Billed for Roto-Rooter

D

Dj2121

Guest
Jurisdiction
Minnesota
We moved in around February 1st. Our first weekend here we started to do some laundry and in just minutes we had sewer backing up and coming out our floor drain in the basement. We talked to the management company and they had Roto-Rooter come out and apparently there was roots in the pipes. We thought the problem was fixed but then last weekend it happened again. This time the smell was horrible and the sewage would not recede. I tried calling the numbers I had but reached a machine. I went through all our papers but found no #. I then went online and the best I could find was a maintenance request page that stated the requests were only screened Mon-Fri. So next I called Roto-Rooter and they agreed to come over do the job and çharge the landlord because they do a lot of work for them. Upon snaking the pipes he ran into a few hard spots that shouldn't have been there as well as a few FLUSHABLE baby wipes that my girlfriend admitted to flushing. He said that there are other issues with the plumbing and that he was going to talk to the landlord about putting a camera down the pipe. A few days later we received a letter from management saying we had to pay the bill.
Is this legal?
 
Dj2121 said:
We moved in around February 1st. Our first weekend here we started to do some laundry and in just minutes we had sewer backing up and coming out our floor drain in the basement. We talked to the management company and they had Roto-Rooter come out and apparently there was roots in the pipes. We thought the problem was fixed but then last weekend it happened again. This time the smell was horrible and the sewage would not recede. I tried calling the numbers I had but reached a machine. I went through all our papers but found no #. I then went online and the best I could find was a maintenance request page that stated the requests were only screened Mon-Fri. So next I called Roto-Rooter and they agreed to come over do the job and çharge the landlord because they do a lot of work for them. Upon snaking the pipes he ran into a few hard spots that shouldn't have been there as well as a few FLUSHABLE baby wipes that my girlfriend admitted to flushing. He said that there are other issues with the plumbing and that he was going to talk to the landlord about putting a camera down the pipe. A few days later we received a letter from management saying we had to pay the bill.
Is this legal?
Click to expand...

Read your lease.
Read the documents given to you by the plumber.
Think about the admissions given by your GF.
I suggest you pay the bill, or risk being evicted.
Why?
Whatever at have caused the blockage was trumped by her confession.
Pay the bill, or risk a very troubling spring.
 
But these were FLUSHABLE BABY WIPES. If the drain gets backed up from toilet paper are we held responsible for that too?
 
Dj2121 said:
But these were FLUSHABLE BABY WIPES. If the drain gets backed up from toilet paper are we held responsible for that too?
Click to expand...

The drain wasn't plugged by toilet paper.
A drain can be plugged by too much toilet paper, r too many flushable wipes.
I suggest you discuss the matter with your LL, or the property manager.
If you want to make it easy on yourself, try to negotiate a compromise.
It's never wise to try and force someone's hand who sits in a superior position to you.
 
I've been told by plumbers that you shouldn't flush baby wipes even if they say they are "flushable". They aren't designed to break down in water the way toilet paper does and can definitely cause blockages and backups.
 
This case clearly has a pre-existing problem before the tenant moved in.
Where the tenant went wrong was by calling for and authorizing the repair without the landlord's approval.
Best case here is likely to make nice with the landlord and try to split the bill.

In the future, be familiar with your lease and how it proposes to address repairs.
 

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