I was cold called and offered $39.95 per unit to clean and service/winterize my furnace and add something that will help keep bacteria out of our vents make it healthier for our family then for another $20 they would take care of the second furnace for a total of $59.95. It was scheduled for a friday morning four days in the future. No problems with our furnace and no gas smells at all in the attic as I was going in/out bc of Christmas decorations etc... I was in the attic the evening before the service call and it smelled just fine up there. On the morning they came I was not at home and they called my husband upstairs to have him smell this overwhelming gas smell in the attic. Of course with three children in the home this served to frighten him and he agreed to the $1600 repair for both furnaces b/c we all know how very dangerous a gas leak can be and then add to that how overwhelming the gas smell was. After agreeing and signing the work order my husband spoke with me and I voiced my concern b/c I had been in the attic the evening before and found it extremely odd that this problem came up when they arrived for regular maintenance that I didn't initiate. Further questioning how costly the repair was, the convenience of the leak happening at the time they came and it didn't happen the evening before when I was in the attic and the unlikelihood that it would happen at the same time for both units. Also, that as seasoned professionals they didn't offer a second opinion, shutting down the gas and allowing us to call the gas company or anything like that. They simply played on his fear as a father.in retrospect, they could have easily allowed some gas into the attic and then called him up as he didn't go up with them when they initially arrived but when they called him to the attic it was a very strong smell. The kind of smell that when the work was done and they had flushed the gas out of the attic and it had been a period of time for me to drive home, question what happened and then go to the attic I could smell it just from him pulling the ladder down from the ceiling. They wanted to take my faulty parts with them, wouldn't take credit card and while they were polite the whole thing just stinks. One of the two service men told me he has been with the company for 19 years and is a police officer while his partner has worked for them for 12 years. If it happens to you... Have them shut the gas off and call the gas company and definitely get a second opinion. Or, better yet don't agree to the "cold call" offer of service.
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