Scott in Toronto

I called Rapid Rooter in Toronto for an emergency main drag clog repair in the basement where I had an apartment rented out to two great tenants. Sewage was backing up into their bathtub and floor drain in their bathroom. "Tony" from Rapid Rooter showed up in an unmarked white van. He saw the problem and offered to snake the drain for $1000. That was a hefty price but I needed it done. He relieved the clog but said I had tree roots in the drain and they would have to dig down in two locations: one under the sidewalk in the front yard and the other in the middle of the tenant's bedroom floor which was hardwood. The damage would be extensive but necessary. He quoted $8000 with half the payment upfront and he would be back with a crew in a couple days. I agreed and signed the work order and gave him my credit card number. ONE YEAR later they showed up! After they charged my credit card $4000, after the basement drain had backed up numerous times, after I had to hire other plumbers to persistently snake the drain, and after calling Rapid Rooter incessantly over the course of 12 months. Finally a subcontracted digging crew showed up on behalf of Rapid Rooter to do the work. They dug up the bedroom floor in the basement and then dug up the front lawn, and I watched every minute of it. I witnessed them cut out two 4 foot lengths of perfectly good 6 inch cast iron pipe with no clogs and no tree roots. I asked the workers "where's the clog?" and they said "there wasn't any". Tony wasn't even there to oversee or verify anything. I asked the crew not to fill in the holes until Tony saw it. He showed up the next day to say that the job's complete and ordered the crew to fill in the holes. I told Tony that there where no clogs found in the pipes they dug up, but he argued with me and said that there was, and that the problem was solved. The work sights both on the front lawn and basement where left in a disaster for me to clean up and repair. They charged my credit card $8000 dollars more instead of $4000, so now I’ve paid $12000 for a job that was quoted at $8000 for which they never fixed. All they did was damage my house. The drain backed up again with raw sewage a few days later, just like before. Their extensive "repair" had no effect. I complained and as usual, Rapid Rooter was not returning my calls. With no choice, I had to hire another plumbing company. For $3500 they found the clog, dug up another hole in my front lawn 9 feet away from where Rapid Rooter dug, and fixed the problem in one day. My tenants moved out shortly after. I spent the next year or two trying to sue Rapid Rooter with no success. Rapid Rooter actually sent ME a letter of intent to prosecute in a fake "Government of Ontario” envelope and letterhead. I showed up for 4 court appearances and they showed up for none, so the court wasn't able to hear their side of the story so it went no where. I gave up. Then, when I thought it was all over, another $8000 charge by Rapid Rooter showed up on my credit card again! It took several phone calls and letters before my credit card company finally reversed that charge (but I was still on the hook for the interest on that $8000, which I then had to fight for too). The bank said it was my fault because I gave Rapid Rooter my credit card number (which makes no sense). I cancelled my credit card account and went with another bank. No authority was able help to me. I am forever distrusting of trades in this city and will never depend on the City of Toronto's legal system, it's judges or it's lawyers ever again for anything. I am utterly disgusted with the behaviour of Rapid Rooter and the banks that allow them to operate through the simple use of credit card processing; and equally disgusted in the lack of municipal regulatory bodies ill-equipped with the tools necessary to assist and protect victims of business practices as egregious as this by means of effective prosecution and crippling penalties. Shame on them all.