Urgent Rooter Service

Frank V.

I can not believe the other ratings they have here on Yelp!

My experience was a about 8 or so years ago, I called for a rooter snake procedure. Their service reps, (plumbers) used a snake camera to locate a blockage. They said they didn't want to hydrojet without digging to the sewer line to inspect for damage. I had previously installed ABS pipe from the house to the sidewalk with router access easily available. This was the first I ever heard of hydro jetting.

They then pulled an old car dealership tactic called a ""4 square"", meaning essentially, they write down several high numbers to see where you are with concern to budget. They started with $8000.00 to line the sewer line from the sidewalk to the city main with a new technology adding an ABS type of material lining the pipe.

They charged me $1,500.00 to dig down to the pipe, (absolutely not needed), a simple snake would have cleared the roots. $500.00 to hydrojet from the uncovered pipe, totaling $2,000.00 for their visit.
Compared to $8,000, the $2,000 seemed like a deal. Typical upselling conn job, I should have known better.

They were not at all honest about what they were doing. A simple snaking would have cost $100.00-$150.00. Their only motivation was to sell me the highest priced job on their visit.

When your main sewer line is blocked, naturally you can't use the bathrooms so it is an emergency issue and they play on that to close you on an unnecessary procedure. I am still angry to this day that I fell for their tactics. I actually was contemplating visiting their dispatch location and following a service truck to warn homeowners but decided against it as it simply wasn't a smart idea. Yelp was not available then.

I would be very careful when hiring this company. Be aware of this scam to sell you more than you need. I would never recommend this company for any plumbing issue.

DO NOT TRUST THEIR PLUMBERS' DIAGNOSTIC TACTICS!

Stacy K.

So great! Fast and honest. Used for a clogged kitchen sink / disposal. Alex was super nice and knowledgeable. Highly recommend!

Brad K.

Called for their $55.00 drain cleaning deal on a main sewer from the house to the street, with a cleanout (drain access) right in front of the house. I even had power ready for them. Could not be simpler or easier. Arrival was prompt, but when the tech tried to snake the drain, he reported he was unable to break through the clog with his equipment. I asked if he could put a camera down there to see what the problem was, and he had to call his supervisor to bring the camera ($150.00). Seems to me that a professional would carry a camera in this day and age. Over an hour later, the supervisor arrived with the camera, which they were unable to get to the clog.

They informed me that they would have to dig up my sewer line to open and repair, and to determine if a complete re-pipe was necessary. The cost would be $2100.00 to dig 3 or so feet down, and repair/unclog the drain. Against my better judgement, gave the go-ahead. The supervisor left, and the tech began digging. He only dug for about 15 minutes and about 9 inches deep before he was utterly defeated. I tried to offer him use of more adequate digging tools, but he refused, and stated they would return around 9:30 the next morning with a jackhammer (why so late?).
Basically, he ran off and left his customer with an unusable, clogged sewer.

The moment he left, I went to Home Depot, rented their automatic drain snake, and within 3 minutes of starting, without so much as breaking a sweat, had a fully functional, free-flowing sewer system. I then called them, and cancelled all transactions. It's been two months, and haven't had a hint of a problem. Good or bad? I leave it to you to decide.

Sonia B.

Thank you Urgent Rooter for getting the job done. I had a slow drain in my kitchen sink that started to back up. Scheduled an appointment with a different plumber for the next day, but the issue seemed to be worse. Browsed the internet found a $55.00 drain cleaning coupon and called the (800) number. Simon answered the phone he was very courteous and helpful. He called a technician and verified he could have a truck at my location in hour.

Andres the technician called me and let me know he was on his way and he arrived sooner than quoted. He was very pleasant when he arrive and got right to it. He had all the necessary tools to clean the drain he rolled up and plugged in and began. Took him about 10-15 min to unblock the clog and he made sure the water was running through as it should I was very happy with the quick service. I asked him for a kitchen magnet and business card and he was happy to provide that as well. No hidden cost $55.00 coupon was honored and I would definitely recommend Urgent Rooter.

S. C.

Called them at 4:30 pm with sewage back-up, they said they could be there in an hour. They showed up at 8:00 pm and because it was an ""after hours"" service their promotional $69 fee went to $225. I was irritated by the bate and hook tactic so I did not perform the service. I did decide to call their main line asking for the same service and they then quoted a price of $135. After I exposed them to the situation that happened 30 min earlier, the service rep on the phone stated that the final price is established by the field supervisor. The service was simple, run the snake through a clean-out on the floor outside the house. Their tactic to elevate a fee after they make you wait is dishonest and others here have addressed it on yelp. Be very careful when you contact this company...but if I were you....I would stay away.

Candice M.

Dishonest, upsellers. Beware of potential scam. Decent one time, shady the next. Read this and other yelp reviews.

I contacted Urgent Rooter about 5 or 6 months ago with a clogged 2"" drain that rain under my house. The guy who came tried to upsell me to a more-expensive service (water jetting), which I understood, but ultimately I just had him clear drain with the snake. I was happy with that, and the $69 price, but my drain clogged again during the last week of December, 2015. I didn't blame the for the clog, and I called them back, thinking it would be their inexpensive service again.

The second time, the guy couldn't clear the drain, and said it was grease and bad T at the end of the house. I had two options: 1--Replace the piping T (estimated $1500), or 2-- High Tech Water Jetting, which was about $450. He said these were the only two ways of fixing it. I don't know much about plumbing, but it seemed really high, especially to replace the T. I scheduled him to come for the next day. During that time I realized, we don't really put much grease down our drain, he barely looked under our house to check out the situation, and how could a snake not at least clear a greased drain a little? It just didn't make sense -- the problem, his solution, or his price.

I looked at other reviews on Yelp, and realized that this looked like a scam they kind of pull on other customers. I contacted a friend's plumber, and he came through and cleared it no problem. Then he ran a camera down and showed me that that my T didn't need to be replaced, that most of the piping was actually new, and that there was no grease build up at all.

I then recalled Urgent Rooter and said I didn't feel I should have to pay. They thankfully agreed, but then out-and-out lied again, saying that the reason he couldn't clear the drain was because his snake was too long (40ft). That was when I knew it was a scam. I had an entire conversation earlier that day about how his snake was 70ft and went all the way through the T. And if I hadn't gone to Yelp and seen the other reviews, if I had trusted them, I would have paid hundreds, maybe even a thousand plus more for a simple drainage clearing.

My ultimate advise, don't use them, but if you do use them for cost or urgency, don't pay for anything other than the snake and only if they clear it. And get a second opinion if they say anything else.

Lisa P.

We had a clog in the drain line running from our sink. After our small auger could not quite reach we called Urgent Rooter. From reading the website and talking to the agent on the phone and from knowing exactly what and pretty much where the problem was in our drain system, we hoped they would be honest. But sure enough, the 69 dollar price immediately jumped to 119 because of the access area he said he HAD to work from. Now mind you, the most sensible access and the one that was only about an 8 foot reach to the clog, was what was going to cost 119.00. However, we also have a cleanout right outside the bathroom, entirely accessible AND yet another cleanout in a laundry area in the middle of our house. Either one of those could have been used with any standard plumber's auger. It would take about 15 minutes whichever of the THREE access points were used. But, he insisted there was only one he would use and that because of that it would cost 50 dollars more. This was nothing more than the age old plumber's trick of bait and switch. We declined to have the work done, just based on the shady dealings of this plumber. They will never receive another call from me.

Rika O.

Oh, now I see (three years later) three messages from the ""customer service""! My ""follow-up"" rating remains unchanged. The worker claimed his machine ""got stuck"" in our sewer and suggested we were somehow responsible for the machine, before bringing up the $3,000 pipe replacement job. The next rooter we called came with an apparently newer, obviously beefier, equipment and got the job done. Makes you wonder if they go around with an older equipment just so they can talk clients into more expensive solutions.

Elena Z.

We called them on wednesday because our garbage disposal was clogged up. They came the next day and quoted $700 to unplug it, but what we really needed, according to them, is new pipes, which would cost $1200. Not knowing any better, we agreed to just the unclogging the pipes for $700. The next day when it was supposed to be fixed, we got a call that the machine they need to use is stuck at another house and that they will come friday. Because of this inconvenience they would give us $100 off. The following day it was the same story. They said they will call on Saturday morning and see if the machine i available. Meanwhile, they left the wall opened and we're using a bucket to wash stuff in the kitchen sink. Finally, Saturday morning having had enough of this BS, I called another plumber, who came in within an hour and a half and fixed the garbage disposal for $89. Urgent Rooter is a rip of and a worthless plumber!!!!

Paul F.

Very satisfied customer.

I called on a online coupon, dispatch sent out a truck w/power drain clean hose and attachments showed up at appointment time. Johnny was friendly, courteous, fast an efficient. The pricing is negotiable up front if you have need of more services than the standard pipe ream with a 75 foot steel power snake..

Due to my unknown pipe situation on house I've not owned for many years, I asked for pressurized pipe blaster, and camera scope to get an idea of what was inside my pipes, which I suspected was clay, ABS and cast iron. I hate surprises and suspected a pipe joint joining cast iron to ABS from a previous owners remodel 30+ years ago. Johnny blasted away the clog within about 10 mins of setting up the hose operation then scoped it, showing me several pictures a problematic pipe joint that was my suspect, confirming a suspected pipe joint will continue to give me problems down the road.

The price was reasonable considering the unclog, type of heavy duty tool use and the camera scoping of the lines showing all clear on the lines, but also the ""sag"" areas that are prone to future problems with the old pipes.

Johnny cleaned up his operations, after the unclogging activity and took payment accordingly.

Very satisfied, and I'd use their services again.