Roto-Rooter Group review: Category 3 basement water clean up egregious job (black water)

We contacted Roto-Rooter on 10/2/2023/ due to a  sewage water backup in the basement.  FrankMihalic (Water Restoration Specialist) inspected the water cleanup with the tenant, and  Courtney was told the cost would be around five to six thousand dollars.  I spoke with Frank, a technician for the Roto-Rooter Runnemede  Branch.  I spoke with Frank and was informed the cost would be about five to six thousand dollars to complete the job. I asked why the price was so high because CPR, another Water Restoration company, stated it would cost about 4500. Frank stated he did not know why Roto-Rooter was charging more.  I was then told to give my insurance information so they could put a claim in with them. I informed him that my tenant's renter insurance would cover the cost.  I agree to the cleaning cost of  6000 dollars, which includes taxes. Frank stated he could send a crew out that day, and we decided to go with them.  I called another company's CPR and canceled, trusting that ROTO ROOTER would stand by their name and business.  I drove to meet Frank because he stated he needed to physically see the credit card I would use to pay for the water clean-up. Which I thought was strange.  I  told him I could give him the card number over the phone, but he said he needed to see the physical card. I also inquired if he could charge my card for 2,000 thousand; this would confirm my honesty and transparency. I would give him a cashier's check for the remaining amount the next day because I was coming from Pennsylvania to New Jersey. He stated no because I had to sign the paperwork. I stated I could sign the paperwork the next day when I brought the remaining balance.  My tenant was very upset because her infant and toddler were in the house. I informed Frank I would meet him so he could physically see my Discover credit card so the cleaning could start because it was a sewage backup. Frank's actions were racially motivated on several levels. I am a homeowner and a landlord and have never been refused a credit card payment to start services or confirm I want the services. I have used Roto-Rooter in the past, and it was a smooth transition without any hiccups with payments. The work was started without any payment exchange. However, upon my arrival to meet Frank, he stated a price of 7,000, and I stated you told me 5340 plus taxes, bringing it to a total of 6,000 thousand. His response ‘'Oh, okay, I told you that. "At this time, my husband answered yes, you did.  This made us think he was making up random prices at this time. I informed him again another company, CPR, stated the job would be about 4,500 dollars and why Roto Rooter's price was extremely high. Frank stated, "It was a category three clean-up job." Frank then informed us that the clean-up crew would arrive at 12:30 noon to start the job. The clean-up was completed by 1:47 p.m.  Per the contract; the crew was supposed to disinfect all plastic materials and remove all wood and non-salvageable furniture.  My tenant went down to the basement to check out the job and called me immediately, stating I had to come and see what was done because they did not remove any of the items from the basement after being instructed of the items that needed to be removed and the clean-up was done very poorly. My spouse and I returned to look at the job, and we were shocked at how poorly of a job they had done.  We immediately took pictures; the smell was awful because it was a category three sewage backup.  I immediately called Frank and reported the situation to him.  He stated he would notify the branch manager, Brian, of the water clean-up crew. I also called Brian because my tenant had an infant and a toddler living in the home.  I was informed that the clean-up crew would return tomorrow to access and redo a clean-up to the contract standards.  The crew piled up plastic totes in the middle of the basement floor that were supposed to have been cleaned and disinfected but still had cobwebs on them.  My spouse and I took pictures and had to pull out cabinets for the walls that were never moved to clean the floor behind them. There were still obvious spots of black water throughout the floor; wood shelving and wood bookcases were still saturated with sewage.  By this time, we were very perturbed and had to instruct them to remove all the wood and non-salvageable from the basement. The crew stated okay, we will have to clean it again after we pointed out over 70 percent of the work was not done correctly.  I called Brian (MANAGER) again to inform him the crew's job was unacceptable.  I stated to him if this were a Caucasian family, the job would have been done correctly the first time. There is no way this crew could have been this inept. He asked me what would be a fair resolution. I told him I didn’t work for Roto-Rooter and that he needed to ensure that his crew did the job stated in the contract.  He then stated he would discount the job to 4500  plus taxes for 4,781.25  on October 11, 2023, and would email the new contract reflecting the new cost. On Saturday at 12 noon, I did a final walk-through with the crew, gave them the cashier’s check, and signed my initials via the crew cell phone.   Rotor Rooter is a poor company to do business with and very dishonest. I will be reporting to the Better Business Bureau for racial discrimination, trying to fraud an insurance company, and price gouging customers. Frank also informed the tenant that she could receive more money from her Renter Insurance after speaking with her insurance company. Companies like this cause insurance companies to increase insurance rates for customers. Fraud and inflated prices are illegal and criminal, making insurance rates costly for everyone. I have given Roto-Rooter several opportunities to correct this situation and to restore its reputation.  Finally, after preparing to email documents to the Renter Insurance, I noticed the amount differed from the invoice from the discounted amount from October 11, 2023. Manager Brian discounted the amount we agreed to on October 11th, 2023, from 6,000 dollars to 4,500 plus taxes for a total of 4,781.25 dollars. Manager Brian would email an updated invoice to reflect the new discounted price after speaking with Water Restoration Specialist Frank Mihalic, who returned from his meeting. An updated invoice was emailed to reflect the discounted amount of 4,781.25, and a cashier check from Wells Fargo for the exact was made out to Roto-Rooter on October 11, 2023, for the discounted amount(4,781.25) and given to Roto-Rooter air quality specialist on Saturday, October 14th at 12 noon after the final walk-through.  The fraud continues with Roto-Rooter by changing the invoice amount. I will take further action to correct this situation, which has caused my family and tenant undue stress.  I will contact the customer satisfaction manager at the Roto-Rooter National office at [protected] PAT SWASON. I will also be contacting the National Headquarters in Cincinnati, OH 255 E 5th st #2500 Robert Goldschmidt, Steven Ratterman  of Vice President of Financial Operation, Paul Abrams, Director Of Public Relations, Mike  Polyak, Senior Vice President of Operation, CEO  Spencer  S Lee. This well-known company is taking advantage of customers and should not be able to operate in such discriminatory manners. I would have steered away if I had looked at the reviews for this company before using them.  Their racially discriminatory practice is beyond egregious and needs to be reviewed. My family and tenant have suffered undue stress and discrimination from Roto-Rooter. I also had a lengthy conversation with the Manager, Brian, about how racial discrimination was a factor. The pictures attached are from the first clean-up job horrible. I can be reached at [protected] or [protected]@gmail.com

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