Had water backing up in basement drain. Called Action Auger & came to the house within one hour. $69.95 Dispatch Fee, and they ask how you will be paying, on the initial call. Tech Outlined charges up front when he arrived. They had a set price if they had to go out main drain by 50', $359; or $427 if they had to go out 100'. Tech said he always starts with 100', and adjusts to lower amount if drain clears within the 50', so you kind of know where this is going. Their lowest fee for any additional services is set at $66. He said it is very likely tree roots. We have no trees known to invade sewer, but he said it didn't matter, they come from 100 feet away.He cleared the drain, total time at the house was about 2 1/2 hours. He found no tree roots, but suggested I should have a camera sent down to determine the cause of the blockage, added cost of $267. Said no thanks! But he then begins with a sales pitch suggesting Washing Machine hoses should be changed out, also a few of the plastic supply lines to the sinks should be changed. I was upstairs flushing toilets and running sinks to make sure back up was cleared, and when I returned to the basement he had taken off the front cover of the furnace, beginning to inspect. He stopped after I explained I just had it inspected on a recent duct cleaning, plus Direct Energy would be coming to do an annual inspection in Oct. He still wrote some kind of number from the furnace on sheet. He detected a gas leak in a pipe union. Soaped all connections. Tried to tighten the leaking connection, but couldn't, so had it changed at a cost of $66. Then he suggested we buy a bio drain cleaner. 1/2 a capful every month would help to keep drains clear, and deodorized. It was a small 1.9 litre bottle, priced at, you guessed it, $66. I said it was too expensive.... I said what was wrong with $19.95, as I am already going to pay out over $500! Don't know why they can't just stick to correcting the problem and forget the sales pitch, which becomes very annoying. Just stick to the job at hand. Their work supposedly is guaranteed for 67 days (weird time frame), so hopefully, I won't need them back on the warranty. They cleared my drain for which I am grateful, and they did a good job cleaning up under fairly messy circumstances. Not so sure I would recommend them to anyone, just based on the annoying sales pitch, plus they are very expensive, basically $500 to clear the drain after a 5% seniors discount, but probably in the same ball park as others in this business. Just wish they would stick to the job they were called to do, forget the scare tactics and sales pitch, because when you have a potentially catastrophic situation, the last thing you need is any sales pitch..... just promptly fix the dam problem! Stay away from my furnace and my sinks other than to run water to check the drain! .....As a follow up, I have learned that you do not need to call a Plumber, you can call the City of Edmonton 311, and they will unplug you drain for a fee of $289, including a camera analysis, and if a blockage happens to be found on the City portion, you won't have to pay. Had I known this I could have saved $$$. I am now sharing this with as many people as I can find, rather than use unscrupulous plumbing companies.
