The Fireplace Factory

The customer didn't give the full story Their pellet stove has been in and working for a long time They even sent pictures of it working and it looks great! The only open issue, is installing a few feet of crown molding in the area, which we agreed to do Back in December,
we put the customer in touch with a contractor that was supposed to do it, and we were going to pay for it The customer had the contractor's number, and the contractor had the customer's number Shame on us for not following up, but we assumed it was completed, as the customer never called to say otherwise until around February, months later At that time, we tried finding another contractor, but simply couldn't find someone that had time in their schedule to get it done Ironically, we have someone going there today to complete it Not because of this complaint of course.....the contractor is already on his way and I just received this complaint now By the end of today it should be completed.Thanks

Do not do business with this company.
They are a bunch of [redacted].
They never submitted a final quote, which, per contract, we would have had three days to decline.
However, they had insisted on an $800 deposit.
We repeatedly asked for a countersigned contract, which they did not provide.
Then, we asked for our deposit back, which they declined.
Then, took them to small claims court, and they were ordered to refund our deposit. They disobeyed the courts order.
Then we initiated proceedings to have the sherif collect. Only at that point, and 18 months after this all starte, did we get our deposit back.

Review: this company took a $2000 deposit for the installation and to order a wood burning stove. We were told they would not order any products until paid in full. They sent an installer over to look at the job and we were told he did not think we could install this stove. We went to the store 3 times to discuss and to pay for the remaining order. The store was closed during business hours. When someone was finally there they refused to give a receipt for the balance to be paid, after assuring us it can be installed. When questioned about a receipt was told he would write it on a sticky pad because he was busy. We took our check back because we did not want to give over an additional $5000 to this business, secondary to the uncomfortable feelings of poor business practice. We never received any product for our $2000 and they never ordered any product and are now refusing to give back our $2000 deposit, because we had a three day rescind. Had another fireplace co come and stated we could not install secondary to roofing issues.Desired Settlement: deposit of $2000 returned

Business

Response:

I met the clients in our showroom in [redacted] and set up an appt. to go to their home to see what kind of unit would fit in their home. After checking the area that they were originally looking to put it I found it to be impossible to install an insert in their existing wood burning fireplace because there existing fireplace is a prefab fireplace and there are not any inserts on the market that will fit it. I suggested a wood stove instead because they were looking to heat the home with wood to save money on their oil heating bills. After my inspection and suggesting a wood stove that would work I had my technician come to the customers home to inspect the installation as well. He said it would be very difficult but could be done. I called the manufacturer to make sure that all would be well with the installation and they assured me it would. I took a deposit from the customer for $2000 which is our standard practice and then require a full payment to order the special order product. The customer came in to my store and wanted to give me a check for the balance and asked for a receipt which I started to write it out for him. He then said I do not want it on a piece of paper so I said I would print it out if he could wait a few minutes. He got angry and left.

I would rather just return his deposit and let him purchase elsewhere.

Thanks!

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved, upon refund of $2000. If refund is not received this week I will then again reach out to the Revdex.com and small claims court.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

We issued a refund check to this customer a while ago, and it is already cashed. There is nothing more we can do.

Thanks

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved.

Sincerely,

Review: After two months of waiting for my order, and tons of issues with this buisness, just when I thought the experience was behind me it is not. This company refues to contact my bank regarding money that was credited to them during the two month long dispute. Bank needs confirmation that no money is owed and therefore able to withdraw the money from them. They either need verbal confirmation or a paid in full reciept. However owner Norm has refused to cooperate and when my bank calls to obtain either he has instructed his staff " no one is to discuss this account with anyone, he is taking care of it". Unfortunately since my bank has no response from them they are looking to remove the money from my account by a set date. I will be forced to take this buisness to small claims court in order to have my money returned. The lack of cooperation makes me believe they will not just write me a check for thw money taken out of my accoutn. I owe this company no money unfortunately due to all the issues when I finally picked up my item I left without asking for a receipt I wanted no further dealing with this company . They were paid cash for my merchandise. I have called and left messages that have gone un returned, I have asked their salesman for a copy of my paid receipt he also has not gotten back to me. I have emails confirming we ended all buisness dealing and owner never states any money is owed. I believe this action is in retaliation to me posting an unfavorable review on social media and the fact that they asked me to remove it and I would not.Desired Settlement: For this company to cooperate with my bank of provide me with what I need to avoid money coming out of my account.

Business

Response:

I will be glad to speak to her bank. I was away for a week and am catching up on paperwork and phone calls. We don't owe her any money. She bought a stove, and paid in full. She's a scammer who is trying to get part of her money back from her credit card company, but we have her signed contract which clearly states "All items received on 12/*/15".Thanks

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because: Due to the owners delay and refusal to contact chase or allow his staff to provide the necessary information, my bank is forced to recover the money that was credited on Dec **. Unfortunately the way to recover is to wirhdraw from my account since I initiated dispute. This company was paid in full on Oct **. I was unaware he had disputed the charge back and fraudulently provided an open balance receipt when having been paid in full. The only resolution to this matter is to issue me a check for the credit of $1237 he recieved from my bankin December. Recorded calls, email, and bank statements will prove this. Store owner threatened to do exactly this and followed thru due to my reviews on social media.

[Your Answer Here]

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Review: I ordered a [redacted] Wood burning Fireplace Insert on Feb. **, 2014. This unit is designed to heat a large house. We bought it to save money because our oil bills were huge during heating season. I was told the unit would be installed within 2 weeks, but after numerous delays by the installation team, the unit was installed near the end of March and with weather warm already, so we could not use it until the following winter. The first few times we tried it, there was plenty of smoke coming into the house and not going up the chimney, although it seemed we eventually got most of the smoke to go up the chimney. During the holidays with family visiting in December we tried lighting a fire and all the smoke came out around the edges and vents of the unit directly into the house, and the wood would not maintain a flame. We tried several times with the same result, using very seasoned wood that we checked with a moisture meter - and still had problems and had to have fire extinguishers to put out smoldering logs and open all windows and blow smoke outside with fans. Since I contacted the company in early January 2015 about this problem, they have set numerous appointments to come figure out what is wrong and repair the unit, but never succeeded in doing anything. They have claimed my chimney is too short. If that was true, this should have been explained and required before they installed this unit.Two other chimney companies have come to inspect; one is an authorized [redacted] installer. The authorized installer said either the unit was installed incorrectly or else the unit was not of a size that could be installed correctly in our space. Upon checking the installation it was found there was not enough clearance at the top of the unit to properly match its opening with the existing flue opening resulting in a gap that allowed the smoke to flow out and around and into the house.Desired Settlement: Additional hazards and problems were discovered with the installation, but there is not enough space above in the boxes to describe it all.Requesting refund & they can come take the unit back. It is top quality but will not fit here.Cost of unit: $6692.00Installation charge: $995.00Cost for removing unit: $429.00Cost to replace fireplace doors that were thrown out: $1000.00TOTAL $9,116.00

Business

Response:

Part of this complaint is totally valid. We had some staffing issues which delayed the install. We are working to rectify this, and offered to swap out the unit for a brand new unit that will perform more efficiently with her chimney. We are awaiting a callback to confirm she wants us to do this.Thanks

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The company has phoned me and offered to replace the original fireplace insert we purchased with a smaller one. I agreed that I would look over the specifications for the unit. After examining our fireplace dimensions and the manuals with specifications for the two fireplace inserts (the Large Flush Insert that we originally purchased and the company offered replacement with the Elite 33 model), I do not believe this other unit will work for us. My husband and I still want a refund as detailed in my original letter to the Revdex.com along with the additional expenses incurred, as copied below. Requesting a refund & expenses to be covered:Cost of unit: $6692.00Installation charge: $995.00Cost for removing unit: $429.00Cost to replace fireplace doors that were thrown out: $1000.00TOTAL $9,116.00Reasons why replacement with a smaller unit is not acceptable (Refer to scale drawing attached and pdf manuals for each of the wood burning fireplace inserts.):1. The offset between our chimney flue and the opening on the top of the fireplace insert remains approximately the same with both models. There is an offset of the centers of the two flues that need to join of 5” plus. 2. The difference in height from the large flush insert at 22” tall and the Elite 33 at 19.75” tall is 2.25”. There is an offset adapter that might fit the space if we accept the smaller unit, but the manual, states that it may degrade draft performance of the insert. After dealing with smoke in the house numerous times already, we are not in favor of using this and think restricting the draft is a very bad idea.3. The smaller unit is approximately 1 cubic foot smaller than the unit we purchased and we do not want a smaller firebox. Since the unit we purchased cannot work properly in our fireplace, we want to be refunded costs, return the unit to the company, and resurrect our fireplace to be able to used simply as a fireplace as it was before this installation occurred. Please note:1. As reported by the authorized installer who inspected the unit and removed it from the fireplace while I watched and took photos, there was no adapter provided on the first installation and there was a gap between the opening of the insert and the 6” diameter flue that was inserted inside the original fireplace chimney that allowed smoke to surround the unit outside of the unit, rather than go up the flue. The flexible 6" flue that was supposed to be securely attached to the insert was not attached at all. The authorized installer's professional opinion is that there is not the proper spacing for our fireplace to have a wood burning insert installed into it.2. Additionally, at the top of the chimney stack outdoors there was an opening of approximately 2” all around the flue insert that allowed rain to fall inside the chimney freely, also allowing access to birds or other creatures. We will need to have this repaired.Sincerely,[redacted]

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

After almost 1 year of the customer having this product a refund is not an option but we are working diligently to rectify the problem by meeting with the customer and the distributor of [redacted] at the customers home.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

I reject this business response because I have put an incredible amount of effort into contacting the company to get the problems resolved far in advance of having owned the fireplace insert for one year. The company has not been conscientious about the situation and has exhibited a big lack of concern, until I filed this complaint with the Revdex.com. The unit was installed in late March 2014. We had difficulty with smoky fires spewing smoke into the house as soon as we tried working with it. Initially, I phoned the installer for further help, because he had provided us with instructions for fire starting when he installed the unit, and assured us we would not have any problems with it after the first few wood burning fires. 80% of the time, starting a fire in the unit has resulted in our having to use fire extinguishers to put the smoky fire out and taking every electric fan we own to blow the smoke out of the house. Note that the unit was installed in late March and the weather warmed up soon after that, so there was no reason to use the unit in the spring and summer. The effective time for use this unit once it was installed was only March and April. May through November was quite warm and only got cold again in late December of 2014. You can refer to various online weather histories for [redacted] to verify that. (see [redacted] ). That means we could only test the unit for 1.5 months in the initial 9 months of ownership, and even that is not possible while working full time.After the warm weather ended (and we had an unusually warm December in 2014), we had a disaster trying to use the wood burning unit while family was visiting for Christmas. At that time, we had owned the unit only 9 months. I contacted the company by phone in early January after the holidays. When I kept getting a story about how they could not come out to the house to help us until such and such date and then that date was delayed and the next scheduled date was again delayed, I started corresponding in email to keep a record of our communications. If the company had worked to resolve the problems with the fireplace insert in a timely manner, this would have been resolved within the first year of ownership. I am still requesting a refund. After we have a refund in hand, the company can come get the unit and resell it.

In order for the Revdex.com to appropriately process your response, you MUST answer the question above.

Sincerely,

Review: On 1/**/15 I placed an order for a custom made Portland Willamette Fireplace Door and Chimney Damper. I was told the delivery for a custom item would be 4 weeks (normal time frame in their contract states 2 weeks). A $1500 deposit was made at the time of my order on 1/**/15. After 2 months of numerous phone calls and requests to their installation department about an installation/delivery date. I contacted [redacted] directly, at which time they stated my product was shipped on 3/**/15. On 5/**/15 I responded in person to the Fireplace Factory after my phone calls and messages went unanswered. At that time, I was provided an installation date of 5/**/15. On 5/**/15 the doors were delivered. The Factory Installers came on 5/**/15, removed my chimney cap, and piping for the old wood burning stove. While attempting install the customs doors, the installers stated that the doors were ordered to small, and they did not bring the chimney damper system. Measurements were taken by the installation crew, and they advised that new doors would be ordered. On 5/**/15 I spoke with an [redacted] and asked about the status of my job. He could provide no answers, stated he could not talk, and claimed a customer was in the store.Desired Settlement: I would like for my order to be delivered and installed as agreed upon in my contract.

I understand new doors of the correct size will need to be re-ordered. But in the mean time, I would like the chimney damper to be installed, so I do not loose any of the air-conditioning out of the un-dampered chimney. (The old wood burning stove cap & piping were removed by the Fireplace Factory Installers on 5/**/15 - that is when the installers realized they did not bring the chimney damper system.)

I also request that an installation date be provided.

Business

Response:

I spoke to [redacted] right away. The custom doors take 6 weeks to get from the manufacturer and took longer because of a delay in ordering. When the doors were ordered the wrong box was checked off by our [redacted] on our ordering form which resulted in the doors being 1/2 inch to small. I told [redacted] that we are ordering new doors right away and will expedite this with the manufacturer as well as get his chimney damper installed asap. He seemed satisfied after our discussion.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory.I am still however waiting for the business to provide an installation date for both the fireplace and chimney damper as requested in my original complaint.

Sincerely,

Review: I have had the worst customer service experience I have ever had with this company. It has been over 4 months since they started my work and have not completed the job. I have called them time after time and have not received any satisfaction. They tell you they will get back to you and never do. I call them week after week and all they have are excuses for not getting back to you or they say they have problems with contractors. Do not pay them up front because they will take your money and ignore you. Please be aware. I do not post negative comments about any company or person, however, they have done nothing to resolve the incomplete work.Desired Settlement: Refund of money because a new contractor will need to be hired to finish the work.

Business

Response:

The customer didn't give the full story. Their pellet stove has been in and working for a long time. They even sent pictures of it working and it looks great! The only open issue, is installing a few feet of crown molding in the area, which we agreed to do. Back in December, we put the customer in touch with a contractor that was supposed to do it, and we were going to pay for it. The customer had the contractor's number, and the contractor had the customer's number. Shame on us for not following up, but we assumed it was completed, as the customer never called to say otherwise until around February, 2 months later. At that time, we tried finding another contractor, but simply couldn't find someone that had time in their schedule to get it done. Ironically, we have someone going there today to complete it. Not because of this complaint of course.....the contractor is already on his way and I just received this complaint now. By the end of today it should be completed.Thanks

Review: As per attached email to The Fireplace Factory:

Attn: [redacted]

Thank you for your help today in helping us pick out our gas log set at The Fireplace Factory. As you know on 3/**/14 we had originally placed a $100 deposit on a gas insert with a tentative install date by the end of May. After much consideration financially and otherwise we decided that a gas log set was more in our budget. With this in mind we came in today to seek your assistance and guidance.

Listed below is the details of the Hargrove log set we purchased:

Hargrove Log Set

24" Woodland Timbers

24" ANSI Approved H-Burner Floor Accessory Kits w/Remote Control (NG)

Total Amount: $1887.91

I've attached both invoices:

The initial invoice on 3/**/14 for the gas insert

Today's invoice also dated 3/**/14 for the gas log set

Unfortunately upon arriving home I was able to price these exact items for the Hargrove log set on line for $1059.00.

With this substantial difference in price I must regretfully cancel the purchase of the Hargrove gas log set we made today.

I ask that $1887.91 ($100.00 charged 3/**/14 and $1787.91 charged today) be credited back to my credit card ending in [redacted].

Any questions please let me know.

My apologies for any inconveniences.

[redacted] & [redacted] (Last names deleted for privacy)Desired Settlement: I cannot include copies of the contract which shows personal information, addresses, credit card #'s etc. The contract states that the agreement can be cancelled by midnight of the 3rd day upon written notice.

Fireplace Factory sent a letter to my bank that states they have a no refund policy. Now I must go back to my bank and make an appeal to try to get my money back from this business.

I am furious. They've had my money since May **, 2014.

Business

Response:

As the client stated, they came in and ordered a gas insert on 3/**/14. We have a 3 day cancellation policy, which is clearly stated on the contract, and the client even mentioned it in his complaint. Well, a short while later, they came in and asked if they can switch to a gas log set, which is a significant downgrade (from a $3500 product to a $1700 product). Legally, we could have said no, they're stuck with the insert because they were way past the 3 day cancellation. But of course, wanting to have a good relationship with our clients, we said no problem. We would allow them to switch it out, at which time we changed the contract to reflect the log set, and they paid the balance in full.

Then, a few days later, they sent the email that they copied in the complaint, stating that they saw it online for less and wanted to cancel completely. Obviously this isn't fostering a good relationship which is what we tried to do by allowing them to downgrade in the first place. We explained to them that they placed their original order many months ago, then allowed them to downgrade the order, but we can't just let them cancel the whole thing because some fireplace company online is giving stuff away. And in reality, I am willing to bet it's not the same product at that price. We are a local business, we can & will go to their house to survey the job, install the log set, and follow up with any support they need. They won't get that level of service online. But regardless, they are many months past their cancellation period.

Thanks

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID# [redacted], and have determined that my complaint has NOT been resolved because:

The reply received from the business is not accurate. We came in on 3/**/14 and placed a $100 deposit on a fireplace insert that was needed by the end of May. A contract was signed at that time reflecting the $100 deposit with the outstanding balance due. We were told that nothing was going to be ordered until the order was paid for in full. We understood and agreed. On 5/**/14 we returned to the fireplace factory. We explained to [redacted] that the insert was no longer feasible for us and did not fit into our budget. We requested to purchase a log set instead. He called and spoke to [redacted] and we were advised that in order to get the additional $200 off the price of the log set the paperwork had to reflect the initial transaction date of 3/**/14 which would show us as a repeat customer. The total amount due for the log set was $1882.91. My credit card was then charged this amount. That night I found on line the exact items I was purchasing at the Fireplace Factory for over $800 less money. I immediately sent an email to the Fireplace Factory email address: [redacted] (a copy that I am attaching to my complaint) requesting to cancel the order. As the business mentioned in previous correspondence they have a 3 day cancellation policy which is clearly stated in the contract. The log set contract was cancelled within hours of being signed. In their shrewdness of doing business we were misled by them as this was 2 different contracts occurring on 2 different days 3/**/14 AND 5/**/14. This business has my money for almost 2 months and to this day I have been advised that the log set has not even been ordered. Small claims court is my next stop with this business. They have already lied to my bank and told them they have a no return policy.

Sincerely,

Business

Response:

The recent response from the client is 100% accurate, but she's drawing the wrong conclusion from the situation. She's totally disregarding the fact that we graciously allowed her to downgrade from an insert to a log set, even though legally we could have forced her to take the insert. But as I stated in my previous response, we strive to establish good relationships with our clients so we didn't do that. Instead, we allowed her to downgrade her order to a less expensive product.

But then, she tried to take advantage of the situation and our generosity by cancelling the whole thing and purchasing what they think is the same product online. We simply can't allow her to do that 3 months after the original contract date.

Thanks

Consumer

Response:

[redacted] is answering in circles. He is saying I am completely accurate with what happened and I cancelled my order as I stated in the. Correct amount of time according to the contract and still refuses to refund my money. I am done getting upset. I have filed a claim in small claims court with my attorney. I am making sure everyone I know knows about the fireplace factory and the way they conduct their business.