Roto-Rooter Services Company, 7800 Waterloo Rd, Jessup, MD - I

Roto-Rooter Services Company, 7800 Waterloo Rd, Jessup, MD - I’ve contacted our credit card provider to file a dispute against the charge

Roto-Rooter Service complaint

October 6, 2004 To Whom It May Concern:: The purpose of this letter is to file a complaint against the Roto-Rooter Services Company, 7800 Waterloo Rd, Jessup, MD 20794 (410-799-8844). On Tuesday, September 21st, 2004, Mr. Dwayne Owens from Roto-Rooter Services Company contacted me via telephone in reference to a call that I initially placed to the company several days before about water a service line replacement (6712 Milltown Ct., District Heights, MD 20747). He asked if a service person from Roto-Rooter had come by to give me an estimate.

I explained to Mr. Owens that no one had come by however someone had called to give me an estimate. I also explained that the estimate was much higher than an estimate that I received from the John C. Flood Plumbing Company. Mr. Owens asked me would I fax him a copy of the estimate that I received from the John C. Flood Plumbing Company, which I promptly faxed.

Mr. Owens called back and stated that he would like the opportunity to look at the job, and give me an estimate. He said that Roto-Rooter could get the job done for approximately $3950.00, and if the job could be done without the need to damage the concrete, I would be credited an additional $500.00 (see the included proposal). He also explained that it would depend greatly on whether the crew could pull a new copper water service line through. To complete the water service line replacement, it was necessary to gain access to the unit directly below our property. We obtained permission from the property owner so that the work could be completed. On Wednesday, September 22nd, 2004, Mr. Owens and a small crew showed up at the property. He determined that there was a greater than 90% chance that Roto-Rooter could do the job for the proposed price. I agreed, signed the proposal, and gave Mr. Owens a deposit of $1975.00, using my MasterCard. The proposal maintained that the approximate date of completion would be Thursday, September 23rd, 2004, barring any unexpected conditions that could cause a delay. So, the Roto-Rooter crew began the job. On Friday, September 24th, 2004, I received a call from the tenant that granted access to her unit for Roto-Rooter to begin the job, complaining about the condition in which her unit was left. The Roto-Rooter crew had begun to dig through the floor, but apparently left before lunch, and did not return for the remainder of day. On Monday, September 27th, 2004, no one from Roto-Rooter showed-up to work. I called and left several messages for Mr. Owens, without any return call from him. Tuesday, September 28th, 2004, came and went without anyone from Roto-Rooter showing up.

Again, I called Mr. Owens and left several messages, again without a return call from him. Early Wednesday, September, 29th, 2004, I called Mr. Owens and left a message stating that if no one returned my call, I would have another company do the job. At approximately 10:00 am Wednesday, John from Roto-Rooter called to find out what was the issue. I explained that I paid to have a job completed, and that so far very little work had been done.

John began to explain to me that some restaurant had an emergency that needed Roto-Rooters’ immediate attention, and that everything else was secondary. I explained that Roto-Rooter had a $1975.00 deposit from me and that I did not signed any secondary customer clause; I expected immediate attention to my job or I would get another company to do the work, and hung up the phone. A few hours later, I received a call from Mr. Owen stating that the Roto-Rooter crew would be arriving to remove their equipment. He explained that he was told that I fired Roto-Rooter early that morning. I explained that no such conversation had taken place between me and John. I told Mr. Owen of my extreme displeasure with Roto-Rooter, and asked him what Roto-Rooter would do so that I could be a satisfied customer. Mr. Owen emphatically stated that the Roto-Rooter crew would soon arrive to remove their equipment. I told Mr. Owens that it was fine by me. Later that afternoon, I received a call from the General Manager, Mr. Harry Kreskey. Mr. Kreskey asked me of the problem, and I gave an explanation of my displeasure. He then began to explain to me the importance of Roto-Rooters’ restaurant customers, telling me how restaurants take precedence over other jobs because the restaurants would be losing money. He also told me that the Roto-Rooter crew that was working at my property determined that they were unable to pull a new copper water service line through, and that the crew would need to dig through the slab to complete the job. I asked Mr. Kreskey would Roto-Rooter be willing to complete the job at the proposed price in an effort to appease me, as I was angry and completely dissatisfied. He said that the job would total $4500.00. I told him that the price was $600.00 more than I had agreed to pay, and that I was not going to pay the difference, and hung up the phone. On Friday, October 1st, 2004, a crew from Joel’s Plumbing arrived at my property, and could not believe the condition in which the Roto-Rooter crew left the property. Apparently Thursday, September 30th, 2004, the Roto-Rooter crew removed their equipment, and backfilled the dirt that was removed. The Roto-Rooter crew left a water pipe extended from the ground in front of the property, with water running from the pipe. Joel’s Plumbing (301-899-9097) began, and completed the job that day, pulling a new copper water service line, without digging through the slab. Additionally, Joel’s Plumbing did the complete job for $2800.00; considerably less than what Roto-Rooter had initially proposed. However, I would have easily paid the proposed amount without complaint had Roto-Rooter just done the work. Upon contacting Mr. Kreskey, he not only refused to refund my deposit, he also threatened that he would attempt to “enforce the entire contract if you dispute the charge.” I am disputing the charge because Roto-Rooter did not do the work in replacing our water service line. I believe that Roto-Rooter baited me into believing that the job was more difficult than expected in an effort to extort additional money from us.

Because I did not except the explanation, Roto-Rooter is attempting to keep our deposit by means of threat. I’ve contacted our credit card provider to file a dispute against the charge. You’ve made me aware that you are not able to assist us in recovering our deposit; however, my main concern is the outrageous attempt that Roto-Rooter has made to extort money from us. I pray that filing this complaint will prevent Roto-Rooter from attempting this with other unsuspecting customers that the company solicits. I thank you for your valuable time, and assistance, with this issue. Sincerely,

Jesse L. M &#160 Fort Washington, MD 20744-1113

Jesse M Click this link to e-mail the above consumer: //