HVAC company in Ottawa offers free furnace inspection

[wally_walrus]

Hi everyone,

So I just received this letter (my name was NOT on it just my address) in the mail that says:

"Your furnace is due for an inspection. We have recently seen an increase in the number of cracked heat exchangers installed in furnaces that are similar to yours in size / age. We are offering a free inspection with a video probe of the heat exchanger, burners, ignition, etc..."

I called and they also offer cleaning of the above for $99 (guess this is one reason they offer the free inspection).

Now I have a feeling that they will try to "find" something wrong with the furnace and convince me that I need some repair, or have it replaced. Is this commonly happening, and are there any other tricks they use? I'd like to get the cleaning, but don't want to feel pushed to do unnecessary repairs

The company is Federal Service Experts in Ottawa

TIA

[Frankie3s]

You know what they say about receiving an unsolicited offer, don't. If you are serious about getting it checked, call some places (or ask for a recommendation here on RFD) and get several quotes to have this checked and cleaned. Sure there's still a risk that you might get scammed but the risk will be lower than receiving an offer at your door.

Also, check your furnace warranty on the heat exchanger. Many of them are lifetime before you call a person out to inspect. That way if you do have a heat exchanger issue (chances are slim) you will know whether you have to pay for it or not. The manufacturers website should also contain this information as well as any recall information regarding your furnace.

[Pete_Coach]

About 5 years ago a letter like this was sent around Blackburn hamlet in the Ottawa area. Dozens of furnaces were found to have cracks in them and the "inspector" immediatley condemned and the folks were without heat. They had no choice but to get a new furnace from, guess who?
These scams only occur in the winter when you cannot do without heat and have no opportunity to get a second opinion.
My advice, don't do it. If you truly have concerns, pay someone to come in and do a cleaning and inspection. pay someone who has been in buisness in your area for many years, they cannot afford to get bad publicity and a bad reputation if they want to be around fr many more years.

[SpillOnAisle9]

I got an $800 surprise when I had my gas furnace repaired last month.

I woke up one day with a cold house. The furnace was starting but would
stop after a few minutes and then start again. It was never on long enough
to build up heat.

So I called Sears Clean-Air in to look at it. The tech replaced a flame sensor
but it still kept on cutting out. Eventually both the control board and the
flame sensor needed to be fixed ... about $900 worth of work

And now the surprise!

While he's looking at the furnace he sees that the venting pipe is ABS plastic
(the black stuff...I might have them mixed up here). Well apparently this
was ok 11 years ago when the house was built but is now illegal. So he
tagged it and I got a nice registered letter saying my gas would be shut
off if it was not replaced within 90 days.

For all you folks saying "they can't shut your gas off during the winter"...you
would be half-right. They can shut it off any time for a safety concern. They
can't shut it off during the winter for non-payment.

So the guys came for a followup visit and that cost me another $800 to
replace the ABS with PVC (or vice-versa :o...they switched the black pipe
to white)

If they just doing an inspection/cleaning they won't tag you....but if they have
to do a repair as they did in my case...I got tagged :(

[wally_walrus]

About 5 years ago a letter like this was sent around Blackburn hamlet in the Ottawa area. Dozens of furnaces were found to have cracks in them and the "inspector" immediatley condemned and the folks were without heat. They had no choice but to get a new furnace from, guess who?
These scams only occur in the winter when you cannot do without heat and have no opportunity to get a second opinion.
My advice, don't do it. If you truly have concerns, pay someone to come in and do a cleaning and inspection. pay someone who has been in buisness in your area for many years, they cannot afford to get bad publicity and a bad reputation if they want to be around fr many more years.



Thanks for your advice!

The letter was sent from the company that apparently installed the furnace in my house 17 years ago - Dearie Contracting. It looks like they were bought out by Federal Service Experts, and these guys will do the inspection. So they were in business for a good number of years, before they were bought out. What attracts me to this is the "video probe" inspection (more accurate than a visual inspection?), CO testing on all house levels, burner and all safety controls inspection. Maybe I should wait for warmer weather to get a more honest opinion :)

Thanks again

[Frankie3s]

I got an $800 surprise when I had my gas furnace repaired last month.

I woke up one day with a cold house. The furnace was starting but would
stop after a few minutes and then start again. It was never on long enough
to build up heat.

So I called Sears Clean-Air in to look at it. The tech replaced a flame sensor
but it still kept on cutting out. Eventually both the control board and the
flame sensor needed to be fixed ... about $900 worth of work

And now the surprise!

While he's looking at the furnace he sees that the venting pipe is ABS plastic
(the black stuff...I might have them mixed up here). Well apparently this
was ok 11 years ago when the house was built but is now illegal. So he
tagged it and I got a nice registered letter saying my gas would be shut
off if it was not replaced within 90 days.

For all you folks saying "they can't shut your gas off during the winter"...you
would be half-right. They can shut it off any time for a safety concern. They
can't shut it off during the winter for non-payment.

So the guys came for a followup visit and that cost me another $800 to
replace the ABS with PVC (or vice-versa :o...they switched the black pipe
to white)

If they just doing an inspection/cleaning they won't tag you....but if they have
to do a repair as they did in my case...I got tagged :(


They must've replaced it with ABS. Honestly, I didn't think there was much of a difference but,

"Unfortunately, the material used in PVC pipe appears to be detrimental to a person's health and safety. Reported cases of PVC pipe shattering when used with high-pressured gases have increased drastically. The Federal Government has issued safety warnings, which strongly recommend using alternative piping material. In addition, the heavy metals used to create PVC pipe can leach out when heated. The vapors emitted from the heated PVC pipe are now being linked to certain forms of cancer, especially lung cancer."

Whereas

"ABS pipe when properly installed, can withstand loads of soil, under slab foundations and high surface loads without collapse, cracking or denting."...
"ABS pipe offers excellent chemical resistance in many applications. It is resistant to any solution of ammonium chloride, calcium chloride or sodium hydroxide, all of which are corrosive to many metals. ABS pipe is also unaffected by water, aqueous salt solutions, mineral acids and alkalis."

Sources:
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-pvc-pipe.htm
http://www.ppfahome.org/abs/faqabs.html

Still, that was one hell of a bill!

[JAC]

According to the GoC:

http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/residential/personal/gas-propane-furnaces.cfm?attr=4

High-efficiency Condensing Gas Furnaces

The flue gas temperature is low enough for the gases to be vented through a PVC or ABS plastic pipe out the side wall of the house.


Standard-efficiency gas furnace with induced draft fan

These systems can be vented through a chimney or out the side wall of the house using high-grade stainless steel. Some problems have been associated with the use of high-temperature plastic vent pipes with standard-efficiency furnaces. Regulations may forbid the use of certain vent materials in your area. You should discuss all options with your local serviceperson, approvals agency or gas utility.

[Whitedart]

Thanks for your advice!

The letter was sent from the company that apparently installed the furnace in my house 17 years ago - Dearie Contracting. It looks like they were bought out by Federal Service Experts, and these guys will do the inspection. So they were in business for a good number of years, before they were bought out. What attracts me to this is the "video probe" inspection (more accurate than a visual inspection?), CO testing on all house levels, burner and all safety controls inspection. Maybe I should wait for warmer weather to get a more honest opinion :)

A CO detector on each floor of the house would not hurt.

But ask whether they will do the furnace inspection in the spring once the weather warms up. If the reply is that it is a limited time offer, during the colder months only, they are expecting to find something wrong with the furnace being 17 years old.

[wally_walrus]

A CO detector on each floor of the house would not hurt.

But ask whether they will do the furnace inspection in the spring once the weather warms up. If the reply is that it is a limited time offer, during the colder months only, they are expecting to find something wrong with the furnace being 17 years old.

This is exactly what I'm going to do :) Thanks for the advice!

[MacGyver]

I got an $800 surprise when I had my gas furnace repaired last month.

While he's looking at the furnace he sees that the venting pipe is ABS plastic
(the black stuff...I might have them mixed up here). Well apparently this
was ok 11 years ago when the house was built but is now illegal. So he
tagged it and I got a nice registered letter saying my gas would be shut
off if it was not replaced within 90 days.


According to TSSA, the old piping was fine. http://www.tssa.org/CorpLibrary/ArticleFileMain.asp?Instance=136&ID=65F7D6EDE0924C4CA862752B71C8168D

Unless the entire appliance was replaced, the old piping could have remained. Looks like you got ripped off. :(

[Pete_Coach]

Thanks for your advice!

The letter was sent from the company that apparently installed the furnace in my house 17 years ago - Dearie Contracting. It looks like they were bought out by Federal Service Experts, and these guys will do the inspection. So they were in business for a good number of years, before they were bought out. What attracts me to this is the "video probe" inspection (more accurate than a visual inspection?), CO testing on all house levels, burner and all safety controls inspection. Maybe I should wait for warmer weather to get a more honest opinion :)
Thanks again
They are not the same company, they have been bought out, their policies will be different as will the sales tactics. I would be more wary of them now.
Video probe is not the be all end all.You still have to take their word for it because, do you really know what to look for and what a fault looks like? Like one poster said, get a CO Detector instead.
Yes, wait till it is warmer and in the mean time look for someone and get on their annual inspection/insurance program, then, if the exchanger does crack, it will be paid by the insurance. This kind of thing can cost $150 to $189 per year and every year you will have peace of mind.

[nornet]

I got an $800 surprise when I had my gas furnace repaired last month.

I woke up one day with a cold house. The furnace was starting but would
stop after a few minutes and then start again. It was never on long enough
to build up heat.

So I called Sears Clean-Air in to look at it. The tech replaced a flame sensor
but it still kept on cutting out. Eventually both the control board and the
flame sensor needed to be fixed ... about $900 worth of work

And now the surprise!

While he's looking at the furnace he sees that the venting pipe is ABS plastic
(the black stuff...I might have them mixed up here). Well apparently this
was ok 11 years ago when the house was built but is now illegal. So he
tagged it and I got a nice registered letter saying my gas would be shut
off if it was not replaced within 90 days.

For all you folks saying "they can't shut your gas off during the winter"...you
would be half-right. They can shut it off any time for a safety concern. They
can't shut it off during the winter for non-payment.

So the guys came for a followup visit and that cost me another $800 to
replace the ABS with PVC (or vice-versa :o...they switched the black pipe
to white)

If they just doing an inspection/cleaning they won't tag you....but if they have
to do a repair as they did in my case...I got tagged :(

I believe they can can tag you for anything whatever the reason for being onsite. In my case they were going to tag the water heater venting after being called in for a furnace issue. The technician called his supervisor to make sure that the venting was not to code and it turned out it was so no tag.

[SpillOnAisle9]

According to TSSA, the old piping was fine. http://www.tssa.org/CorpLibrary/ArticleFileMain.asp?Instance=136&ID=65F7D6EDE0924C4CA862752B71C8168D

Unless the entire appliance was replaced, the old piping could have remained. Looks like you got ripped off. :(

OMG :mad: Thanks for that link....Do you think there's any way I can
dispute the charge on my Credit Card? since the service was delivered. I
gotta scream at somebody from Sears

[SpillOnAisle9]

:arrowu:

Update. The TSSA doocument is correct...the standard is not retroactive.
I called (and screamed) at Sears and they put me in touch with the tech.

I was under the impression that he tagged me and switched the venting
just because he had done other maintenance on the furnace. In fact he
tagged me because one of the joints had cracked and was leaking water back
into the furnace and rusting out the the venter motor....which is bad.

The standard says they cannot repair the plastic...it must be replaced with
the heavier stuff. So what he did was proper and within code.

Sure got my blood-pressure up for the day though :o

So check your black venting and the area it enters the furnace for rust or
moisture. If there is any and they come in to do anything else....they
will tag you and the black (ABS?) tubing will have to be replaced.

[nornet]

Wow SpillOnAisle9 take a pill. Try and learn not to scream at people when it's not they are at fault. Sure maybe someone in the company screwed up but I'm sure the CR wasn't out to get you. It will help your BP.

[SpillOnAisle9]

:arrowu:

Point taken....A bit of hyperbole about the screaming BTW...but it did bring
my blood-pressure up a bit when I thought I had been ripped-off $800

[MacGyver]

I was under the impression that he tagged me and switched the venting just because he had done other maintenance on the furnace. In fact he tagged me because one of the joints had cracked and was leaking water back into the furnace and rusting out the the venter motor....which is bad.
Hopefully they're not just saying that to cover their sorry backside. Was that defect documented in any of the paperwork they gave you?

[SpillOnAisle9]

They didn't really need to say it but it is....I was with him the whole time
and he showed me the rust and the water in the pan below the venter
motor. My problem this morning arose because of mis-connected memory
that linked the other stuff he did (flame sensor, control board) to the
need for replacing the venting pipe.

[stuntman]

A video inspection and CO testing?
Those are things I would want, but, all the companies charged extra for doing them.

Since they are being so thorough they may find more than the average inspection and be right in shutting off the heat.

I would say go for it, but first do a bit of research on furnaces and get a few quotes; check up on the company with consumer groups. If they condemn it you can choose anyone you want to replace the unit or even the same company. AND if they do condemn it get it rechecked by another company or a copy of the proof just in case they are scammers.


Stuntman

[wally_walrus]

A video inspection and CO testing?
Those are things I would want, but, all the companies charged extra for doing them.

Since they are being so thorough they may find more than the average inspection and be right in shutting off the heat.

I would say go for it, but first do a bit of research on furnaces and get a few quotes; check up on the company with consumer groups. If they condemn it you can choose anyone you want to replace the unit or even the same company. AND if they do condemn it get it rechecked by another company or a copy of the proof just in case they are scammers.


Stuntman



I finally got around and called to take them up on the offer. To my surprise they still offered to do the free inspection, so I booked and had it done. The guy seemed to thoroughly check everything, and yes he DID use a video probe to inspect the heat exchanger (no cracks whatsoever - hooray!)

In the end there was a bit of confusion over whether it was free but I showed him the letter, he called his office and everything was good.

If anyone is interested in the east end of Ottawa, give Federal Service Experts a call at 613-723-2984, tell them you received a letter about a free inspection (and do it before the cold weather comes in, so you can shop around should you need to replace yours)

Cheers,