ARS / Rescue Rooter Bay Area South

If I could give zero stars, I would. We had a main line flood on the morning of 12/22/17. Called Rescue Rooter as they’re listed as ‪24/7‬ emergency  plumbing service. We were told they were busy, but they would send someone out ASAP. Someone finally came that evening. He offered us the option of clearing the obstruction using a snake, or 2nd option, with a hydro -jet. The second option was however not an option at the time because he did not have the equipment. So for lack of any other choice, we “chose” the snake. Unfortunately he had a short snake, not a commercial grade extended one, so he was unable to clear the drain. We were then told that they will likely have to hydro-jet  the line to clear it completely. It costs $1,200. He promised he’d get on the line to have someone come out ASAP with a longer snake + a hydro-jet just in case the longer snake couldn’t clear the line. Got a call that night that no one was available to come, but that they would send someone out ASAP the next morning. (24/7??) We could not use the plumbing (faucet/showers/toilets) until then. Luckily we’re avid campers, so we made due, and went out with our dog. Next morning, waited until 9A, no one came, so we called the company. Well apparently no one knew of our situation and no one was scheduled to come out. After much heated discussion, a plumber was dispatched by 10:30A. Snaking it with the same length of snake as the 1st plumber didn’t do the trick (we told him that it had already been tried. Why he tried that again, we don’t know.) Luckily he had a commercial grade snake (longer and sturdier) and tried that. The second procedure removed a root and the blockage began to drain. After that we were offered (again) the option to clean the line with the hydro-jet Under the assurance that for $1,200 the line would be completely cleared of any obstuction (and covered by warranty for 5 years,) we opted to proceed with the hydro- jet. $1,200 is not cheap, but we needed to clear it. Hours later, the plumber ran the line, it was clear, he said it had been repaired. Now, here we are, 2 weeks later, January 8, 2018. we run a load of laundry, hear gurgling in the kitchen sink, and on intuition, check the garage. Flooding again. Called the same office that “helped” us out before. After explaining my previous situation, I get the runaround and am told no one was available  until the next day. In the meantime, I can’t use my plumbing. So after talking with them and lodging a complaint, they agreed to try and send someone between 4-6P. 6P, a plumber comes out, I explain my situation to her, she looks @my invoice and tells me that the hydro- jet is maintenance, not repair. Well we weren’t told that, and we’re not plumbers, so how were we to know? If we’d known, we would’ve scheduled a repair rather than do the hydro jet option, and use the $1,200 towards the repair!! She tells me she doesn’t have the right equipment on her truck (again not having equipment. These are ‪24/7‬ emergency plumbers right?) but that she would do what she could. She tried snaking it, it didn’t work. So then she tells me they’ll have to send a tech with a camera to inspect the line tomorrow. Learning from my previous experience with them, I ask for the tech’s name and window so I know when to expect him/her. In the meantime I’m told, do not use the plumbing (kids, get out the bucket!) I feel swindled out of $1,200. I feel cheated and lied to. After this fiasco, I read through all the reviews of this company and it sounds like this is their scam. They tell you there’s a main line block, charge $1,200 to hydro jet, then a few weeks later when it re-floods, they put a camera down the line and tell you it’s broken, again charging thousands to dig. I called the head office to lodge a complaint. The mgr came out the next day. He said they needed to dig, hire a surveyor + a landscaper costing me thousands. And meantime, no plumbing. I called another company for a 2nd opinion and within 2hrs my sewer line was clear. 2 hours only! DO NOT USE RESCUE ROOTER!!!! They LIE and SCAM.