ARS/Rescue Rooter Reviews

I called Jack Jones Plumbing who is in my neighborhood. Two guys came out at 6pm (already getting dark), showed them where the leak was. They got their moisture meter (free) and found a small area in the wall that had moisture. I also noticed that the thermal pressure relief copper line was hot and it had hot water inside the line. I asked them if that was normal. They said no. As a result of that, they removed the pressure relief valve from the top of the water heater. Found it was bad due to our terrible hard water. They drove to Lowe's, picked up a new valve, installed it and modified the relief line. End result... No more leak, cost was $151.25. They finished up around 8pm. I gave them a tip and couldn't be happier. Do yourself a favor. Stay away from ARS/Rescue Rooter!!!

I then received a call from someone who identified himself as a tech but when I advised I needed a manager he said, "Actually I'm the manager." and promised to go out. He arrived about 5-1/2 hours later. He stated that there was a leaking pipe and he could repair for 1,100.00 and they usually bill 187.00 for leak detection but he would waive that charge (the leak had already been identified by my maintenance man). While waiting for him to show up I contacted another plumber who gave an estimate of 295.00 (which included removing, draining and re-installing water heater). I will never ever deal with this business again and cautioned my maintenance man about calling a company on the basis of it appearing first on a list.

When he left I searched online for the part number and found that the online price ranged from $125 to $300 with the highest MSP of $500. The replacement of this part will probably take about 5 or 10 min. It is right in the front of the unit with one hose clamp and 4 screws and one electrical plug. I called ARS the next morning and cancelled the part order and the salesperson coming to my house to give me an estimate for a system that I am not interested in replacing. My house is only 9 years old and I am sure that the system has several good years left on it. I will never call ARS or recommend them to anyone.

The reason my mom was asking was because she was never there at the property because she had fallen on Friday June 19, 2015 and basically broke her left wrist so I was informing her over the phone what was going on and what was said to me and then to her over the phone. You can understand that basically we had so much stress from her injury that now will become surgery this Friday and the problems with the overflow of the toilets and bathtub/shower we basically had no choice and from the $88.00 it became $1125.00 because I was told that the pipes had to be flushed otherwise the problem would come back again.

I asked our neighbor who had taken out a small bush/tree I had by my bedroom window and the machinery he used which actually made the roots become saw, to hear what the guys that went to our house had to say because he has more experience than I would or my mom. Our question is how were these roots taken out when no tools were shown to remove roots nor did I see the roots? We have been told from persons that have had major plumbing problems, example my uncle owns a grocery store and he said that the pipes get clogged up due to lard and toilet paper but he has never paid anything as ridiculous as the amount that was charged to my mother.

What we're looking for is why was the fee so high when there were no roots shown that were supposedly flushed out? We are happy that everything is working now and we have the one year warranty but the question is still there and we would like an answer where were the roots that were supposedly found and taken out. How did they take them out if they had no machinery to cut any type of branches or roots? We have spoken now that things have calmed down with plumbers that have been referred by acquaintances and they have all told us we were cheated out and charged too much money. The employees that went were nice and professional but back again to the price why so high when we did not see any roots or told roots from the backyard were stuck in line.

And it gets even worse. They left the house soaking in old water, so much so that eight months later, when we looked under the house wondering where a strange damp odor was, we found mushrooms growing under the house, the cinder block walls wet and water stained, and much of the ground still damp!! Again, eight months later! But it gets even worse. When I called their manager, ** to come out, he said he would return with a technician. No show. ** and I reschedule for the following week. No show again!!! And no phone call either!!! I call. ** not working. Great. And I suppose the technician isn't working either. Nope. Of course not. So I have spoken with a General Manager named **, who said he would call back in half an hour. They haven't called back. To be continued...

They explained that because the unit is 10 years old, it has reached the end of life and that if they cleaned the coils it could start leaking coolant. The proper thing to do is to replace both units, and this is when things went south... I asked them for a quote and they asked me if I am ready to do this today and told me they could not tell me a price because "prices change daily". I asked for a written quote sent to my email to examine and I will get back to them. After about 5 minutes they knocked on my door and told me that I could save $2k by ordering today (still no price).

After pushing for the price they said $11k and I told them there is no way I can put that much together in less than a couple of weeks. Next thing they dropped to $10K and soon to $9.8. Upset about this I told them I could not do that much without looking at the quote. The person coaching them on the phone said "I will call you right back". He did so in 1 minute and said they could do it for $8.5K. I asked to see the quote to which he replied, "When you are ready call us back". I paid $78 dollars for them to sell me an AC and did not even get a written quote.

I received a dozen hot cookies two separate times from a company called "Cookie Cab". They would send a note thanking me for my business and patience. The price has now escalated to $24000 and last week (today is August 20th, 2014) they finally completed the digging after multiple calls to let them know no one was working AGAIN. I called on a Friday 3 weeks ago to again complain no one was working. The lady had gone home early and I left a message asking why no one was on site and asked to be called the following Monday. No one called all week until I complained online to their corporate office. The plumbers then came to install the new pipe only to discover they didn't dig the right direction nor far enough. The diggers were called back and finished in about 6 hours.

The plumbers came back and installed the pipes. They said there would be an inspection the following day. No one showed up to inspect. I called again and was told they forgot to order the inspection and couldn't happen until the following week. The following week no one showed up on Monday or Tuesday. I called again to be told they would call supervisor to see what was the status and would call right back. I never heard back. I sent a complaint online to their home office in Memphis. The following day the plumbers were there early working and I got two calls from their office before 9:00 telling me they were on site working. I returned to my home that afternoon to find them installing slurry. Their manager met me in my front yard and said "I hear we have a communication problem."

I gave him multiple examples of poor communication and he didn't comment. I told him if I ran a business this way I would not have any customers. He was mostly interested in getting me to sign papers for payment and then he left. The plumbers worked until they pumped all the slurry. They said they would be back Saturday to bring more dirt. The plumbers did not show up Saturday. On Monday, the 18th, I drove up to find one man putting some dirt on area in the front and back. I told him that they failed to reinstall my sprinkler system that they had dug up. He said he would call his supervisor to let him know. He said for me to call the office as he couldn't get his supervisor.

I called the office and told them about the sprinkler system. They said they would call me back. In 15 minutes they called me and said the plumber would be here in 1.5-2 hours. This is now Wednesday, the 20th, and no one has shown up or called to repair sprinkler system. They also dug up the front yard and placed the dirt on 4x8 boards and said they would haul off the dirt so it wouldn't kill the grass. They let the dirt stay for several days thus killing my grass. I am calling the Corporate office in Memphis tomorrow morning. Again, the job started on July 7th and it is now August 20th and the job is not completed. EXTREMELY POOR SERVICE & COMMUNICATION!!!

Minutes later, I got another call from the tenant that the line is totally blocked, and he needs to return in 2 days and "hydrojet" the line for $1,300. I refused the quote and shortly thereafter hired another rooting company, a small local plumber, who met me at the rental within half an hour or less. His quote was $185. As expected, he cleared the line within several minutes, and pulled out a very small amount of fine roots. His entire time on-site, including set-up, as expected, was about 10 minutes. ARS Rescue Rooter manipulated the rooting snake machine to stop at a certain length, and pretend that the sewer line was solidly blocked (which it couldn't have been because water did drain slowly). I called them afterwards, and their reply to my allegations was, "well, we didn't charge you and we'll try to do better next time". This company appears to run a scam, and should be investigated by either/or the California Contractors License Board or the Orange County, CA DA's office.

The next day he had his technician come out to look at it and he says because the line was not installed according to "code", it would cost $2800 just to fix the line and we needed a special regulator that would cost $1800. So in less than 24 hrs the price doubled. After speaking to my homeowners claims adjuster, I decided to get a second opinion, and am SO GLAD I did! The new bid was now only $120!! Can you BELIEVE IT??? So obviously, I sent an email formally rescinding my "Waiver of Rescission" and canceling the job, and followed up with a phone call. Today, the new plumber, New Life Plumbing, came out at 8 am, replaced the broken pipe, and was done in 30 mins, all for only $120. Unbelievable!

To make matters worse, last year, we had a main sewer backup on New Year's Eve. The only company who we could get to answer their phone on a holiday was Rescue Rooter. They came out, ran a snake through the line, and reports the problem is on the city side. Because our property does not have a city clean out, we needed to install a clean out on our property or the city will charge us $25,000 to fix the problem. So we thought we were getting a deal at their $5,500 price tag. New Life Plumbing informed me that it would have been no more than $1800. So moral of the story, check reviews and NEVER, NEVER call Rescue Rooter! Wish I had $5,500 earlier.

The closer told me he had a license in 3 states and I could rest assured the city would not pay for any of the repairs. Nevertheless before spending 12K$ I said I was going to contact the city. By the way, if I signed a contract right now they would not charge the 250$ now due for a half done rooter job and they would only charge me 10 or 12% interest. I chose to pay the 250 and call the city. Upon contacting the city, I was told they would send someone out to clear my sewer line for free and had I called them originally, I would have had the line cleared at no cost. Although it took a few days, (the delay was ok because the line was functioning) the city did send out their contract plumber. He roto-rooted my line and installed a clean out in the front yard.

The house had been built without a cleanout. All this was performed by the city at no charge. Had I listened to RR's closer, I would be out 12K$ plus interest. Not only that but when they found I would not buy their line (pun intended), they replaced the wax seal and toilet improperly and it leaked. I repaired it myself. Although I was fortunate enough to not be suckered into any unnecessary and costly repair, I wanted to report their actions so that others might not be taken in by their high pressure tactics. I am willing to testify in court if needful. By the way, the city contract plumbers work was excellent and paid for by the city.

I have a friend that owns a plumbing company in Ventura, CA. I told him how I was ripped off by Rescue Rooter and he said the companies that have the word "Rooter" as the 2nd or 3rd word in the name are usually scammers. It’s best to get an estimate on the phone and when they arrive and tell you what the problem is and the cost, you can let them fix the problem or you can call another plumber for a 2nd opinion and estimate.

There was a series of phony prices that he made up as follows: (1) He claimed that we needed a drip pan for $275, which was $42.00 dollars; (2) installed hot water dollar line for $280 that only called $6.00; (3) draft induction for $185 dollars which is an instrument I didn't need; (5) 3/4 quarter inch gas for $285, which is unnecessary; and 6) hauled off water heater replacement for $75.

This company does not have a sense of professional ethics and loaded with several hidden fees. American Home Insurance has refused for any further plumbing services to be directed to my residence. In this respect, I am under the suspicion that my homeowner insurance is in alliance. For weeks, I have been hauling hot pots of water redundantly upstairs just to take a bath.

Here is the list of charges: Die Union bolts for $160.00 (Lowe’s charge: $7.16 times 2); expansion tank for $295.00 (Lowe’s, $48.77; Handyman, $44.99); haul away for $100.00 ( Lowe’s, free; Handyman, $25.00); and permit for $25.00 (Lowe’s $51.00; Handyman, $41.00). Then there is another $160.00 charge with no explanation beside it. Actually, he did not add it up correctly because it amounts to $740.00. When I called Rescue Rooter to question the charges, I was told that those were their charges. Because I could not afford the upgrade charges, I was unable to use my homeowner warranty company with the contractor. I called AHS back and was told that alternatively I could find my own contractor and they would sent me a check for $395.00! But only after I had paid for the repair myself out of pocket and forwarded a paid receipt. If I had $700.00 to replace the tank, then I would not be paying into a warranty or would not have placed the service call. Now, I'm stuck with a leaky tank and an AHS premium that does not fix or replace my tank because of these trumped up charges on this invoice.

I was crying and obviuosly very distreesed. He came back with a written bid, and he explained to me that he would normally charge $14,000 but because I was "such a nice lady, and having such bad luck", he would do me a favor and only charge me $11,000. But I had to sign right then, and I couldn't use the toilets, showers, sinks, or we would have severe flooding. I told him I could not sign the contract, that I had to go over it with my husband.

Well, I called around the very next day. I was given bids from 5 companies. The prices ranged from $3500 to $5200. We hired a licensed, bonded insured company with 30 years of experince for $4000. This price INCLUDED another camera look, and two cleanouts (which RR did not include)

The company we hired (Williams Brothers) was excellent. They finished in one day, they were clean and professional.

I feel this is a clear case of price gouging. I was under sever duress, very emotional and this company took advantage of that. I am sure that they must have pulled this with other unsuspecting people in similiar situations. There must be something that can be done about this unethical behavior.

The city came out and said that the main city line is on the other side of the street, and that whatever it is that the plumber is running into in the yard is not the city sewer. I have four boys ages 7-16, who love to play basketball, and another one on the way. I can't afford to pay someone $461.25 for nothing, because that is what was done with my problem nothing. Can you please help or suggest someone who can help me.