Drains By James Inc.

Read enough of the 231 Google reviews behind this Wilmington drain company's 4.8 and one number keeps recurring: an hour. Within the hour on a holiday weekend. Within the hour the day before Thanksgiving. At 1 a.m. into a condo complex where another plumber had already spent hours and given up. Drains By James is a clogged-drain and sewer-line outfit, not a general plumber, and speed is what it sells. The work is drain cleaning, hydro jetting, main sewer lines, pipe lining and camera inspection, and the reviews follow that shape closely. A homeowner writing in March 2026 had a main line blocked all the way to the street and a $28,000 dig quote from another company; a tech named Eddie opened it inside an hour. In a November 2025 review, another customer expected $15,000 and a trenched front yard for a compromised house trap, got it cleared for $900, and was sent video of the drain. Several people say a plumber sent them here — this is the company other trades call when the snake won't do it. It is also a big enough operation that individual techs get named constantly — Mike T, Kyle, Roger, Mario, Shane, Joe, Odie — and the office staff too. Twenty-four reviews came in over the last six months with a single negative among them. Its BBB page carries an A+, with accreditation dating back to 2008. On Reddit in January 2026, a north-shore homeowner asking for sewer-replacement recommendations was pointed here. Two things to settle before they roll a truck. Price is where the complaints cluster: a July 2025 customer said a $249 quote for a clogged kitchen sink became $550 mid-job with an hourly rate floated on top, and an August 2024 reviewer objected to $429 for roughly twenty minutes of main-line work. Get the number, and what happens if the job turns, in writing up front. The more serious one is recent. A July 2026 reviewer said a tech broke the snake off inside their shower drain, left a mess, told them to hire a plumber to cut holes and retrieve it, and charged for the visit anyway; a second company got it out. And in September 2025, a buyer who paid for a pre-purchase sewer video said the report never arrived despite repeated calls — worth knowing if you need documentation on a deadline. For a 2 a.m. backup or a root-choked main line, this is a sensible first call. If your job is an inspection report you need in hand by a date, or a fixed-price sink clog, nail down the deliverable and the price before they start.