ComplaintsforAdvance Chimney Specialists, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  12/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I had this company do an inspection on my fireplace at the end of Oct. I was told that the fireplace was unsafe and needed to have a insert installed. I received the quote, that I thought was high. I decided to get more quotes to compare prices. After some time I received a letter stapled to my quote in the mail stating that if I accepted In 10 days I would get 15% off. With the 15% off able to put the install in line with other quotes that I had. At the bottom of this letter it states please act properly to take vantage of the savings. To accept this offer please sign and date your proposal and mail with a deposit to the address of the top of this document. The proposal stapled to the back was with the original price and not with the 15% off. I called to inquire about what the deposit would be with the 15% off and I was told that everybody gets one of these letters and my service did not qualify for 15% off. It only applied to product that they had in stock and they on had 3 and were already sold out. If I had done what the letter and asked me to do and signed the contract and send the deposit I would’ve been bound by the contract. After the install I would have found out that they were not gonna give me the 15% off that the letter stated. Do not fall for this trap. Very shady way to do business. Do not get caught by signing this contract thinking you’re going to get the 15% off and you will be stuck with the whole bill. After I told them I was gonna go with a different company they offered me 5% off. I am very disappointed with my service and at this point I'm not even sure that my fire place is unsafe as they stated.

  Business response

  01/03/2023

  In response to the most recent complaint from *** ***********, we do a
  year end sale special on any excess inventory that we have leftover from
  the year. Please see the attached documentation dated November 30, 2022
  and note the highlighted area specifically states that this offer is
  only available at the discounted rate while supplies last. *** **********r contacted us to take advantage of the special we were
  offering, but, unfortunately, the product that he was interested in was
  a high priority item and was no longer in stock or available. *** *********** did not sign a proposal nor did he give us a deposit
  therefore, he has no obligation to us and we have no obligation to him,
  so I don't understand the basis of his complaint.
  
  In an attempt to be amicable, we sent *** *********** an email to which
  we stated that we would still offer the product to him at the discounted
  rate, but, since none of the product was no longer available, that could
  take as much as 4 months for us to receive the product. Obviously, that
  offer is no longer on the table.
  *** *********** also posted a derogatory Google review that pretty much
  mirrors the complaint that he filed with the BBB, which as far as we're
  concerned, could be construed as liable on the basis that he's presuming
  what we would have done, rather than what we actually did in an attempt
  to cause financial harm to our business by publicly posting the
  derogatory review which is a fabrication of the truth. For the record, I
  think the letter is pretty clear in that the offer is only valid while
  supplies last, so if somebody were to sign the proposal and send the
  deposit we would have returned the deposit and signed proposal to the
  customer on the basis that it wasn't applicable because this product was
  no longer available. Advance Chimney Specialists, Inc. operates in an
  ethical manner and values all of its' customers and would never conduct
  business in the manner as described by *** ***********. As you can see
  by the attached documentation we responded to *** ***********'s Google
  review as well as by email in an attempt to make a good faith effort to
  reach an amicable solution, but, *** *********** obviously wasn't
  interested in a solution because he hasn't responded to the review or
  the email that we had sent.
  
  Thank you for the opportunity to respond to this complaint and if you
  would have any further questions please don't hesitate to contact us at
  your convenience.
  
  Thank you,
  Michael S*****

  See Attachments

• Initial Complaint

  10/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Contracted with Advance Chimney to simply clean our chimney. Had to also sign up for an inspection. Total Cost = $345.37. took several photos; communicated that the chimney was unsafe and pushed a $10,000 chimney repair on my wife Contacted another company for second opinion. They said the chimney was fine and the cleaning job was sub par. I feel like their main goal was to scare us into a larger job when they should have been focused on completing the basic cleaning.

  Business response

  10/19/2022

  October 18, 2022 
  RE: Complaint ID ******** 

  
  First and foremost, we refunded this customer in full simply because our company offers satisfaction guaranteed, but with that being said, after reviewing all the documentation in the inspection report and the proposal, the chimney before and after photo clearly shows that the sweep we provided was a significant improvement in the before and after photo. The photos in the inspection report also clearly show that there were significant issues with the chimney as indicated in the inspection report which is why we presented the customer with a proposal for remediation in the event that they wanted to proceed with the recommended repairs. 
  The technician that serviced this chimney is CSIA certified, went through a minimum of a one-year apprenticeship, as well as participated in continued education over the course of the past year, which is to say, that our technician is likely more qualified than that of the company that gave *** ****** a second opinion in which he stated that the chimney was fine and safe for continued use. The fact that this company suggests that this chimney is fine indicates to me that their obviously not CSIA certified and are lacking industry knowledge. Attached you will see an inspection report with narrative as well as photos that clearly show the damage. This customer obviously took the side of the business that told him what he wanted to hear with no regards to the fact that the information that this company provided him was inadequate to say the least. Our company has an obligation to the customer to be honest and not tell them what they want to hear and give them a false sense of security. We are very redundant in that we provide photos of the damage to collaborate our findings in our inspection reports. 
  We appreciate the opportunity to respond to this complaint and we'll assume that this issue is now resolved on the basis that the customer has been refunded in full and that we provided adequate supporting documentation that clearly shows the damage in question. 
  

   

  Thank you, Michael S***** 
  

  
  

  Customer response

  10/21/2022

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********* and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  *******

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩