ComplaintsforBrickliners Corp.

• Initial Complaint

  03/28/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Rental property had a chimney that was leaking.Contacted Brickliner and they gave an estimate of repair for $4375.The work was completed in November of 2023, guaranteed for ten years.In March tenant again complained that the same leak was still occurring.Brickliners came out to reevaluate at my request When I contacted the company, they said that the first tech to come out was new and had missed another $5057 in work that needed to be done.He explained that I should have gotten an inspection, not an estimate, and that would have caught all the problems.I never specified inspection or estimate, wouldn't have known the difference. I just asked them to come fix the problem.The leak is exactly the same as the first time, making me suspect the initial repair did nothing to change it. Was the first repair actually necessary at all?If I had known that the repair was going to double in cost to actually complete the work required I would have gone with a different company. This seems like a bait-and-switch, low-balling an estimate and then doubling the price once they're in.I would like them to honor their guarantee and complete the work, or refund the previous work done.

  Business response

  06/03/2024

  To Whom it may concern:
  The following is some correspondence and  emails that we had with ***************, the dates of work and the work completed.
    
  We did the flash seal repair on 4-17-24 at no charge The only other thing billed and done was the roof access and full point.
  
  Oldest email:
  
  Dear ***************,
  *** reached out to me as it sounds like your conversation(s) with him have stalled. I would like to hear your side of the story as well.  Attempting to view from your shoes, I would imagine the continued chimney leak is frustrating as well as being provided with another suggested repair. This is certainly not the impression we want to provide our customers and is not a way to conduct a successful business over the past two decades.  I looked into our history with you and it looks like you had us out for an estimate in late August of 2023.  As much as we would have preferred to get the repairs done with cooperative weather, our schedule, staffing, and weather were not cooperative. The repointing of the chimney was able to be performed as the temperatures/weather for repointing are a bit easier than the installation of the Flashseal.  Brickliners was back on site this year as the leak issue hasn't been resolved as we await the weather for a successful Flashseal repair/install.  I believe that *** was trying to find other culprits for the water entry issue in case this wasn't just an exterior chimney condition issue.  At that time he noticed deficiencies with the venting system and recommended a repair for that issue.  If we had performed an inspection at the start, likely, all of the recommendations would've been in one estimate.  Not to say the flash seal would've gotten completed sooner, but you certainly wouldn't have the feeling that every time we look at the chimney more recommendations are intow.   I am unclear how the aforementioned constitutes a call to the BBB as we are waiting for the weather to be conducive for the remainder of the recommended repairs (Flashseal).   If easier to discuss over the phone I will make myself available anytime during the work week.   The office will be reminded to put this at the top of the list to get back on site and finish the originally estimated repairs. I look forward to getting the chimney **** remedied ASAP and to your perspective on how this situation can/could've been handled differently.   
  Thanks, **** and have a great rest of your day.
  
   March 29th my first email to him April 10th Carls first email to me April 10th I responded to his email in email
  
  Newest Email:
  
  Good afternoon ****,
  Thanks for the email. I greatly appreciate your feedback, recount of the events and your perspective.   Im sure the office staff could do a better job of explaining options for the appointment. **** was in the midst of getting his CSIA certification though did not have it at the time you all met.   If an inspection was scheduled *** would've been the one to do the service.   That aside, I would like to move forward with us installing the flashseal early next week (Monday/Tuesday afternoon) as the weather looks great for this scope of repair. I/we will not charge for roof access (again or for future repairs) nor charge for the flashseal repair.   Id like to give a bit in this equation to rebuild confidence in our relationship by taking this next step on our dollar.   If satisfied with the results, we can further discuss other repairs.  My experience says the flashseal will stop the majority of water entry you are experiencing, if not, at least you aren't paying for the flashseal and we know the next repair steps from there.   Let me know  if agreeable and or if you have questions.   I have already asked ****** to reach out to you to schedule the aforementioned for early next week.
  Thanks **** and have a great rest of your day!
  
  In closing:
  Brickliners will always do what we can to keep a customer happy and satisfied with our work.  In this situation, our first technician that was sent out was not aware that he needed to do an inspection.  Also, he was not certified to do an inspection, so we would have had to send out a different tech that was certified.  He provided an estimate to repair a leaky chimney and then the weather was not cooperative enough to finish the job before winter set in.  When we went back in the Spring, we did further investigation and found that *************** needed a chimney liner because his flues were failing so we gave him an estimate for that, and it had nothing to do with the leak.  This is where **************** feels as though we increased the price on the original job when in fact it was a separate issue that would have been found if we were called out to do an inspection.  We tried to work with **************** to complete the work, even providing free services for him to make up for the communication errors.  We are still willing to work with **************** and do whatever it takes to make things right in his mind.  
  
  Sincerely,
  *************************
  
  
  *************************
  Owner/President
  Brickliners Corp.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩