Carolyn in Toronto

We had an issue with our furnace not working properly and Boonstra came in for a same day appointment and diagnosed the issue as an issue with the igniter. I was told the part would need to be ordered and should arrive in 1-2 days. The tech lit the igniter manually so we would have some heat over night and the furnace was to shut off once the house got to 23 degrees as per set by the thermostat. Three days later a tech came to install the new igniter. After some time on the phone he informed me that the incorrect part was ordered and because it was a Friday at 4pm they would not be able to get the correct part until the following week as suppliers are closed over the weekend. After a considerable amount of pushback the tech managed to find the correct part at a store in Hamilton which is about an hour from where we live. He agreed to go pick up the part and install it that night however it was obvious we were an inconvenience to him. Upon returning with and installing the correct part the tech then informed us that the circuit board for the furnace was also not working and would need to be replaced. Again we were told it would be 3-7 days for the new part to be ordered. He then lit the igniter manually again and we were told that the furnace would turn off once the house hit the temperature set on the thermostat. The following morning, we awoke to a house at 28 degrees with a furnace still running. It would not turn off by turning the thermostat down and therefore the power source needed to be shut off manually. Frustrated with the service we were receiving from Boonstra we called in another HVAC company for a second opinion. We then came to learn that the Boonstra tech left numerous wires exposed after installing the new igniter the previous day and that had we not shut off the power to the furnace, the furnace would have set on fire and burned the house down. The alternative HVAC company provided us with excellent service and had our heat working again within 24 hours. Boonstra refuses to refund our diagnostic fee despite the fact they did not correctly diagnose the issue on the first visit, they ordered the incorrect part, and left the house in danger of burning to the ground. In addition, the run around we were given for ordering parts was unacceptable as Boonstra felt it was appropriate we go without any heat for over a week in the middle of the winter.