Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  06/17/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I used this business on the recommendation of BBB. I have had a horrible experience -- inflated prices, no contract, poor workmanship, no communication, no overseeing manager to inspect work. My heating system leaks. I am disputing the bill. This business still has a BBB good rating despite numerous customer complaints that I (given my experience) have found. Please explain why this business has a good rating.

  Business response

  06/27/2024

  We will be adjusting bill.

  Please note, this job was a house that was vandalized and abandoned for quite a while. The boiler was frozen, (cracked) gas line would not hold pressure, and also not up to code. As it was disconnected for more than 6 months, this requires us to bring the system up to present code by law. When we come up on a situation like this, we cannot give good estimates, as it would be the same as looking at a system and asking how many leaks there are without testing. We also tested the lines for the heating system, all zones, to make sure there were no hidden leaks as well. Yes this is a long and arduous process as well as dealing  with soft copper lines that were distorted when vandals had stolen all the baseboard heaters. Not always easy to adapt to and make work well first time. And we did get the system working better than the original installation including freeze protection in the system by adding glycol.

  During or around this time, our office manager died and of course this put an administrative kink in our organization. It was also during the peak of an unprecedented pandemic which greatly effected supply chains in availability of basic parts we use everyday and also huge increases of costs. As an example some gas fittings were 4-5 times more expensive that normal if they could be found. At that time we were ordering gas fittings and other parts to complete ******* ******** job from the east coast so we could get heat on in the building in the middle of winter. Plastics tripled at that time from where it is present day, same with copper and brass. Finding a boiler at that time was also short of a miracle as lead times on boilers was 3-6 months.

  We did the best we could under the circumstances, we do not overcharge, if there were leaks that were not fixed by us, we were not informed of such leaks. Yes the bill is high and that was for a whole new heat and energy (gas) system. In normal times these are the costs close to what is expected for the work done. Some people do not realize the costs of such systems, particularly when so much was unknown before we started. Of course I could not give an estimate and be accurate. Many do not understand what is involved with a hydronic heating system, particularly if they come from a warm environment like Austin or San Francisco. And that is understandable.

  ***** *****

  President
  

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