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2.9 105 Reviews

Mr. Rooter Complaints Summary

49 Resolved
56 Unresolved
Our verdict: Dealing with Mr. Rooter, which has an average resolution rate, requires some diligence. Research their service in depth and read a variety of customer reviews for a balanced view. Approach any customer service interactions with detailed and well-prepared queries to facilitate a better resolution process.
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Mr. Rooter reviews & complaints 105

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10:53 pm EDT
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Mr. Rooter Botched repair

Strongly recommended against. Poor quality work which they will not stand behind and is not honestly described.

Botched repair on water main leading to house, managed to destroy threads on city supply and begin releaking within three months. When contacted about the recurrence of leak, was told was warranted for "30 days" but apparently they'd be happy to be paid again for repairing their own botch.

Lied at repair about the warrantee on it (said work was warranteed for much longer) and that they would be using PEX piping to replace the worn out PVC (but instead put a clumsy mess of PVC angles in place, which leaked at the joint by the fitting into the city water main and was overtorqued, causing a great deal of trouble to remove and requiring retapping.

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Mr. Rooter WAY OVER-PRICED!

I was out of town when my wife called and told me that our water heater had leaked out all over the floor in the garage. The house is approx. 15yrs old so I figured the water heater needed to be replaced. I told her to turn off the main water supply and then the breaker for the HWH and then call around for estimates while I checked online home depot for HWH prices.

I guess she chose the biggest add in the phone book and that was a mistake. They came the next day and gave her an estimate of $1800 to replace a 40gal. GE gas water heater that costs about $300 bucks.

Apparently they would need to charge some standard astronomical hourly rate for labor, plus the cost of the HWH, plus a disposal fee for the old HWH (even though they would make money on the recycled copper), plus a city permit fee that I have never heard of in my life.

If I was there I could have taken care of it that night but a friend of mine called a plumber he knew in Ft. Worth who said he could swap out a water heater in 30 minutes for $200 bucks with NO fee, and no extra charges.

My friend's plumber did EXACTLY what he said. My wife had a new HWH sitting there waiting for him when he showed up and he swapped the old HWH out in less than 30 minutes, took the old one away and only charged us $200 bucks.

It cost us less than 1/3rd of the price to have a different plumber do the same work that Mr. Overcharge Rooter wanted to squeeze my unsuspecting wife for.

they should be ashamed that they take advantage of women like that who don't know any better...

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7:14 pm EDT
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Mr. Rooter Poor service, damaged toilets and problem was not fixed

I had plumbing problems and decided to call Mr Rooter as my regular plumbing company, Millcreek Plumbing, was all booked up. I needed to get my toilet unplugged before my company arrived! So, a man from Mr Rooter came over and when he came in the door, he didn't bother to wipe his muddied boots or take them off. He proceeded to walk over my new white bath mat as I had forgotten to move it before he got here. No apology and he was a miserable guy, very unfriendly. He ended up damaging both of my toilets. He didn't mention anything about the damage and I didn't notice it until he left. One week later, the toilet was plugged again. For the second time, the miserable guy came over and said there was nothing wrong with the toilet although he used his equipment again. Again, he got water and mud all over my bathroom and left dirty paper towels on the floor when the garbage can was right beside the toilet. I was charged $310 and still my toilet kept plugging up. He damaged my downstairs toilet so bad that I had to replace it and my upstairs toilet seat has two big chips out of the seat so I will have to replace it! The toilet wasn't ever fixed properly. The 3rd time it plugged, I called my regular company and they fixed the plugged toilet, installed a new toilet and they called here a couple of times to make sure everything was working properly. The plumber was polite, he wiped his shoes at the door and he cleaned up his mess. His services only costed $210 and that included a brand new water efficient toilet! I will never recommend Mr Rooter to anyone. If you are looking for a good plumber who charges very reasonable price, call Millcreek Plumbing in St. Thomas. They are great!

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Mr. Rooter Damaged drainage pipe and refuse to fix it

DO NOT USE THIS PLUMBER! We called Mr. Rooter to unclog our main drainage line leading from our house. They got their snake stuck in the pipe and told us that they had to cut in to the pipe to get their snake out and that they would patch it up when they were done. 4 days later every drain in our house backed up, including the toilets. We dug up the pipe that they had "patched" and sewage started bubbling up. We immediately called them and demanded that they come back and properly patch the pipe. They said someone would be out that day. No one came. At 6, the after hours operater called and said that they were too busy and no one could come and they were also too busy the next day so they would call us on Monday. We told them that was unacceptable and we needed someone out the next day. They caused the problem, they needed to prioritize the repair. The girl promised someone would call me at 8 am. No one called. No one called the whole day. Or Monday. We work during the week and can't be home during the day to wait for the plumber (who probably won't show up anyway, given the previous weekend experience) so the next Saturday we call back and again demand someone come out and fix our pipe that THEY cut to get THEIR equipment out of. Keep in mind the whole week we were unable to use the dishwasher, clothes washer, or to flush any of the toilets more than once/day or everything would back up. The same rude receptionist answered and told us that she'd have the manager call us back. No one called. At 4 pm we called back again and demanded to speak to the highest ranking person there. The same receptionst claimed she was the only one there and she was just the dispatcher. At that point she told us the manager wouldn't be in until the next day and she'd have him call us then. Yeah right. Don't believe anything these people tell you. They are liars and they do shoddy work. They caused more damage to our plumbing than the original problem that we had and they won't take any responsibility for it. DO NOT CALL THIS PLUMBER. They're a little cheaper because they do poor quality work and horrible customer service.

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2:43 pm EST
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Mr. Rooter Poor diagnosis of problem and no repair

My shower did not work. A technician from Mr. Rooter Plumbing came, turned on the cold water faucet and the shower stem. No water came from the shower. He never touched the hot water faucet. He took off the shower head and water flowed slightly. When he put it on again, no water came. He told me all I needed was a new shower head. I got one the next day. Still had the same problem. I was charged $45.00 as a travel charge. Today I had to call another plumber. He had my shower fixed in under 10 minutes. It was simply an adjustment to the diverter stem. Mr. Rooter's technician was very casual in his testing out the problem, and his suggested fix was because of a wrong diagnosis made from very little hands on work. Such incompetence is not acceptable and believe me, I will never even consider calling this company again. Unfortunately, I believed their half-page ad in our yellow pages.

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Mr. Rooter Unethical Business Practices & Shady Employees

On 12-24-2011, Mr.Rooter was called to address the issue of sewage backing up into the basement. "J, " the technician, agreed with the plumber from another plumbing company sent by HSA, who came out three days before he did, that installing a clean-out was necessary in order to accommodate a larger diameter snake. A "Valued Customer Protection Plan" was purchased in order to receive discounted pricing on future services. The stack that was installed by "J" was greasy, filthy, and looked like it had been pulled out of someone else's sewer line. A few minutes after installing the clean-out and into the drain cleaning process using the snake, "J" claimed that he was unable to get the snake very far into the line. "J" said that he would ask his buddy "E" to come out to the house and video inspect the line the following morning as a courtesy. "J" said that he would deny it if anyone said anything about him volunteering his buddy to come out to the house to video inspect the sewer line (We, my mother and I, thought it was a joke, but apparently it wasn't…It was clearly a bait & switch tactic). "J" had cleaned up the raw sewage that was in the basement with cleaner and rags.

On 12-25-2011, "J" showed up with "E" to run a camera in the sewer line. It is important to note that the video inspection (which consisted of viewing only 10 feet of sewer line from the newly installed and filthy new clean-out to house-trap) was performed PRIOR to drawing up any invoices and entering into contract for work to be done. During the video inspection, "E" claimed that he could not get the camera past the same point in the sewer line that "J" claimed that he could not get the drain snake past. "E" explained the process in nonsensical statements which essentially communicated that the sewer line was clogged, but never explained why it was clogged or what it might be clogged with so close to the home's foundation.

"E" told me (my mother was away for Christmas and I was there representing her) that the only way to fix the problem was to replace the sewer line. I inquired as to how much it would cost to do that believing that it was the whole sewer line that needed replaced as the length of the repair was NEVER specified verbally. "E" made a red flag statement while explaining the situation, "Be prepared to sign away your life savings…$10, 000…" Well, that cost was too much to authorize without speaking with my mother who I called on the phone and relayed the information that I was given by "E" and "J" and she gave me permission to sign the invoice and enter into an agreement for what she also thought was our entire lateral sewer line. "E" and "J" never spoke with my mother directly about the contract nor did "E" and "J" object to me signing my mother's name which is clearly in my handwriting.

Keep in mind, at this point, we thought we had licensed master plumbers reviewing the situation and believed that their recommendations would solve the problem. They were supposed to be the professionals, right? We knew nothing at all about plumbing. All we wanted was not to have sewage backup into our basement. Even after my mother gave permission for me to sign her name to the invoice and unknowingly her rights away under the FTC (if I didn't sign her rights away, they wouldn't have done the work as I was told - my mom was not aware that there were any such forms to sign when I was on the phone with her before hanging up to get the process started), I asked "E" multiple times before I signed the invoice and associated forms if the sewer line replacement that he suggested was going to solve the problem and he kept claiming that it would. After the invoice and its associated forms were signed, "E" and "J" got shovels and started digging, then ran the video camera again and recorded our address pulling the video camera out of the clean-out and having it point to the capless housetop (from what I read online, was it even our sewer line I was looking at or was it a dummy video?).

Upon closer inspection of the invoice, the diagnosis/recommendations read "draining slow" and there was no display of what the prices were for each service performed within the contract (camera, hydrojet, replace sewer line to housetop). If you refer to the first invoice on 12-24-2011, there are task numbers possibly indicating that those are the jobs in the price book; however, nothing like that exists on invoice 105738 written on 12-25-2011. Everything is lumped together for $10, 000 - like a number that was at the tip of their tongue. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the membership pricing, which we were entitled to receive according to the "Valued Customer Protection Plan" that was purchased the previous evening, was applied.

After signing invoice 105738 on 12-25-2011 and after the technicians left, THTMA's website was checked in order to be sure we were in compliance with their stated processes, especially after just relocating back to the area from NY. On the website, THTMA specifically states to CALL THEM FIRST and that they will inform the homeowner if they need to contact a plumber.

We had never experienced sewer line problems in any home that we lived in; therefore, we entered into the agreement based on the recommendation of "plumbing technicians" who we believed were licensed master plumbers (anyone can work for a master plumber in PA and Ohio with no license being required). "E" showed up before the excavation crew on 12-26-2011. We, my mother and I, explained our findings on the sewage authority's website and expressed our concerns about signing for work that the sewage authority should have been called in to assess FIRST. In response, "E" told us that their website was wrong and that we were supposed to call them first. We were reminded by "E" that the contract was already signed and paid in full, locking us into the work stated on the invoice (whether or not we needed it).

On 12-26-2011, I was overseeing the work, asking questions and reporting all actions performed by Mr. Rooter employees to my mother with photos and videos. When it was safe for my mother, she ventured to the work area to check in as often as possible in addition to receiving updates from me. During the course of the first part of the excavation, we both figured that since the basement floor was already getting torn up it would be easy to add a toilet.

"S" told me to ask "E" about installing a toilet when he came to camera inspect the outside part of the sewer line the next day on 12-27-2011.

On 12-27-2011, the hydrojetting truck came to pressure wash the inside of the sewer line for the first time. After the hydrojetting procedure was completed (10 minutes or less was spent actually in the sewer line), "E" arrived to camera inspect the rest of the sewer line. The camera inspection revealed a yellow #2 pencil, a 9-volt Energizer battery, and a clog.

Due to the proximity of the neighbor's trees to where the clog was in relation to the home's lateral sewer line, "E" said that there could be "possible root damage" as he claimed that he could not get the camera past the point identified in the yard to the main sewer line. So, because he never went past that point in the yard, "E" NEVER performed a full camera inspection of the home's ENTIRE lateral sewer line as implied from the previous invoice, which reads "camera outside sewer." The full length of the home's lateral sewer line, the part of the sewer line that the homeowner is responsible for, was supposed to be fully inspected and diagnosed by Mr. Rooter.

"E" said, once again, when explaining the situation to us was that the only way to solve the problem was to do a sewer line replacement on the rest of the sewer line, approximately 50 feet or less, for around $12, 000-$15, 000 in addition to the first invoice.

We told them, "No" and asked what other options were available to address the problem of the sewer line being clogged (research was done after the first sewer line replacement invoice and some knowledge was acquired about the different processes relating to sewer line restoration, but allowed "E" to talk.). "E" told us that there was a liquid that could line the sewer in the ball park of around $5, 000-$7, 000 that only carried a 1- year warranty. So, they wanted $5, 000-$7, 000 for a sewer line restoration procedure that wasn't guaranteed to last (it was described like the trenchless sewer technology that I see advertised by them now). Pass.

The only reasonable option that we thought we had at that time was to authorize the pipe burst procedure that "E" said would cost about $8, 000-$9, 000 and came with a 50-year warranty. "E" explained the the pipe burst procedure (actually, a slip lining procedure. pipe bursting is pulling a new smaller or larger diameter pipe into the place of the existing pipe while a machine breaks up the old pipe.) entailed inserting a 4" pipe into the existing 6" pipe that would be untouched. The $8, 000-$9, 000 price is what "E" verbally quoted for the procedure.

Getting smarter, but not smart enough….Before we signed the invoice this time, we insisted that he go get the price book and show us where the charges were coming from in order to be certain that membership pricing was being applied as per the valued customer protection plan which was purchased and paid for on [protected] from "J." "E" retrieved the price book and pointed to two jobs within the book. One of the jobs was supposedly given the membership price which was $4300. What the price is actually attached to is not defined within the invoice. The other price of another job was $5200 and it was not given membership pricing consideration because "E" said that we were getting a toilet at no charge. At the time and under stress from moving and having sewage backing up into the home, we didn't think about the relationship between "E's" verbal statements to us and what he actually wrote down on the invoices. It became clear when evaluating the invoices and the experience we had with Mr. Rooter after Mr. Rooter failed to remedy the problem of sewage backing up into the home. Basically, "E" told us that he was going to give us something that he didn't. The price difference between the actual price of the job that he pointed to in the price book and the membership price was $400; thus, he charged us $400 for the toilet he claimed in both verbal and written form that we were supposed to be getting at "no charge." The toilet was not free as the invoice states; therefore, "E" and Mr. Rooter of Pittsburgh lied on a business contract; hence, committing fraud. The lie was perpetrated in order to coerce us into entering into another expensive and unnecessary contract. At this time, everything was torn up…We were between a rock and a hard place. 

Upon closer inspection of invoice 105742 drawn up on 12-27-2011, it actually states the following: "replace outside sewer stopping 2' shy of main. bed oil pipe in gravel. additional cost 9500. prior cost 10, 000. new job total 19, 500. all cost are cpp discounted. installing new toilet no charge due to cpp membership. paying 9500 by check." Still "E" barely mustered up enough energy to put the prices for the tasks/jobs that were quoted in the right columns as the prices were written in the standard column. Unless you ask for a detailed invoice, apparently you won't get a detailed invoice. Technically, there is still no actual evidence we received membership pricing, although I am honest in saying that it was applied for one job price and not the other.

Upon the claimed completion of the contracted work on 12-30-2011, we were under the impression that the sewage backup problem had been adequately resolved as promised by the employees of Mr. Rooter of Pittsburgh. By the time we had exhausted my late father's life savings, we had expected and were under the impression that they had made it to the main sewer line; therefore, there was no way we should be experiencing any further sewage backups.

We were wrong!

After Mr. Rooter completed the projects, the sewage backed up into the basement and created a more extensive mess than previous backups due to the false sense of security provided to us by Mr. Rooter - that they had successfully solved our problem.

Mr. Rooter was called to address the situation and, in response, they sent out a hydrojetting truck. The hydrojetting truck ran pressurized water through the line, assured us that we should be fine, recommended we used Scott toilet paper (we did), and left.

One week after Mr. Rooter's hydrojetting truck came, the sewage backed up into the basement again. Mr. Rooter was contacted about the second backup, to which they responded by sending out another hydrojetting truck. The African American gentleman from the hydrojetting truck claimed that we had a "soft clog." For a "soft clog, " he had a very difficult time trying to clear it. His hydrojetting stream rose up out of the clean out approximately 3 or 4 stories like a geyser. He told us that had never happened before and that he didn't know why it was doing that. We decided to call the sewage authority to come out to evaluate the line as should've been done from the beginning. The sewage authority arrived as the Mr. Rooter hydrojetting truck technician waited around to see what the sewage authority was going to say. The sewage authority sent a camera up their main line and hydrojetted it. We specifically recall that the Mr. Rooter technician asked a sewage authority employee if the section of our home's lateral sewer line could be replaced from where Mr. Rooter's work stopped to the main. The sewage authority employee told him, No." Then, the sewage authority sent a camera up our home's lateral sewer line from the main line and couldn't make out what the blockage was. The sewage authority decided to go ahead and hydrojet our home's lateral sewer line from the clean out (where Mr. Rooter's work ended) to the main. The Mr. Rooter Hydrojetting technician said that they had better equipment and should be able to get the sewer line flowing (isn't that what Mr. Rooter advertises they can do?). Additionally, the Mr. Rooter tech said that he was afraid of getting the hose stuck in the sewer line and having to pay to get it removed. Prior to the sewage authority hydrojetting our home's lateral sewer line, the Mr. Rooter technician left.

One week after the sewage authority's intervention, another sewage backup occurred; we decided to skip calling Mr. Rooter, yet again, for a problem that they are obviously unqualified to address (recall mention of dumb-founded tech gazing in awe at the geyser spewing from the clean-out and the fact that this was their second time out after completion of work, in addition to them coming two or three times during the course of the contracted work). Instead, we called the sewage authority to come out and assess the situation. The sewage authority had arrived at our home and, as a courtesy, camera inspected the work that Mr. Rooter had completed in order to be sure that it was done properly, with the sewage authority determining that it was. The THTMA proceeded to hydrojet our home's lateral sewer line from the clean out located near the basement door at the house-trap to the main sewer line. On this visit, they did not camera to check that the line was clear; however, they did observed flow and thought that it was good to go.

In order to address the regular frequency of sewage backing up into our basement, the sewage authority employees decided to make an appointment to clean out our home's lateral sewer line using a camera to make sure that any blockages were cleared and to be sure that no additional work on our home's lateral sewer line was necessary. In a letter to Mr. Rooter of Pittsburgh, composed and sent on [protected], it stated that the township was coming out to assess the situation in addition to conveying exactly what frame of mind we were and are still both in. We were and are angry and extremely dissatisfied to have paid $19, 500 for a sewer line replacement/sliplining process that was supposed to be done up to within 2' of the main according to the contract but wasn't and $200 for a 5-year "Valued Customer Protection Plan" for the main purpose of receiving preferential pricing that there is no evidence that we received, and then find ourselves no better off than we were BEFORE signing the invoices and the forms that forced my mother to give up her rights under the FTC to have the "emergency" work done…We still experienced the emergency! I would hope that the FTC would agree that a business who makes people sign their rights away in an emergency and performs UNNECESSARY work which fails to prevent the emergency from reoccurring is a serious problem…A breech of contract.

Mr. Rooter didn't do anything to solve the problem in which they were contracted to solve. Apparently, upon receiving the email sent on [protected], "E" decided to show up at the house the following day just a few hours before the sewage authority arrived to do a camera-assisted clean out. First of all, we don't recall calling or receiving a call from "E" or inviting "E" to park his van in the back of our home (they advertise that they don't park in your driveway, but they did without being invited to) - I'm sure that if I searched phone records, I would be able to confirm this statement. In fact, we didn't even know anyone was on our property. That is, until we noticed a man walking across the porch, and then peering in the windows like a "Peeping Tom." It took a few minutes to realize that it was "E." We opened the door to find out what he wanted. He wanted to sell us a $5, 000 back flow preventer, claiming that it was the only way to prevent sewage from backing up into the basement again. At that point, we informed him that the township would be here in a few hours. We followed him to the back to be sure he got in his truck to leave and did not touch anything (based on reviews we found online, people have reported Mr. Rooter employees tampering with evidence). "E" spent quite a bit of time walking around talking on his cell phone before he finally left. After the sewage authority had arrived to camera inspect and clean our home's lateral sewer line (of grease), they determined that everything was fine. Since the SEWAGE AUTHORITY cleared the grease out of OUR HOME'S LATERAL SEWER LINE, the line that WE are responsible for and that Mr. Rooter was contracted to restore flow to but didn't restore flow at all, there have been NO SEWAGE BACKUPS in 12+ months!

Furthermore, we are extremely unhappy with the fact that the concrete slab in front of the outside basement door has a crack running where the old concrete meets the new concrete. When they first did it, it looked fine; however, after it dried, it cracked. The remainder of the concrete slab should've been jackhammered and re-poured as it was obvious that no bonding agents were appropriately applied.

Another thing that we are not happy about is that the drain for the basement shower was moved from its original location, making it hard to find a new shower base. All we had to do in order to use that shower, prior to excavation, was to replace the plumbing. Now we would have to worry about moving the drain or custom forming the shower base. Access was needed to a shower because the bathtub is very difficult to get in and out of due to a mobility-related disability.



In conclusion, NONE of the work that Mr. Rooter did contributed to solving the problem of sewage backing up into our basement. Mr. Rooter engaged in the following behaviors during our experience: high pressure and misleading sales tactics; breech of contract; and the inadequate completion and delivery of services.



To date, they have continued to victimize us - this time for reporting the truth! Our side of the story is consistently told every time, but theirs isn't…In communication with the BBB, Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Pittsburgh informed them (remember the invoice read a diagnosis of "draining slow") that there were massive amounts of grease in the sewer line (there were about two or three areas in the sewer line where Mr, . Rooter removed grease and one area where the township removed grease which was against where Mr. Rooter stopped work short of the main sewer line) to sending a photo claiming that a drain cleaning machine made the holes in the solidified grease (yes, the hydrojetting machine that was in the line unaided by a video camera for less than 10 or 15 minutes max - they spent more time setting the equipment up. maybe if the hydrojetting process was performed longer (like the 6 hours roto-rooter spent cleaning out some other person's line of grease in an article found online), it would have eventually started to break the grease up and move it along but that would've taken time and doesn't cost as much as a "dig" or "replacement/restoration" product) to claiming that the line was completely blocked and that the matter would be settled in court|. Really? They went from the diagnosis of "draining slow" on the invoice all the way to claiming the sewer line was completely blocked". If the sewer line is draining at all, even slowly, then it isn't completely blocked.

At the claimed completion of the sewer line work, we were told that we should have no problems for 50 - 100 years, but the sewer backed up repeatedly for about 3 weeks. Mr. Rooter advertises that they can remove years of grease accumulation from a sewer line with the hydrojetting process (we wish we would've called A1 Sewer Cleaning Specialists and avoided this nightmare all together because if they don't clear the line, then they don't charge - camera inspection is an additional fee but that is ok because it would still be cheaper and more effective!). Mr. Rooter advertises that they fix the problem right the first time (we had the same problem and no resolution, so they don't do that). Mr. Rooter Plumbing prides themselves in delivering "World-Class Customer Service" and claims to "have customer service down to a science:" we believe they better retest their theory because it either isn't getting implemented or it is a faulty process."

Stay anonymous when you try to warn others because the reality is that they probably won't move forward with you in an honest, respectable, and reasonable manner and, in our case, may attempt to punish you into silence and prevent you from speaking about the details of your experience.



Be very careful and have lots of witnesses, take lots of photos, take lots of videos, and never ever leave them unattended at your home!

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Mr. Rooter Incompetent Work & Blatant Lies

On 12-24-2011, Mr.Rooter was called to address the issue of sewage backing up into the basement. "J, " the technician, agreed with the plumber from another plumbing company sent by HSA, who came out three days before he did, that installing a clean-out was necessary in order to accommodate a larger diameter snake. A "Valued Customer Protection Plan" was purchased in order to receive discounted pricing on future services. The stack that was installed by "J" was greasy, filthy, and looked like it had been pulled out of someone else's sewer line. A few minutes after installing the clean-out and into the drain cleaning process using the snake, "J" claimed that he was unable to get the snake very far into the line. "J" said that he would ask his buddy "E" to come out to the house and video inspect the line the following morning as a courtesy. "J" said that he would deny it if anyone said anything about him volunteering his buddy to come out to the house to video inspect the sewer line (We, my mother and I, thought it was a joke, but apparently it wasn't…It was clearly a bait & switch tactic). "J" had cleaned up the raw sewage that was in the basement with cleaner and rags.

On 12-25-2011, "J" showed up with "E" to run a camera in the sewer line. It is important to note that the video inspection (which consisted of viewing only 10 feet of sewer line from the newly installed and filthy new clean-out to house-trap) was performed PRIOR to drawing up any invoices and entering into contract for work to be done. During the video inspection, "E" claimed that he could not get the camera past the same point in the sewer line that "J" claimed that he could not get the drain snake past. "E" explained the process in nonsensical statements which essentially communicated that the sewer line was clogged, but never explained why it was clogged or what it might be clogged with so close to the home's foundation.

"E" told me (my mother was away for Christmas and I was there representing her) that the only way to fix the problem was to replace the sewer line. I inquired as to how much it would cost to do that believing that it was the whole sewer line that needed replaced as the length of the repair was NEVER specified verbally. "E" made a red flag statement while explaining the situation, "Be prepared to sign away your life savings…$10, 000…" Well, that cost was too much to authorize without speaking with my mother who I called on the phone and relayed the information that I was given by "E" and "J" and she gave me permission to sign the invoice and enter into an agreement for what she also thought was our entire lateral sewer line. "E" and "J" never spoke with my mother directly about the contract nor did "E" and "J" object to me signing my mother's name which is clearly in my handwriting.

Keep in mind, at this point, we thought we had licensed master plumbers reviewing the situation and believed that their recommendations would solve the problem. They were supposed to be the professionals, right? We knew nothing at all about plumbing. All we wanted was not to have sewage backup into our basement. Even after my mother gave permission for me to sign her name to the invoice and unknowingly her rights away under the FTC (if I didn't sign her rights away, they wouldn't have done the work as I was told - my mom was not aware that there were any such forms to sign when I was on the phone with her before hanging up to get the process started), I asked "E" multiple times before I signed the invoice and associated forms if the sewer line replacement that he suggested was going to solve the problem and he kept claiming that it would. After the invoice and its associated forms were signed, "E" and "J" got shovels and started digging, then ran the video camera again and recorded our address pulling the video camera out of the clean-out and having it point to the capless housetop (from what I read online, was it even our sewer line I was looking at or was it a dummy video?).

Upon closer inspection of the invoice, the diagnosis/recommendations read "draining slow" and there was no display of what the prices were for each service performed within the contract (camera, hydrojet, replace sewer line to housetop). If you refer to the first invoice on 12-24-2011, there are task numbers possibly indicating that those are the jobs in the price book; however, nothing like that exists on invoice 105738 written on 12-25-2011. Everything is lumped together for $10, 000 - like a number that was at the tip of their tongue. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the membership pricing, which we were entitled to receive according to the "Valued Customer Protection Plan" that was purchased the previous evening, was applied.

After signing invoice 105738 on 12-25-2011 and after the technicians left, THTMA's website was checked in order to be sure we were in compliance with their stated processes, especially after just relocating back to the area from NY. On the website, THTMA specifically states to CALL THEM FIRST and that they will inform the homeowner if they need to contact a plumber.

We had never experienced sewer line problems in any home that we lived in; therefore, we entered into the agreement based on the recommendation of "plumbing technicians" who we believed were licensed master plumbers (anyone can work for a master plumber in PA and Ohio with no license being required). "E" showed up before the excavation crew on 12-26-2011. We, my mother and I, explained our findings on the sewage authority's website and expressed our concerns about signing for work that the sewage authority should have been called in to assess FIRST. In response, "E" told us that their website was wrong and that we were supposed to call them first. We were reminded by "E" that the contract was already signed and paid in full, locking us into the work stated on the invoice (whether or not we needed it).

On 12-26-2011, I was overseeing the work, asking questions and reporting all actions performed by Mr. Rooter employees to my mother with photos and videos. When it was safe for my mother, she ventured to the work area to check in as often as possible in addition to receiving updates from me. During the course of the first part of the excavation, we both figured that since the basement floor was already getting torn up it would be easy to add a toilet.

"S" told me to ask "E" about installing a toilet when he came to camera inspect the outside part of the sewer line the next day on 12-27-2011.

On 12-27-2011, the hydrojetting truck came to pressure wash the inside of the sewer line for the first time. After the hydrojetting procedure was completed (10 minutes or less was spent actually in the sewer line), "E" arrived to camera inspect the rest of the sewer line. The camera inspection revealed a yellow #2 pencil, a 9-volt Energizer battery, and a clog.

Due to the proximity of the neighbor's trees to where the clog was in relation to the home's lateral sewer line, "E" said that there could be "possible root damage" as he claimed that he could not get the camera past the point identified in the yard to the main sewer line. So, because he never went past that point in the yard, "E" NEVER performed a full camera inspection of the home's ENTIRE lateral sewer line as implied from the previous invoice, which reads "camera outside sewer." The full length of the home's lateral sewer line, the part of the sewer line that the homeowner is responsible for, was supposed to be fully inspected and diagnosed by Mr. Rooter.

"E" said, once again, when explaining the situation to us was that the only way to solve the problem was to do a sewer line replacement on the rest of the sewer line, approximately 50 feet or less, for around $12, 000-$15, 000 in addition to the first invoice.

We told them, "No" and asked what other options were available to address the problem of the sewer line being clogged (research was done after the first sewer line replacement invoice and some knowledge was acquired about the different processes relating to sewer line restoration, but allowed "E" to talk.). "E" told us that there was a liquid that could line the sewer in the ball park of around $5, 000-$7, 000 that only carried a 1- year warranty. So, they wanted $5, 000-$7, 000 for a sewer line restoration procedure that wasn't guaranteed to last (it was described like the trenchless sewer technology that I see advertised by them now). Pass.

The only reasonable option that we thought we had at that time was to authorize the pipe burst procedure that "E" said would cost about $8, 000-$9, 000 and came with a 50-year warranty. "E" explained the the pipe burst procedure (actually, a slip lining procedure. pipe bursting is pulling a new smaller or larger diameter pipe into the place of the existing pipe while a machine breaks up the old pipe.) entailed inserting a 4" pipe into the existing 6" pipe that would be untouched. The $8, 000-$9, 000 price is what "E" verbally quoted for the procedure.

Getting smarter, but not smart enough….Before we signed the invoice this time, we insisted that he go get the price book and show us where the charges were coming from in order to be certain that membership pricing was being applied as per the valued customer protection plan which was purchased and paid for on [protected] from "J." "E" retrieved the price book and pointed to two jobs within the book. One of the jobs was supposedly given the membership price which was $4300. What the price is actually attached to is not defined within the invoice. The other price of another job was $5200 and it was not given membership pricing consideration because "E" said that we were getting a toilet at no charge. At the time and under stress from moving and having sewage backing up into the home, we didn't think about the relationship between "E's" verbal statements to us and what he actually wrote down on the invoices. It became clear when evaluating the invoices and the experience we had with Mr. Rooter after Mr. Rooter failed to remedy the problem of sewage backing up into the home. Basically, "E" told us that he was going to give us something that he didn't. The price difference between the actual price of the job that he pointed to in the price book and the membership price was $400; thus, he charged us $400 for the toilet he claimed in both verbal and written form that we were supposed to be getting at "no charge." The toilet was not free as the invoice states; therefore, "E" and Mr. Rooter of Pittsburgh lied on a business contract; hence, committing fraud. The lie was perpetrated in order to coerce us into entering into another expensive and unnecessary contract. At this time, everything was torn up…We were between a rock and a hard place. 

Upon closer inspection of invoice 105742 drawn up on 12-27-2011, it actually states the following: "replace outside sewer stopping 2' shy of main. bed oil pipe in gravel. additional cost 9500. prior cost 10, 000. new job total 19, 500. all cost are cpp discounted. installing new toilet no charge due to cpp membership. paying 9500 by check." Still "E" barely mustered up enough energy to put the prices for the tasks/jobs that were quoted in the right columns as the prices were written in the standard column. Unless you ask for a detailed invoice, apparently you won't get a detailed invoice. Technically, there is still no actual evidence we received membership pricing, although I am honest in saying that it was applied for one job price and not the other.

Upon the claimed completion of the contracted work on 12-30-2011, we were under the impression that the sewage backup problem had been adequately resolved as promised by the employees of Mr. Rooter of Pittsburgh. By the time we had exhausted my late father's life savings, we had expected and were under the impression that they had made it to the main sewer line; therefore, there was no way we should be experiencing any further sewage backups.

We were wrong!

After Mr. Rooter completed the projects, the sewage backed up into the basement and created a more extensive mess than previous backups due to the false sense of security provided to us by Mr. Rooter - that they had successfully solved our problem.

Mr. Rooter was called to address the situation and, in response, they sent out a hydrojetting truck. The hydrojetting truck ran pressurized water through the line, assured us that we should be fine, recommended we used Scott toilet paper (we did), and left.

One week after Mr. Rooter's hydrojetting truck came, the sewage backed up into the basement again. Mr. Rooter was contacted about the second backup, to which they responded by sending out another hydrojetting truck. The African American gentleman from the hydrojetting truck claimed that we had a "soft clog." For a "soft clog, " he had a very difficult time trying to clear it. His hydrojetting stream rose up out of the clean out approximately 3 or 4 stories like a geyser. He told us that had never happened before and that he didn't know why it was doing that. We decided to call the sewage authority to come out to evaluate the line as should've been done from the beginning. The sewage authority arrived as the Mr. Rooter hydrojetting truck technician waited around to see what the sewage authority was going to say. The sewage authority sent a camera up their main line and hydrojetted it. We specifically recall that the Mr. Rooter technician asked a sewage authority employee if the section of our home's lateral sewer line could be replaced from where Mr. Rooter's work stopped to the main. The sewage authority employee told him, No." Then, the sewage authority sent a camera up our home's lateral sewer line from the main line and couldn't make out what the blockage was. The sewage authority decided to go ahead and hydrojet our home's lateral sewer line from the clean out (where Mr. Rooter's work ended) to the main. The Mr. Rooter Hydrojetting technician said that they had better equipment and should be able to get the sewer line flowing (isn't that what Mr. Rooter advertises they can do?). Additionally, the Mr. Rooter tech said that he was afraid of getting the hose stuck in the sewer line and having to pay to get it removed. Prior to the sewage authority hydrojetting our home's lateral sewer line, the Mr. Rooter technician left.

One week after the sewage authority's intervention, another sewage backup occurred; we decided to skip calling Mr. Rooter, yet again, for a problem that they are obviously unqualified to address (recall mention of dumb-founded tech gazing in awe at the geyser spewing from the clean-out and the fact that this was their second time out after completion of work, in addition to them coming two or three times during the course of the contracted work). Instead, we called the sewage authority to come out and assess the situation. The sewage authority had arrived at our home and, as a courtesy, camera inspected the work that Mr. Rooter had completed in order to be sure that it was done properly, with the sewage authority determining that it was. The THTMA proceeded to hydrojet our home's lateral sewer line from the clean out located near the basement door at the house-trap to the main sewer line. On this visit, they did not camera to check that the line was clear; however, they did observed flow and thought that it was good to go.

In order to address the regular frequency of sewage backing up into our basement, the sewage authority employees decided to make an appointment to clean out our home's lateral sewer line using a camera to make sure that any blockages were cleared and to be sure that no additional work on our home's lateral sewer line was necessary. In a letter to Mr. Rooter of Pittsburgh, composed and sent on [protected], it stated that the township was coming out to assess the situation in addition to conveying exactly what frame of mind we were and are still both in. We were and are angry and extremely dissatisfied to have paid $19, 500 for a sewer line replacement/sliplining process that was supposed to be done up to within 2' of the main according to the contract but wasn't and $200 for a 5-year "Valued Customer Protection Plan" for the main purpose of receiving preferential pricing that there is no evidence that we received, and then find ourselves no better off than we were BEFORE signing the invoices and the forms that forced my mother to give up her rights under the FTC to have the "emergency" work done…We still experienced the emergency! I would hope that the FTC would agree that a business who makes people sign their rights away in an emergency and performs UNNECESSARY work which fails to prevent the emergency from reoccurring is a serious problem…A breech of contract.

Mr. Rooter didn't do anything to solve the problem in which they were contracted to solve. Apparently, upon receiving the email sent on [protected], "E" decided to show up at the house the following day just a few hours before the sewage authority arrived to do a camera-assisted clean out. First of all, we don't recall calling or receiving a call from "E" or inviting "E" to park his van in the back of our home (they advertise that they don't park in your driveway, but they did without being invited to) - I'm sure that if I searched phone records, I would be able to confirm this statement. In fact, we didn't even know anyone was on our property. That is, until we noticed a man walking across the porch, and then peering in the windows like a "Peeping Tom." It took a few minutes to realize that it was "E." We opened the door to find out what he wanted. He wanted to sell us a $5, 000 back flow preventer, claiming that it was the only way to prevent sewage from backing up into the basement again. At that point, we informed him that the township would be here in a few hours. We followed him to the back to be sure he got in his truck to leave and did not touch anything (based on reviews we found online, people have reported Mr. Rooter employees tampering with evidence). "E" spent quite a bit of time walking around talking on his cell phone before he finally left. After the sewage authority had arrived to camera inspect and clean our home's lateral sewer line (of grease), they determined that everything was fine. Since the SEWAGE AUTHORITY cleared the grease out of OUR HOME'S LATERAL SEWER LINE, the line that WE are responsible for and that Mr. Rooter was contracted to restore flow to but didn't restore flow at all, there have been NO SEWAGE BACKUPS in 12+ months!

Furthermore, we are extremely unhappy with the fact that the concrete slab in front of the outside basement door has a crack running where the old concrete meets the new concrete. When they first did it, it looked fine; however, after it dried, it cracked. The remainder of the concrete slab should've been jackhammered and re-poured as it was obvious that no bonding agents were appropriately applied.

Another thing that we are not happy about is that the drain for the basement shower was moved from its original location, making it hard to find a new shower base. All we had to do in order to use that shower, prior to excavation, was to replace the plumbing. Now we would have to worry about moving the drain or custom forming the shower base. Access was needed to a shower because the bathtub is very difficult to get in and out of due to a mobility-related disability.



In conclusion, NONE of the work that Mr. Rooter did contributed to solving the problem of sewage backing up into our basement. Mr. Rooter engaged in the following behaviors during our experience: high pressure and misleading sales tactics; breech of contract; and the inadequate completion and delivery of services.

Stay anonymous when you try to warn others because the reality is that they probably won't move forward with you in an honest, respectable, and reasonable manner and, in our case, may attempt to punish you into silence and prevent you from speaking about the details of your experience.



Be very careful and have lots of witnesses, take lots of photos, take lots of videos, and never ever leave them unattended at your home!

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Mr. Rooter Incompetent service

Don’t ever call or hire this company. They are incompetent. The bottom line is I spent $569 to clear a clogged kitchen drain that ran freely for only one week! Here is my story:

On a Saturday of a four-day holiday weekend our kitchen sink became clogged. These things always happen on a weekend. Knowing our regular plumber would not be available, I postponed my call until Monday morning. However, that day was also New Year’s Eve, and our plumber had decided to also take that day as a holiday. Not wanting to wait two more days, I called Mr. Rooter.

Mr. Rooter arrived within two hours with a price book showing their listed service fees. To auger the drain, it would cost $213. That seemed high, but we were in a bind, and it was a holiday. The plumber spent three hours to no avail. He said that he would have to go to step 2 – the hydro jet process. This would cost an additional $469 for the specialized equipment to scour every sewer line in the house. The plumber guaranteed that this would completely clean all of our pipes.

When I complained that I had already spent $213 for no positive results, he talked to his boss who lowered the price to $100. Again in a bind, I authorized the service for the next day. The plumber had problems getting the small water jet hose far enough into the vent on the roof to get into the main sewer line. He would have flooded the kitchen if I hadn’t yelled for him to shut down the machine. Instead of pushing the clog down the sewer line, the water was backing up into the sink.

After working for another three hours, he finally was able to (partially) clear the drain. Water was running freely. Unfortunately, one week later the drain was clogged again. I called the Mr. Rooter plumber to inform him that the drain was clogged again, and he started talking of additional options for more money.

So then I called my regular plumber, and for $95 he totally cleared the drain in one hour. We decided that the next time our regular plumber is unavailable; we will visit friends or stay in a hotel for a couple of days. It would still be cheaper than calling Mr. Rooter.

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Mr. Rooter FRAUD of a Senior Citizen

Mr Rooter of San Fernando was called for a clogged drain service on Saturday 10-13-2012. They met with my 76 year old mother and said that they could not clear it and that they needed to go on th roof to clear the clog. After several hours, they said that they had to open the wall and the pipes to use a special machine, the "hydro jet 4000" at a cost of $3, 961.00. I put a stop to the service and aske d them to leave so that i could get a second opinion.

I called another service who cleared the clog in about 10 minutes with a standard snake the following day.

Mr Rooter is a SCAM! and they are taking advantage of senior citizens like my 76 year old mother. STAY AWAY!

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Mr. Rooter Double billing

I had a hot water leak under the slab in my home. The person who located the leak called Mr. Rooter and was told that they could insert a plastic tubing within the half inch copper tubing that was leaking and thus bypass the leak.

When the Mr. Rooter 'technicians' (note they don't call themselves plumbers) arrived they affirmed that they could try to insert the plastic tubing which would fix the leak for $266.33 but they wouldn't guarantee it would work. They had no plastic tubing on the truck but said they would purchase some.

They left and I opened up the drywall to make the pipes accessible. When they returned they had not purchased the plastic tubing but instead attempted to insert quarter inch copper tubing into the half inch leaking tubing. Before they started I told them that the copper tubing was not flexible enough to snake through the leaking tubing. They ignored me and tried to insert it but were unsuccessful. They charged me the $266.33 since they couldn't guarantee it would work, however they never tried to insert plastic tubing as I was originally told.

They left and later called to say that they could run PEX tubing through the stud walls to bypass the leaking copper tubing. I opened up the stud walls and they returned, installed the PEX tubing and the problem was solved. They charged $159.27 for this service.

Then they spen considerable time and effort to convince me to have my septic tank pumped for $650 and to have my kitchen drain cleaned for $350. These guys are high pressure salesmen who use scare tactics to make a sale.

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Mr. Rooter Mr Rooter is a rip off

I wish I would have found this site sooner- we were so ripped off by Mr. Rooter. we paid extra for an extended service plan which gave us priority scheduling and discounts on service.
I called and scheduled for a plumber to come at 5 PM. on Friday. (The person who answered said because of our extended plan we got priority scheduling...)
At 7:30 PM they called and said they'd have to come Saturday morn- I asked for the first appointment- they said fine and scheduled me for 9 AM. At 10:15 AM I called when no plumber has shown up yet- They said the technician was still on his first visit at 8 AM- (!?) still no-one showed up- 11:15 AM I cancelled.
PLEASE LEARN FROM MY MISTAKE!
-ALSO- Reed's Sewer and Drain came to the rescue- did a great job- (FOR 1/2 the price of Mr. Rooter with the supposed Discount!)

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deadplumber
Barnesville, US
May 25, 2014 9:53 am EDT

Mr.Rooter is a franchised company i am not saying what has been done to all of you with complaints was right in the least bit but you really can not knock the franchise for a few techs who are hacks and franchise owners who are scam artist. i think you all should make calls to the franchise office and let them know how you were miss treated so the techs and honest owners dont be made to look bad when some of us are out here really trying to make it and treat every customer as if they were thier own family

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Mr. Rooter Way overpriced and recommended unneeded work

I already posted this as a reply to another complaint but wanted to start a new thread with it as well so more people see it. Our basement toilet backed up so we called a number of plumbers and Mr. Rooter was able to come out the quickest. The tech did do a good job of snaking the drain and removing some roots but we were way overcharged...and the toilet was broken (literally broken) in the process. We had them come back out a few days later because there was still a bit of water coming out. The tech went in with a camera and told my wife that the pipe was broken and quoted us $4500 to replace it. We decided to get another plumber to do the work...the second plumber quoted us $2300...almost HALF what Mr. Rooter said it would cost. Needless to say, we hired the second plumber. Here is where the story gets really good...the second plumber didn't run a camera because we told him that Mr. Rooter already did so and they said it was broken and had to come out. When the plumber that we hired got all the concrete and dirt out and pulled up the pipe...he found that it was completely intact. Yep...intact...thanks Mr. Rooter for costing me a ton of money for nothing. It's hard enough trying to make ends meet without big companies trying to rip you off. I will never hire Mr. Rooter for anything again and will tell all my friends about this experience so they don't make the same mistake we did.

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Mr. Rooter non payment of wages

worked for these guys for 2 days this spring:('12)never as of yet got paid.was assured by steven, their dispatcher, several times that the check is in the mail.ha!also they do not have enough work for the few guys that they do have.they give them 1-2 jobs a day.they are on commission.that makes for a bad situation as you have guys trying to make a living on just a couple of jobs and believe me they are digging to find anything (legit and otherwise)that even remotely ooks likme it needs repairing.the mr rooter club is a joke also.no added benefit

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Mr. Rooter Clogged Washing Machine Drain

My washing machine keeps backing up, called them to come out and they arrived same day, (good) the service man did not have his small router so he cleaned the basement drain which we had no problem with. Well the washer backed up water all over the floor that evening when I did laundry. I called them to come out again and said to please bring the small router. My husband (senior citizen) left work early to meed the guy, he did not bring the small router and did NOTHING! This is supposed to have a 30 day guarantee, cost us @ $170 their minimum charge. I sent a letter to the company asking they return to fix this or refund my money, you guessed it we have not heard on thing back from them. Rip Off!

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Mr. Rooter
Eldridge, US
Oct 18, 2012 4:57 am EDT

This is Mr. Rooter in Eldridge. We are unaware of this situation and have never received any written request for a refund. Please contact us right away.

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Mr. Rooter Service not delivered

We had backed up toilets into the shower. We called a plumber and in the meantime my husband had gone to Lowes. At lowes he ran into someone that was very nice that worked froo Mr Rooter and he said to call and they would help. We called and cancelled the other plumber and made the call to Mr Rooter. We were told the charge to come out was 99.50 and that would be applied to any work that needed to be done. The plumber arrived and was outside with my husband. He said we had a backed up sewer and he would un lcog it for a total of 198.50. My husband agreed and signed to have the clog un plugged. He got a machine out and turned it on and then said oh no-bad news you have a broken sewer line-I got mud. My husband saw no mud. He then proceeded to wrap up his equipemnt and tell us it would be 2800.00 to fix it. We said we would have to call and get another opinion before spending that kind of money and we said we would pay the 99.50 visit fee and he said no you will pay the 198.50. We said well you didnt un lcog it and that is what we were paying for he said you will pay the 198.50 and asked us to sign the bill-we refused and documented refused on the receipt. We called another plumber (all on Memorial day weekend) and the plumber said we shoudl wait until Tues-told us how we could get by for the weekeend. First thing Tues we called the new plumber and they came out and in less than 20 minutes unclogged the clog and charged 112.00-very professional and quick. I called the customer service for Mr Rooter and said we were very upset we were mislead-we had a very stressful weeked wrrying about a 3k repair bill looming----he said well you stil have to paythe 198.50, and he would stand behind his plumber as he had been with him awhile now (i asked how long and he said about a year). I said i wanted to talk to someone else and he said the buck stopped with him. I have been trying to track down the owner and will continue until I find it. It is not right to mislead the consumer and take advantage on a holiday weekend. Had we just gone ahead with the repair suggested by Mr Rooter we would have a torn up front yard and have 3k less dollars in the bank...shame on you Mr Rooter!

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Regi C
Duncanville, US
May 30, 2012 5:30 am EDT
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Sure hope you've gotten your plumbing issues taken care of. I stumbled upon Benjamin Franklin Plumbing. In the past 8 yrs I've had reason for services, I have never once been unhappy. From the person that takes the call to the technicians that have come out. While I hope you never have a need for this type of thing again, I highly recommend B.F.

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Mr. Rooter Bad job, big price

I got a sewer line replaced, I don't think that the person running the earth moving equipment had ever done so before because they didn't backfill under the sidewalk or steps which is now causing both of them to fall down. I contacted Mr. Rooter of Syr to come and fix it, and they sent a plumber (who wasn't here the day of the job) with some top soil and a shovel! My contract read "All work will be completed in a competent manner according to standard practice" I could have a paid A LOT LESS money for the job I got, and now I'm looking at some extensive concrete work. My neighbors have asked me who did the work, so they will know not to hire them, and I did share that with the office when I called them. I have worked with that company in the past, and had generally good experiences until they became part of Mr. Rooter. Luckily I have a found a plumber that I wish I would have found before I spent $4, 500, and easily have another $1, 000 to $2, 000 still to spend to fix what they did. What a mess!

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Mr. Rooter Rip off

Horribly overpriced and tryed to fix what is not broken. In short they wanted $2323.23 for replacing a water heater. They wanted $1128.25 for a 40 gallon water heater. I can get a better spec'd water heater at Home Depot / Sears / Lowes for $400. Another company fixed/replaced everything, plus fixed my toilet (new guts, new water supply valve) for $950.00. They also spent too much time trying to pitch a service contract membership. I simply laughed. While they were out here, I googled "Mr. Rooter complaints" and found this board. I read through this stuff while this guy was compiling his estimate. I told him about the complaints I read, and that he did exactly what everyone else complained about. I told him also that I could get a water heater for $400 and he began telling me how their Flame Guard is better and last longer, and wasn't available to the public (simple ploy so you can't compare the pricing). Flame Guard is made by American I believe, which makes a similar brand for Sears. I asked if it were better, why lower spec, and why an identical warranty. He simply didn't know what to say. All I can say is that these people prey on uniformed consumers. Thankfully I had my smart phone handy!

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Mr. Rooter failure to follow company philosophy rules

I decided to call Mr. Rooter to have a clog in my toilet unstopped. I looked on the Internet and saw wonderful ads showing how their service people carried a mat & wiped their feet before entering customers home. In reality, the service man didn't wipe his feet at all, augured my toilet, talked about his dog for 15 minutes and told me that he felt something hard in the line but didn't get it out. I still have a slow running toilet and I was charged a very high price to hear about his dog. Never again Mr. Rooter ! I tried calling headquarters and always got an answering machine
and my calls were never returned. Steer clear of this business !

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takenadvantageofbymrrooter
, US
Jan 27, 2013 2:09 pm EST
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Unfortunately, you and I know what the stark reality of dealing with Mr. Rooter Plumbing is. They don't follow company philosophy or do they? I believe they tell consumers one thing, but behave in a different manner. Corporate cares about their bottom line, not about the consumers that are feeding their piggy bank. I wish there was something we could do on a larger scale to inform them that consumers expect to be treated how advertised. They disrespected our home as well.

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Mr. Rooter deceptive business practice

Beware of these guys. They are over priced. They use "bate and switch" tactics to draw you in, then create one crisis after another to exploit more and more money from you. They got me for several thousand dollars of unnecessary costs I got wise and obtained a second opinion from a plumber with 30 years experience. He clued me into their devious tactics. their stock in trade seems to be to take advantage of elderly and desperate people. Mr Rooter operates without a hint ethics and I think someone should investigate them for a class action law suit. Stay away from Mr Rooter!

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Mr. Rooter Rip off

Cost me $190.00 to change a small valve that I can get for $5 at Home depot. The plumber was here for 20 minutes. In addition, he wanted to charge $15 for fuel surcharge. Pure rip off...

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ScammedByMrRooter
, US
Nov 05, 2012 4:35 pm EST
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I think just about everyone has been ripped off by them. I've read about situations involving other customers, employees, and even franchisees who were ripped off by The Dwyer Group! A scam report contains links to two blogs that describe everything that went on between the local franchise, corporate, and the homeowner...It is unbelievable...They were all caught in lies...

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www.mrrooter.com

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