I need to write this as the company will not acknowledge other forms of communication (except texting), even from the Better Business Bureau. Possibly they will respond, as they know clearly who I am, by a review that will make people think twice before they do business with them. Nikom needs to do the right thing, change their business practices, and correct this mess.
Nikom Home Comfort (Hanna Bird and Vlad who is the owner) charged my senior mother on July 16th 2022 $11,750 for a tank less hot water heater and an air purifier and amortized payments over 20 years. She is 78. The hot water tank is installed (with exception of an air intake hose so still not complete) however the air purifier has not been available for installation on both occasions when they came to the house. It is still not installed and my mother is worried about them coming into the house again. Multiple terms on the 1 page contract (yes, only 1 page) have not been honored after multiple requests in writing. My mother has been paying for this since July 16th. It is now December 19th 2022 at time of writing. This review is not about the costs (which are quite ridiculous to say the least), it is on the general principle of taking advantage of people and unethical business sales practices. I have requested for them to cancel the contract and remove the partial installation but have not heard back from them.
My mother had a service call 5 weeks after the hot water tank was installed as there was no hot water. It took Nikom 6 days to show up and fix it. I had to track down the owner directly as the sales rep Hanna Bird, would not respond to my mother's calls or emails and the customer service line disconnects once it goes to voice mail. My mother was paying for peace of mind knowing that they would fix any HVAC issues, but now she is worried as they are difficult to contact and do not respond in a reasonable time frame. A response time of 6 days is unheard of by anyone in the HVAC industry. I also thought they would complete the job they agreed to but still, it is not done.
My mother was with Reliance prior to Nikom and they wrote in the contract that they would look after the cancellation as part of the costs, however, my mother is being charged by them still 6 months later and she just had a call from a collection agency as a result. That is how we knew it was not cancelled. I have just called and cancelled it myself and had to pay the bill for the last 6 months, which Nikom had promised in writing to look after.
I have requested on two occasions to cancel the contract and remove the hot water tank and we can part ways. All they have done is offer some free payments, however, my mother cannot get any information as to where those payments are going. My mother was going to just pay off the entire balance as she is losing a lot of sleep over this, however they will not release the name of the financing company after multiple requests.
I need to warn others about this experience. It has already been raised through the Consumer Protection Agency and the Better Business Bureau. It will likely go to court as they do not respond. It is a fairly straight forward case based on the contract deficiencies non deliverable agreements. They will not respond to the Better Business Bureau after 3 attempts at this point, and Consumer Protection is working with me now on next steps. I think that speaks volumes, as do watch lists.
If Nikom agrees and cancels the contract, then I will do the right thing and update this review accordingly.
- Approximate cost of services:
- $11,750.00