ComplaintsforAshbusters Chimney Service, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  03/26/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received a quote from AshBusters 12/2/2023 for chimney repair that consisted of many things adding up to the $12k. We decided we needed the work done and that we would do the financing option they offered at the time of the estimate. A couple weeks went by and the business reached out to me saying there were documents from the funding bank that needed to be filled out, we immediately signed off on the paperwork and proceeded to schedule something for them to come out. They came out on 2/22 and 2/23 and "completed" the work or so they say. A couple days later a text message from the bank was received asking to release the funds to AshBusters which I agreed to. Wife called the contractor to ask why only one flue was capped if there are two and they knew it was an issue because water was going in through it. They replied with they only quoted for one which is understandable but still upsetting die to the fact that they know and specialize on chimney repairs. Then on 3/22 we lit the fireplace because we has snow in ********* and we wanted to use our freshly fixed and ready to use according to the contractor. Well the whole house started smelling a lot like smoke and we ended up turning the fire off and opening windows because we did not want to run the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning or have the house catch fire. I called immediately that day to schedule someone to come out and I got directed to voicemail. A voicemail was left and I have not received a call back. I attempted to call again 3 more times before trying to schedule something online as they suggest on their answering machine. To my surprise, the website state "permanently closed" and then I realized that this is why they have not returned my calls. I don't want to be stuck paying $12k for work that was not done correctly and it puts me and my family at risk of fires and carbon monoxide poisoning which is not safe at all to say the least. I found that they do have an office in ********* .

  

  Business response

  04/06/2024

  I have received and read the complaint. We have shut down that branch office. It is also a separate business with a separate LLC. Does this complaint still need to be answered through Ashbusters in **?

   

  thank you 

  

  Business response

  04/10/2024

  I will research the complaint and respond by first of next week. 
  yes, the office was closed down 30 days ago in ********** 
  It is a separate entity from the Ashbusters in ********** 
  

  

  Business response

  04/10/2024

  I will research the complaint and respond by first of next week. 
  yes, the office was closed down 30 days ago in ********** 
  It is a separate entity from the Ashbusters in ********** 
  

  Customer response

  04/10/2024

   
  Complaint: 21489319
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  The office received my initial complaint on Feb. 23rd, before the company closed its offices in *********. The job was completed on 2/23/2024 as well. They knew they were closing and ignored to do the job right. I asked and questioned the cap not being installed and called and was not resolved. The business closed without resolving any of my concerns and after reciving funds from the lender. I need the issue resolved and the missing cap installed and a warranty on the products and labor in writing.  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  *************************

• Initial Complaint

  06/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a fireplace insert from Ashbusters in October, 2021. It was installed in January 2022. We paid $8500 for it. Selling point by Ashbusters was an available 26% tax credit. During tax time I found that the insert did not qualify. I've lost a $2260 credit because of false advertising. **** ******, owner, said he'd make it right when I called him about this in April, 2022. He has not. His employee, ****, advised me on May 2 to file for the credit even without the required IRS certificate of eligibility. I responded that I wasn't willing to accept the risk of an IRS audit and asked for an acceptable resolution to the issue. I've never heard back from ****. My last correspondence was June 8 to **** asking for a settlement before going to the BBB. I've heard nothing since then.We been a Ashbuster's customer for several years and have spent over $5k in chimney cleaning and repairs during that time. Weve never had a problem with them before this incident.I will forward email correspondence referenced in this complaint, if desired.

  

  Business response

  09/14/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/06/29) */ In response to Mr. ***** complaint, When we were consulting him on the purchase of the ******* brand stove, we were told by the manufacturer that the unit did qualify for the 2022 EPA tax credit. once the stove was installed and Mr. **** asked for the tax credit information, the manufacturer stated that the unit actually missed the EPA standard by 1% on the efficiency test and they were not going to retest the unit that Mr. **** bought. They to told us to tell him to go ahead and customer would apply for the credit with the stove because they felt the customer would still get the tax credit. Mr. **** was not comfortable doing what the manufacturer's stated to do. We offered to give him a free sweep and inspection on the unit for the next two years ($620 value) and he agreed to this arrangement. I did not know that he did not want to file for the credit and believed that our offer for free service was a good solution for the issue. This problem was not due to anything that we had control over. Mr. **** has been a good customer and seems like a very reasonable person. The issue is the loss of potential tax credit. 0 Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2022/07/01) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I'm not sure I understand since when a distributor won't stand behind his manufacturer's product or at least press them for an adequate solution. Applying for an IRS tax credit without the required certification is not a good solution. By the way, the cleaning given to us was not due to the tax credit but because the door hinge on the insert was bent or not put in the proper location by the manufacturer. Business Response /* (4000, 16, 2022/09/12) */ The question was "Since when does a manufacturer not stand behind their product or claims". I can't tell you the answer to that but that's what I'm being told by the sales rep. Since this isn't a tax refund and it's a tax credit. Did the lack of documentation actually cost the customer this amount? As far as the two years of free service, I was told by the person that offered it from our company that it was in reference to the issues regarding the EPA certification. I do know that we had an issue with the manufacturers hinge on the door as well so there may have been some overlap or misunderstanding in that offer.

• Initial Complaint

  11/05/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Chimney repair work began Feb. 2020. * Install cerfactory sealant in 2 chimneys (smoke chambers & flues) * Build a custom chimney cap * installation of the cap * lowering the upstairs firebox * installing a lentil * remove & replacing crown. I prepaid 50% of the invoice up front. They came out & "completed" the job and invoiced me. I looked into the chimneys & the sealant was sparsely installed and most of it was peeling & dropping off. They tried 3 times, each time it was a different excuse. The last excuse was the chimneys were too moist. They "whipped" out the product and I had my roofer come out & "water test" the roof around the chimney. He sprayed copious amounts of water over & over on the roof, around the chimney, cricket, & flashing and did not find where water was getting in. However, he re-worked the flashing and caulk. I waterproofed the exterior. So, for almost a year there was no sealant inside my chimney. In August of this year, they started sending me "past due" invoices for $6801. I call the office & they acted like they did not know I did not have that product in my chimney. I agreed to let them come back out. They said they would moisture test 1st. Installer came out and again applied products but did not apply per manufacturer specs though the installer said that's the best he could do. He tried again and said he was finished & they billed me again. I asked the office if they had completed the job & they said yes. I sent the owner photos & he said it looked like more product needed o be applied in some areas & still looked like there was moisture. They have been out 5 times. Each time they said job was complete leaving me to believe I had a safe chimney. It is not. I prepaid $4801 but only received $3692 in product that is somewhat correct. I want to be reimbursed $1109 for the cerfactory product that is not installed properly & they have not been able to install properly. I don't trust their work & this is a safety issue.

  

  Business response

  12/08/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 11, 2021/11/29) */ BBB Case ******** ******* ******** In January of 2020 we were asked to provide an estimate to repair a leaking chimney at *** ****** **** Dr. for ******* ********. The chimney had a lot of damaged mortar and had been leaking for a very long time. She did not hire us to repair the exterior brick work or the roof flashing which there also appeared to be areas of leaking as well. We provided an estimate of $11,602 on 1/29/2020 to repair the areas of the chimney where we found internal damage, install a chimney cap and concrete crown under it and to prepare the fireplace for use. (See Document #1) Ms. ******** paid an initial deposit of $4801. We began work on 2/17/2020 - we completed the majority of the interior flue and smoke chamber work as well as the demo for the fireplace (See Document #2) At that time, we did not realize or take into account that the home was not heated and we believe our product froze before the moisture could escape from the coatings that we had applied. On 2/29/2020 we returned to install the large chimney cap, lowered the height of the fireplace and poured the concrete crown (See Document #3,4,5) The job was completed on this day and Ms. ******** still owed the balance of the job which was $6801. We received a call that the chimney cap that we installed was sitting crooked from the road and the sealant that we applied to the inside of the chimney was peeling off. We had still not been paid the balance of the job but we set a date to return and fix the issues. On 4/24/2020 we returned and straightened the chimney cap, repoured the concrete crown and re-applied the smoke chamber spray , This is where we realized the material must have frozen on our initial application in February. See Document #6,7,8) once he finished the spray, the technician felt like he needed to come back one more time to apply some of the smoke chamber repair material by hand, paint the flue tiles and the chimney cap screws brown for a better finished look. We instructed our technician to collect payment at the time of service but Ms. ******** was not there) This began a series of schedules and reschedules to try to return and complete the hand "parging" of the lower smoke chamber. (See Documents #9 - 10) We were finally able to come back to Ms. ********* home in August 2020 and by that time the previous smoke chamber repair had failed again. When we heard this, the only issue that we could figure was that water was still getting into the structure so we performed a moisture reading test on the brick and found that the brick and smoke chamber were still holding 15-20% moisture. We recommended not re-applying the smoke chamber material to a wet chimney until the chimney was not getting wet. (See Documents #11-12) Ms. ******** had the chimney worked on by another contractor and called to have us return to apply the smoke chamber repair again. on 10/25/2021 we returned to re-apply the smoke chamber and chimney flue material (Heatshield) for a third time. (See Document #13) Shortly after this final repair trip I received an email stating that we had not applied the product thick enough in areas according to the manufacturer . The manufacturer recommends a certain thickness of 1" for achieve "zero Clearance" to wood combustibles. Ms ******** doesn't have any wood combustibles in the smoke chamber, she just had holes that needed to be filled, which we did. See Documents #14 original smoke chamber , then 15,16 after material applied by hand) (See document email Letter #17) I offered to return for one more coat now that the material was adhering and smooth to add more material to the area that she felt was thin. This would take about 2 hours and I believed that this would be the final remedy needed. (See Document #18) She wrote a final letter that she did not want me to come out for a final coating (See Document #19) At this point Ms. ******** has still not paid her balance to us of $6801. As you can see we did have a product failure issue that we worked on multiple times to resolve, We feel that we finally were able to get the product to stick but Ms. ******** does not want us to finalize the repair. I am willing to remove the smoke chamber repair charge of $1265 from the final bill if she will pay the balance of $5536 Thank you Consumer Response /* (3000, 13, 2021/12/02) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I do not accept their response. See attached document. Business Response /* (4000, 15, 2021/12/02) */ The first smoke chamber repair was only to fill holes and voids. So we so rested the material. It is not the Chamber Safe Product that she is using her installation instructions from. We we not trying to protect anything due to a clearance to combustibles issue, which is why you need to put Chamber Safe on at a 1" thickness. That was nit the product we used initially and not the reason to fill the holes That being said, I'm not going to charge her for any of the snake chamber work on the lower floor. We are requesting payment for all of the other work that was done and she has agreed to pay for. Consumer Response /* (3000, 20, 2021/12/06) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I do not agree to pay any of the cerfactory linings. They are not correct per manufacturer, not safe & I do not agree to have Ashbusters back for any other work including inspections which warranties the products. I agreed to pay for following & requesting a refund of $1,109.00: Chimney cap: $1,465.00 Installation of the cap: 227.00 Lowering the upstairs firebox & installing a lentil: $1,350.00 Removing & replacing crown: $ 650.00 $3,692.00 total (4,801.00)pre-paid -1,109 refund req See attached additional supporting docs Business Response /* (4000, 22, 2021/12/07) */ I stand by my earlier response. The cerfractory resurfacing of the chimney flues is not an issue and has a lifetime warranty with annual inspections. She is confusing two products installation requirements. The Heatsheild resurfacing is applied at 3/16th of an inch thickness. She owes for all of the work except the one smoke chamber that has been an issue. I will be pursuing legal action if the balance is not received at my office in 10 days. Ms ******** is just trying to avoid paying us what she owes.

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