# Roto rooter class action lawsuit



## Hillside (Jan 22, 2010)

Anyone heard of it? Inlaws got a check for 32 bucks today


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Nope! Find out!


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## bulldozer (Jan 11, 2009)

Just went through ohio. Bunch of guys got hefty refund checks for not being paid time and half.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

bulldozer said:


> Just went through ohio. Bunch of guys got hefty refund checks for not being paid time and half.


That was old stuff a friend of mine got about $7500...
Nice company ripping off customers and employees... :furious::furious:


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## plumberkc (Jun 23, 2011)

Redwood said:


> That was old stuff a friend of mine got about $7500...
> 
> Nice company ripping off customers and employees... :furious::furious:



What makes you think they are ripping off customers? I know they are priced a little high but that doesn't make them a bad company. 

Most of the shops are independently owned franchisee's so I'm not sure how the employees getting ripped off has anything to do with the franchise.


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## Plumber (Jan 18, 2009)

Nothing new there. In the early 80s I worked for a rooter company that got nailed by the State for doing the same thing. It was a straight commission gig, so the bosses thought they were exempt from the most basic of labor and wage laws.

The whole industry need to change its ways to become 21st century business model.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

plumberkc said:


> What makes you think they are ripping off customers? I know they are priced a little high but that doesn't make them a bad company.
> 
> Most of the shops are independently owned franchisee's so I'm not sure how the employees getting ripped off has anything to do with the franchise.


Not all Roto's are created equal.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

plumberkc said:


> What makes you think they are ripping off customers? I know they are priced a little high but that doesn't make them a bad company.
> 
> Most of the shops are independently owned franchisee's so I'm not sure how the employees getting ripped off has anything to do with the franchise.


In the major markets the Roto Rooter Branches are corporate owned and run...

Roto Rooter's Class Action Settlements with employees and customers are numerous and documented, as are sanctions against Roto-Rooter by the AHD's in numerous states...

Selling unnecessary work...

Adding additional undisclosed fee's...

Time, wage expense law violations...

Unlicensed plumber law violations...


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## Roto-Rooter (Jan 31, 2015)

Redwood said:


> In the major markets the Roto Rooter Branches are corporate owned and run...
> 
> Roto Rooter's Class Action Settlements with employees and customers are numerous and documented, as are sanctions against Roto-Rooter by the AHD's in numerous states...
> 
> ...


Stuff like this that hurts the OMS like me. In my area everybody knows me and my reputation. I stand behind what I do and we have for 63 years. I know I said it again Redwood but I need to defend myself as a OMS. Don't know anyone around here that would say anything bad about my work.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Roto-Rooter said:


> Stuff like this that hurts the OMS like me. In my area everybody knows me and my reputation. I stand behind what I do and we have for 63 years. I know I said it again Redwood but I need to defend myself as a OMS. Don't know anyone around here that would say anything bad about my work.


Exactly! The franchises are probably the best part of Roto Rooter...

The Corporation is corrupt as hell...
When in their annual report they list funds set aside for a settlement they know they will be losing and continue that practice for years as the case goes on... What does that say?


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

According to the suit, Linn claimed that the charges were pre-printed in the company's invoices and ranged from $4.95 to $12.95 a sales call. He claimed more than 2 million customers were forced to pay the fee, and that it violated the state's Consumer Sales Practices Act.











That's a quote that I cut and pasted regarding the lawsuit against the RR company. 

Seems to me that the lawyer who files the suit is claiming that the fact that the charge was pre-printed on the invoice, means that it violates some law. Well, car dealers do that all the time. Maybe RR's pre-printed charge was for shop supplies like rags, bootie covers, etc. It will be interesting to see how it plays out.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Tommy plumber said:


> According to the suit, Linn claimed that the charges were pre-printed in the company's invoices and ranged from $4.95 to $12.95 a sales call. He claimed more than 2 million customers were forced to pay the fee, and that it violated the state's Consumer Sales Practices Act.
> 
> 
> That's a quote that I cut and pasted regarding the lawsuit against the RR company.
> ...


LOL I think it was labeled Misc or Other Fee...

A few years back and they lost the case having to remove it and payout on the class action

I'll ask my buddy next time I see him..
I remember him telling me about it...


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Redwood said:


> LOL I think it was labeled Misc or Other Fee...
> 
> A few years back and they lost the case having to remove it and payout on the class action
> 
> ...












I am convinced that some of these attorneys would sue their own mothers if they could get paid. Scheisters. They are hoping to go after deep pockets in hopes of a settlement. I have spoken with attorneys who have told me that they do not want to go to trial. Too much risk. One lady lawyer said that when she did go to trial, it kept her awake at night. She was worried if she had prepared enough, had she deposed all the necessary witnesses, etc.

Both sides would prefer to settle she said.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

> Roto-Rooter Allegedly Overcharged Customers
> In Ohio, Roto-Rooter is charged with violating state consumer protection laws by adding a miscellaneous supply charge to pre-printed invoices that are used by company-owned stores. The supply fee, ranging from $9.95 to $12.95, was being charged regardless of the supplies used. Obviously, a $10 loss would not send an individual person to court, but imagine the profits Roto-Rooter made, collectively, off of this overcharge. The class has approximately 2 million members, many of them from Ohio.
> https://www.casd.org/index.cfm?pg=State Class Actions


There ya go...


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## MACPLUMB777 (Jun 18, 2008)

I received a settlement check a couple of years ago for unpaid overtime
this was RR CORP. it was only a couple hundred dollars, nothing to get excited 
about but did help pay some bills :thumbsup:


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

JERRYMAC said:


> I received a settlement check a couple of years ago for unpaid overtime
> this was RR CORP. it was only a couple hundred dollars, nothing to get excited
> about but did help pay some bills :thumbsup:


Yea... I got one too Jerry...
It wasn't much...
I don't hang around very long where I'm getting screwed over...
Plenty of fish in the sea...


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

Redwood said:


> Yea... I got one too Jerry...
> It wasn't much...
> *I don't hang around very long where I'm getting screwed over...*
> Plenty of fish in the sea...











Now you know how white house interns feel.


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

Tommy plumber said:


> Now you know how white house interns feel.


I thought it was congressional pages...:laughing:

Basically there was a "Funny Paycheck" incident in the first couple of weeks I was on the road working for them alone and we had a discussion that ended in "Oh?:blink: Okay...:furious::furious:"

Thats always a bad sign when I'm having a discussion, because it indicates you said the wrong thing and we are done with the discussion...

About 10 AM the next morning they got a phone call telling them there was a pile of their junk in my driveway in front of my garage they needed to come pick up right away...:laughing:

I was busy working for someone else...:laughing:


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## HonestPlumb (Jan 25, 2015)

My son is currentlty working for a RR franchise in PA. It is the commission gig. The owner is a thief and rips his employee's off terribly. My son will have to drive 2 hours each way to do an hour job and gets 17% on labor and a few % on material mark up. He has worked for them for around 6 months. He and another guy did a $15,000 dig for a sewer line. The boss wound up screwing them out of another $1500 each in commission. He gave them some lame ass story. I am not saying it because he is my son, but he has always worked very hard. Never *****ed and complained no matter what the job was. Never missed a day of work every job he ever had. I always taught him from when he was a little kid, no matter how crappy the job, just do it,get it done and walk away. Stand their and ***** about it, it will just be worse and takes that much longer. The guy treated all his employees the same sqeeze every last dime you can out of them ! He gave him his two weeks yesterday. Starting with a real plumbing outfit.The guy gave him ,what I thought was more than a good starting wage, plus medical in 90 days. He must have seen the real guy in him. He used to work with me. I used to have 6 guys, did rough and finish in reno's and additions. Repair work. Natural gas lines,whole house generators, pretty much everything but new work. I am getting old and not taking the big jobs I used to, plus the economical crash hit my area pretty hard. So people are still holding onto their money. Used to be a permit sticker in every other window. Most of the contractors I had are either done or working by themselves. We used to do 3/4 million dollar additions, a $250,000 kitchen. Insane Wall Street money. When I got slow he was working for a good friend of mine not to far away. He was still doing 6-8 bathroom houses. So my son was a pretty good all around plumber.(Except he would use Pex, when he worked for my friend!!)Then he moved out to PA. , bet no one can guess why ? You know it! A girl. Working for RR is all he could get. He thought making the money that the low life boss told him he was going to make on commission was great. Till he realized he had to be out 80-90 hours a week. 20-25 hours of driving, that he wasn,t getting paid for. I told him you have knowledge of all aspects of plumbing ,why would you take a job like that. Out there that was it. He got hammered one time at a dairy farm with a 4" over head sewer clean out!!! Boss wouldn't even let him go home and shower and change his clothes. Wonder why the guy has gone through over 100 employees in 4 years ? Oh well better days ahead for him hopefully. Sorry this was so long guys. Really enjoy talking to you all!


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## HonestPlumb (Jan 25, 2015)

*Pile of Junk sitting in Driveway*



Redwood said:


> I thought it was congressional pages...:laughing:
> 
> Basically there was a "Funny Paycheck" incident in the first couple of weeks I was on the road working for them alone and we had a discussion that ended in "Oh?:blink: Okay...:furious::furious:"
> 
> ...



That was a perfect move for someone that was screwing you over. I love it Redwood!! It almost makes me wish I were younger and could do that o some of the outfits I have worked for that have done me wrong!!:jester:


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## Redwood (Sep 8, 2008)

HonestPlumb said:


> That was a perfect move for someone that was screwing you over. I love it Redwood!! It almost makes me wish I were younger and could do that o some of the outfits I have worked for that have done me wrong!!:jester:


A better move would have been mailing them a Pawn Ticket...:laughing:

One of the guys I know did that...:thumbup:


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## MACPLUMB777 (Jun 18, 2008)

HonestPlumb said:


> My son is currentlty working for a RR franchise in PA. It is the commission gig. The owner is a thief and rips his employee's off terribly. My son will have to drive 2 hours each way to do an hour job and gets 17% on labor and a few % on material mark up. He has worked for them for around 6 months. He and another guy did a $15,000 dig for a sewer line. The boss wound up screwing them out of another $1500 each in commission. He gave them some lame ass story. I am not saying it because he is my son, but he has always worked very hard. Never *****ed and complained no matter what the job was. Never missed a day of work every job he ever had. I always taught him from when he was a little kid, no matter how crappy the job, just do it,get it done and walk away. Stand their and ***** about it, it will just be worse and takes that much longer. The guy treated all his employees the same sqeeze every last dime you can out of them ! He gave him his two weeks yesterday. Starting with a real plumbing outfit.The guy gave him ,what I thought was more than a good starting wage, plus medical in 90 days. He must have seen the real guy in him. He used to work with me. I used to have 6 guys, did rough and finish in reno's and additions. Repair work. Natural gas lines,whole house generators, pretty much everything but new work. I am getting old and not taking the big jobs I used to, plus the economical crash hit my area pretty hard. So people are still holding onto their money. Used to be a permit sticker in every other window. Most of the contractors I had are either done or working by themselves. We used to do 3/4 million dollar additions, a $250,000 kitchen. Insane Wall Street money. When I got slow he was working for a good friend of mine not to far away. He was still doing 6-8 bathroom houses. So my son was a pretty good all around plumber.(Except he would use Pex, when he worked for my friend!!)Then he moved out to PA. , bet no one can guess why ? You know it! A girl. Working for RR is all he could get. He thought making the money that the low life boss told him he was going to make on commission was great. Till he realized he had to be out 80-90 hours a week. 20-25 hours of driving, that he wasn,t getting paid for. I told him you have knowledge of all aspects of plumbing ,why would you take a job like that. Out there that was it. He got hammered one time at a dairy farm with a 4" over head sewer clean out!!! Boss wouldn't even let him go home and shower and change his clothes. Wonder why the guy has gone through over 100 employees in 4 years ? Oh well better days ahead for him hopefully. Sorry this was so long guys. Really enjoy talking to you all!


Maybe time to file a claim with the board !
this is what got RR in trouble when they have a claim they can come in and audit your books, even on commision your total hours put in ever day has to at least meet minimum wages,
after the labor board got though with the RR ever body had to clock in by radio and sign out at end of shift and no over hours were allowed because they did not want to have to pay you overtime !
your total work time has to meet minimum wage this includes driving time,
And they can make this Master Plumber
pay back to all former employees any time that they were not paid going back years !


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

I've had conversations with several employees that are KNOWINGLY being taken advantage of by their employers (not just RR), that still refuse to leave. This in a market where there are almost countless options for a licensed Plumber.

It boggles my mind to no end.


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## plbgbiz (Aug 27, 2010)

That said, it can be scary and stressful for a family provider to switch gigs. Sometimes dancing with the devil you know feels safer than starting with a new company. There is also a measure of security that can be felt while working for a "larger" company.


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## MACPLUMB777 (Jun 18, 2008)

plbgbiz said:


> That said, it can be scary and stressful for a family provider to switch gigs. Sometimes dancing with the devil you know feels safer than starting with a new company. There is also a measure of security that can be felt while working for a "larger" company.


Yes that is the way I felt working for RR both a franchise and the Corp. even though at the time I knew they were cheating me on pay,
there is no way to audit what they back charge you for callbacks or if they give you a chance to redo them your self :furious:
it is too easy for some other plumber tech. to go out and instead of collecting
say that is no problem we will just call this a callback on the first plumber I
learned this way back in 1976 when I first work for a RR franchise


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