Duct City

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because the company's owner, MrB***, has not provided any evidence that the work done was necessary and that the value of the work was $3,MrB [redacted] notes that his technicians are forbidden from stating that mold is “toxic” without lab resultsIt is purely semantics in that case, because the technicians instead used every adjective to describe toxic mold, including to tell us that it is detrimental to the health of our young daughterWhile the word “toxic” may or may not have been used, the intent was certainly to advise us that our home had toxic mold that, without remediation, would prove dangerous to our familyIt is manipulative and dishonest Furthermore, we STILL do not know, to this moment, if the mold was sent for testing (which we paid for up front but only was said to occur only after we inquired) and, if it was sent for testing, we STILL do not know what the results were of this testing (which we were told would be provided to us over a month ago) With regard to the quotes and feedback that I received over the phone from several reputable vendors, as well as industry professionals: The cost of $was the MAXIMUM quote provided for duct cleaning with the MAXIMUM amount of filth, and I will repeat myself by saying each vendor stressed that NO job costing more than $would be done without special personnel to test and diagnose the mold and/or test for asbestos, and without a remediation crew wearing hazmat gear Finally, the 20% discount offered by the company is about $The amount that we overpaid was approximately $2,Until we see that a mold test was done and until we see the results of the laboratory tests--testing that we have paid for and results which we are entitled to review--we do not choose to accept the offer of 20% reimbursement Regards, [redacted]

In response to [redacted] 's complaint, I must point out that there are some inaccuracies in her statementShe says our technician stated that she had TOXIC mold in her home, however our technicians are forbidden to say that to our clients without the presence of laboratory results, they would have no way of knowing what type of mold it is otherwiseIn doing so it would be considered rather unethical and deceivingWere there proof that this had been said, this would result in immediate termination of our employeeHowever, my staff has been with me for over years and this is the first time I receive such a complaint from a clientWe do not use "scare tactics" to obtain customers nor do we need to "scam" people out of their hard earned moneyWe do issue free estimates to our potential customers and they are under no obligation to acquire our services on the spotThey have the option to call us back if and when they are ready in order to book us for the desired service and they will be given the exact same rate which was quotedWe do encourage our potential clients to gather several estimates in order to prevent such issues from arising [redacted] states that she gathered several estimates AFTER my crew did the job, however she said she was quoted $for the cleaning of a single HVAC unit, over the phoneFirst, It is not proper to nor can it be 100% accurate that $would be the amount charged being that other factors are always taken into consideration, specially if it is a quote given over the phoneI would also like to point out that we also did MOLD REMEDIATION at her residence and considering the amount of mold she had, it is highly unlikely for any respectable company to charge $Attached you will find the before pictures which my crew took care of and I please note that had this mold issue been left unattended and escalated, it would cost even more thousands of dollars down the road to have it re-mediated We were hired for a specific service and my crew accomplished what they were hired to do, which was to eliminate mold If there are any issues regarding the work itself, and not only the prices, we are more than happy to work with our customer to remedy that situationWhen [redacted] reached out to us giving us her feedback, we did offer a 20% discount due to all her list of inconveniences, which she chose to turn down We do stand behind our work and wish to come to a mutual agreement Best Regards, Flor B [redacted] Owner Duct City [redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because the company's owner, Mr. B[redacted], has not provided any evidence that the work done was necessary and that the value of the work was $3,000. Mr. B[redacted] notes that his technicians are forbidden from stating that mold is “toxic” without lab results. It is purely semantics in that case, because the technicians instead used every adjective to describe toxic mold, including to tell us that it is detrimental to the health of our young daughter. While the word “toxic” may or may not have been used, the intent was certainly to advise us that our home had toxic mold that, without remediation, would prove dangerous to our family. It is manipulative and dishonest.
Furthermore, we STILL do not know, to this moment, if the mold was sent for testing (which we paid for up front but only was said to occur only after we inquired) and, if it was sent for testing, we STILL do not know what the results were of this testing (which we were told would be provided to us over a month ago).
With regard to the quotes and feedback that I received over the phone from several reputable vendors, as well as industry professionals: The cost of $550 was the MAXIMUM quote provided for duct cleaning with the MAXIMUM amount of filth, and I will repeat myself by saying each vendor stressed that NO job costing more than $550 would be done without special personnel to test and diagnose the mold and/or test for asbestos, and without a remediation crew wearing hazmat gear.
Finally, the 20% discount offered by the company is about $600. The amount that we overpaid was approximately $2,200. Until we see that a mold test was done and until we see the results of the laboratory tests--testing that we have paid for and results which we are entitled to review--we do not choose to accept the offer of 20% reimbursement.
Regards,
[redacted]

MAY 1 5 2014
Dear [redacted],This response it to the complaint filed against my company Duct City on the 4th of April, 2014 by a customer we received through our [redacted] special of 35/7 Rooms of Carpet Cleaning.The appointment was originally scheduled for the 4th...

of April between the hours of -12pm. The day prior to the appointment, a call from [redacted] was received to confirm the appointment was still in effect. He expressed his concern whether the carpets would be dry before his kids returned home from school. No guarantees were made by my part, but I told him would do my best to accommodate him and try to send the technician as early as possibie. hn order to satisfy our customer, I arranged for our technician to come an hour early to work and make [redacted]s residence his first stop.Upon his arrival, our technician [redacted] noticed several deep stains and simply informed [redacted] that they may not come out completely with the steam cleaning. He therefore suggested the shampoo treatment which is more effective against deep stains. He was also asked by [redacted] if he could clean the stairs instead and make it count as a room.By company policy, our employee is required to inform a supervisor of any special requests and proceeded to do so. Since the coupon clearly states it is valid for rooms, the customer was told there would be an additional charge of $3 per stair. Also, [redacted] was offered the shampoo treatment for a slight upcharge. [redacted] became enraged at both the technician and the supervisor for simply suggesting a service which was clearly optional and where a simple "NO" would have sufficed. She also refused to pay anything extra for the stairs and insisted that we make it count as a room. Not only was she demanding to receive an additional service which she had not paid for (the cleaning of the stairs), but she also began yelling obscenities against both my employee and supervisor. Once this took place, she was told we would no longer proceed with the service and that a refund would be issued to her.
Verbally abusive customers are not tolerated by my company nor by my staff. If a customer cannot treat a worker with respect and in a civilized manner, then we reserve the right to refuse our services to them. We would rather have our employees leave a potentially harmful situation than put them in any kind of risk after witnessing a customers aggresive behaviour.
[redacted]. [redacted] has cost us time, money and effort.  It also seems unfair that she accuses us of false advertising, however when she demands us to provide a service FOR FREE which is stated nowhere in the coupon she purchased, she acts our towards us and attempts to obtain a benefit by collecting the amount of $220 which never came out of her pocket to begin with. [redacted]. [redacted] has already received a refund of $79 from the [redacted] and should she continue to have any further demands, she many contact them directly. 
Attached you will find:
- A copy of the email where it confirms by a [redacted] Manager that [redacted]. [redacted] has received the full refund of he coupon she purchased ($79)
- A copy of the actual promotion, where it states the coupon is valid for ROOMS ONLY, not stairs.  It also states that the actual value of the coupon is $139, not $299 like [redacted]. [redacted] inaccurately wrote in her complaint.  And finally, in the fine print: NO CASH VALUE OR CASH BACK FOR UNUSED PORTION.
Should you have any further question please feel free to contact me at the office at ###-###-####.
Best Regards,

In response to [redacted]'s complaint, I must point out that there are some inaccuracies in her statement. She says our technician stated that she had TOXIC mold in her home, however our technicians are forbidden to say that to our clients without the presence of...

laboratory results, they would have no way of knowing what type of mold it is otherwise. In doing so it would be considered rather unethical and deceiving. Were there proof that this had been said, this would result in immediate termination of our employee. However, my staff has been with me for over 6 years and this is the first time I receive such a complaint from a client. We do not use "scare tactics" to obtain customers nor do we need to "scam" people out of their hard earned money. We do issue free estimates to our potential customers and they are under no obligation to acquire our services on the spot. They have the option to call us back if and when they are ready in order to book us for the desired service and they will be given the exact same rate which was quoted. We do encourage our potential clients to gather several estimates in order to prevent such issues from arising.
[redacted] states that she gathered several estimates AFTER my crew did the job, however she said she was quoted $550 for the cleaning of a single HVAC unit, over the phone. First, It is not proper to nor can it be 100% accurate that $550 would be the amount charged being that other factors are always taken into consideration, specially if it is a quote given over the phone. I would also like to point out that we also did MOLD REMEDIATION at her residence and considering the amount of mold she had, it is highly unlikely for any respectable company to charge $550. Attached you will find the before pictures which my crew took care of and I please note that had this mold issue been left unattended and escalated, it would cost even more thousands of dollars down the road to have it re-mediated.  
We were hired for a specific service and my crew accomplished what they were hired to do, which was to eliminate mold.   If there are any issues regarding the work itself, and not only the prices, we are more than happy to work with our customer to remedy that situation. When [redacted] reached out to us giving us her feedback, we did offer a 20% discount due to all her list of inconveniences, which she chose to turn down. 
We do stand behind our work and wish to come to a mutual agreement. 
Best Regards,
Flor B[redacted]
Owner
Duct City
[redacted]

Review: I purchased a "[redacted]" for carpet cleaning of 7 rooms. I scheduled the service 2 months in advance. The company contacted me 4 days before the scheduled date and attempted to reschedule. We said it was impossible to reschedule and they agreed to clean the carpets as scheduled on 4/4/14 between 9 and 12 on that date. They arrived at my home at 8:00 a.m. and surveyed the job. The technician stated he would not do the cleaning because the carpets had stains. It appears that the company just did not want to honor the "deal" which they had promised. They said they would refund money; we had already spent hours preparing the rooms for cleaning by moving furniture, etc. They should be sanctioned for deceptive trade practices. They should refund us the value of the deal which, by their advertising, was $299.00.Desired Settlement: Refund plus oversight of their advertising practices.

Business

Response:

MAY 1 5 2014Dear [redacted],This response it to the complaint filed against my company Duct City on the 4th of April, 2014 by a customer we received through our [redacted] special of 35/7 Rooms of Carpet Cleaning.The appointment was originally scheduled for the 4th of April between the hours of -12pm. The day prior to the appointment, a call from [redacted] was received to confirm the appointment was still in effect. He expressed his concern whether the carpets would be dry before his kids returned home from school. No guarantees were made by my part, but I told him would do my best to accommodate him and try to send the technician as early as possibie. hn order to satisfy our customer, I arranged for our technician to come an hour early to work and make [redacted]s residence his first stop.Upon his arrival, our technician [redacted] noticed several deep stains and simply informed [redacted] that they may not come out completely with the steam cleaning. He therefore suggested the shampoo treatment which is more effective against deep stains. He was also asked by [redacted] if he could clean the stairs instead and make it count as a room.By company policy, our employee is required to inform a supervisor of any special requests and proceeded to do so. Since the coupon clearly states it is valid for rooms, the customer was told there would be an additional charge of $3 per stair. Also, [redacted] was offered the shampoo treatment for a slight upcharge. [redacted] became enraged at both the technician and the supervisor for simply suggesting a service which was clearly optional and where a simple "NO" would have sufficed. She also refused to pay anything extra for the stairs and insisted that we make it count as a room. Not only was she demanding to receive an additional service which she had not paid for (the cleaning of the stairs), but she also began yelling obscenities against both my employee and supervisor. Once this took place, she was told we would no longer proceed with the service and that a refund would be issued to her. Verbally abusive customers are not tolerated by my company nor by my staff. If a customer cannot treat a worker with respect and in a civilized manner, then we reserve the right to refuse our services to them. We would rather have our employees leave a potentially harmful situation than put them in any kind of risk after witnessing a customers aggresive behaviour.[redacted] has cost us time, money and effort. It also seems unfair that she accuses us of false advertising, however when she demands us to provide a service FOR FREE which is stated nowhere in the coupon she purchased, she acts our towards us and attempts to obtain a benefit by collecting the amount of $220 which never came out of her pocket to begin with. [redacted] has already received a refund of $79 from the [redacted] and should she continue to have any further demands, she many contact them directly. Attached you will find:- A copy of the email where it confirms by a [redacted] Manager that [redacted] has received the full refund of he coupon she purchased ($79)- A copy of the actual promotion, where it states the coupon is valid for ROOMS ONLY, not stairs. It also states that the actual value of the coupon is $139, not $299 like [redacted] inaccurately wrote in her complaint. And finally, in the fine print: NO CASH VALUE OR CASH BACK FOR UNUSED PORTION.Should you have any further question please feel free to contact me at the office at ###-###-####.Best Regards,

Review: Hi, We used this Company and had a horrible experience. I have a chain of email between myself and the company that I would also like you to review. Basically they were paid in advance to clean our air ducts, dryer vent and one vent return. They showed up an immediately went to the furnace and said it needed a complete cleaning (At an additional charge) because it was in bad shape. I declined knowing and saying the furnace is less than 2 years old. From that point on almost nothing was touch. They open two vents out of about 30 throughout the house. Stayed exactly 20 minutes and left. The did not clean the one return specified in what was to be done. They did not vacuum or clean but 2 vents and said they were done. They didnt touch the dryer vent. I called to complain and was told it was a 40 dollar [redacted] what did I expect. I told them first it was 70 dollars and that I expected them to do what was in terms of the [redacted]. The owner did concede that it was a bad technician sent to my house and he was sorry but would send out his top technician. After talking with my wife we decided the company seemed so shady that we did not want them back in our house. They said they would send a refund that I have not received. So I feel it is necessary to contact you about this company and try with your help to resolve this matter. I am attaching the email chain between myself and the owner so as to help you in understanding what exactly took place. Please call if you need any further information from me.On Sunday, November 10, 2013 5:08 PM, Ductcity [redacted] wrote:We will mail you a check tomorrow.On Nov 10, 2013, at 4:38 PM, [redacted] wrote:[redacted]On Sunday, November 10, 2013 4:31 PM, [redacted]wrote: Due to your request, we would gladly refund the value of the [redacted]. This email is simply to receive your written confirmation that no complaint will be filed against our company once the refund has been issued. Please sign below and return this email to us and we will proceed with the refund.-----------------------[redacted]-----------------------DateOn Sunday, November 10, 2013, [redacted] wrote:I have talked with my wife and we would just like a refund. We are worried that your company will do damaged to our house due to the circumstance. We have zero confidence in your company after what we experienced already. I am not sure if it is your business model or just a bad tech. You should really consider the ethics of doing business and if it is one bad technician he should certainly not be employed. But somehow I think maybe it is more company policy to get in and try to make extra money or get out. Not to truly clean as detailed in the terms. You and your technician both said that for a 40 dollar [redacted] how long do we expect you to stay. It was 70 dollars and I expect you to stay until the job outlined in the terms is completed. Period. Send me the precise details of our refund for me to review.I hope your business changes their ways or goes out of business. What happened was just wrong and unacceptable.On Saturday, November 9, 2013 12:15 PM, Ductcity [redacted] wrote:Dear **. [redacted],Once again, please accept our sincerest apologies for the inconvenience that may have been cause by our company. We normally receive great reviews from our customers and what you have described is unacceptable from our part. Rest assured that the technician who went to your house has received a severe warning from us and we appreciate you letting us know, that way we can make sure it will not happen again with future clients. We will gladly send our top technician to your house once again to try to redeem ourselves and hope you will be more than satisfied with the future outcome. When works good for you next week so we can schedule you? Please let us know so we can fix what was not done right in the first place. Sincerely,DuctCityOn Nov 8, 2013, at 11:01 PM, [redacted] wrote:I think I will not accept your refund. I have the pictures and will get my refund through [redacted]. I willl file my complainants with Revdex.com, [redacted] and [redacted] and every other review site. Most vents were never ever opened because I can see the painted screws have not been opened. I wipe my finger and there is debris and dust everywhere. Your crew truly did not do what you were paid to do. The evidence of that is throughout the house. I do not want other people to be scammed like I was by your company. It is not about the money for me. It is about exposing a bad business.The only recourse I will consider is you personally coming to my house and I watch you or your crew do what they were supposed to do with the terms of the [redacted]. 20 minutes is not going to do it for all the vents in our house not even including the return. If you do not want that to happen so be it. It is not a 20 minute job. It is evident that you did not do what was in the terms. If you want to watch your crew and train them properly to do the job I will considered. If not I have plenty of images to get the refund through [redacted] and file a fraud complaint with the Revdex.com and various review sites. What occurred today is just wrong and fraudulent and I want to make sure it never happens to anyone ever again.Unbelievable, [redacted].On Friday, November 8, 2013 5:36 PM, Ductcity [redacted] wrote:Dear **. [redacted],We apologize if the service performed in your home today did not leave you satisfied with our company. We always want our customers to be happy once our technicians leave their home. Due to your request, we would gladly refund the value of the [redacted]. This email is simply to receive your written confirmation that no complaint will be filed against our company once the refund has been issued. Best Regards,Duct CityDesired Settlement: I would like the complaint noted with the Revdex.com for others to reference prior to using this company. I would also like a refund of the 69.00 we paid in advance for the service.

Business

Response:

December 5th, 2013

Dear [redacted],

It has come to my attention that a complain from a customer of ours, [redacted], has been filed against our company with the Revdex.com. **. [redacted] had purchased a [redacted] in order for us to go to his house to clean his air ducts. After sending our technicians over to his house in [redacted] to proceed with the job and after having signed the receipt to ensure that the job was performed correctly, **. [redacted] then called us to let us know of his unsatisfaction. Me demanded that our head technician go to his house to do the job properly. We, of course, tried to accomodate him and tried to schedule and appointment so he would be happy with the service. He then changed his mind and let us know that he no longer wanted a technician going to his house again because he was afraid we would do damage to his property on purpose. Me said he would just like a refund to be issued of $69. We agreed to mail him a refund but unfortunately it never arrived. Once it became aware to me that he had not received the refund, I offered to deliver it to him personally in order to prevent matters from escalating. He refused this agreement because he said and quote: "I have no desire of personally meeting you". After exchanging several emails in order to please him, I told him he did not need to meet me and that I was willing to drive to his home in [redacted] and tape the refund to his door or place it under his doormat. I finally drove to his home on Saturday, November 23rd of 2013. Therefore,

he has already received his refund and he has agreed to no longer place complaints against our company.

On a personal note, I believe this matter has already been settled between us and his complaint filed with the Revdex.com was prior to receiving his refund.

Attached you will find the exhange of emails where he agreed to remove a bad [redacted] review after having received his refund. Should you have any further comments or questions please do not hesitate to contact me at ###-###-####.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and they did issue me a refund. But I do think this should remain on their record. I did agree to take down the [redacted] review which I did. However the statement they made is partially untrue and I want to explain why. First I did not demand that they send their head technician to our house. I wanted the owner to come and personally insure that the job was done properly. In the owners own words the technician sent received a severe warning highlighted in red below. I am sure the warning was warranted as he spent less than 20 minutes at our house without doing anything in the terms except trying to upsell a full furnace cleaning. In order to make sure the next technician wasn't as incompetent as the first I wanted the manager to be onsite during the service since it is obvious they have incompetent technicians. My wife signed the paper not knowing it was saying everything was done. She left the house to get our kids from school which took less than 5 minutes as the school is right next to our house. Expecting the technician to be there cleaning the ducts and dryer vent on her return. But they just took off. Dryer vent never opened, with only a few vents opened and the return was not touched. I just don't want a company to prey on others like this an only those who threaten complaint will simply have their money refunded. There should be some sort of professionalism to do the job paid to be done but in this case I don't think that was ever the intention. As far as the refund they taped to my door they had sent it to the wrong address. Another flag of incompetence with this company. Again to conclude I have received a refund. That is something, but ideally I would like the company to have done the job I paid for without just dropping by and running off. This has been a nightmare dealing with from the start.