Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. 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.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:27/01/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  My mother’s furnace stopped working, so I called Absolute Home Services to check it out. Their representative reset the furnace and by observing the flame determined that the heat exchanger was cracked. He also said that CO emissions from the exhaust were very high. He said that the high emissions confirmed that the heat exchanger was cracked and he “condemned” the furnace telling us that it was not to be used again and that we needed to get a new one. He charged us $169+tax for his 15minute visit. I decided to research his diagnosis online and found many warnings about furnace companies who give a “cracked heat exchanger” diagnosis without visible proof. I decided to get a second opinion from another company and they quickly determined that the problem was not a cracked heat exchanger. They said that the furnace was running quite well, but that there might be an issue with the exhaust or air intake being plugged. * **** **** **** * ***** **** **** ***** ****** ****** *** *** **** *** **** ******* ******** ** * *****. Turns out that the exhaust system had a bit of pooled water restricting flow and, while I was fixing that, I thought I’d check the air intake as well. The air intake was completely clogged with spider web and bits of debris that had been sucked against the exterior intake screen. That completely explained the dirty furnace emissions. I cleared the air intake, blew the inducer fan backwards to get a bunch of carbon build-up out of the secondary heat exchanger, then the furnace ran beautifully. I bought a CO monitor and found that the emissions had come right down to normal. Quite upset with Absolute Home Services’ lazy mis-diagnosis and pressure to buy a new furnace, I checked my mom’s past service records with them and found that they had been ******** her with $800 furnace vent cleaning jobs which were never needed. I was pretty upset with them by now, but before calling them to request a refund for their mis-diagnosis, I read up on cracked heat exchanger diagnosing and went through all the tests myself: I purchased a baroscope and visually inspected the inside of the primary heat exchanger and the outside of the primary and secondary heat exchangers, I ran the furnace start-up cycle a number of times to ensure that the forced air around the heat exchanger did not pressurize the exhaust system and create roll-out, and I put CO monitors at vents throughout the house to detect any mixing of emissions with the heating air. Everything checked out perfectly, so I had tons of proof that the heat exchanger was not cracked. I called Absolute Home services, told them the facts and asked for a refund, but they refused and insisted that their technician diagnosed my mom’s furnace correctly. They were not interested in my proof to the contrary or the fact that I had fixed it and it was working properly.

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/02/2023

  Good morning,

  We are reaching out to the customer to resolve the situation and will follow up next week.

   

  Thank you,

  Absolute Home Services

  Customer Answer

  Date: 11/02/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  Though they promised to “reach out” to me this past week, they did not.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** *******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 17/02/2023

  Good morning,

  Did one or both of the companies you had come in measure the CO2 levels on an analyzer and what was the reading? After the work to the air intake was completed was the reading redone and a photo taken? Can you send us pictures of both before and after?

  Thank you

   

  Customer Answer

  Date: 25/02/2023

  
  
  Complaint: ********
  
  
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  #1 The exterior exhaust CO reading is not a conclusive factor for your diagnosis that the furnace has a hole in the heat exchanger.

  #2 I did all the repairs myself.  I bought a household CO monitor and held it up to the exterior exhaust before I did the repairs (at which time the alarm went off), and after the repairs (at which time it did not go off).

  #3 This is a very painful conversation.  You seem to be putting the onus on me to prove that the heat exchanger does not have a hole in it, but the onus is on you to prove that it has a hole.  Your mistaken diagnosis is what you charged my mother for, yet you have given no conclusive proof for the diagnosis.  You seem to be saying that high exterior exhaust readings prove that the heat exchanger has a hole in it.  There can be many causes of high CO in exhaust.  I already explained that the air intake was clogged and the secondary heat exchanger was all clogged with carbon because of the air intake being clogged.  This explains why the CO readings were high when your technician made his erroneous diagnosis.

  #4 Look, your technician made a mistake.  It’s as simple as that.  Please refund my mother the charges for the mistaken diagnosis.  If you really think I’m not being honest, please come and see my mom’s furnace for yourself.  Give me a call on my cell and I’ll meet you there.  It’s really very simple: I removed a mat of debris from the air intake, then I cleaned out the secondary heat exchanger **** ******** ** *** ***** **** *** ******* **** ******) and now my mom’s furnace runs beautifully.
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** *******

  

  Business Response

  Date: 03/03/2023

  Good morning,

   

  Upon review of the information you have provided, a full refund in the amount $177.45 will be issued. Please confirm your acceptance of this resolution by responding to this email to finalize this matter.

   

  Thank you

  Customer Answer

  Date: 03/03/2023

  
  
  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.
  
  

  Thank you for the process to resolve this.

  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  
  
  ***** *******