Hi All, please do not use this company if you are installing a new furnace. Below is the timeline information given to our Sales person from Reliance (John H). We have requested that this information is passed on to their senior management team for review and has requested to be copied on all internal communications to ensure our message gets to the right person.
August 28 - First day of our installation, we were informed of our installation date of Thursday August 28, 2014. I took a day off work just because I was promised that the install date will be achievable but it turns out that there has been a internal mistake with Reliance scheduling and my installation is booked for Friday instead. I called into the Reliance Customer Care looking for a rebate considering it was Reliance who had dropped the ball. I was informed that the customer service representative will have to consult with her supervisor and call be back in regards to the rebate but guess what, I haven’t heard anything until today (October 6, 2014).
August 29 - Second day, the technicians arrived. My wife had to take a day off for this installation. Two younger installer came and completed the install. The furnace was working and when we were about to pay for the installation, we asked if they have received any instructions about a rebate, answer was “Nope”. We’ve decided to just pay and get over with our business with Reliance. After the installer left (in a rush), we walked through the installation and found that nails were left on our driveway (not one but 6-8). We had to inspect the whole driveway so that our car doesn’t get punctured from the nails left behind. Then we thought we better do a walkthrough of the work. We found concrete from the wall coring wrapped in some renovation left overs in our basement. Seriously? Wrapping garbage in garbage so that people don’t notice? Not to mentioned the packing for the humidifier that was just left behind with some bits and pieces left over from the installation.
September 12 - During the Sales process, we inquiry about how long does it take to receive the permit, we were informed 10 to 15 business days maximum by yourself. We called to find out if it is still in progress and was informed that it takes up to 30 days to receive the permit.
September 23 - After receiving the permit the week before, we had our first inspection schedule for September 23, 2014. My wife took another day off work for this. The inspector came and failed 3 items from the installation. We’ve then received a call to reschedule another installer to fix the issue.
September 29 - We noticed that there is a leak the day before with the humidifier and we called Reliance immediately to request for the tech to fix the humidifier while he is here correcting the failed inspection items. We took another day off work again for this repair. The installer came, fix the humidifier and told us that he was only requested to fix the humidifier and not the furnace. We had to call Reliance to had this rectified. Another installer came, rectified two of the three items failed and on the note to the inspector to read the manual better (we have a copy of the note if you need it). We quote what the installer said when he was looking at the 1st item the inspector failed and he said “ Yeah, I asked my furnace buddy and he told me that it could be done that way.” This statement has made the work of this installer unreliable and we now request Reliance to provide us proof of certification that he is certified to perform these work. When we confronted the installer to fix item #2 on the inspection list, he refused to fix and I quote “If the inspector has a problem, he can call me”.
October 6, 2014 - Inspector came and failed it even before entering the house. Showed us on the manual how the vent should be installed. Picture showing 12” vertical clearance between the vent the intake. Installer argued that the manual did not say it has to be vertical. Is this technician really certified to do the work? Inspector mentioned that they will be charging Reliance for a re-inspection cost.
As you can see, all 5 days above are Reliance that dropped the ball and we have paid for the furnace as well as spending extra money taking time off work. My wife and I get paid $33 per hour on average which in this case have cost us $1580 in our pay for 6 days just because Reliance dropped the ball. We are now requesting Reliance to compensate us for this lost and we want written confirmation to extend all warranty on the furnace as well as the installation work because we do not trust Reliance promises anymore unless it is in written form.
More Information to Services - October 16
- After the repair done on October 6, the inspector came October 14 and fail the work again. All connections on the venting duct are not glued. Operation Manager (Chris) came out to ensure that all work is now done. Operation manager (Chris) contacted us and mentioned that the company hired to perform the work will be compensating us for time we've lost enduring this painful experience. The company called and said they will compensate us with $200 in gift card. Now, deducting the first and second day of the install and inspection, we are still at 4 days of lost pay from work which amount to approx $1000. $200 compensation sounded to me like "Here boy, take the $200 candy and leave us alone". Very professional? Don't think so. If you wish to know who they hired for our furnace install, feel free to reach out to me for the name of that company.
October 21, 2014 - Reliance has agreed to compensate us for our lost today. A document has been signed by both parties agreeing to this compensation.
November 24, 2014 - Did a follow up for a couple weeks now on the compensation and haven't seen anything in our mail. Every time we requested for an update, the answer is "It should be in this week". Still waiting on a response from Chris, Operations Manager in Calgary, and Rich who responded to my review.
