"".

Problem is, they never cleared the clog to run the camera to actually show that a sleeve would actually work or what or where the actual damage existed nor source of the clog.

That's where again I didn't feel comfortable continuing to move forward with Rooter Man. 3 reasons...

(1) Originally ""identified"" and quoted, area of the clog (under the house) turned out not to be the source of the clog.

(2) Smaller, improper sized clean out, installed punched through the crawl space vent... Why wouldn't they install a proper sized cleanout to clear the clog with a bigger snake and show on camera the damaged area?

(3) Up to this point they did not clear the clog (now beyond under the house) and unable to show me the damaged area of the main, to justify the new solution (sleeve). Guaranteed that the 10k sleeve would work, even though the damage nor the source of the clog was not identified (at least to me).

Conclusion:
I was just not comfortable moving forward again without identifying or seeing the actual problem. I imagined them getting started and then finding a new problem leading to a new problem costing more.

I asked the job leader to just complete their work, install a ""proper"" sized cleanout, run a larger snake and clear the clog. I also told him I'm just going to cut my losses here, and I don't feel comfortable moving any further with them.

The work under the house was completed, now clear we didn't need to replace those sections of pipe, and a larger 3 inch cleanout installed. He ran the larger snake a few times and established flow. Of course still no camera to show the damaged section of the main.

Here the thing... I know there may likely be problem areas with the main...Somewhere beyond the house. Had they simply installed a proper sized clean out, cleared the clog with the larger snake, then use the camera to show the damaged areas I probably would have moved forward with the sleeve and paid. While probably overpriced, they were there on a weekend and I don't mind paying for a job done right.

But since the first solution (clog under the house) turned out not to be the case, I imagined this second solution (sleeve)without confirmation, would only reveal another, more expensive problem. So that was it.

Lastly, I am not making accusations of wrong doing, just stating the facts and MY reasoning for not moving forward. There are several other things that were/are red flags, but these would be just accusations so I will leave them out. I will be having the city review their work and also have an attorney review the contract vs what was completed.

I actually liked the job lead plumber (which is why I gave 2 stars - 1 to rate and 1 for him), he seemed like a straight shooter and a good guy. I did not feel the same way about the field supervisor, who (1) said the clog and problem WAS under the house and then (2) tried to move to the main sleeve for 10k without showing me the damaged area and that the sleeve would even work.

It's is what it is, can't turn back time, lesson learned. My 87 year old mom is happy in her house and that's all that matters.

Ahmad A.

Disappointed in all aspects. Their appointment is off, Their prices double than anywhere else and if they don't have the part with them, will cause more money to pick it up.

Jim L.

Completely fraudulent company. They advertise a $49 drain cleaning special but from the second they arrive it is all about how much $$$ they can get from you. My outside clean out drain was clogged. They arrive and immediately stated that I needed a camera inspection which would be $125. Within 5 minutes of me agreeing to that new charge, they stated that I had major issues. My drain was supposedly so clogged that it damaged their snake. At this point they told me I would need a massive drill to clear out my drain. They quoted me $3900. When I said that I could not afford that, they all of sudden said they could perform the same service for $2800. Not knowing any better I agreed to the service and paid a $500 deposit. After they left, I started researching their service and realized that they were a completely fraudulent company.

Every step of the way were lies. I had another plumber out here and they were able to camera the same location Rooterman claim was too damaged to send the camera through. Had everything fixed for less than the $500 deposit they demanded. Now I can't get the company to call me, even though the field supervisor claims they will. I have since disputed the charged and will now file a claim with the BBB.

Bushi B.

David was the best! They arrived early and were professional- mission accomplished. Highly recommend.

J N.

Wow - December 24 and I called seven plumbers for a clogged kitchen sink. So thrilled I found RooterMan. They gave me an exact quote (a very reasonable rate for a Christmas Eve emergency!), texted me with updates as to arrival, and Aram showed up two hours earlier than expected, charged me exactly what was quoted in the phone, and fixed the problem in about five minutes. I am very, very happy with their service and will keep them in my contacts for future!

Ck C.

better rent a "" snake"" ( (drain cleaner ) at the home depot and do it by
yourself at $54 for 4 hours. it was really very simple , normal problem

You can save lot of money which they would charge if you followed their suggestion .
After just one time trial with very small, thin "" snake machine ""
He said its not possible to drain the
clogged pipe due to greece or sluge ? ( they did not charge this work $48)
---- saying only way to open that clogged pipe
is to use that strong air blowing machine ! ??? charges about $1,100.

V B.

A simple kitchen sink clog and the plumber insisted he couldn't break through ""all the grease and grime"" and it would require a hydro cleaning to get through, to the tune of $500. I had a reputable plumber out the next day and he was able to clear the problem in 10 minutes. What a scam that $49 visit to clear a drain was. At least he didn't charge me the $49 and said if I did the hydro and it didn't work, they wouldn't charge me that either. Of course it would have worked because the normal snake cleared it with a different plumber. Despicable that they pull this on people and so many fall for it. They should be ashamed!!!

George Z.

Toilet drain clogged, they quoted me on the phone call, I think it is reasonable price.
But, when the plumber came, he said the ""clean out"" is wrong type, his big machine can't go to the clean out, then he ask me for triple !! For remove toilet and snake from the toilet bowl bottom.
What confused me here is:why other plumbers can do it for the ""wrong"" clean out, he can't do it?
I was about to decline his proposal, then he ""suddenly"" remember that he had a middle side ""snake"" in his van, he wanna try if it can go into the""wrong type"" clean out, and it worked, the toilet drain was unclogged.
Seriously? Don't you know what you have in your van?

2 stars for the service he made
-- 3 stars for the scam game.

Anna W.

Bad experience! Its been like a nightmare since I hired Rooter Man. I hired them because drains were backing up at my house. Their technician made his diagnosis of the problem. First, Rooter Man said they cleaned out a pipe and charged me $600. That did not fix the problem. Then they replaced a small section of pipe and charged me $3,200. That repair did not fix the problem, either. So next he wanted to replace another larger section of pipe and charge me $6,800. I did not agree to this because I became concerned about Rooter Man's professionalism and skill. I had already paid them $3,800 and was afraid I would lose more money. Then I hired another company. Their diagnosis identified the real problem. I authorized then to do the repairs and their work fixed the problem. Further, the second plumber told me that the work that I paid Rooter Man for was not done. I te-mailed Rooter Man and asked for a refund. They did not reply. Next, I contacted the credit card company for their help and asked for half of my money back. A few days later a representative of Rooter Man contacted me and offered to return $600 to me. That was a couple of months ago and I have not yet received that refund. Please beware, I hope that by reading about my bad experience you will be careful.