Reliance The Furnace Company Edmonton

On April 26 2018 Amy came out to our home. She sold us a furnace and AC unit. She showed us where the AC would go and what needed to be cleared for the installers. She also stated that I would get a $250 Visa gift card and 2 months free.

The installers came in and did the installation, they couldnt find the floor drain. However Amy didn't tell us they needed access to that. They also have yet to put the Basement return air in. And no-one has come to finish it. They also left things messy. When Amy called after nothing was said about monthly payments.

I texted Amy because she doesn't seem to want to answer her phone, and asked her about the gift card and free months, as this was now 3 weeks later and I still had no information. She ignored my question about the 2 months free and told me the gift card was coming from head office.

Last week I called your call center to switch which day my bill was due, they made it for the 21-23rd of each month. Which then I asked the guy when my first bill was due......As I still did not have this answer. He informed me it was August 21st. I asked him to check again because I was only told 2 free months. He looked at it again and said it was definitely August.

Fast forward to yesterday June 5th, I recieved a bill in the mail due June 14th. This is not ok. This is not what I was told. So I called the call center back. And all they could find was the request for the change of bill date. Nothing about the free months. The guy on the phone was extremely rude and told me I was making false statements, and I couldn't have recieved 2 months free. This is when I tried calling Amy to figure this all out. And low and behold.....she ignored me....

I am beyond frustrated with this service. Or lack there of. One.....how can you bill for an uncompleted job. Two....my billing shouldn't have ever happened for 2 months. Three......your call center being extremely rude is uncalled for. Four....Amy ignoring my phone calls is unacceptable. I expect something to be done about this. At this point I do not want to do service with Reliance. If I have had all these problems in the first month, I can only imagine how a service call would go.

We had a new air conditioning system installed at the end of the season last year so only got it started going this last week as we had great weather. No matter what we did barely any cold air was coming out and if anything our house got warmer as the day went on. Called Reliance who did the original installation and they had their technician Chris out here the next day. He arrived exactly when expected and even called first to say he was on his way but what I appreciated the most was his professional manner and explained what was happening and why. He double and triple checked all the different pieces that could have been the issue until he confirmed with me that all was running to my expectations. He absolutely did a fantastic job and now my house feels like I have air conditioning. I would definitely welcome Chris and reliance back to my home for a service call based on this experience. Well done

I Went with reliance for an AC install last summer - I will say, this was overall mostly a good experience. The price was fair, the install was quick. I did have reliance come back 2 times as the coil was freezing, and they had to add more refrigerant. Unsure if i have a leak still, will see this summer.

However, this winter i learned they had removed my fan blower wire from my thermostat, not giving me the ability to run the fan separate from AC or Heat.

I called, Reliance sent out a tech, he was helpful, and we ended up puling back a wire from my humidistat as i dont use my humidifier currently. He then suggested I purchase a NEST thermostat, and said that they would install it for me, if i purchased the 15$/month furnace protection plan.

He went on to tell me that "your blower motor is going to fail soon" (my house is not even 5 years old yet), and that this will protect me from the guarantee of this upcoming fail.

I felt compelled to believe him, and signed up for the plan, he then again told me they would do the install on the Nest, and to look around for the best price on NEST (as they are often on sale - and there are government rebates) or just call and buy it from them.

After he left. I called Reliance and asked to buy and have installed a NEST. They informed me that they dont sell them anymore, and that i have to buy it from a retailer, and then they will come and install it - again, free becasue i signed up for the plan.

So i went to lowes, purchased the Nest, came home to call Reliance for an install. Really, the only reason i wanted Reliance to install it, rather than myself, was because a "NEST pro install" gives you an additional 3 years of warranty on the NEST. That seemed like a good enough reason, and since it was free, why not. So i called reliance and they then informed me NEST installs are not included in thermostat work, and that i would have to pay 199$ for install. After arguing with the sales rep on the phone, explaining that 2 separate Reliance staff told me buy it, we will install it free, they passed me along to customer relations. They called me the next day to hear my story, and said they would call me back.

Well, within minutes after that call, i got a call from the Tech who came to my house the day before and he accused me of not telling the truth. He was adamant that he did not, nor ever would have said that a NEST install was free. And that the only way they do installs was if they are bought through Reliance. I was shocked. Clearly he had just gotten his ear chewed out by his supervisor, and to save his own skin, wanted to put the blame on me. I repeated exactly what he told me, that he told me to shop around, that they are often on sale, etc. And he just completely denied, However, due to the fact that i called reliance, and they told me the same thing on the phone, they agreed to book in an install.

So, jump to the next day. I have my NEW tech come to the house for the "NEST pro install". He arrives, asks what we are doing, then sees the NEST and says "oh, a thermostat, easy". I let him know "yeah, i was going to just do it myself, but with you guys as the "PRO Installers" i get an extended warranty. He looked at me clueless. He had never heard of a nest pro install before. I told him, he should have a code for installing that unlocks that, he again, never heard anything like this before. So he starts to send texts and emails out, and in the meantime tries to set up the NEST.

I dont want to be rude, but he had no idea what he was doing. As i watched him, he was using the wrong hardware, putting screws in the wrong spots, that caused the NEST to not even fit on the wall, i told him, "here's what you need to do" (based on my watching a 5 minute tutorial on YOUTUBE - which had clearly given me a better understanding of it than he had).

THe other thing i had requested was for my humidifier to be connected, since the first tech had disconnected it to make my blower fan work. He at that point just told me "No."

After it was hung on the wall, with the right hardware, we turned power on to the unit, and then he got ready to leave while the unit was downloading an update. I asked him "arent you going to stay to make sure it all works" and he literally replied "nope, this could take up to 15 minutes, and time is money". I reminded him that i needed the PRO install code, as that was the whole point of them coming to do the install and not me.

This is when he forwarded me the email that Reliance Head office had sent him (when he emailed out requesting the information on a pro install at my house).

And so what i had sent to me, was the Powerpoint presentation, that Reliance gives to their techs, walking them through how to sell, and do a pro install. And on the first slide was the Pro install code. And I was then instructed to put the code in myself, at which time he left.

So i am standing infront of my NEST, still updating, and he is gone, nothing checked. The update finishes, and the NEST walks me through set up, where it asks for the pro install code. I put it in myself, and am immediately given warning about how this is only for professionals, and i could damage my hardware. I proceed anyway, and it takes me to a schematic of my equipment. Only it is showing missing peices, and things in the wrong spot.

I dont want to wreck anything, so i put a call back to the first tech (as i had his number on my phone) asking for this second tech to be sent back, as i am sitting without a completed job. reluctanly they get a hold of him for me, and he comes back, skips through a bunch of menus, and then just tells me "its fine, it will all work how it is supposed to", and leaves again.

I was pretty dissapointed, and rattled, At which point i realized, there is no way i want to be paying into something, that in the event of an emergency, or failure, this is the type of service i have to deal with. So the next morning i called customer service again, shared with them my story, and asked them to cancel my Protection plan.

I am sorry Reliance, but this was an extremely poor experience. I was manipulated and not told the truth to, i again had my hardware and equipment set to not working order (first the blower fan, now the humidifier), and was sent a completely unknowledgeable "NEST pro installer", who had never even heard of a NEST pro install before. I can't recomment a company who thinks this is appropriate. I will be passing along this reveiw to NEST as i believe they will want to look into further the practices of Reliance as a NEST pro installer.

I called reliance on a recommendation from 2 family member to install a 50Gal Hot Water Heater. I was told over the phone by the scheduler that they would be there to install between 1-5pm (brutally huge time window) however I accepted this fact. I took the day off work to ensure I was there for them which cost me a days worth of wages (so lets tack another $250 onto the cost of the heater) well 5pm came and went with not even a call from reliance. I finally received a call from the installer at 6pm in which he was just finishing up his last job then he would be over.

It wasn't until 7:45pm until the installer showed up at my house to install the hot water heater. This is where my experience with reliance finally got better. There installer Nathan was a great guy and went over and above to ensure the service was done right and in a timely fashion. He was a great guy and did amazing work and would highly recommend him.

It was unfortunate that I had to lose a days worth of work, not be able to take a dog out for a walk, and not go out to the dinner I was invited to by my friends all because their office couldn't even have the decency to call me and let me know they are running behind schedule. They could have at least given me a new time frame. Very very very unimpressed with their office and when it comes time to replace my furnace 1-2 years from now, they will not be my first call.

On top of this I have called the manager, he took down my name and said he would call me right back after his meeting. Its now been hours since that initial call, and I have not heard back from him

Aaron and JS did a great job installing my furnace and was pleased with the rental as I didn't have to pay anything now, offered by Troy. Thanks for the great service guys.

The furnace works great. A huge savings on power but the sales guy was pretty much gonzo once he got paid. The installers made a hole in our wall that wasn't needed. Getting through to someone in Edmonton to help us with the many issues we had was difficult. And I'm still waiting on the vent cover that should have been provided in October!! If I had to do it again I would get the same furnace but from a different company!!

Nathan provided us with great service way above and beyond what we expected, delivered in a very courteous and congenial manner. He is to be commended.
Only negative comment I have is with regard to Reliance call centre. When I first called on Friday I was asked if it was a plumbing problem or an HVAC problem, since our furnace is run off our hot water tank, I did not know, consequently a was plumber sent. ApparentIy there was no record of our purchase of the hot water tank in May, 2017. I was then informed it was an HVAC problem. Another gentleman arrived and we were informed that it was a plumbing problem. A third gentleman arrived on Monday, Nathan, and he had the correct part and it was promptly installed. Unfortunately the furnace quit during the wee hours of Tuesday. I called the service number and again got the call centre. Again I was asked to determine whether it was a plumbing or HVAC problem and that if the service provided today was not related to the original problem I would be charged. I was not happy with this comment at all, I am not a plumbing/HVAC diagnostician. Your call centre could do better.
I subsequently texted Nathan and he came very promptly and now the problem seems to be solved.
Thank you

We had a new furnace installed last month and Reliance was off to a good start with an easy to use online booking system, a fast response on the estimate, and a price that was on par with other contractors. The rest of our experience, unfortunately, has not gone as smoothly. Two technicians arrived to install the new furnace. There was no discussion of what work would take place or where new venting would be run, rather the technicians just got to work and drilled a hole in my house where they thought the new venting should go. Previous communications with Reliance led me to believe that there would be a system check and a walk through before the technicians left. One of the techs kindly walked me through operation of the thermostat, but the other fellow (after borrowing my multimeter to attempt to troubleshoot the furnace, since he did not have one of his own on hand) simply stated that I would receive a call sometime later in the day for another technician to come by and fix the furnace since they could not get it up and running. I was thankful I arranged to have the whole day off of work as there was no call, rather the third technician stopped by unannounced. It turns out that the installation crew had cut through several wires when installing the new air filter ducting. The third fellow was very polite and was able to solve the problem within a few minutes and had our furnace up and running.

The actual furnace itself is great - much quieter, more efficient, and more even heat throughout our house compared to our old unit. While the inside of my house was left clean (minus a few unscrewed lightbulbs from the original crew where the new venting had been run), a significant amount of resin was spilled along my stone walkway, patio and stairs. There was a patch where one of the original crew members had obviously tried to wipe it up, but had only succeeded in rubbing it into the pores and the making the stone look worse. The patio and stonework is only just over a year old (and I spent more on the stonework than the furnace!), and I was quite upset that the original technicians had made such a mess on the stone when we had plenty of grass and a gravel driveway that they could have used instead. It took several weeks and quite a few calls/e-mails/text messages to arrange for a sub-contractor to come out and look at the stones and though it has been over a month since the furnace was installed, I am still waiting on Reliance to "source the patio stones" based on the information I provided and/or come up with a plan to remediate the spills.

Also, since we had the furnace installed during a relatively warm period, we did not notice for a few days that the new venting was leaking. Again, it took a couple of communications to arrange for a repair crew to come out to fix the leaking venting. We were told that the repair crew would be out before noon on a Saturday, and two gentlemen arrived at 11:58 on the Saturday morning, cut-out and replaced the leaking section within 5 minutes. If the repair had been successful, that would have been awesome, but flash forward 60 minutes and the leak was back (I suspect the support for the venting was tightened abruptly before the resin had set). We scheduled another repair, and were given a window of 2 pm - 5 pm on a Monday. Given that both my husband and I work, we had made arrangements to have someone home during that window, but to our dismay, no one showed up and no calls were placed to inform us about any change in the scheduled appointment. After an e-mail the next day to my contact, I received another call to schedule the repair and was told that there was a miscommunication the day prior. The next repair is supposed to be tomorrow evening, and I truly hope that it works out. It has been 5 weeks of us having to have a bucket in the middle of our basement floor to catch drips from our new furnace. At this point, it feels almost like a comedy of errors and I must admit that I have regretted my choice of installer after all the extra time the subsequent appointments/repairs have required, and I still have a leaking vent and marred stonework. I was charged in full for the work the day of the installation, despite the fact that no walk through was conducted and I did not sign off on anything for completion of the work. I tried waiting to fill out the e-mailed customer satisfaction survey (since the work has not yet been completed), but I found out too late that the link has expired. Reliance has some good things going for it (some good technicians, sometimes prompt responses, good furnaces), but my personal experiences have left me feeling somewhat sour. I truly hope that they will fix the leaking venting and the spills soon.

November 7, 2017: Updating the review - a Reliance technician stopped by last week to fix our leak and we are happy now to be able to put away our bucket under the venting. The technician even came early in the evening so that we didn't have to miss any more time away from work, which was great. We received assurances from the Edmonton General Manager that a follow up for our patio repair will be done this coming spring (2018), so hopefully I'll be able to check back later with good news!

Reliance has an easy to use online booking system, easy to use if you only have one issue - otherwise phone and talk to a real person! The company always sends an experienced plumber to give the customer an estimate and to determine the date when it can be done. They are reliable and the plumbers are personal - giving alot of practical tips, very much appreciated.
I would certainly recommend Reliance for heating and AC

Brian came to my house today Aug 3/17 He was very polite knows what he was doing and told me what to watch for. He will be back next week to repair furnace only because the part had to be ordered. Very impressed with Reliance company in all aspects Never disappointed!Thanx so much Brian Campbell.