Ashton Service Group

I don’t even know where to begin since this saga has gone on for four months now, but we contacted Ashton initially because of the great reviews we saw here. We needed our hot water tank replaced and they sent over a sales associate to take a look at our issue. We explained we wanted a replacement option that would last and one that wasn’t going to cause damage to our rental suite, as we did not want to cause our tenants more issues than they’d had and didn’t want to deal with hiring someone to drywall holes. He was professional and recommended a tankless hot water solution. While it was the most expensive option, he said it would be the least invasive option and would stand the test of time, and save money in the long run.

After that visit, our experience quickly went south. I stayed home from work on the date of the scheduled service, which was supposed to be four hours. Our tenant left the suite so the replacement could take place. Seven hours later, the technician surfaced and ran out the front door without explanation, saying he had to go. When we went down to see the work, there were 7 holes in our ceiling and walls. When we contacted the project manager, she had no idea why the tech did that without talking with us. It took almost a week to get a drywaller in to patch all the holes up.

The trouble continued after that. After the tech left that first visit, we immediately started hearing significant noise coming from the heater. The noise sounded like a large truck revving it’s engine. This happened even with one tap being on. We went into the weekend and it rained quite a bit. All of the sudden on the Sunday our furnace stopped working. We had no heat and the temperature got down to 8 degrees in the house. With a toddler, we were pretty worried about this and called the Ashton emergency line. The tech was exceptionally rude and said he couldn’t get to us and we would have to call on Tuesday when the dispatch was available to schedule someone to come look at the issue. They didn’t get to us until Wednesday. So for three days we lived in almost freezing temps. When the tech came, he found that the first tech hadn’t vented the exhaust pipe out of the house properly so water pooled from the rain and choked out the furnace. All he had to do was drill a tiny hole to let water out.

We continued to contact Ashton about the horrendous noise and they kept putting us off. Or they would schedule visits and then not show up, after we took time off work to be home. This happened twice. Our tenant was so fed up with the noise that they moved out.

After reading about a similar noise issue on a forum, we brought forward a solution to Ashton. They still insisted that this wasn’t the solution and kept putting us off. Meanwhile, they also charged our credit card for the $6,400 work, which in the contract stipulates we would be charged after work completion. When we brought up that the work had not been satisfactorily completed, the ignored our emails.

After several weeks of both asking them to get the actual company that makes the tank in to look at it, and questioning why they charged us, they finally brought the tech from the company in. When the tech came, he said the problem was exactly what we had sleuthed out from the forum: there wasn’t enough gas pressure coming into the house and the tank was over-working. We would need to get the gas company in to bring in more gas pressure to the house and Ashton would then need to reconnect the gas to the house and regulate our appliances. We agreed on this course of action and arranged for Fortis to come and lined up with Ashton to come in right after to turn our gas back on and ensure the appliances were sound. We documented this in two emails and reconfirmed twice.

On the day that Fortis came to complete the agreed upon work, Ashton came in after and the tech failed to complete the work. He said he didn’t have the right parts (why, you ask, since there was a site visit to map the plan already?). He said he couldn’t fix the issue on that day and we would be without heat, hot water and gas to our appliances until the next day, for a second time.

Again, we have a toddler and tenants and it’s raining and cold out on this day. When we called the manager at Ashton, he passed the buck onto everyone else and blamed the mishap on Fortis not doing their job right. He claimed that his shamble of notes from countless different people stated that the issue was with the meter itself. He also said he could not get anyone in to get our gas back on so we would have no heat and hot water and working appliances until the next day.

Well, guess what, after no less than 10 chances we gave Ashton to fix the problem, shelling out $6,400 for incomplete work, and many hours of missed work, we called another company, who said they could absolutely get our gas back on. They arrived 15 minutes later. We ended up paying another $800 for this company to come and fix the problem - one that Ashton said was caused by Fortis not doing the right work, when in fact it was caused by many missteps on Ashton's part.

Regardless of the waste of time, energy and money it was to deal with the incompetence at Ashton, the more troubling issue that not one person at Ashton seems to acknowledge is the lack of accountability of staff, numerous internal communication issues and consideration for the customers who’s lives are impacted.

Do better, Ashton. Think about the stress you place on us little individual people and just be a better organization that treats people properly.

I always use Ashton for my furnace maintenance.
Mo did the maintenance service this week and I was very pleased with the service. He went through each item of what he had checked and explained it in full detail which I really appreciated. I feel secure that the furnace is safe and operating properly.
Mohammed is an excellent representative for Ashton.

Ashton did my re-pipe downstairs and installed a new boiler for me. I found them to be efficient , competitive and on time. Eileen, Dave, Jeff, Jason and Alan are great people to work with, very kind and understanding. I look forward to working with them in the fall regarding the installation of my new neo-angle shower.

Mike did a great job. They look like new and he was very friendly and was very efficient and knowledgeable. He answered all my questions and cleaned up after he was finished.

I chose Ashton based on all the great reviews here but I was seriously let down by the fact that I spent $560 and didn't get my problem solved.

This is long, but needs to be to explain how many steps and how much time I wasted with Ashton.

I made the first mistake by assuming that most well reviewed plumbing companies would have similar prices, so I called them to come look at my hot water tank which was turning off regularly. They came out and quoted $560 (inc tax) to change out the thermopile. I had already taken time off work and wanted it fixed, so I agreed to the price. This seemed high knowing the price of a thermopile isn't more than $100, and the tech fixed it in under an hour. I have since phoned other companies that gave me much lower quotes for the work, including one that immediately told me to call the manufacturer to get the part under warranty, and that they would do the work for $189.

So I've overpaid because I didn't ask for a quote up front which is my fault, but shortly after the tank is going out again. I email about it and don't hear back for weeks until I get time to call again. They send out the same tech who finds the pilot going out when he touches the wire, so he works on it again and leaves. There was no charge for this service, but he warned that if it kept up, we'd probably need to replace the gas valve controller.

The second fix doesn't work, so I contact again for the gas valve controller to be fixed. They schedule an appointment, but they don't end up showing up. I call and ask if they are still coming at the end of the appointment window and I'm told they don't have the part and shouldn't have scheduled the appointment anyhow. We book another appointment as I'm thinking that I've already paid $560 and assume that working with them to resolve this will be cheaper than bringing in a new plumber.

They call me back a day later and tell me that they can't get the Rheem part and that I need to contact Rheem myself to get it. I do, and they ship me a new part. I schedule another visit for Ashton to install it.

The day of my next appointment arrives and I get a call midday telling me that they have a job running late and that they won't be able to come do the work because it's scheduled as a 5 hour job. At this point I'm concerned about the cost if they're saying it'll take 5 hours so I ask for a quote before we reschedule (I had asked for a quote on this a few times before, but the dispatcher had said that they weren't sure). Despite watching a youtube video that shows that this repair is relatively simple, I'm quoted for $600-700. I decline. This doesn't sound right. I call another plumber and they say it'll be $115 an hour and shouldn't take more than 90 minutes. So I get another plumber to show up and they get the job done in 45 minutes.

I'm really disappointed in Ashton at this point. I've spent $560 and they haven't solved my problem. They've had me stay home from work twice and not shown up. I emailed them 2 weeks ago explaining this sequence of events and asking for a partial refund as I am pretty unhappy with the service provided, but they didn't respond. It would't have changed the content of the review, but would at least have shown that they cared if they provided a terrible experience. I've learned to work with smaller plumbing companies and get quotes up front from this experience. Maybe Ashton is good for large buildings with a strata or something, but as a single family homeowner, felt poorly served.

Dave M from Ashton Service Group came out at 9 pm on Saturday evening on a holiday weekend to unclog our toilet. He was friendly, professional, efficient, and went out of his way to be sure we understood all our options. He even cleaned the toilet for us & shared a "life hack" of how to keep it clean. We'll call Ashton when we need plumbing service in the future.

Our furnace had died and we were on the hunt for a reliable contractor for a new install. After a few estimates, we decided to hire Ashton Services Group for the job. With incredible service from Jeff, Ashton's furnace advisor he notified us that Ben & Nick would be coming in to perform the installation. Both arrived early and on time. Ben was very clear in communicating what tasks were going to be performed and was happy to answer any questions that I had. During the installation, both paid attention to the cleanliness of the work site by laying down some floor protection before the start. They removed our existing furnace, without any issues and installed the new York HE system, Honeywell thermostat and new venting very cleanly and efficiently. I was very impressed with the work performed.

Mike Avery just finished our annual routine furnace service. He completed the work efficiently and quickly. I highly recommend Ashton Service Group.... ... ... ... .. ... .. ... ..

Jason, Eileen and Alan are great people to work with efficient, kind and understanding. I wouldn't think twice about recommending Ashton Service Group to my friends and family. They're a joy to work with and a tribute to their company.

Ion Molnar did a great job for us. We had an old crappy install by a cheap previous owner under the kitchen sink that was leaking. He quickly fixed the leak and the tap which was loose. Before he left he wanted to make sure that it was installed correctly so he ripped out the entire p trap and inspected the pipe and found a serious crack in our drain pipe. He quickly removed and repaired it and ensured that we wouldn't have a future leak. He was great and Ashton was awesome. I encourage anyone to phone them if in need.