ComplaintsforHeritage Home Service

• Initial Complaint

  06/10/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Muirfield Mechanical services put in our mini split system with heat pump- 4/28/2023. I have been having problems with the system from the start. It was not cooling. They came to look at it, sending a tech over. They assured us it is working. In April this year on a random cold night we turned the heat on. It was not heating. I emailed *********************** April 5th he never emailed me back. I called in May and the company merged with Heritage Home service. They have refused to help or send a tech out-even though it is within the warranty. I have called this week and the general manager told the secretary he would call me back that day 5/3. No call from him. I called back 5/4 asking if he was still going to call as it had been 24 hours. The secretary asked him again, he promised to call Wednesday- asking a time that would work. I said he could call anytime Wednesday 5/5. He has not called. This is frustrating and very unprofessional.This work initially was paid for by SMOC. I understand that we are responsible now for repair. But to not even come and be responsible for the product is disgraceful.

  

  Business response

  06/26/2024

  
  Hi ******,
  
  Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We're very sorry for the frustration and inconvenience you've experienced.
  
  I want to confirm that we have since addressed your concerns. Our technician visited your home on June 18th and made the necessary repairs to your mini split system. Please let us know if there are any further issues or if you need additional assistance.
  
  We appreciate your patience and are committed to providing better service moving forward. Thank you for giving us this second chance. 
  
  Best regards,
  Heritage Home Service

  Customer response

  06/28/2024

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  If on going repairs are needed I will be in touch with Heritage and expect a quick response. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  02/19/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We bought a tankless hot water heater from ***** plumbing in 2017. It worked ok until mid 2023 when it started to become erratic and spew piping hot water which was scalding, followed by cool water which was inadequate in a shower of in faucets in bathrooms and the kitchen. We had filters cleaned and then in desperation had the system flushed with vinegar for $400. Fast forward to this year: We made a service call to Heritage because the problem persisted. A couple of guys came out and did some tests totaling $260 and said the tests didnt reveal any problem. They told us that Heritage died t sell Nivian tankless systems and that they knew little about them. So they called the tech support people for ***** but said there was an hour and a half wait and asked us if we wanted to have them wait but that they would bill us for this time period. They offered to do another flush for ankthsf $400 which we already had done within six months. This was unacceptable.Our tankless system is still spewing piping hot scalding water followed by lukewarm water which isnt warm enough to take a comfortable shower or wash bacteria off our dishes Bottom line is that we paid $3200 for a tankless hot water system which fluctuates from much too hot to much too cool and Heritage cant service it because we bought it from ***** plumbing which they bought out but now cant service products sold by *****. This is unacceptable and we need them to fix the unit we bought only 7 years ago. We were told that tankless systems last longer than traditional tank systems. Please help. Thank you. ,

  

  Business response

  02/21/2024

  ****, please see our formal letter attached. We do have a technician coming out today to do the best we can to fix the issue. Unfortunately, this install happened with a different company and complete different owners and policies, however we will do the best we can to alleviate the situation. 

  Customer response

  02/23/2024

   
  Complaint: 21301591
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: [You must provide details of why you are not satisfied with this resolution. If you do not enter a reason for your rejection, your complaint will be closed as Answered.]
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  Customer response

  02/23/2024

  We received notice that Heritage has corrected our problem despite several previous unsuccessful attempts  to correct the failure of the ****** tankless hot water heater installed by ***** Plumbing in 2017. They now own that business. Our shower started spraying scalding hot water intermittently followed lukewarm and cool water inadequate to shower comfortably in late winter 2023. We paid over $850 that winter to have the problem resolved but it was left dysfunctional. We paid another $500+ dollars on two occasions to Heritage purchased company pro-active and them paid additional funds to ***** plumbing because Heritage couldnt solve the problem with severely fluctuating water temperature. Their efforts failed as well. Fast forward to this year and Heritage sent out technicians who knew nothing about ****** systems which they admitted to us. They tried to call ****** tech support to run diagnostics but the phones were backed up 1-2 hours and the techs said they would have to charge us to wait for tech support. We declined. They also dispatched a gentleman who had no license to work with gas units but he verified the system was not working correctly. Next, a nice gentleman with past experience with ****** systems ran yet another $260 system check which yielded nothing. Again. ***** was able to contact tech support after waiting 30 minutes or more and their information yielded the answer: a $30 plastic check unit needed to be replaced. ***** waived the additional $260 charge but we had to pay him another $290+ fir his work. This is just ridiculous. All we are asking is for the last $290+ to be reimbursed to us. Please help. To correct their report we were not the original owners when the unit was installed:  Weve lived at *********** since 3/15 2000.  

• Initial Complaint

  09/25/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  We had a new furnace/heating system put in February 2021 by Heritage. Within the first few months we had to call them 3 times due to no hot water/heat. Within those months, they thought the system could be faulty, so they were going to get us in touch with a Bosh representative to come look at it. Never heard back. Since then we’ve had to call 2 more times. For the SAME problem. Always having to pay the $250 just to have them come look. Every time they come out, the employees just stare at it, not knowing what to do. They were just out here again last month, and a week after, problem occurred again and the furnace was leaking water. We had our neighbor who is a plumber come look, and he said they turned the temp all the way up to “fix” the hot water problem, but that’s why it was leaking water from all the pressure, and the way they installed it was unnecessary, and the system is TOO small to heat the house. Here we are, yet again 9/24, and no heat OR hot water.

  

  Business response

  09/26/2023

  Hi ********, our team is in contact with you to set something up, please see attached above of email going out earlier today. We understand this is an issue and we would like to get this fixed. We have call recordings of going back and forth and we noticed you cancelled your appointments to use someone else, however we do want to fix this for you and your home. Please respond to our emails and correspondences so we can resolve this for you. 

  Thank you for your time. 

  Customer response

  09/28/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: 

  I do accept that the business has contacted us to set up an appointment to talk. The soonest they could come out is Thursday 10/5/23. I do not want this case closed until my husband and I meet with them to hear what their solution is, and if we'll be satisfied with it. We have also requested that a Bosch representative come out as well with them and are waiting to hear back if that is possible. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** *********

  

  Business response

  10/02/2023

  We completely understand that. Our General Manager, Eric, and our lead HVAC supervisor, Jeremy, will be visiting you on Thursday October 5th to find a resolution to your issue. We understand this should NOT be happening and we will do everything we can to make it right. 

  Customer response

  10/10/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  

  They will cover the system free of charge for the winter if anything happens to it. If problems occur too often during that time, talk of replacing the system has been talked about. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** *********

• Initial Complaint

  09/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Heritage was hired on August 1st to replace a bathroom ceiling fan and light. Original fan purchased by us would not fit. Heritage told us they would purchase a fan to replace the one they had removed as we needed a specific fan. It is now over six weeks later and we still have a hole in our ceiling. I can’t get Heritage to call me back. I have called once a week asking for updates. Each time I’m told someone will call me back, no one does. Once I finally mentioned leaving a bad review our case was sent up the chain. I got ONE phone call assuring me that it would be taken care of, that the fan would be ordered, and they would quickly make an appointment to get the fan installed. Since then NOTHING. Six weeks and little to no communication is unacceptable. They took the old fan with them, so I don’t even have the information I need to order one myself.

  

  Business response

  09/14/2023

  Hi *********, I completely understand your frustration here. I have call logs of the back and forth issue going on. It looks like we have been in contact with your wife, *****. You guys had a fan you wanted us to replace, which our team came out to do on Sept 8th. ***** informed us to bring a fan in case of the one that was purchased on your end didn't work. Looks like we had to special order one, and we gave a call back on September 13th to book your appt since the fan would be arriving within the week. Our electrical supervisor states he reached out about the issue and no further comments were made. I will escalate this up to our Electrical Director and see what we can do to come to a conclusion on this. 

  

  Business response

  09/14/2023

  Our team has been in contact with the homeowners. Attached above is screenshot of commentary from our electrical manager. I have call records of us going back and forth. The first time our tech went out on 8/1, we didn't have a replacement fan. The customer went out and got one then scheduled a job. Customer mentioned it might not fit, and asked tech to bring another option. Tech arrived at the second job on 8/8 and none of the fans provided worked so they opt-ed to special order one which took some time to come in. We tried calling the customer to book the job, stating when the new fan will arrive. After this complaint was submitted, our team was already in contact with the customer and got them booked to install the new fan. Again, per the screenshot above, everything is taken care of from our end. Special ordering parts is out of our control for timelines depending on manufacture and style. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/14/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  2/8/23 Heritage sent licensed plumber to fix burst pipes from recent freeze. On invoice, plumber said "water line was traced to a fin zone heater that resides in entry way of the split level home. Told tenant I cannot make the repair because I am not well versed in heating systems and we will need a HVAC technician to come out to make the repair." Cost: $189 for which Heritage double charged my credit card. Hard to believe licensed plumber can't fix pipes, but at least he got water running in rest of house by closing boiler water feed valve. I only had to wait another day with no heat for them to send out licensed HVAC technician make the repair. On the phone, plumber told me cost to repair the burst pipes would be $2104. 2/9/23 Heritage sent licensed HVAC technician. On second invoice HVAC technician said, "Return to fix baseboard, heating leak within wall. Replaced 3 foot section of baseboard and replaced copper pipe inside wall where second leak was coming from. When turning water on to zone to fill baseboard, signs of another leak came about. Inspected piping and to see where leak was coming from, found water dripping from further inside wall on garage side... Inform tenant that we cannot put water to zone until wall is taken down by contractor to get a better look at where leak is coming from. Supervisor, Informed me that contractor would need to be hired by customer to get a better look at what we are fixing and we can quote next job appropriately." Incredulously, Heritage expects me to believe this is not the same job and that I need to hire a contractor to take down a wall so they can "get a better look at where leak is coming from." Heritage had no trouble charging me $2001 for a job they didn't complete. 2/13/23 Called Heritage to ask licensed HVAC technician why a wall has to be "taken down... to get a better look" but no one returned my call. I'm disputing both charges through my credit card company until this issue is satisfactorily resolved.

  

  Business response

  02/15/2023

  Doc attached lays out the situation and that we are trying to get ahold of the customer to resolve the issue. We have tried contacting customer twice via phone and have been unsuccessful. 

  Customer response

  02/17/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because:

  2/17/23
  
  Dear Heritage,
  
  Thank you for responding on 2/16/23 to my BBB complaint.
  
  Please note I have corrected the dates when the two techs came to the house from 2/8 and 2/9 to 2/9 and 2/10, respectively.
  
  Here is my response to yours:
  
  On 2/8/23, I placed the initial call to Heritage to schedule an appointment informing them of the burst water pipes and that the house had no heat as a result. Heritage sent a plumbing tech when they should have sent a HVAC tech. Heritage billed me $189 for this first tech and when I checked my credit card account I discovered Heritage double billed me for the same appointment.
  
  On 2/9/23, I spoke with your plumbing tech shortly after he left a VM for me. He explained the need to bring in an HVAC technician so I called Heritage and scheduled an appt for the next day.
  
  On 2/10/23, Heritage's HVAC tech reported that he repaired a leak in the line which runs to the split-level foyer and the bedroom a few feet above it, but when he opened the valve for the boiler feed he discovered the line had a leak a couple of feet above the one he fixed. He stated the entire wall would need to be "taken down" by my contractor before he could complete repairs to the line. I called Heritage to speak with the HVAC tech to understand why an entire wall need to be taken down to continue work on this water line, but I never received a call or a VM for that matter.
  
  While waiting for a reply from the BBB complaint I made, I scheduled an appt with a local Heritage competitor to get the leak fixed. They sent a HVAC tech out on 2/16/23 and he completed the repair a few hours after he arrived and I approved his repair quote. No walls were taken down.
  
  This second leak was not a separate issue occurring in 2 different locations -- the leaks were a couple of feet apart in the same wall cavity, which the HVAC tech had already opened up.
  
  I understand Heritage is not a handyman contractor who repairs wall damage caused during this type of repair and I never expected such. The Heritage competitor I hired works the same way.
  
  Lastly, if your HVAC tech attempted to contact me after I requested to speak with him, but he was unable to reach me, he should have left a VM message and I would have responded.
  
  I hope I have adequately addressed the points you made on 2/16/23.
  
  Sincerely,
  ******** ****
  ===

  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****

  

  Business response

  02/17/2023

  So due to you getting the issue fixed, what is it you're still looking to get from us? 

  We can refund the $189 from the initial appointment. 

  Customer response

  02/23/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because:
  

  I'm sure you understand that I had to get this issue resolved quickly since this is winter and the house was without hot water and central heat, which is why I had to choose another company to do the work I originally hired Heritage to do.
  
  I was charged $189 twice for an initial appointment, when it should only have been once. In addition, I was charged $2001 to repair the burst heating line which wasn't done. I had to pay another company $2249.80 (which includes a $59 dispatch fee, a $283.80 diagnostic fee, plus $1907) to repair the line and get the heat running again. Your HVAC guy also took the damaged baseboard element which I need for the insurance adjuster if I expect to be reimbursed for my losses.
  
  I have a photo showing the wall after the Heritage HVAC guy was done (After_Heritage_HVAC_appt.jpg). I also have photos of before and after the *********** **** guy was done (After_***********_HVAC_appt_foyer.jpg, After_***********_HVAC_appt_garage.jpg). There's also photo of the house front which puts into perspective the location of the leaks in the wall between the foyer and the garage and the bedroom above (HouseFront.jpg).
  
  Please put yourself in my shoes, how would you feel if you were me? Would you pay for a job that wasn't done when you had to hire another company to do it?
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******** ****

  

  Business response

  03/03/2023

  Hi ****. Attached is our letter of resolution to you from our General Manager here at Auburn, NH. 
  
  Please let me know if you have any questions. 
  
  Thank you!
  

  
  

  Customer response

  03/09/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because: 

  Hello Meghan/Eric,

  I appreciate that you are willing to come halfway based on what you identify as the problem area(s), but I would like to address the main point in your argument which is that the damage was in two areas of the home and thus the Heritage HVAC tech's quote was only for one area.

  Had the leaks been in different rooms, such as the foyer and an upstairs bedroom, I could see your point, however that was not the case. In fact, the leaks were a couple of feet apart in the same area of the home, where the interior wall between the garage and the foyer and the exterior wall connect. The leak you are saying was in a different area of the home was only a couple of feet above (in the same wall) the section of 3/4" copper tubing (hydronic heating pipe) the Heritage HVAC identified as damaged. Just because the Heritage HVAC tech missed that leak in the same heating line (a couple of feet above the other leak) isn't justification for saying it was in another area of the home - it was not. Furthermore, I can't understand how he missed that leak seeing as how water runs downhill and that there was another sign in the garage of that leak. One look at the After_***********_HVAC_appt_garage.jpg photo shows the watermarks on the drywall that's touching the wall separating the garage from the foyer. The Heritage HVAC tech shouldn't have missed that. Please examine the photos carefully.

  I'd also like to mention the Heritage HVAC's diagnosis (NHPL-DIAG1 Diagnostic fee level 1) for which I was charged $189. When I spoke to the Heritage HVAC tech on the phone that day, I was led to believe the issue in this area of the home would be resolved for a total cost of $2001. Needless to say, it wasn't, because the Heritage HVAC tech's diagnosis was faulty -- he missed a leak in the line only a couple of feet above the other one.

  Even the Heritage HVAC tech stated this in the "Description of Work" section of the 2/9/23 invoice:

  "When turning water on to zone to fill baseboard, signs of another leak came about. Inspected piping and to see where leak was coming from, found water dripping from further inside wall on garage side. Went upstairs to ensure no split loop or leaks were found in any other part of the house."

  That wall is only a few inches wide.

  The Heritage HVAC tech clearly stated the leak was coming "from further inside wall on garage side," like I've been saying, and the pictures I sent of the front of the house and the foyer wall corroborate that. The photo (After_Heritage-HVAC_appt.jpg) I included with my BBB complaint clearly shows the damage occurred in the corner of the two walls.

  The second point I'd like to address is your argument that, "Our tech was not able to access the area of the additional repairs without a carpenter." In the same "Description of Work" section of the 2/9/23 invoice, the Heritage HVAC stated, "Inform tenant that we cannot put water to zone until wall is taken down by contractor to get a better look at where leak is coming from." Had the Heritage tech opened up the ceiling adjacent to the foyer wall on the garage side, he would have had access. That is what the *********** **** tech did.

  My first impression was that taking down a wall to fix a plumbing leak (burst pipe) is absurd, which is why I called Heritage so I could speak with the HVAC tech, but the Heritage HVAC tech never contacted me. The *********** **** tech that repaired the damage several days later did not require a carpenter to take the wall down. If you examine the two photos (After_***********_HVAC_appt_foyer.jpg and After_***********_HVAC_appt_garage.jpg), you'll see that in order to access and remove the damaged heating line, the *********** **** tech had to cut way additional drywall on the foyer wall a little above where the Heritage HVAC tech was working. That tech opened up the garage ceiling adjacent to the wall to cut the line from the other side of the wall. In fact, no carpentry was needed.

  As you and I know, when a new house is under construction, it's almost always completely framed before any plumbing or electrical work is done. Unless, of course, there is something unique to the home's architecture. There is nothing special about the construction of this split-entry house that required additional carpentry work to be done after the heating lines were installed by the original plumber. Thus the heating line should have been (and was) accessible without a carpenter. And the mere fact that the *********** **** tech was able to complete the work without using any carpentry skills and without the help of a carpenter, proves the fact a carpenter wasn't needed.

  The Heritage HVAC tech stopped work and did not complete the repairs because of the faulty assumption that the foyer wall needed to be "taken down" and if it ever goes that far, I'm betting most judges would agree with me. I also can't help but wonder if the reason he stopped work is because he didn't want to be late to the next appointment, which the Heritage phone operator mentioned when I called.

  If you examine the photos of the house, you'll see the wall where the repairs were needed. I have provided the before and after photos, as well as as view from the outside of the house that shows the relationship of the foyer and the garage and the wall in between where the work took place.

  On a last note, please reexamine the photographs I have included in my BBB complaint and you will see the issue was not in two areas of the home.

  Thanks,

  ****

*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. ↩