Sparks Monroe received Pictures of the repair on [redacted] from Mr. [redacted] on 1/18/16. Mr. [redacted] and the office discussed that we would return to skim coat his chimney from the roofline to the bricks. This repair needs to be completed in dry, warmer weather. He agreed this would...
be fine. We do not have a tentative date yet as we are playing phone tag, once we are able to connect we will get him our on calendar to get this completed for the customer. All our appointments are scheduled Monday- Friday in 2 blocks, either the AM block from 8-12p or the PM block from 12-5pm. I have also emailed the customer on 1/29/16 stating this as well.
I purchased a [redacted] for a chimney sweep service with Sparks Monroe Heating & Chimney. When I first called to set up the appointment the customer service was friendly and responsive. They provided me with a 5 hour window for services which was not ideal, however as a newly single Mom, I took 1/2 day of vacation and stayed home to cover the 5 hours. The company called 4 hours in to tell me they would not make it. I rescheduled the service for a later date. The exact same situation occured. I scheduled yet again and told them on the third time that I would not be available after 12pm. I called to verify the appointment this morning and they said they would be arriving at my house around 12. I was clearly upset and their customer service was HORRIBLE. They refuse to allow me to redeem my [redacted] at this point because I was too upset with them. I am not one to write reviews like this but I am astonished at the horrible way they communicate and treat a potential new customer! I would never recommend them.
I used [redacted] to have my chimney cleaned. I was told the tech would come between 8-12 on 11/23. When I called, the woman stated I was the first appointment and the tech would be out shortly. I called at 8:30. If they are not sending their techs out until 8:30 for 9:00 service calls, they should let the customer know. When I called back again to state that I was needing to leaving for an appointment, the receptionist was not very concerned. Very poor customer service!!!
The tech did arrive at 8:57 and was done within 30 minutes.
Great people to work with ...effective, and no Bull. Very fast for me on site.
Contact was hard via phone. But the patience was worth it
Darren and David and the crew were great guys. Happy to have them I recommend and will refer them
The reason for the $100.00 charge is because the repair to her unit was $569.02 plus the $100.00 service call fee. The service Manager waived this fee as a convenience to the customer. The Furnace failed due to lack of maintenance. We have mailed out the certified bank check as of August 9th...
2016 (please see attached copy of the check). The office manager mailed it to her address at [redacted] on this date. We verified from the credit card company that we did receive funds for that transaction, at that time we did issue the $100.00 check to her. She should have received this by now.
Revdex.com spoke with [redacted] today and he stated the following:
When our technician was there, he did leave and went and got the part. When the technician returned, the customer stated that he no longer wanted it, he found it cheaper somewhere else. The labor charge is not only for actually installing the part, but for the services provided and obtaining the part, and is also part of the flat rate quoted and authorized price. I advised the consumer that we would have to pay a 25% restocking fee and advised consumer I would only charge the 25% restocking fee, and the consumer continued to curse at me, so I disconnected the call. In an emergency situation like this was, we always charge first in case of non-payment once job is completed.
I have offered on several occasions to refund less the 25% restocking fee and the consumer continues to refuse the offer. I have spent money and time on this with the customer's authorization to do so, and he then changed his mind. We were already in the process of repairing the furnace and had obtained the part.
Once the consumer advises his acceptance, the refund will be issued less the 25% restocking fee and service call fee.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Revdex.com spoke to consumer and the following was relayed:
The company did offer to refund the $137 or return and replace the part for another service charge. The part they say was from their supplier was corroded and was not new. I had to pay a second company the full amount because of what this business failed to do.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I was never informed that the charge was non refundable. It was explained that it needed to be charged to set up the service call, but never stated it was non refundable. I was told I would be called soon with a time for service. After waiting a few hours with a non operable furnace I called another company to see if they could come fix the issue. In past dealings with sparks I felt more comfortable paying someone else to fix it. I called to cancel the service call because someone else said they would be out within the hour and sparks still hadn't called to say when they were coming. When I called the answering service they said they had no way of knowing when someone would be out. Being the last time the furnace was red tagged by the gas company and it took sparks 4 days to come out and fix the issue I couldn't risk waiting. Not at any point was I told canceling the call was non refundable. The company who fixed the issue also stated in tgier work order that the issue was due to the instillation not being done to mfg code. This is the second time a problem has occurred because of improper installation by Sparks. That being said I am requesting the service charge to my card (for a service call that did not happen and was not yet scheduled) and the fee from the other company to fix the issue be refunded(not to include that company's service fee) . Failure to do so will result in a suite to have the whole original job refunded. There are multiple documentations of install not being up to manufacturer specification which is stated in the original work order/receipt that the job would be to code. The owner and his employees have had multiple accounts of dishonesty and unprofessional business practices. Seems to be a pretty consistent issue on business reviews everywhere you look. I am beyond disgusted and can't believe I am having to go through this again.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The response from the company is very inaccurate. I never said that I might need a chimney sweep. I said that we might be in their system, because we had used their services for a new furnace and for a chimney sweep in the past. There is no way this could have been confused with my request to have the vent cap replaced. I even gave the company the name of the cap and its size so that they could have the replacement when they came. Furthermore, there was no inspection of the vent/cap on the first visit, because the worker would not go on the roof given the windy day. Yes, you could see that the top of the cap was missing from the ground- something I told them when I first called. The invoice said they would know more once they got on the roof - which would have been when they came to put on the cap. The second visit had a person put on the cap without "checking it out". When he came down I asked him if the missing cap was all that there was for a problem and he said he did not check anything else out because he was simply told to replace the cap. He did go back after I showed him that the first person had not gone on the roof to check for any other related problem. In short, this was a very disappointing experience. I feel I was given very poor service - especially around the cost.
Regards,
[redacted]
Horrible experience in fall of 2013 - even spoke with the owner who was unresponsive to my complaints. Unprofessional, condescending, and downright disrespectful. Horrible customer services on the phone with receptionists. Told me they would arrive at 3pm and never showed until 6:30pm. Forgot the ladder for the chimney sweep - not once but twice in the times they were scheduled to be at my home. Did not communicate the issues with the furnace to me unless I asked. The employees were struggling with locating a needed part and had the owner come out to assist. When I asked for details on the furnace problems the owner was beyond condescending to me and nasty to his employees in front of me. They left garbage in my utility sink. Then they had the audacity to put their giant orange stickers on my furnace and fuse box after I had already indicated that I would never be working with them again nor would I recommend them to ANYONE in the future. Furthermore, they called this year to "remind" me to schedule a furnace cleaning. Never again. To prospective clients, find a more reputable company. Definitely do not go with Sparks.
I have used Sparks Monroe several times over the past year for a.) Generator tune up, (approx $90) b) COMPLETE residential Furnace replacement ($5000 +), c.) A/C unit service ($270).
I continued to use them because the service tech ([redacted]) was extremely great at customer service.
HOWEVER, for the most recent service (AC unit insp. and repair) I decided to double check the cost of the parts they installed and charged me for.
One part was a "Contactor" and the second was a "Capacitor". I was charged $250 for these parts. They were easy to install, a couple of screws and plug on electrical connectors.
When I checked the EXACT SAME PARTS ONLINE I found them to cost a total of $50.
SO THE MARK UP WAS 500%!!
I called to protest but instead of a calm attempt to explain or a reduction in the charge I was given a STERN lecture by DARREN (practically yelled at) and basically told to contact my congressman because the taxes and insurances they pay are what forces them to EXCESSIVELY charge.
To mark up parts prices 500% (and I am sure they buy them even cheaper than I found them for) , to me, is PRICE GOUGING.
Whereas I was a loyal customer 5 days ago I am now NOT A CUSTOMER due to a total LOSS OF TRUST.
Similar to the previous customers I was given a 5 hour window of time and when I made special arrangements to be home they did not arrive. When I called back they told me I was not on the schedule and I had never called! How unprofessional.
We apologize for your recent concern with us. When we were there at your mothers home @[redacted] we assessed the problem with the furnace with the service call fee, ordered the motor, received payment on the motor and return to do the work. Once work is authorized and...
equipment or parts are paid for it now is the customers part. We understand that having no heat is a difficult situation but we are there to help. Please feel free to contact us directly.
To Whom It May Concern:
I have thoroughly reviewed the complaint and all supporting documentation by [redacted]. I have also reviewed our business records regarding the property at [redacted]. First, the only service that we have ever performed at that address was on January 27, 2015. That service was a furnace maintenance that was paid for with a [redacted] Voucher with a purchase price of $29.00 for a value of $89.95 worth of service. There was repairs recommended at that time. The consumer declined to perform the recommended repairs. Upon reviewing our email records and our telephone records we received a telephone call on Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 7:20am. This call was dispatched to our on-call service technician whose name is [redacted]. He retrieved this call from our answering service at 7:28am. The consumer called our answering service again at 7:34am on Sunday, February 15, 2015 stating please call again and left an alternate phone number. We do have audio recordings of these calls. Stating "please call again" shows that there was a previous call by us. On February 16, 2015 we received another phone call at our office asking for clarification as to the handwritten notes from the work order for maintenance done on January 27, 2015. At 3:17pm our office responded with a typed clarification as to the handwritten notes to the maintenance performed on January 27, 2015 via email. We did not receive any further correspondence from the consumer until February 19, 2015 at 1:18pm where she forwarded an email to us from her tenant and I cannot state whether or not we responded to this for sure as email is not one of the mechanisms we use to dispatch service calls. After searching through all of my records, I do not find any other correspondence between the consumer and our company. I do see plenty of correspondence between the consumer and her tenant. In the correspondence with her tenant she asks her tenant "Do you want me to come over to do this? Or do you guys want to check it out, which may be faster? Lmk. Sparks Monroe is on a long wait time to get there. This email was at 8:00am on Febrary 15, 2015 about 10 minutes after our technician called the consumer. She also states that she tried to use a coupon for service and was unable to do so. Our technician David was under the impression that the consumer wanted to use a [redacted] Voucher maintenance coupon for a Sunday service call, not a 50% off service call coupon. We apologize for any confusion on that. Additionally, after reviewing the complaint details, I have done more research into this particular address and consumer within our industry. What I have found out leads me to believe the following: the furnace was purchased and installed by a different contractor which would be [redacted]; there was an extended warranty sold to the consumer at the time the furnace was purchased. Why the consumer chose to call us rather than the contractor who installed and held the warranty on the furnace I have no idea. Additionally, I spoke to the owner of [redacted] on March 17, 2015 and he informed me that he did, indeed, go to this property and performed a service call and repair on the equipment. He was able to get the parts covered under warranty and did charge the consumer for labor to replace to the parts. Additionally the owner of United stated that he never made any statements whatsoever about maintenance being performed properly or improperly. In reviewing the totality of these circumstances, it is my belief that the only possible mistake that my company or its employees may have made was a misunderstanding in which coupon the consumer was attempting to use on a Sunday morning service call. For this I do apologize. Additionally, it is obvious that the consumer is not happy with the maintenance that we performed on January 27, 2015. We do not want customers who are not happy with our services. Therefore, if this consumer chooses to ask [redacted] for a refund for her purchase price we would not oppose that. However, we cannot refund her as she did not spend any money with us directly. We would also kindly suggest that if she has a contractor who has performed good work for her and who she is happy with that she continue to use that contractor. I sincerely hope that this resolves the consumers complaint and closes this file and allows the consumer to not have to take any more time out of her busy life or require us to take any more time out of ours.
Sincerely,
Darren S
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.the statement Monroe provided was incorrect. I never used fowl language when speaking with them. I had this conversation at work where others could hear me. It is not acceptableby either of us she spoke with that the company schedules 4 hours of our time and then cancels during the 4th hour of this time block. And this happened twice. Myself and [redacted] have lost money not being at work waiting at home, to only be canceled on. I told them this was poor customer service and if this is how I would be treated I would let others know how they operate. I purchased a cleaning with a groupon and almost certain this is why I was treated so poorly. I was put off and dismissed because I was less important than other customers. At what point would they follow through with the service? She asked me what was my urgency? I am a paying customer. Why would urgency make a business cancel my appointment twice with no notice? This is unacceptable customer service.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Thank you Revdex.com for continuing to work on this. My response is below.
“When our technician was there, he did leave and went and got the part. When the technician returned, the customer stated that he no longer wanted it, he found it cheaper somewhere else.”
First, the technician never left the house to go anywhere. The technician was at the house for the entire time during my conversations with him. If the tech is claiming that he left, went to the store, and returned, then please provide a copy of the receipt, or some proof from the store he went to, that shows he picked up a part and then had to return it. Again, if he is claiming he left the house only to return and I had a change of heart; that is not the truth.
“The labor charge is not only for actually installing the part, but for the services provided and obtaining the part, and is also part of the flat rate quoted and authorized price. I advised the consumer that we would have to pay a 25% restocking fee and advised consumer I would only charge the 25% restocking fee, and the consumer continued to curse at me, so I disconnected the call. In an emergency situation like this was, we always charge first in case of non-payment once job is completed.”
It is perfectly understandable that your labor charge covers your costs in obtaining the part, however I will reiterate, the technician never left my mom’s house to go anywhere, and furthermore, at no point did he mention a 25% restocking fee that would be billed. The only fee the tech said would be bill** would be the $89 service charge. Also, at no time did I curse at the technician, unless you consider the phrase “get out of my house” a curse. Yes, I was piss** at the tech for a number of reasons, first for trying to swindle my mother by stating, “…there is no other company that can get this part and get your furnace fixed in 24 hours…”, and secondly he couldn’t explain what the chargers entailed, and kept backpedalling and seemed like he was making it up on the go. Yes, it was an emergency situation which Is why I initially gave the authorization to move forward, but within 10 minutes I told I changed my mind and didn’t need his services anymore. Again, I am not going to agree to anything without proof. Show me the proof that you had to pay a 25% restocking fee to your supplier and I will be more than happy to pay this.
“I have offered on several occasions to refund less the 25% restocking fee and the consumer continues to refuse the offer. I have spent money and time on this with the customer's authorization to do so, and he then changed his mind. We were already in the process of repairing the furnace and had obtained the part.Once the consumer advises his acceptance, the refund will be issued less the 25% restocking fee and service call fee.”
I have never been contacted by [redacted], or anyone from his company for that matter, offering a resolution to this matter. I can provide my phone records that show that I have never received a phone call from him or his company. The last communication through theRevdex.com he did not offer a resolution. Per your technician, the time you spent at my mom’s house assessing the problem with the furnace would be covered by the service call charge, which I’m willing to pay. As he did not leave the house to go get a part from your supplier, which would then cause a restocking fee to be incurred, I will not pay for this. The only resolution I will accept is for what I’m responsible for, which is the service charge, nothing else. If your technician incurred a charge on that day with your supplier, it was not because of the service call at my mom’s house.
We were already in the process of repairing the furnace and had obtained the part.
The only time your technician looked at my furnace was to do the initial assessment. He did not do anything else. If this statement is really true, then your technician should be able to tell you what the problem was with the furnace. I’m certain you guys do a lot of furnace repairs, and see a lot of unusual things, but the problem with my mom’s furnace was very unique and this would have stuck in his mind. And, he wouldn’t have had to dismantle the furnace to find the problem either..
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have review** the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Thank you for the response, however you response does not offer any resolutions, but instead glosses over the downright unethical behavior of your company.
First - yes, you came to the house, assessed the problem with the furnace, and maybe even ordered the motor, however I cannot verify that this actually happened. However between the time I gave the initial authorization and then subsequently declined that the work be completed was less than 10 minutes. The person that was at the house never left the house to go anywhere to then “…return to do the work.” as you indicate in your response. Furthermore, your employee assured us that the only charge that would appear on the credit card would be for the service call, nothing else. The fact that you are trying to charge me for work that your company didn’t do, is truly unethical.
Secondly, in your response you state that once the “…equipment and parts are paid for it is now the customers part.” You never delivered this part to me and I currently don’t have it in my possession. I also find it hard to believe that you would not have returned the part to the company that sold it to you cause it would have never left their shelf. Finally, if I paid for the part/equipment alone, why are you charging me for labor if the part was never installed. The amount you quoted me is the amount that you are refusing to release from my credit card, which includes your labor charges. Again, very unethical behavior. Your company's service was referr** to me by a friend, who I will let know of the problems I'm having now.
Lastly, I have reach** out to you on several occasions to attempt to resolve this issue and have not receiv** a phone call back from you. You have my contact information, feel free to call me anytime, day or night, to resolve this. And yes, having no heat during the winter is a difficult situation, which is made even more difficult when you have predatory and unethical people and companies that try to take advantage of consumers when they are vulnerable.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The invoice does not state the board was wet and it was not mentioned during the repair until this morning by the tech during the phone conversation when I asked why a "fried board" now works. I approved to replace a board that was not working. I watched the tech test the board by touching the wires, start up the furnace, shut it down and then proceed to diagnose it had a bad board. After speaking with my husband, who agreed to replace the bad board, the tech left and returned and installed the board and started it again. When the tech took out the board he put it in my hands and said this is dirty-what do you expect from a 13 year old furnace. I am also including my pictures that I took to send to my husband so he could see what was happening and the screw left in the unit to hold the door open and the damage left behind.
I'm disappointed in the service and the confusion on the billing made me question the quality of the repair. My husband would have just thrown out the old board if I hadn't questioned the second charge and the price of the part and labor which is not clear.
I asked for the board you installed be removed and picked up and the repair refunded because it was not broken to begin with. You did something but replacing a working part is not what my husband authorized and not what I expected to be called "satisfied with service" and a misrepresentation of your customer satisfaction guarantee.
Regards,
[redacted]
I purchased a [redacted] for chimney cleaning and set up an appt for October 16th, they gave me a window of noon-5:00. They cancelled the day before for an "emergency". Fine. We rescheduled for October 28th. Same time window. I had to make special arrangements to have someone at my house for the appt during this time. They called at 2:30 that day and AGAIN cancelled, citing an emergency. I would strongly advise against using this company. At the very least they should have honored their appt, especially since they had already cancelled once.
As a result we called [redacted] and will receive a refund.
Sparks Monroe received Pictures of the repair on [redacted] from Mr. [redacted] on 1/18/16. Mr. [redacted] and the office discussed that we would return to skim coat his chimney from the roofline to the bricks. This repair needs to be completed in dry, warmer weather. He agreed this would...
be fine. We do not have a tentative date yet as we are playing phone tag, once we are able to connect we will get him our on calendar to get this completed for the customer. All our appointments are scheduled Monday- Friday in 2 blocks, either the AM block from 8-12p or the PM block from 12-5pm. I have also emailed the customer on 1/29/16 stating this as well.
I purchased a [redacted] for a chimney sweep service with Sparks Monroe Heating & Chimney. When I first called to set up the appointment the customer service was friendly and responsive. They provided me with a 5 hour window for services which was not ideal, however as a newly single Mom, I took 1/2 day of vacation and stayed home to cover the 5 hours. The company called 4 hours in to tell me they would not make it. I rescheduled the service for a later date. The exact same situation occured. I scheduled yet again and told them on the third time that I would not be available after 12pm. I called to verify the appointment this morning and they said they would be arriving at my house around 12. I was clearly upset and their customer service was HORRIBLE. They refuse to allow me to redeem my [redacted] at this point because I was too upset with them. I am not one to write reviews like this but I am astonished at the horrible way they communicate and treat a potential new customer! I would never recommend them.
I used [redacted] to have my chimney cleaned. I was told the tech would come between 8-12 on 11/23. When I called, the woman stated I was the first appointment and the tech would be out shortly. I called at 8:30. If they are not sending their techs out until 8:30 for 9:00 service calls, they should let the customer know. When I called back again to state that I was needing to leaving for an appointment, the receptionist was not very concerned. Very poor customer service!!!
The tech did arrive at 8:57 and was done within 30 minutes.
Great people to work with ...effective, and no Bull. Very fast for me on site.
Contact was hard via phone. But the patience was worth it
Darren and David and the crew were great guys. Happy to have them I recommend and will refer them
The reason for the $100.00 charge is because the repair to her unit was $569.02 plus the $100.00 service call fee. The service Manager waived this fee as a convenience to the customer. The Furnace failed due to lack of maintenance. We have mailed out the certified bank check as of August 9th...
2016 (please see attached copy of the check). The office manager mailed it to her address at [redacted] on this date. We verified from the credit card company that we did receive funds for that transaction, at that time we did issue the $100.00 check to her. She should have received this by now.
Revdex.com spoke with [redacted] today and he stated the following:
When our technician was there, he did leave and went and got the part. When the technician returned, the customer stated that he no longer wanted it, he found it cheaper somewhere else. The labor charge is not only for actually installing the part, but for the services provided and obtaining the part, and is also part of the flat rate quoted and authorized price. I advised the consumer that we would have to pay a 25% restocking fee and advised consumer I would only charge the 25% restocking fee, and the consumer continued to curse at me, so I disconnected the call. In an emergency situation like this was, we always charge first in case of non-payment once job is completed.
I have offered on several occasions to refund less the 25% restocking fee and the consumer continues to refuse the offer. I have spent money and time on this with the customer's authorization to do so, and he then changed his mind. We were already in the process of repairing the furnace and had obtained the part.
Once the consumer advises his acceptance, the refund will be issued less the 25% restocking fee and service call fee.
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. Revdex.com spoke to consumer and the following was relayed:
The company did offer to refund the $137 or return and replace the part for another service charge. The part they say was from their supplier was corroded and was not new. I had to pay a second company the full amount because of what this business failed to do.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I was never informed that the charge was non refundable. It was explained that it needed to be charged to set up the service call, but never stated it was non refundable. I was told I would be called soon with a time for service. After waiting a few hours with a non operable furnace I called another company to see if they could come fix the issue. In past dealings with sparks I felt more comfortable paying someone else to fix it. I called to cancel the service call because someone else said they would be out within the hour and sparks still hadn't called to say when they were coming. When I called the answering service they said they had no way of knowing when someone would be out. Being the last time the furnace was red tagged by the gas company and it took sparks 4 days to come out and fix the issue I couldn't risk waiting. Not at any point was I told canceling the call was non refundable. The company who fixed the issue also stated in tgier work order that the issue was due to the instillation not being done to mfg code. This is the second time a problem has occurred because of improper installation by Sparks. That being said I am requesting the service charge to my card (for a service call that did not happen and was not yet scheduled) and the fee from the other company to fix the issue be refunded(not to include that company's service fee) . Failure to do so will result in a suite to have the whole original job refunded. There are multiple documentations of install not being up to manufacturer specification which is stated in the original work order/receipt that the job would be to code. The owner and his employees have had multiple accounts of dishonesty and unprofessional business practices. Seems to be a pretty consistent issue on business reviews everywhere you look. I am beyond disgusted and can't believe I am having to go through this again.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The response from the company is very inaccurate. I never said that I might need a chimney sweep. I said that we might be in their system, because we had used their services for a new furnace and for a chimney sweep in the past. There is no way this could have been confused with my request to have the vent cap replaced. I even gave the company the name of the cap and its size so that they could have the replacement when they came. Furthermore, there was no inspection of the vent/cap on the first visit, because the worker would not go on the roof given the windy day. Yes, you could see that the top of the cap was missing from the ground- something I told them when I first called. The invoice said they would know more once they got on the roof - which would have been when they came to put on the cap. The second visit had a person put on the cap without "checking it out". When he came down I asked him if the missing cap was all that there was for a problem and he said he did not check anything else out because he was simply told to replace the cap. He did go back after I showed him that the first person had not gone on the roof to check for any other related problem. In short, this was a very disappointing experience. I feel I was given very poor service - especially around the cost.
Regards,
[redacted]
Horrible experience in fall of 2013 - even spoke with the owner who was unresponsive to my complaints. Unprofessional, condescending, and downright disrespectful. Horrible customer services on the phone with receptionists. Told me they would arrive at 3pm and never showed until 6:30pm. Forgot the ladder for the chimney sweep - not once but twice in the times they were scheduled to be at my home. Did not communicate the issues with the furnace to me unless I asked. The employees were struggling with locating a needed part and had the owner come out to assist. When I asked for details on the furnace problems the owner was beyond condescending to me and nasty to his employees in front of me. They left garbage in my utility sink. Then they had the audacity to put their giant orange stickers on my furnace and fuse box after I had already indicated that I would never be working with them again nor would I recommend them to ANYONE in the future. Furthermore, they called this year to "remind" me to schedule a furnace cleaning. Never again. To prospective clients, find a more reputable company. Definitely do not go with Sparks.
I have used Sparks Monroe several times over the past year for a.) Generator tune up, (approx $90) b) COMPLETE residential Furnace replacement ($5000 +), c.) A/C unit service ($270).
I continued to use them because the service tech ([redacted]) was extremely great at customer service.
HOWEVER, for the most recent service (AC unit insp. and repair) I decided to double check the cost of the parts they installed and charged me for.
One part was a "Contactor" and the second was a "Capacitor". I was charged $250 for these parts. They were easy to install, a couple of screws and plug on electrical connectors.
When I checked the EXACT SAME PARTS ONLINE I found them to cost a total of $50.
SO THE MARK UP WAS 500%!!
I called to protest but instead of a calm attempt to explain or a reduction in the charge I was given a STERN lecture by DARREN (practically yelled at) and basically told to contact my congressman because the taxes and insurances they pay are what forces them to EXCESSIVELY charge.
To mark up parts prices 500% (and I am sure they buy them even cheaper than I found them for) , to me, is PRICE GOUGING.
Whereas I was a loyal customer 5 days ago I am now NOT A CUSTOMER due to a total LOSS OF TRUST.
Similar to the previous customers I was given a 5 hour window of time and when I made special arrangements to be home they did not arrive. When I called back they told me I was not on the schedule and I had never called! How unprofessional.
We apologize for your recent concern with us. When we were there at your mothers home @[redacted] we assessed the problem with the furnace with the service call fee, ordered the motor, received payment on the motor and return to do the work. Once work is authorized and...
equipment or parts are paid for it now is the customers part. We understand that having no heat is a difficult situation but we are there to help. Please feel free to contact us directly.
To Whom It May Concern:
I have thoroughly reviewed the complaint and all supporting documentation by [redacted]. I have also reviewed our business records regarding the property at [redacted]. First, the only service that we have ever performed at that address was on January 27, 2015. That service was a furnace maintenance that was paid for with a [redacted] Voucher with a purchase price of $29.00 for a value of $89.95 worth of service. There was repairs recommended at that time. The consumer declined to perform the recommended repairs. Upon reviewing our email records and our telephone records we received a telephone call on Sunday, February 15, 2015 at 7:20am. This call was dispatched to our on-call service technician whose name is [redacted]. He retrieved this call from our answering service at 7:28am. The consumer called our answering service again at 7:34am on Sunday, February 15, 2015 stating please call again and left an alternate phone number. We do have audio recordings of these calls. Stating "please call again" shows that there was a previous call by us. On February 16, 2015 we received another phone call at our office asking for clarification as to the handwritten notes from the work order for maintenance done on January 27, 2015. At 3:17pm our office responded with a typed clarification as to the handwritten notes to the maintenance performed on January 27, 2015 via email. We did not receive any further correspondence from the consumer until February 19, 2015 at 1:18pm where she forwarded an email to us from her tenant and I cannot state whether or not we responded to this for sure as email is not one of the mechanisms we use to dispatch service calls. After searching through all of my records, I do not find any other correspondence between the consumer and our company. I do see plenty of correspondence between the consumer and her tenant. In the correspondence with her tenant she asks her tenant "Do you want me to come over to do this? Or do you guys want to check it out, which may be faster? Lmk. Sparks Monroe is on a long wait time to get there. This email was at 8:00am on Febrary 15, 2015 about 10 minutes after our technician called the consumer. She also states that she tried to use a coupon for service and was unable to do so. Our technician David was under the impression that the consumer wanted to use a [redacted] Voucher maintenance coupon for a Sunday service call, not a 50% off service call coupon. We apologize for any confusion on that. Additionally, after reviewing the complaint details, I have done more research into this particular address and consumer within our industry. What I have found out leads me to believe the following: the furnace was purchased and installed by a different contractor which would be [redacted]; there was an extended warranty sold to the consumer at the time the furnace was purchased. Why the consumer chose to call us rather than the contractor who installed and held the warranty on the furnace I have no idea. Additionally, I spoke to the owner of [redacted] on March 17, 2015 and he informed me that he did, indeed, go to this property and performed a service call and repair on the equipment. He was able to get the parts covered under warranty and did charge the consumer for labor to replace to the parts. Additionally the owner of United stated that he never made any statements whatsoever about maintenance being performed properly or improperly. In reviewing the totality of these circumstances, it is my belief that the only possible mistake that my company or its employees may have made was a misunderstanding in which coupon the consumer was attempting to use on a Sunday morning service call. For this I do apologize. Additionally, it is obvious that the consumer is not happy with the maintenance that we performed on January 27, 2015. We do not want customers who are not happy with our services. Therefore, if this consumer chooses to ask [redacted] for a refund for her purchase price we would not oppose that. However, we cannot refund her as she did not spend any money with us directly. We would also kindly suggest that if she has a contractor who has performed good work for her and who she is happy with that she continue to use that contractor. I sincerely hope that this resolves the consumers complaint and closes this file and allows the consumer to not have to take any more time out of her busy life or require us to take any more time out of ours.
Sincerely,
Darren S
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.the statement Monroe provided was incorrect. I never used fowl language when speaking with them. I had this conversation at work where others could hear me. It is not acceptableby either of us she spoke with that the company schedules 4 hours of our time and then cancels during the 4th hour of this time block. And this happened twice. Myself and [redacted] have lost money not being at work waiting at home, to only be canceled on. I told them this was poor customer service and if this is how I would be treated I would let others know how they operate. I purchased a cleaning with a groupon and almost certain this is why I was treated so poorly. I was put off and dismissed because I was less important than other customers. At what point would they follow through with the service? She asked me what was my urgency? I am a paying customer. Why would urgency make a business cancel my appointment twice with no notice? This is unacceptable customer service.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Thank you Revdex.com for continuing to work on this. My response is below.
“When our technician was there, he did leave and went and got the part. When the technician returned, the customer stated that he no longer wanted it, he found it cheaper somewhere else.”
First, the technician never left the house to go anywhere. The technician was at the house for the entire time during my conversations with him. If the tech is claiming that he left, went to the store, and returned, then please provide a copy of the receipt, or some proof from the store he went to, that shows he picked up a part and then had to return it. Again, if he is claiming he left the house only to return and I had a change of heart; that is not the truth.
“The labor charge is not only for actually installing the part, but for the services provided and obtaining the part, and is also part of the flat rate quoted and authorized price. I advised the consumer that we would have to pay a 25% restocking fee and advised consumer I would only charge the 25% restocking fee, and the consumer continued to curse at me, so I disconnected the call. In an emergency situation like this was, we always charge first in case of non-payment once job is completed.”
It is perfectly understandable that your labor charge covers your costs in obtaining the part, however I will reiterate, the technician never left my mom’s house to go anywhere, and furthermore, at no point did he mention a 25% restocking fee that would be billed. The only fee the tech said would be bill** would be the $89 service charge. Also, at no time did I curse at the technician, unless you consider the phrase “get out of my house” a curse. Yes, I was piss** at the tech for a number of reasons, first for trying to swindle my mother by stating, “…there is no other company that can get this part and get your furnace fixed in 24 hours…”, and secondly he couldn’t explain what the chargers entailed, and kept backpedalling and seemed like he was making it up on the go. Yes, it was an emergency situation which Is why I initially gave the authorization to move forward, but within 10 minutes I told I changed my mind and didn’t need his services anymore. Again, I am not going to agree to anything without proof. Show me the proof that you had to pay a 25% restocking fee to your supplier and I will be more than happy to pay this.
“I have offered on several occasions to refund less the 25% restocking fee and the consumer continues to refuse the offer. I have spent money and time on this with the customer's authorization to do so, and he then changed his mind. We were already in the process of repairing the furnace and had obtained the part.Once the consumer advises his acceptance, the refund will be issued less the 25% restocking fee and service call fee.”
I have never been contacted by [redacted], or anyone from his company for that matter, offering a resolution to this matter. I can provide my phone records that show that I have never received a phone call from him or his company. The last communication through theRevdex.com he did not offer a resolution. Per your technician, the time you spent at my mom’s house assessing the problem with the furnace would be covered by the service call charge, which I’m willing to pay. As he did not leave the house to go get a part from your supplier, which would then cause a restocking fee to be incurred, I will not pay for this. The only resolution I will accept is for what I’m responsible for, which is the service charge, nothing else. If your technician incurred a charge on that day with your supplier, it was not because of the service call at my mom’s house.
We were already in the process of repairing the furnace and had obtained the part.
The only time your technician looked at my furnace was to do the initial assessment. He did not do anything else. If this statement is really true, then your technician should be able to tell you what the problem was with the furnace. I’m certain you guys do a lot of furnace repairs, and see a lot of unusual things, but the problem with my mom’s furnace was very unique and this would have stuck in his mind. And, he wouldn’t have had to dismantle the furnace to find the problem either..
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have review** the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
Thank you for the response, however you response does not offer any resolutions, but instead glosses over the downright unethical behavior of your company.
First - yes, you came to the house, assessed the problem with the furnace, and maybe even ordered the motor, however I cannot verify that this actually happened. However between the time I gave the initial authorization and then subsequently declined that the work be completed was less than 10 minutes. The person that was at the house never left the house to go anywhere to then “…return to do the work.” as you indicate in your response. Furthermore, your employee assured us that the only charge that would appear on the credit card would be for the service call, nothing else. The fact that you are trying to charge me for work that your company didn’t do, is truly unethical.
Secondly, in your response you state that once the “…equipment and parts are paid for it is now the customers part.” You never delivered this part to me and I currently don’t have it in my possession. I also find it hard to believe that you would not have returned the part to the company that sold it to you cause it would have never left their shelf. Finally, if I paid for the part/equipment alone, why are you charging me for labor if the part was never installed. The amount you quoted me is the amount that you are refusing to release from my credit card, which includes your labor charges. Again, very unethical behavior. Your company's service was referr** to me by a friend, who I will let know of the problems I'm having now.
Lastly, I have reach** out to you on several occasions to attempt to resolve this issue and have not receiv** a phone call back from you. You have my contact information, feel free to call me anytime, day or night, to resolve this. And yes, having no heat during the winter is a difficult situation, which is made even more difficult when you have predatory and unethical people and companies that try to take advantage of consumers when they are vulnerable.
Regards,
[redacted]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
The invoice does not state the board was wet and it was not mentioned during the repair until this morning by the tech during the phone conversation when I asked why a "fried board" now works. I approved to replace a board that was not working. I watched the tech test the board by touching the wires, start up the furnace, shut it down and then proceed to diagnose it had a bad board. After speaking with my husband, who agreed to replace the bad board, the tech left and returned and installed the board and started it again. When the tech took out the board he put it in my hands and said this is dirty-what do you expect from a 13 year old furnace. I am also including my pictures that I took to send to my husband so he could see what was happening and the screw left in the unit to hold the door open and the damage left behind.
I'm disappointed in the service and the confusion on the billing made me question the quality of the repair. My husband would have just thrown out the old board if I hadn't questioned the second charge and the price of the part and labor which is not clear.
I asked for the board you installed be removed and picked up and the repair refunded because it was not broken to begin with. You did something but replacing a working part is not what my husband authorized and not what I expected to be called "satisfied with service" and a misrepresentation of your customer satisfaction guarantee.
Regards,
[redacted]
I purchased a [redacted] for chimney cleaning and set up an appt for October 16th, they gave me a window of noon-5:00. They cancelled the day before for an "emergency". Fine. We rescheduled for October 28th. Same time window. I had to make special arrangements to have someone at my house for the appt during this time. They called at 2:30 that day and AGAIN cancelled, citing an emergency. I would strongly advise against using this company. At the very least they should have honored their appt, especially since they had already cancelled once.
As a result we called [redacted] and will receive a refund.