Sarah from Toronto

My AC broke down in the last heat wave, and I called an HVAC company for service. The service technician told me that my AC fan was seized, and that all of the coolant had drained out through a leak. He also inspected my furnace, told me the heat exchangers were cracked, and red-tagged the furnace, giving me 45 days to replace it before the gas to my home would be cut off. The company subsequently quoted me $13,000 - $20,000 to replace both my AC and furnace ($20,000 - $28,000 to rent over a 15 year period). Almar was one of the companies I contacted to get a quote on the replacement of my AC and furnace. Vittorio, the owner, let me know that my AC needed a simple replacement part, as did my furnace. My AC fan was not seized, there was no leak in the coolant line, and there was no crack in my furnace's heat exchanger. In short: the other company's technician had not been honest. Vittorio replaced the necessary parts, serviced and cleaned my AC and furnace, and cleared the red tag so that my gas will remain on. The total charge was $700. I'm furious with the other company, and grateful that Almar saved me a minimum of $12,000. I've referred Almar to friends, and wouldn't hesitate to refer them to others. Above all, I appreciate Vittorio's honesty and attention to detail. Thanks!

I first did business with Dupont Heating & Air Conditioning more that 20 years ago, and have been very happy with their service. However, my recent experience has been quite negative, and so I wanted to share it with others who might be considering the company. About 12 years ago, I purchased a water heater from Dupont H&AC on their recommendation. The water heater broke while (barely) under warranty, and then this year, broke again (not under warranty). When I contacted the company and expressed my concerns about the repairs this water heater required, I was told that they thought this was a good brand at the time they sold it to me, but that they later learned that it was not. When I asked for some financial accommodation for the necessary repair based on their recommendation, the response i received was (paraphrasing) that they thought the product was good at the time, and that subsequent repairs were my problem. I didn't feel this was an appropriate response, and asked to be put in touch with a manager/owner. I was told that I could email the person I was already in contact with, and they would forward my communication. It might well be that this was something they would do, but this response definitely left me with the impression that there was some serious gatekeeping going on, and that my concerns were not being taken seriously. I'm currently in the process of contacting other companies to get quotes for either repairing or replacing my water heater. I don't know for sure that any of these companies will be better. However, based on my recent experience with Dupont Heating & Air Conditioning, I can confidently say that if you are looking for a long term relationship with an HVAC company, this is not the company for you. Hope this is helpful!

Chris Kaestner was referred to me by the designer I was working with. He had a thorough, detailed quote that compared favourably with others I received, and had excellent references. The designer had worked successfully with him in the past, and thought his work was of good quality. Chris Kaestner and I signed a preliminary agreement on May 22, 2014, and I provided a deposit of $5,300, or 10% of the estimated renovation cost. Chris committed to getting me the completed contract within 2 business days, and projected a start date of June 16, 2014. Beginning the week of June 9, I attempted to contact Chris by email, phone and text to determine the final start date. I heard from Chris only once during this period, when he let me know the start date had been delayed about 2 weeks because his father had been ill, and that he would get back to me shortly. After continuing to try to contact during the first two weeks of July with no response and no final contract yet in place, I sent Chris a registered letter on July 17 advising him that I would not be proceeding with Kaestner Contracting Services, and advising him that I needed my house key and full deposit returned by July 25, 2014. I heard from Chris immediately, and met with him that same day. At that meeting, he committed to returning my deposit and key by Friday, July 25. On July 24, I emailed Chris to set up a meeting time for the following day, but did not hear back from him until the afternoon of the 25th. At that time, he asked for a two week extension, and committed to returning my house key that evening, half of my deposit on August 1, and the final half of my deposit on August 8th. Chris did not return my key on July 25. On July 30, I emailed Chris to set up a time to meet on August 1, and did not hear anything from him. On August 5, 2014, I sent Chris a second registered letter advising him that I would proceed with legal action if I did not receive my deposit by August 8th. On August 8th, I received an email from Chris timestamped 7:02 pm, asking me to not proceed with any action against him, siting the illness of his father, and stating that he intends to honour his commitments. Chris has yet to honour any of the commitments he made to me since May 22, 2014. I will update this post if and when he does.