ComplaintsforSmartHouse Heating and Cooling

• Initial Complaint

  12/29/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had no heat so I called a service provider that specializes in boilers . I was told by ********* that she was sending out the best man to do the work and he has 22 yrs experience. I was told that it was my thermocouple however he kept hinting that I needed a new boiler many times and that it was $12000. He said that he fixed the issue and that I should be ok for about 5 yrs. Then they mislead me in a service plan that did not include everything that the service guy explained to me . When I asked I was told that boilers had different prices which I don’t understand if he is the boiler expert why didn’t he notify me of that. Not even a month later my heat went out once again on 12/22/21. He came back out and said it was the pilot light. He once again mentioned that I needed a new boiler which made me skeptical ?? as of this was being done on purpose to force me into getting a new boiler . The pilot light was lit. Now on 12/28/21 I have no heat again. Something is not right I looked it up and it states that a pilot light not staying lit has to do with thermocouple not being installed correctly, dirty or old. I am now not sure if the bad one was shown on purpose to make me pay or what. In all my years of living here I never had this issue with my boiler. I am not feeling uncomfortable with this and out of heat and money . Spoke to Stephanie who stated that she was the operations manager and that it could be another fee and that her tech has 22 yrs and that it may be another issue and I would have to pay a fee if he finds an error. I am not clear if I paid for maintenance and cleaning why am I having an issue and when I reached out in regards to an issue in my sheet they never replied . I feel so uneasy in choosing this company for my boiler .

  

  Business response

  01/11/2022

  Good morning,

   

  We received a letter of complaint from the BBB regarding our client ******** *******. 

   

  We regret that Mrs. ******* is disappointed with the outcome of her service however we disagree with the statement she submitted.

   

  In fact, Mrs. ******* was only charged once and that was on November 15 for maintenance (including an annual maintenance agreement) and a repair necessitated by the fact that her pilot burner an been modified by another company at some time in the past and it represented a reliability and safety concern.  At the time of this first visit we also gave the client a ‘heads up’ that her 28 year old boiler was starting to show its age and that replacement would likely be necessary in the next 5 years approximately.  We find that our clients appreciate advance notice when a big-ticket item is nearing replacement time.  We did not provide a proposal for a new boiler believing her present boiler should remain serviceable for some time.

   

  The first ‘no heat’ complaint was not until December 23 (5 weeks after our previous visit).  We responded that same day and the house had heat when we left.  We did not charge her anything for that visit.

   

  Unfortunately the heat failed again 4 days later. The client called to schedule a service call. Clearly there was some issue that did not present itself in the presence of our technician that requires further investigation and we were happy to do that.

   

  While scheduling the appointment the client asked us if there would be any additional charge.  We stated that there would be no charge at all for the service call.  We also said that if the problem we find is related to the part we changed in November then there would be no charge for the repair.  However, if there is a different, unrelated repair needed, then we would quote her a price for that.

   

  The service call was scheduled for December 27 (same day service).  The client subsequently called back to cancel the appointment.

   

  The client called back the morning of December 29.  We offered an appointment for the same day but the client was not available so an appointment was scheduled at the client’s preference at 9am the following day, December 30. 

   

  The client called back that same afternoon on December 29 to cancel the appointment for the following day stating she was called into work.  She was working out her schedule and still wanted us to come on the 30^th but would call us back with a time that worked for her.  The client then called again in the morning of December 30^th, at which time we offered her an appointment that same day, or over the holiday weekend at no charge.  The client said she would check her schedule and call back. She did not.

   

  Again on December 31, concerned that the client had no heat, our on-call technician called and texted the client offering to come out any time over the holiday weekend without charge for the service call.

   

  The next contact we had was receipt of a BBB complaint on January 10.

   

  Our preference with our client would have been to return to the house to continue work to find the cause of the reliability challenge.  However, after multiple cancelled appointments it is obviously not possible for us to provide further assistance without being permitted to have a service call.

   

  We believe that our interactions with this client have been fully in accordance with any definition of fairness, integrity and  good business ethics.

   

  We will refund 100% of the money paid to us for the service plan as the client requested however we stand by the initial repair charge for the repair made on November 15.  

   

  **** *********

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩