This is the straight story of a local heating company and their fraudulent scam attempt. I'll begin by saying the company is GATS Heating Co. Out of Glenview, IL. Remember the name and pass it along!!!
I'm sure it's pretty common; but if they were so bold as to try with me, I'm certain it's happening all the time. The problem is that I'm certain this happens to many people that are elderly and/or have less opportunity to ask for a second opinion.
I called them out to have a serviceman do an annual cleaning and look at a problem I was having with my heating. The details are unimportant, except for the fact that the guy who came out (He'd actually been out before-in prior years with no problems) looked at my problem and tried to convince me that I had a dangerous situation in that the Heat Exchanger was cracked. He showed me some aspect of how the flame was being blown by the fan (The furnace did work - but not properly) as proof that this was the case. He also stated that I should know that carbon monoxide might be getting pushed into the house. This was stated in spite of the fact that I have a CO detector clearly in sight next to the furnace room. There have never been any readings above zero. He wrote in his report that we should be careful to sleep with the windows cracked in the bedroom if the heat was to be on.
The long and short of his message was that either I should have the Heat Exchanger changed out at about $1000 or get a new furnace for about $3000. The new furnace option probably made more sense, since the furnace was 15 years old or more. This was a point he got back to me on the next day having "researched" the serial number. The actual age of the furnace is closer to 13 years old - as I found out later. Not a big deal, but incorrect, just the same.
I was afraid and upset that I'd be stupid not to spend the $3000; but after all, we're talking about the safety of my family.
Unlike most people that might have been handed this bad news, I thought that maybe I'd get a second opinion. I have a friend who's a home inspector who looked at the furnace and he convinced me to get another Heating company out to look...
The second guy (different company - ELM Heating) took no more than 5 minutes to look at my problem and recognize a common issue. Another 10 minutes, and the problem was fixed. The furnace is running perfectly and I saved $3000 (sort of).
The bottom line is that I want you all to pass along the name of GATS Heating (in Glenview) and make them suffer a bit (at the very least).
I filed a report with the Better Business Bureau, and expect to hear back before the end of the year. Those of you in Real Estate, Fire Service or otherwise should spread this story as far as you can. Feel Free to use my name. But don't EVER use GATS!!!
Have a warm Holiday Season!
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