ClearView plumbing in my opinion does not seem to have any ethics whatsoever. How they attempted to scam me into paying "six to nine thousand dollars" for a service which I did not need seems borderline illegal to me. Here is a detailed account of my experience.
On October 18th 2010, I was experiencing a back up in my main drain. This is the pipe that leads from my house to the city's sewer line. Any drainage from my house began to pool in my downstairs shower. A very messy situation to say the least. I've experienced expensive plumbing bills in the past so I decide to do a little research on the internet and found the "$99 sewer clearing service". Not only do they clear your drain, they will send a camera down to find the "root" of the problem… Pun intended. So I call ClearView and set up an appointment. They inform me that there will be a small dispatch fee which I agree to. I forget exactly how much they quoted me for the fee however they didn't end up charging me a dispatch fee anyways which is always a bonus.
On October 21st 2010, a drain clearer from ClearView shows up and spends about an hour clearing the drain. One of the nicest plumbers you could hope for so I was happy with the service at this point. After he left, I began to experience the problem again while having a shower before heading to work. I then called ClearView and within a couple hours, he came back and finished the job properly. At this point I was still a happy customer. My drain was cleared and the plumber set up an appointment for their company drain camera specialist to have a look at my pipe. I would just like to note that the plumber informed me that their camera man was one of "the best" and could tell me right away the cause of my drainage problems.
About a week later, the camera specialist shows up to take a look at my main drain. Before he even started his work, he informed me that tree roots are a very common problem for main drains in my area (Killarney, Calgary). You can imagine that this comment already scared me into thinking the worst. The "specialist" then began feeding his camera down the main drain. Within the first 10-15 seconds he was already informing me of the problems with my pipe. Every meter or so, he would tell me he found another tree root. He would then ask me to look at the screen. As I'm no expert on interpreting low quality imagery of the inside of a drainage pipe, I was unable decipher what I was seeing. I did however I make a mental note that I did not see anything that resembled a root. Every time he would tell me to look at the screen, he would then push the camera further within seconds so I had no chance to properly view image. By the end of this camera session, he had informed me of at least 8 root problems and an area of pipe that could potentially collapse.
At this point, I'm terrified to even ask how I can rectify this problem. The specialist then informs me that they offer a service where they will line my pipe from the inside to prevent future root problems or a potential collapse. He tells me that this is my only option other than digging up my front yard to completely replace to line. He then informs me that this service will cost me anywhere from "six to nine thousand dollars". You can only imagine how I'm feeling by this point. Before he leaves, he makes sure to inform me that if I don't act soon, the pipe could collapse and cause me to rip up my finished basement.
At this point, I'm having a mental breakdown. My girlfriend, being of sound and calm mind, decides to do a little research to help me out. Over the next couple days, she calls the city and they immediately send s drain cleaner to clear the drain and do a little camera work of their own. Apparently the city will do this for you whenever there is a drainage problem with your main line. They must do this to determine if there is a problem on the city's side. This service is included in your property taxes,,, who knew? After they promptly cleared the line, they gave me a number to call to have their camera specialist look at the line.
After some procrastination due to the fear of results from my second opinion, I call the city camera specialist who showed up today (Dec 15, 2011). They sent a camera down my line and found no roots whatsoever. Not only did they find no roots, they saw no evidence of a potential collapse of pipe. The only thing they found was build up of grease which is common from years of use. They then informed me how to could remedy this problem myself for under $60!
The moral of the story is that ClearView tried to scare me into buying a service which was 100% unnecessary. Not only would this service put me in the poor house, it would decrease the diameter of my existing drainage line which could potentially cause additional problems in the future! I don't know how this is not considered illegal? Maybe it is? Either way, I've wasted enough of my time even writing about this experience. I'd really love to hear ClearView's explanation for this one. Either it's policy to use scare tactics for selling their products or they have one lousy camera specialist.
PS: There is an internet add for ClearView on the Ripoffreport.com website. How ironic!
*** Update January 26th 2012 ***
I've read the response given by Clearview. In my original review, I never stated I had any problems with the $99 drain cleaning. They did a fine job and the drain cleaner was a really nice guy. My drain is still cleared to this day. My complaint was about wrong information given and the approximate verbal quote I received from the camera inspector. I have no reason to be making up stories about what was told to me. There was mention of root problems and and area that could possibly collapse. I was told that they could fix the problem by putting a liner in the pipe for "six to nine thousand dollars". I didn't even know this procedure existed until then. You may not have given me a printed quote but this was the information I was given by your employee. When the city came and inspected the line, they found no roots, possible collapse, or any reason to put a liner in the pipe. They found area with grease built up and instructed me to rent an auger to clear them. One way or another, I was given inaccurate information by your employee.
In your response to my complaint you said: "I'm not sure how a misunderstanding this large could occur, but I do apologize if it did". I'll accept the apology and we'll move on.
