I contacted Rooter Hero to clear a clogged kitchen drain. The technician claimed that the clog was so extensive that his equipment was unable to clear the obstruction. He said that he pulled out dirt and roots, indicating the cast-iron was likely cracked. He said that he could return the following day at no charge to have a camera tech. run a camera down the line to confirm his suspicions.
The following day the two technicians showed me murky video, of what they claimed to be my drain, with dirt and a cracked pipe. The crack was 10' down line and they said the only fix was hydro jetting/descaling/lining. They offered a 15% senior discount for a total of $7,977.00. They were anxious to start immediately and said that since it's a two day job, this way I would have use of my kitchen by the end of the next day.
I was extremely suspicious of their sales pitch. Numerous of the answers they provided to my questions did not add up. I told them that I would need a written quote before I could make a decision involving that much money. They asked several times what I could afford to pay to which I did not respond. I am somewhat surprised that they did provide a written quote, as it is conclusive documentation of their scam.
Fortunately a family member gave me a referral to an ethical plumber. Although booked for the entire week, he came to my home after hours once he heard my story. He proceeded to cable the line and encountered no issue or abnormal blockage. He said that it was a "minor blockage, nothing unusual, and cleared very easily." NO roots! NO crack in the pipe! Apparently Rooter Hero has a reputation for scamming people, especially seniors.
My further investigation revealed just how often this and similar ploys have been used. They are basically criminals masquerading as plumbers. They advertise with coupons offering cheap drain clearing, simply designed to get into your home. I very much feel that I was targeted and hope to warn others. Already, in verbally warning neighbors, I've learned of one being victimized for $1200.00 by Rooter Hero Plumbing. BEWARE!
There is a trend, and a terrible scam by Ygrene and Rooter - DO NOT use ANY service with Rooter valued at over $100.
We started with a backed up line, that turned into a $3000 project, that we could finance, to an $18k project financing through Ygrene. The total will be $36-40,000 over 20 years.
However, due to this being a Pace loan, multiple laws were broken - by Ygrene and Rooter.
1 - We decided to look for another contractor when we heard the price. Luis from Rooter lied to us & told us b/c of the Ygrene financing we could not look for another contractor. This was illegal according to the new CA laws, as we have 3 days to cancel & find a new contractor.
2 - Luis attempting to scare my wife into another $17k project - which cost us $6k to do from another company.
3 - We would have been out $34k, which would have totaled $60K+ over the life of the loan
4 - Ygrene has been 100% complicit, as they are providing "Pace" loans, but literally have homeowners sign away any & all Pace consumer rights and protections in their contracts
5 - Ygrene is operating as a Pace program, receiving funding a Pace program, has the ability to operate in cities as a Pace program, but follows none of the laws/policies required of Pace programs.
6 - We had an open complaint about this project since DECEMBER that was ignored. Eventually we met with the head of the SD Energy Dept & City Attorney to explain the situation & find out more about how Ygrene was able to operate in the city with these practices.
Eventually we had another (Ygrene recommended) plumbing company look at the work & take pics.
The work is not up to code, Rooter left all of their trash under our house, and what's not up to code was done poorly. Ygrene did not respond to our complaint for 5 months until the Energy Dept head sent them the pics.
They then tried to claim that the complaint was filed when they received the pics - when the complaint had been open for 5 months by then - they just did NOTHING.
7 - We fought & said the 1st contract was void (it didn't meet Pace policy/law, the hours were falsified, etc). Ygrene then wrote another contract at $13K (our original refund from Rooter for the falsified invoices amount) - however Ygrene still assessed their fees on the $18k amount & not the new project amount!
So we haven't signed that contract
8 - Once they had the pics of the work, and inspector comments, Rooter agreed to have a release form written, voiding the cost altogether. We wait 2 months, and ended up receiving the "release form" for a $5k refund.
This $5k discount was the original refund we received when we finally had the itemized invoice & saw the hours we were overbilled - and has NOTHING to do with the fact that the entire project needs to be redone because their work isn't up to code!
Our new quote to have the work redone is almost $8k - so the refund Rooter is offering doesn't even cover what it will cost to have the project done correctly by a reputable company!
9 - Ygrene, of course, has not followed CA law & provided no fraction of any of the consumer rights that Pace provides - which is part of what the high interest rate you pay is supposed to cover! We've been fighting this for months, and it doesn't seem like it's going to end any time soon, but these companies have no oversight and are scamming homeowners $10,000s at a time, and there seems to be nothing anyone can do about it at this point. BE AWARE - DO NOT sign anything regarding Ygrene and expect to have any Pace benefits. DO NOT use Rooter Hero for any project over $100
I hired Rooter hero Plumbing to fix small leak by meter, relace kitchen faucett, replace bathtub spout and shower head, change 1 tgoilet ring. Cost 1,500.00. Nothing was clogged or running slow everything worked good. I got call from the Manger saying the plumber put a camera down my swer pipe and the line was rusted out and collaped and they need 4000.00+ extra to fix it. I said no, then he said he needed 400.00 more for clean out. I said no. They left my grnadaughter who lives in the house calls and says neither toilet works, just the toilets everything drained fine.
I called the company and they said the Manager would call me back but never did. We had another plumber come out 2 days latter, he looked and said it looked like some paper towels where blocking the drain. Nothing broken and he cleared it right away. They deliberately lied to get more money and blocked our toilets. I want some of my money back, for blocking my toilets and leaving them with no toilets in house. Also I didnt get my senior discount. Im wondering now if he was way overpriced for what he did. He originally wanted 4,000.00, I knew that was to much for leak toilet ring faucett tub.
Rooter Hero Plumbing Reviews
I contacted Rooter Hero to clear a clogged kitchen drain. The technician claimed that the clog was so extensive that his equipment was unable to clear the obstruction. He said that he pulled out dirt and roots, indicating the cast-iron was likely cracked. He said that he could return the following day at no charge to have a camera tech. run a camera down the line to confirm his suspicions.
The following day the two technicians showed me murky video, of what they claimed to be my drain, with dirt and a cracked pipe. The crack was 10' down line and they said the only fix was hydro jetting/descaling/lining. They offered a 15% senior discount for a total of $7,977.00. They were anxious to start immediately and said that since it's a two day job, this way I would have use of my kitchen by the end of the next day.
I was extremely suspicious of their sales pitch. Numerous of the answers they provided to my questions did not add up. I told them that I would need a written quote before I could make a decision involving that much money. They asked several times what I could afford to pay to which I did not respond. I am somewhat surprised that they did provide a written quote, as it is conclusive documentation of their scam.
Fortunately a family member gave me a referral to an ethical plumber. Although booked for the entire week, he came to my home after hours once he heard my story. He proceeded to cable the line and encountered no issue or abnormal blockage. He said that it was a "minor blockage, nothing unusual, and cleared very easily." NO roots! NO crack in the pipe! Apparently Rooter Hero has a reputation for scamming people, especially seniors.
My further investigation revealed just how often this and similar ploys have been used. They are basically criminals masquerading as plumbers. They advertise with coupons offering cheap drain clearing, simply designed to get into your home. I very much feel that I was targeted and hope to warn others. Already, in verbally warning neighbors, I've learned of one being victimized for $1200.00 by Rooter Hero Plumbing. BEWARE!
There is a trend, and a terrible scam by Ygrene and Rooter - DO NOT use ANY service with Rooter valued at over $100.
We started with a backed up line, that turned into a $3000 project, that we could finance, to an $18k project financing through Ygrene. The total will be $36-40,000 over 20 years.
However, due to this being a Pace loan, multiple laws were broken - by Ygrene and Rooter.
1 - We decided to look for another contractor when we heard the price. Luis from Rooter lied to us & told us b/c of the Ygrene financing we could not look for another contractor. This was illegal according to the new CA laws, as we have 3 days to cancel & find a new contractor.
2 - Luis attempting to scare my wife into another $17k project - which cost us $6k to do from another company.
3 - We would have been out $34k, which would have totaled $60K+ over the life of the loan
4 - Ygrene has been 100% complicit, as they are providing "Pace" loans, but literally have homeowners sign away any & all Pace consumer rights and protections in their contracts
5 - Ygrene is operating as a Pace program, receiving funding a Pace program, has the ability to operate in cities as a Pace program, but follows none of the laws/policies required of Pace programs.
6 - We had an open complaint about this project since DECEMBER that was ignored. Eventually we met with the head of the SD Energy Dept & City Attorney to explain the situation & find out more about how Ygrene was able to operate in the city with these practices.
Eventually we had another (Ygrene recommended) plumbing company look at the work & take pics.
The work is not up to code, Rooter left all of their trash under our house, and what's not up to code was done poorly. Ygrene did not respond to our complaint for 5 months until the Energy Dept head sent them the pics.
They then tried to claim that the complaint was filed when they received the pics - when the complaint had been open for 5 months by then - they just did NOTHING.
7 - We fought & said the 1st contract was void (it didn't meet Pace policy/law, the hours were falsified, etc). Ygrene then wrote another contract at $13K (our original refund from Rooter for the falsified invoices amount) - however Ygrene still assessed their fees on the $18k amount & not the new project amount!
So we haven't signed that contract
8 - Once they had the pics of the work, and inspector comments, Rooter agreed to have a release form written, voiding the cost altogether. We wait 2 months, and ended up receiving the "release form" for a $5k refund.
This $5k discount was the original refund we received when we finally had the itemized invoice & saw the hours we were overbilled - and has NOTHING to do with the fact that the entire project needs to be redone because their work isn't up to code!
Our new quote to have the work redone is almost $8k - so the refund Rooter is offering doesn't even cover what it will cost to have the project done correctly by a reputable company!
9 - Ygrene, of course, has not followed CA law & provided no fraction of any of the consumer rights that Pace provides - which is part of what the high interest rate you pay is supposed to cover! We've been fighting this for months, and it doesn't seem like it's going to end any time soon, but these companies have no oversight and are scamming homeowners $10,000s at a time, and there seems to be nothing anyone can do about it at this point. BE AWARE - DO NOT sign anything regarding Ygrene and expect to have any Pace benefits. DO NOT use Rooter Hero for any project over $100
I hired Rooter hero Plumbing to fix small leak by meter, relace kitchen faucett, replace bathtub spout and shower head, change 1 tgoilet ring. Cost 1,500.00. Nothing was clogged or running slow everything worked good. I got call from the Manger saying the plumber put a camera down my swer pipe and the line was rusted out and collaped and they need 4000.00+ extra to fix it. I said no, then he said he needed 400.00 more for clean out. I said no. They left my grnadaughter who lives in the house calls and says neither toilet works, just the toilets everything drained fine.
I called the company and they said the Manager would call me back but never did. We had another plumber come out 2 days latter, he looked and said it looked like some paper towels where blocking the drain. Nothing broken and he cleared it right away. They deliberately lied to get more money and blocked our toilets. I want some of my money back, for blocking my toilets and leaving them with no toilets in house. Also I didnt get my senior discount. Im wondering now if he was way overpriced for what he did. He originally wanted 4,000.00, I knew that was to much for leak toilet ring faucett tub.