Business ProfileforRoto-Rooter Danville

On January 4, 2022, Roto-Rooter came out to give me a free estimate on a minor dripping in our basement from our toilet. When the two techs arrived, I told them twice I was looking for an estimate only; I made it clear I had no extra money this month due to replacing my washer/dryer combo recently. The leak was a minor dripping into the basement, which we put a pail under until next month while we collected estimates. One tech flushed the toilet while the other tech watched where the leak was in the basement. The tech who went to the cellar concluded the seal was an issue and, more than likely, the flange needed to be replaced by cutting it out of the floorboards. After the plumber and I returned upstairs, he became a little pushy and told me he had to pull the toilet; I was uncomfortable with that, so I questioned why he needed to remove the toilet. The plumber explained it was the only way to ensure the flange was broken. I agreed to let him pull the toilet, but it didn't make sense to do the labor of removing the toilet and doing what was needed to put it back the way it was found when this visit was about a free estimate. In addition, the problems were already roughly concluded before pulling the toilet; all I needed was the estimate sent to me, which Roto-Rooter did the next day. I was given a verbal estimate lower than the one I was sent, and there was no mention of possibly needing a shut-off valve. I also noticed the estimate says I refused the work; again, this was not a work order. The plumber pulled the toilet and said the flange would need to be replaced; at this point, I was very nervous and unsure of what would happen next; it looked like the situation was being redirected toward a repair job, which is what happened. Then the other plumber became a little aggressive when he stated any work they did that day had to be paid in full before they left; this was emphasized twice; I was upset because there was no talk of repairs; I had already told them I didn't have money this month, and that was not the purpose of the appointment. I felt very pressured and a little intimidated at this point. One of the plumbers also mentioned this extra credit card fee, which I was never told anything about when I made the appointment for the estimate. Had I been told this, I would never have made the appointment for the estimate, and I told the tech that. One of the techs raised his voice and was upset and told me the office did tell me there was a fee; he more or less called me a liar, which was very unsettling and unprofessional. The plumber continued to say the office has to tell everyone they talk to about the extra credit card fees; it was in their script, and I made it clear again no one told me anything. The plumbers said they had to go to their vehicle and call his boss, which they often did throughout their visit. I didn't understand why the plumbers had to go to the truck to talk to their boss; why didn't they speak to him in my presents? The whole thing felt suspicious, coupled with the employee's actions. When the techs returned, they said they listened to my call, agreed there was no mention of extra fees, and assured me the lady who made a mistake would be addressed. When I called for the return appointment to have the techs come back and bolt my toilet down, I got conflicting information from a lady in the office; she told me they only needed to mention the extra fee if we were discussing payments, which we didn't; the appointment was for a free estimate, not a repair. Once the techs realized I would not be pushed into a repair, they left my toilet in the middle of my bathroom, water was everywhere, and they walked away to get in their vehicle; I was shocked. I called my husband in a panic and told him what was happening; he said to try and stop them. My husband learned about contractor ****** ******. ****** would make an emergency trip to my house to bolt the toilet down if needed. I ran outside and yelled for the techs to stop; I think I even mentioned calling the police; the techs said they had to call their boss first. Again, another private conversation. When the techs came back into the house, I was told they would put the toilet back because of the extra fee mistake made by their office; this didn't make sense because the toilet was pulled as part of the estimate and should have been replaced as found as part of the estimate. In addition, I was also told by one of the plumbers under normal circumstances, I would be charged. No one mentioned anything about this. The techs said they had to put a wax seal down before putting the toilet back, and they checked in the basement to ensure the leaking stopped and the toilet never leaked again. Yet I was told it was a temporary fix and the flange needed to be replaced to fix the issue permanently. I asked the tech who put the toilet back if he blotted it down, and he assured me he did. a few hours later, I realized the toilet was not bolted down, and I did contact the company to come back and out and fix it; an appointment was made and then canceled by the owner. The owner was supposed to call me back to explain why he did that, but I never heard from him. We started having some water leakage around the base, plus the toilet bowl was not holding water, and the water started not going down correctly after a while, which was not an issue before. These problems worsened over time; my husband and I figured the toilet issues were happening because the toilet wasn't bolted down for proper pressure. A guy by the name of ***** ******, in an email, made it clear their visit was for a job, and the only way they would come back and bolt the toilet down was if I agreed to replace the toilet flange. We contacted ****** ****** on the 26th or 27th and got on his waiting list. ****** came out on March 4, 2023. We asked ****** to bolt the toilet down, and he did this by using a flange insert. There was no need to rip the floor up and pull the flange out to bolt the toilet down. ****** also noticed the toilet was not flushing right; he thought it might be plugged. ****** tried to unplug the toilet, which was not the problem. ****** found a plastic cap he stated was left by the last installation. ****** could not remove the cap, and the toilet had to be replaced. I have correspondence with ***** ****** and ***** ***** from Roto-Rooter. I also have ****** ******** receipt and remarks. I am seeking for Roto-Rooter to refund the $500.00 it cost to correct the toilet issue. I would also like the paperwork I signed and have yet to receive showing this was a job which I have never been billed for.