Ripped off on furnace repair (heater, appliance, installed, plumber)
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You have an old system.
You called the tech on Saturday then went on-line and found what you think will fix the dino. Now you are up in arms as the tech did not pull the parts out of his hat on Saturday afternoon and plan to let him do the job you agreed to then short change him.
You knew that you would be out of heat via source one. Living in your area you have no plan B?
If the guy who came out knew what he was getting into, he would have left you sitting in the cold. He made an emergency visit on a weekend when nobody else would, gave you two options, and will have it fixed within 48 hours only to have you rip him off.
If you have any inclination to do what's right, cancel payment on the check, pay him for the visit, and get somebody else to do it for your price. Otherwise, you're the rip-off artist.
You might want to stock up on long johns though, your house is going to be cold for a while.
My oil furnace died in the middle of the night last night. Of course this happens on a saturday with temps between 20-30 all night and day.
Found a local repair guy that came out saturday afternoon. Says the transformer is bad, and doesn't have any. Said it would cost about $500, on monday. He recommends replacing the burner for $1100, as the burner is 20 years old, again for monday. I agree as it seemed like a good idea for an extra $600 I'd have a new burner that should last for years and is likely more efficient.
After he left I did some research and found that the transformer could be bought online for about $50. Then I see the exact burner he wants to install for $425. So unless this company gets $400 an hour for labor, the prices he quoted me were outrageous.
What really makes me angry is that he left us without heat for the rest of the weekend, when he could have got a new transformer from a supply place that was still open, even though he told me they were closed, and repaired it at a proper cost of about $250.
To top it off, I gave him a check for half as deposit so he could pick up the part by monday. After learning what I did about the prices and how he lied about everything, my head is about to explode.
I don't know what to do at this point. If I cancel they'll give me some BS about how they purchased the part already. I don't want to lose $600. If I let them go through with the repair I'd be paying probably double what the job should cost.
I checked online at the BBB, and for any complaints about the company. But they came up clean. The guy who came was a technician, not the owner.
Any advice?
Thanks.
1100 is actually a good price/average. I've seen people paying 1800 in the Seattle area. A Beckett burner doesn't come with things such as a nozzle and sometimes the gasket has to be bought separately. I wouldn't go by that internet quote either, that sounds cheap. I put a new burner on a furnace 2 months ago (Beckett) and the supply house charged me $690 out the door. I cleaned up the old nozzle as it was almost new. The gasket was $18 separately, new oil filter and the clean out and setup. I don't work for free. I charged $1400.
Oil burners are super simple to work on, and if you have even basic mechanical abilities, most of the parts (as you learned) are readily available and relatively inexpensive. The labor, however, is not. Especially if you're calling a company you have no contract with on a 'no heat' call. Those always bring out the $$$ bills; it's just business.
I'm not sure why you'd replace the entire burner assembly now. The transformer going out is a common issue, especially if it's the new electronic ones, but the burner should be good enough to wait until a later date (Summer) when you can call around and get multiple quotes when the oil techs aren't as busy.
Do a search on Youtube for steven lavimoniere. He has tons of videos on servicing oil burners and some down-in-the-trenches tips.
OP don't have the protection plan that costs about 10 bucks a month?
Had my motor burn out a week ago. Called and technician arrived a little after noon the next day, Sunday. Went and got replacement part from their warehouse and 4 hours later we had heat again. The plan is well worth it. And even if I not use it every 5 years, I'd rather out out 10 bucks each month, versus the 800 bucks he said this woulda cost me outta pocket.
Inflated repair costs could also be because this was an "emergency" call perhaps and it's a weekend.
Oh and you should consider changing over from oil to gas IMO
Gosh....
Our town has two local family owned furnace repair. Love their mantras... your furnace runs 24/7...and so do we! Sure they have maint. Contracts....but most folks trust these two families ...and know it's done right and fairly. If they can't get it running they give you apparatus's to keep your pipes from freezing.. that's how much they want your business. 65$ /labor...day or night plus part cost. All we need do is call our plumbing/heating supplier and they confirm the part price. I recall one part costing a whole $4.79. The guy said...just cuz it sounded like a serious part..didn't mean the price was going to seriously dent ya. They honor honest pricing. Kinda feel bad for these big company franchise ones...constantly worried about hitting their quotas and markups....not exactly repeat or loyal ..
Got a lot of respect for these tradesmen and small family business. .
The oil seller doesn't do service, and the service company doesn't sell oil. The place I buy oil is way cheaper than anyplace that does both around me.
Maybe this choice didn't end up saving you that much after all.
I buy oil from one place and have service from another. The oil seller doesn't do service, and the service company doesn't sell oil. The place I buy oil is way cheaper than anyplace that does both around me.
Do you have a service contract or do you just call and request service on a pay as you go basis?
Oh and you should consider changing over from oil to gas IMO
Gas is only an option if it is already in the neighborhood. I grew up with a major gas pipeline about 200 yards from my house but no one in the area had gas because they couldn't (or wouldn't) run off it for local service. The closest local service was 10 miles away. Right now the closes gas service to me is about a mile away but no plans to hook our neighborhood up.
If the guy who came out knew what he was getting into, he would have left you sitting in the cold. He made an emergency visit on a weekend when nobody else would, gave you two options, and will have it fixed within 48 hours only to have you rip him off.
If you have any inclination to do what's right, cancel payment on the check, pay him for the visit, and get somebody else to do it for your price. Otherwise, you're the rip-off artist.
You might want to stock up on long johns though, your house is going to be cold for a while.
I was going to cancel the check, but it doesn't cancel until one business day after the stop is placed, which is ridiculous today with mobile deposits.
And if I cancel now, I know I'm going to have a hard time getting that deposit back, the guy lied about everything he said yesterday, I have no reason to trust him.
I have four electric heaters and a wood burning stove going, so the house is surprisingly warm.
I think what i may do is when he shows up just take the burner from him and tell him to go away. The burner is around $500, plus the the service call, comes out close to the deposit I gave him, so we'd be even. I don't want this dirt bag in my house. I really despise people that try to take advantage of others.
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