Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  03/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My complaint against Blacks Chimney & Fireplace Service is over a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices act and probable Slander of Title. I contacted Blacks back in September of 2022 to schedule a chimney cleaning at our residence. Service was scheduled for 11/16/22. When speaking with the scheduler, my physical address, phone number and email address were verified. I was then contacted on 11/14 by text stating my appointment was on 11/15, the next day. I rescheduled my day to accommodate the change of appointment to the 15th. On the 15th nobody showed and I called Blacks at 2:30pm to see what happened. I was told on the phone my appointment wasn't until the 16th. At that point I sent them the text message they sent me on the 14th stating they would be ther on the 15th. Once again I had to adjust my schedule for Blacks. I expressed to them I had to leave the house by 3:15 pm to pick up my children from school. The tech did not arrive until 2:00pm on the 16th. By the time he had finished it was 3:10 and he was still writing out the invoice. He explained I could pay online with the invoice number. At that point I was in such a rush to pick up my children from school that I misplaced the invoice. I will admit this is my fault for misplacing the invoice. When I couldn't find the invoice and realized there was no way to pay online without it, I called Blacks but got no answer. The next mistake I'll admit to is I forgot about the bill. Then on 1/31/23 I received a notice of lien on my house. In between the time of service and the notice of lien I had received no notice from Blacks in any way. I immediately contacted them that afternoon but was told I would have to call back the next day when accounting was in. I called back the next morning on 2/1 and paid my bill in full. I then asked about the lien on my house and the person helping me said someone else would call me back. Later that morning I was contacted by someone else at Blacks who told me it was all my fault and not their problem. I was told it was not their responsibility to notify me about late payments. The most disturbing thing they told me was that they sent me multiple emails about the late payment. When I told them I received no such emails I was called a liar and they said they could tell when I read these emails they supposedly sent to me. I was then told by Blacks that my email account must have been hacked and someone deleted the emails they sent me. Not only am I not missing any other emails from my account but I still have the three emails only Blacks sent me in my email history. The first email setting up the original appointment. The second email confirming the time on the day of the appointment. The third email from the receipt of payment. I then asked the person I was speaking with to send these supposed emails to my husband's email. That was seven weeks ago and we still have seen no emails or have received any correspondence from them. To this day the have not removed the lien against our property. I have been a homeowner for 11 years and have never experienced anything like this before. I was a repeat customer with **********************, sad that it had to end this way.

  Business response

  04/03/2023

  Thank you for telling your experience, some of that complaint is true. As explained on the phone with you, we only have 90 days to legally file a lien, and after multiple attempts to contact you, we were left with no choice but to file before the legal deadline. Your explanation of our interaction on the phone is inaccurate, (yes, all calls are recorded). As explained to you on the phone, it is your responsibility to pay your invoice. You were given a copy in person, and received an email version as well (yes, our email system time stamps the day and time they are opened). We did not receive any voice messages, and in fact you can pay online without an invoice number. 

  However, I will vehemently disagree with your assertion that I called you a liar. What I did say verbatim was "i dont know who got your emails we sent, but SOMEONE opened them at your email address you provided" and provided you with the exact date and time they were opened. I did also suggest maybe your email was compromised or something outside of your control and apologized that I had a legal deadline to meet and could not do anything about that. I very much sympathize with a hectic life and children, but the law is very clear as to when we are no longer allowed to collect money due. 

  I am sorry there was confusion over the schedule time, however our system logs any changes on every job. Your email that was sent to confirm the appointment stated "It was a pleasure talking with you today. This follow-up email is to confirm your scheduled appointment on 09/16/2022 with an arrival time of 12pm-5pm. The information below is to help you prepare for the day of the appointment. Keep this email handy so you can utilize it to answer any questions you may have between now and your appointment." This email was opened "Job Emailed (email opened at 02/10/2023 01:33 pm)". You (someone) also opened the past due email at "Job Emailed (email opened at 11/17/2022 07:49 am)" Other emails opened by someone were dated "Job Emailed (email opened at 01/19/2023 02:55 pm), and Job Emailed (email opened at 01/20/2023 01:30 pm). I also personally left 2 separate voicemails asking you to call the office to resolve the invoice.

  We do value each and every customer and rarely have to utilize legal measures to collect our payment. I also explained to you on the phone that your lien will be release when you pay for legal expenses and past due fees associated with your account. When you asked the total, I advised you I could not calculate that until the account was paid and advised you to pay the invoice first, which you promptly did.  

  Customer response

  04/03/2023

   
  Complaint: 19631379
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  There are statements being made by Blacks that are not true or have not been proven to me.

  1."You were given a copy in person, and received an email version as well (yes, our email system time stamps the day and time they are opened)." I never received an emailed invoice, only one in hand which I did lose.

   

   2."What I did say verbatim was "i dont know who got your emails we sent, but SOMEONE opened them at your email address you provided" and provided you with the exact date and time they were opened." I asked for these supposed original emails to be resent to myself and my husband twice but none

  have ever been provided. I would also ask to see proof or a screenshot of the emails I have opened and read. I don't believe just typing

  "Job Emailed (email opened at 02/10/2023 01:33 pm)" is adequate proof. I believe this would clear up a lot for both of us.

   

   3."I also explained to you on the phone that your lien will be release when you pay for legal expenses and past due fees associated with your account.When you asked the total, I advised you I could not calculate that until the account was paid and advised you to pay the invoice first, which you promptly did." We paid the invoice 8 weeks ago and you still have done nothing about the lien.

   

  To recap I am looking for the lien to be removed from my property. If that requires me to pay additional fees I would like to see all the emails that were sent to me

  regarding late payment. Also, as mentioned above I would like to see the proof the emails were sent to my email and opened.

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

  Business response

  04/11/2023

  The customer acknoledged she received an invoice in person (which she misplaced) The customer admits they did not pay their bill (negating the need to file a complaint in the first place when they are the one who failed to honor an obligation). The company filed a lien as required by law( and legally allowed when the customer has not honored their obligation). Customer Paid the bill excluding late charges (acknoledging they had not paid the invoice for 90 days past due). The quality of the service isnt in dispute, the bill amount isnt in dispute and now we have reduced the conversation as to whether or not the customer received emails (not required by law, simply a courtesy). Any information in the emails is irrelevant(and SOMEONE received and opened them)  Issue is no longer in dispute

• Initial Complaint

  03/22/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Delivery Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  My complaint against Blacks, **** is over a violation of the Fair Debt Collection Practices act and probable Slander of Title. I contacted Blacks, **** back in November of 2021 to schedule a chimney cleaning at one of my rental properties - 825 ************** ****** *****. When speaking with the scheduler, I stated I was a repeat customer and this was for a rental property. She verified my home/mailing address first, then the address of the property needing service. When I was contacted prior to the cleaning, I explained to another employee Black's the home was by tenant occupied, and connected them with the tenant so the work could be completed. The work was completed on 12/21/2021, then I never heard from the company after that. We never received a single invoice in the mail, and not once did anyone from Black's call us to remind us of the outstanding balance due. Then on March 1st 2022, I received a threatening voicemail from "****" from Black's stating they had not received payment and planned to take legal action against me by filing a lien against my property. I immediately called the company back and left them a voicemail complaining that they had never sent us a **** nor even did we receive a courtesy call about an outstanding balance. I contacted my tenant who verified no **** was ever sent to my rental property address. After my voicemail, I still did not receive a call back from the company. Beyond the threatening voicemail I received, the only correspondence I've received from the company is a notice of lien delivered to my home address on March 21, 2022. I promptly went on to the company website and paid the **** in full.

  Business response

  03/25/2022

  Thank you for paying your invoice ****. Now that the invoice is paid we will release the lien as standard procedure. We value your business, but expect to be paid in a timely manner. Please let us know if there is anything further we can do. 

  Customer response

  03/25/2022

   
  Complaint: 16925457
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  I am requesting Blacks Inc. to furnish proof of all written invoice correspondence that was sent to us after December 21, 2021 leading up to March 1, 2022 when we received our first and only threatening phone call.  I agree with the defendant that being paid on time is required and the responsible thing to do. Any reputable organization however will also send invoices for payments due to their clients, of which we never received a single one - let alone a friendly courtesy call.  That is also the responsible thing to do.

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

*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. ↩