MR. ROOTER SMOOTH TALKING PREDATORS OF DIRE SITUATIONS AND CHARGING MORE MONEY FOR REWORK ONE YEAR LATER! Langhorne Pennsylvania

Had Mr. Rooter (Gary) put in new pipes on 11-7-07 for $1,269.00 to accomodate a stackable washer/dryer in an upstairs space. One year and two weeks later, one of the valves that he had installed coming out of the top of hot water heater was leaking, so I called for them to replace this valve. Two very nice young men arrived; Mike, a very chatty fellow and a very silent partner. Mike explained that it just wasn't right that I should be charged for this repair and he was trying to convince the office of this...but to no avail and it would cost me $408.00 to replace the valve. He said that he couldn't use the white CPVC that was originally installed; he would use blue PEX tubing instead and hoped that I didn't mind. (Perhaps a little male chauvenism here?...oh darn the color of my pipes just don't match!) He also suggested that I get "The Advantage Plan" so that any further work done would be charged at a substantially lower rate and I would be entitled to free home inspection. I agreed, signed the current contract, work was completed, I wrote a check, they left. (I still have a bowl underneath the work...just in case!)
Before they had started the work, I asked if I should sweep away the kitty litter that I'd put down for the leak, he said no, it would be okay. I found that they had scraped the wet litter that had gotten stuck to their shoes on the basements steps before coming upstairs!
Two days later, on Thanksgiving, I had to call Mr. Rooter again concerning a different matter. My main shut off valve was leaking/lightly running because of deterioration and I'd feared that because of the water pressure, that it would blow. They sent a guy out within 30 minutes of my call named Joe...you can just guess what his last name is! Joe was very pleasant, had a somewhat puzzled look on his face as he stared at the dripping water main, told me it wasn't so bad and made several trips back and forth to his truck...and then the plan began to remedy my problem. He asked if I was ready to hear the news and suggested that I sit down. I told him to him to just go ahead (I was standing, he was sitting with his big pricing book). He said it would cost $1,150.00 just to dig out around the water shut-off at the street to be able to get to the shut -off to turn the water off.; he couldn't see the shut-off because of all the debris that had collected over the years. (I don't recall seeing Joe pay any attention to the shut off cap in my yard.) This needed to be done in order to fix the main valve. I had another need in my kitchen as I'd been doing my own work but needed someone to re-route a heavy copper drain pipe (one of the reasons for signing with the "Advantage Plan") so he worked up a contract. I told him that I had planned to have the water company shut-off the water and he replied very softly "don't call the water company...I'll take care of you". He also explained that he would need to acquire a permit to do the digging. The grand total would be $1,400.00...I wrote a check. He said he had to go the truck to call the office to make sure my appointment was made before the girl left the office (remember...this on Thanksgiving Day...it's 11am) and she would be leaving very soon. I wondered why he didn't just call her on the cell phone he had in his hand? He came back into the house, told me the appointment was for after 10am on Monday 11-1-08, I gave him the check, bid him a Happy Thanksgiving and he left.
24 hours later and having second thoughts, I called the water company to see how much it would cost to have my water shut-off. IT IS FREE!!!
So, I called Mr. Rooter to cancel my appointment and the woman said I didn't have an appointment scheduled! I called my bank and put a stop on the $1,400.00 check and contacted a local plumber. My next step after writing this is to report them to The Better Business Bureau.
How do they sleep at night, taking advantage of people under duress and in dire need of a solution? SHAME ON YOU "MR. ROOTER(S)!" I know where they get the name from..."ROOTING" through people's WALLETS and LIFE SAVINGS!

Terry
Parkesburg, Pennsylvania
U.S.A.