Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

"They were prompt and courteous, but very deceptive when it came to getting an estimate. My goal in writing this review is to warn others and make sure you don't get scammed like I did. The job was very straightforward. I had a leaky water pipe (3/4" diameter CPVC) in ceiling of the basement. You could see the leak from the unfinished side of the basement, but the leak was hard to reach and over the finished side of the basement. I'm not a plumber and even I could do the fix partially. But I couldn't finish the job because I didn't want to break the dry wall underneath the leak. So I decided to call a plumber to do the job properly. I picked Roto-Rooter because of the high 4.8 star rating (at the time) and because the lady on the phone said there would be no cost for someone to come and give an estimate. When the plumber (Delroy) came, he refused to give an estimate. The problem was clearly visible from the unfinished side of the basement (see attached picture). I even had a very sturdy ladder and a light bulb in the ceiling so you could get closer to see the pipe, the back of the drywall, etc. You just couldn't reach the leak because it was about 2 feet away inside the ceiling (that's why I couldn't fix it). But the plumber kept refusing to give an estimate, even after my repeated attempts. He said he needed to break the drywall to 'assess' the problem, and the assessment fee was $375. Without that fee, he could not estimate. I could use a $75 coupon bringing the cost to $300, and the cost would go towards repair. So in my mind I thought there's no way this could cost more than a total of $300 and I agreed. BIG mistake. He broke the drywall and then gave the estimate: a whopping $575! A fair price for this job would have been $250 and I was willing to go up to $300. But now I was scammed into a dilemma: Refuse the estimate and pay $300 for no repair work, or agree to pay the jacked up price of $575. What choice did I have? I ended up paying $500 (after using the $75 coupon). The work was good. He cut up the drywall and fixed the leak in about 55 mins. He waited 30 mins for the glue to dry before turning on the water to make sure there was no leak. The bill said 1.5 hrs of labor, which is fair. But this was not a $500 job and I got scammed. So be warned. Some tips I wish I had thought of had I know you couldn't trust them: 1) If they refuse to give an estimate when the job is clear and they insist on charging an 'assessment fee', tell them to leave. I'm sure if I said that Delroy would have given me an estimate and then I could have negotiated. 2) Or, offer them your own price. I should have told him I'd pay $200 to fix it. I bet he would have countered with something like $250 and I would have been okay with that. The bottom line: if they sound fishy in refusing an estimate, don't proceed. I hope this helps. Good luck on your project!"

"DAL 5452 was great! He came out and quickly assessed the problem. He was professional and very knowledgeable. He finished the job quickly and gave great customer service."

"Awesome work from the tech Mr. Chan (Master Plummer). Work was done under 2 hours and it's good quality work. Operator Tanya has great customer service skills and knowledgeable with all the information she had told me. A bit pricey but I do understand how business works. Additionally, they have generous discounts for service members as well."

"Dal 5452 is an excellent technician! Fast service! He fixed my sump pump in a short period of time! Thank you for a great job!"

"Have had to call them twice for my older home, and both times received knowledgeable technicians who came to the house the same day we called, charged us fair prices, and resolved our plumbing issues. That's all I can ask for. If we have plumbing issues in the future, we will likely call them again."