Lack of transparency (no written quote) and efficiency. Over-priced
Called GAS for a furnace inspection b/c my furnace was suddenly taking 5-10 minutes to start. Jason (regional manager) quoted me $150 for the inspection. Upon arrival, he walked straight into my carpeted house without taking off his shoes (took them off later). Looking at the error code on my furnace he said "we need to replace the pressure switch; we don't carry any parts...so we'll have to come back and I have to charge you another $150". I told him the code did not necessarily mean a faulty switch, that it could be a legit pressure issue for example. He hesitated then said he could blow in the tube and check that the outside pipes are not blocked. He spent about 10 minutes looking at the furnace before billing me the $300 + tax. He told me this fee only covered replacing the switch and that if there was some other problem, they would diagnose further and it would cost me more. I asked if I was getting an inspection as requested for that price and he told me in an irritated tone all the work he did and that he could not check for carbon monoxide b/c the furnace was not running (it usually starts in a few minutes when turned on). I received a payment notice which did not specify anything I paid for. When the tech came back to change the switch (under 10 minutes labour) it did not solve the problem. He spent more than an hour testing the furnace - referring to my owner's manual - until he finally said it was probably the motherboard. Jason quoted me an additional $300 + tax to get that fixed. I let him know $600 + tax to diagnose and install a motherboard was unreasonably expensive - another company I contacted was also incredulous (they offer a flat rate for diagnosis and provide detailed quotes; $300 should be more than enough to diagnose and replace a faulty motherboard). Buyer beware.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $339.00
- Company Response
Hello,
Since 99% of our customers are satisfied with our service we know your situation. First of all, we are very sorry you feel this way.
Breakdown was:
Furnace diagnostics and inspection $150
Get and change broken pressure switch $150
After running further testes for 3 hours we found that your motherboard was faulty as well and it does cost $300 to fix (as quoted by everyone else in the industry) and this is exactly the same price you got from another company.So the total is $600 (diagnostics, change pressure switch, change motherboard)
If you would call us and say i need motherboard replaced only, then the charge would be $300. But you didnt know what the problem was until our diagnostics.
Our pricing does include travel time and services. We understand how you feel, that the prices seem expensive. The GTA is a large city and your location was deep in Scarborough. Unfortunately the part you needed was in Brampton.
We always give our prices up front before doing any billing or work in your case this was done as well. It is of course your decision weather the cost is acceptable. Your message says that you ended up spending $300 with another company same exact price as us as we already had come and diagnosed the problem and knew exactly what was wrong after spending over three hours on three separate visits at your home.
We are happy that everything is working well now at your home and that you are warm which is the most important aspect. Service calls tend to be expensive and frustrating at times especially in such a large city wish we could have been better assistance to you and we wish you a good holidays!