High-Pressure sales tactics and shady business practices
Roman came out at midnight in response to our call for help with a backed-up basement sewer drain. He worked hard to open up a valve on the main stack to put a camera down the line. Asking, "you want the bad news or the good news?", he says he cleared the drain but there's a collapsed clay pipe just outside our house, under our porch. Estimates originally $4,600 but then moves it down to $3,000 when I say I want to get quotes. He put a lot of pressure on me to commit that night to signing a contract for the work, and when I told him that wasn't going to happen, he took a LONG time finishing up the invoice. He sent a text at 2:30 a.m. continuing the pressure. I ended up not going with his company for the work (going to get outside confirmation about the collapsed pipe), and he tried to charge me over $500 for his service call--when he had already said that if we signed the contract the charge would be waived. He might be telling the truth about the pipe, I don't know. But he didn't really give me a clear look at what he claimed was the damage, instead showing me a picture of another collapsed pipe from another house entirely. If it turns out it is collapsed, zero chance I am hiring his company. I will follow the advice of a trustworthy plumber who advised me to go with one of the bigger-name companies because there are a lot of folks out there who try to sell you something you don't need when you are at your most vulnerable. Avoid this company.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $400.00