Ward Plumbing & Heating

To whom it may concern;In the fall of I contacted [redacted], [redacted] of Ward Plumbing and Heating, and scheduled a service call to clean and tune up my Peerless Boiler and oil burnerI have over the years used the company that I purchased oil from, either Rice Oil, Or Sandri Oil, both of Greenfield MAThey would clean and tune the system and I never had a problem.In tAlking to a good friend and neighbor, I decided to use ward this season for this serviceWard had done the plumbing in my home when it was built so I thought I would give them a try.They sent a man to do the job at the end of October, or Early NovemberI don't recall the exact date since I sent the top half of the invoice back with my payment which included the date of serviceThe payment was made to Ward on the first of December by check, Number [redacted] in the amount of [redacted]On the night of Thursday, February 27, 2014, at approximately 6:PM, I smelled a faint oil or gas odor coming from my basementI went down and checked the oil burner area but things seemed to be with the exception of the smellI then went out back through my walk out basement door where my propane tank is to check on itIt too seemed normalThe smell was in the basement and not around the propane tank.I closed the door and went upstairs to prepare for the night in my bedroomMy wife wasat the time in [redacted] visiting our Grand so I was home alone.At 10:that night I was awakened by the squealing of my Carbon Monoxide alarmStartled, I awoke to the very strong smell of gas or oil fumesI hurried down stairs and shut off the emergency switch for my heating systemWhen I proceeded to the area of the heater, I saw that the outside door had blown open, and it was very cold ands windyApparently I had not latched the door properly, and the wind had blown it openThe fumes were very heavy even with the basement being ventilated by the open doorI closed the door and went to look for an emergency phone number for oil burner serviceI looked at my file for Ward, but seeing no emergency number, I called Rice Company with whom I have my oil delivery contractThey sent a man out at 11:and he spent hours cleaning and servicing my systemThe first thing that he showed me was that the Heater was totally blocked solid with sootI all the years I have lived in my home this had never happenedIt was apparent that the system had not been cleaned by [redacted]After I pulled out the invoice from my file, I noticed that cleaning was not listed.I was not at home during the service by Ward since I had to be in work that dayMy wife was at home but did not go to the basement during the service call.The bill for this emergency call was $[redacted]Copy is enclosed along with the invoice from Ward Plumbing.I called Ward Plumbing and left a message for [redacted] to call meHe returned my call two days later and I explained the situation to him and told him that I feel that I needed compensationHe stated that his [redacted] did the service call and that he would discuss it with him and get back to me.That was two weeks ago, and I have called and left messages four times since then but I have not received a call back It is obvious that [redacted] has no intention of calling me to resolve this issue.Had it not been for the carbon monoxide detector alarm I would most likely have died that night? Ironically, I had just purchased a new detector the week before.I feel that [redacted] Plumbing is responsible for the service charge of [redacted] to say nothing of the [redacted] that he charged me for the service call, although they performed the services listed on the invoice with the exception of the most import part which is the cleaning.I would greatly appreciate your prompt attention to my claim.Desired SettlementTo whom it may concern;In the fall of I contacted [redacted], owner of Ward Plumbing and Heating, and scheduled a service call to clean and tune up my Peerless Boiler and oil burnerI have over the years used the company that I purchased oil from, either Rice Oil, Or Sandri Oil, both of Greenfield MAThey would clean and tune the system and I never had a problem.In tAlking to a good friend and neighbor, I decided to use ward this season for this serviceWard had done the plumbing in my home when it was built so I thought I would give them a try.They sent a man to do the job at the end of October, or Early NovemberI don't recall the exact date since I sent the top half of the invoice back with my payment which included the date of serviceThe payment was made to Ward on the first of December by check, Number [redacted] in the amount of [redacted]On the night of Thursday, February 27, 2014, at approximately 6:PM, I smelled a faint oil or gas odor coming from my basementI went down and checked the oil burner area but things seemed to be with the exception of the smellI then went out back through my walk out basement door where my propane tank is to check on itIt too seemed normalThe smell was in the basement and not around the propane tank.I closed the door and went upstairs to prepare for the night in my bedroomMy wife wasat the time in [redacted] visiting our Grand so I was home alone.At 10:that night I was awakened by the squealing of my Carbon Monoxide alarmStartled, I awoke to the very strong smell of gas or oil fumesI hurried down stairs and shut off the emergency switch for my heating systemWhen I proceeded to the area of the heater, I saw that the outside door had blown open, and it was very cold ands windyApparently I had not latched the door properly, and the wind had blown it openThe fumes were very heavy even with the basement being ventilated by the open doorI closed the door and went to look for an emergency phone number for oil burner serviceI looked at my file for Ward, but seeing no emergency number, I called Rice Company with whom I have my oil delivery contractThey sent a man out at 11:and he spent hours cleaning and servicing my systemThe first thing that he showed me was that the Heater was totally blocked solid with sootI all the years I have lived in my home this had never happenedIt was apparent that the system had not been cleaned by WardAfter I pulled out the invoice from my file, I noticed that cleaning was not listed.I was not at home during the service by Ward since I had to be in work that dayMy wife was at home but did not go to the basement during the service call.The bill for this emergency call was [redacted] Copy is enclosed along with the invoice from Ward Plumbing.I called Ward Plumbing and left a message for [redacted] to call meHe returned my call two days later and I explained the situation to him and told him that I feel that I needed compensationHe stated that his [redacted] did the service call and that he would discuss it with him and get back to me.That was two weeks ago, and I have called and left messages four times since then but I have not received a call back It is obvious that [redacted] has no intention of calling me to resolve this issue.Had it not been for the carbon monoxide detector alarm I would most likely have died that night? Ironically, I had just purchased a new detector the week before.I feel that Ward Plumbing is responsible for the service charge of [redacted] to say nothing of the [redacted] that he charged me for the service call, although they performed the services listed on the invoice with the exception of the most import part which is the cleaning.I would greatly appreciate your prompt attention to my claim.Business Response To Whom It May Concern;To be honest we were very surprised at receiving this letterIn our forty plus years of business we have never had a client file a complaintTo begin with, a lot can happen in three months with a furnace running in the winter, especially if it is malfunctioning.We performed a 'tune up' which involves 'cleaning' & the replacement of the nozzle, cartridge, & strainer, as shown on the invoiceUnfortunately Mr[redacted] did not call us when his emergency occurred three months after we were last at his residenceHad he called, which if no one answered, the service provides all the emergency numbers, we could have diagnosed the problem & corrected itAlso it was not 'apparent" as Mr[redacted] stated in his letter, that the furnace had not been cleaned and neither was that implied by Rice OilWhat was apparent was that the furnace was malfunctioning and because we were not called, we will never know the causeBut we would be interested in reviewing the invoice from Rice Oil as it may give us some clues as to what issues were going on at that time.I must be honest with you that I was also surprised by the attitude that Mr[redacted] had when I received his call accusing us of not cleaning his furnace at allIn all our years here we have never had a tech that has had a burner plug up like that due to a 'tune up' although a mechanical issue could cause something like that to happen months afterWe stand by our thorough and professional technicians & 'tune ups' and have the safety of our clients as our #priorityIt is unfortunate that Mr[redacted] had a furnace emergency & it is also unfortunate that he did not put in a call to us so that we could have had an opportunity to deal with it when it was occurringIf we can be of any further assistance in the resolution of this complaint please feel free to contact usSincerely, [redacted], [redacted]Consumer Response (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)In all of the years that I have the furnace serviced, I never had a problemThis is the first time that I used ward to service my heaterThe technician who came out that night stated that the system was totally blocked with sootWe have had many severe winters in the years that we have lived here, and we never had a problem when either Rice or Sandri did the jobIt was obvious that Ward did not clean the beater,but only performed the items that are listed on the paperwork that I sent to youPlease review it once againIt is nalso very unprofessional for a business to totally ignore four phone calls without a response[redacted] promised that he would get back to me and he nevef did.It was very obvious that he felt that if he ignored me I would just drop itI will stress once more the danger that this comany put me and my family inHad it not been for a newly installed carbon monoxide alarm, I would not be here to make a complaintThis almost cost me my life and it also.cost me [redacted] To [redacted]: Please stand up like a man, do not avoid me, and admit your companies mistakeIf the heater was cleaned, the service would have been noted on the invoiceI fully expect to be compensated in this matter.Final Business Response WARD PLUMBING & HEATING[redacted] Massachusetts XXXXX(XXX)XXX-XXXXLicense NoXXXXXRE: Case #XXXXXX: Mr[redacted] April 18, 2014To Whom It May Concern;We stand behind our previous response and would like to add that our technician also distinctly remembers 'cleaning' the furnace because he was startled when he pulled the pipes apart to perform the 'cleaning' part of the 'tune-up' and a dead bird fell outHe also recalls that Mrs[redacted] was there and she may remember hearing the vacuum running even though she was not down in the basement during that time as the vacuum is loud.Again, it is unfortunate that Mr[redacted] had a furnace emergency three months later and also unfortunate that he did not call us.We do not however respond to demands or bullyingThe whole tone of his letter is offensive, inflammatory and rude, as it was in our phone conversationThis behavior should be a red flag to the Revdex.com.We will agree that Mr[redacted] seems to feel that we are at fault and although we do not believe we were the cause of his later issue (we still request a copy of his invoice from Rice Oil), in the nature of resolving this complaint, we are willing to refund his money that he paid for the tune upWe can send him a check for [redacted] and it will conclude this matter.Sincerely,[redacted], [redacted]