COMPLAINT ACTIVITY REPORT  Case # 1290367	Better Business Bureau of Mainland B.C.

Consumer Info:	Valinho, Arlindo	Business Info: Pro Gas & Heating Services
	3136 East 62nd Avenue  	 	 202 15388 24 Ave 
	Vancouver, BC  V5S 2G3		Surrey, BC  V4A 2J2
	       -        -		604 200-8043

The above-named consumer has agreed to the following:
- I give my consent to the BBB of Mainland B.C. to forward my correspondence to the business involved in this dispute, and for the business involved in this dispute to respond and address my complaint with the BBB. Failure to consent to this term will result in the BBB not handling or reporting this complaint.
- I give my consent to the BBB of Mainland B.C. to forward my correspondence to law enforcement/regulatory/government agencies or other BBB's for complaint handling, processing or for their information.
- I give my consent to the BBB of Mainland B.C. to forward my name, complaint and personal information directly pertaining to this complaint to the media for their usage.

Location Involved:	(Same as above)

Consumer's Original Complaint :
On or about the middle of March, I was contacted by ProGas and Heating Services. I was advised by an employee of theirs, Kole, that they were performing furnace maintenance in my neighbourhood and was asked if I wanted to have mine inspected. As I was having trouble with the pilot light on my furnace, I set up an appointment for March 29th.

A technician by the name of Fred arrived at my address on the morning of March 29, 2018, to fix the pilot light as I requested. He pretended to take pictures of the inside of my furnace with his phone (there was no flash when he "took" the pictures) and then showed me a bunch of pictures (presumably from another furnace) and told me that my furnace was rusted inside. He then opened the furnace panel and tried to light up the pilot twice, but it wouldn't light. He advised me that my furnace is quite old and that the cost to replace the part would be $700.00 which isn't worth it. He suggested that I replace the old furnace with a new one. He offered me two replacement choices: one for $4,600.00 plus tax and installation (his recommendation) and the other for $3,900.00 plus tax and installation.

Next to the furnace was a hot water tank. He looked at it and told me that it was not going to last me very long and that I should get it replaced at the same time. He quoted me a price of $1,300.00. There was and is nothing wrong with my hot water tank. At that point, since I knew from the beginning that all I needed was a new pilot, I reluctantly paid him $110.00 for the "service call" and asked him to leave.

After he left, I called another company to look at my furnace. The other technician arrived within 30 minutes and fixed the pilot light in 15 minutes. The total cost to me was $25.00 for a new pilot plus the cost of the service call. My furnace has been working smoothly and continuously since the pilot light was repaired.

I am offended by the business practices of ProGas and Heating Services and their technician, Fred. At no time did their technician make a good faith attempt to repair my furnace or advise me on what was really needed to repair my furnace ($700.00 for a $25.00 part seems excessive). All he was interested in was trying to convince me to buy a new furnace and hot water tank (neither of which I needed). I was charged $110.00 for a "service call", but I received no legitimate service. The people at ProGas and Heating Services are either very bad at their jobs or deliberately trying to scam people into replacing equipment that doesn't need replacing. They insinuated themselves into my home by offering to "inspect" my furnace, then tried to trick me into spending $5,000.00 - $6,000.00 to replace perfectly good equipment when all I needed was a $25.00 part. 

My advice to anyone contacted by this firm is to either hang up on them immediately or, at the very least, get a second opinion from a trustworthy source before spending thousands of dollars needlessly. 

Consumer's Desired Resolution:
The return of my $110.00 "service" callout. I wasn't provided with any services other than a bogus sales pitch and an attempt to trick me into buying expensive replacement equipment that I didn't and don't need.

BBB Processing 

2018-04-22	  web	BBB	Case Pending at BBB
2018-04-23	  TRM	BBB	non-AB Complaint Validated - Use OTTO
2018-04-23	  Otto	MAIL	Confirmation Letter to Consumer
2018-04-23	  Otto	EMAIL	non-AB - Inform Business of the Complaint
2018-05-09	  OttO	BBB	non-AB - No Response from Business
2018-05-09	  TRM	EMAIL	non-AB - 2nd Notice of Complaint to Business
2018-05-09	  TRM	BBB	RECEIVED BUSINESS RESPONSE : ***Document Attached***
	Hello Mr. Arlindo Valinho.
	Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention via the BBB. Pursuant to ProGas and Heating Services complaint policies we have forwarded your BBB complaint to our Gas contractor, Fiad for a response. In the meantime I have included a true copy of our invoice you signed stating you accepted the charges and are happy with the work. Can you please explain why you signed our invoice as happy if you are now claiming otherwise?
2018-05-09	  TRM	MAIL	Forward Business Response to Consumer
2018-05-09	  	BBB	MORE INFO RECEIVED FROM THE BUSINESS : Arlindo Valinho,
	Further to our last response we request a copy of the other companies invoice to confirm your statements, especially being: "The total cost to me was $25.00 for a new pilot plus the cost of the service call"
2018-05-24	  WEB	BBB	RECEIVED CONSUMER REBUTTAL : (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
	To Pro Gas and Heating Services (PGHS):
	You are most welcome. Given how relieved I am to not have been duped by your company (see my attached complaint), I am pleased to bring my concerns to your attention via the BBB. I firmly believe that the public should be warned about your company's dubious business practices. Unfortunately, you clearly misapprehend the nature of my complaint. I am not suggesting that your company's workmanship is in any way substandard (I have no direct evidence of this) because your company did not perform any remedial work for me. I am, however, suggesting that your business practices are highly suspect. 
	Despite the fact that your response to my complaint does not in any way address the issues I raised, I nonetheless respond to the points raised in your "response".
	I signed the invoice simply because your employee put it in front of me and asked me to sign it before giving me my receipt. I just wanted him out of my house. I didn't pay much attention to the acknowledgement then and I find it irrelevant now. I paid your technician because he did in fact perform some services: he inspected my furnace as I requested. However, it wasn't until I contacted another heating services company, Joyce Heating Services Ltd., that I became aware of just how badly your technician had overestimated the cost of repairs. I have attached a redacted copy of their invoice for you and anyone else interested in this complaint to compare. Of particular note is the fact that they successfully repaired the furnace by replacing the thermocouple (at a cost of $25.00 plus tax plus the cost of the service call) and, after an inspection, noted that the gas valve was in good working order and did not need to be replaced. Compare this with your company's determination that both the gas valve and thermocouple needed to be replaced at a cost of $700.00. Since the $25.00 repair, my furnace and water heater have worked flawlessly and without problem.
2018-05-24	  	BBB	MORE INFO RECEIVED FROM THE CONSUMER : ***Document Attached***
	I would like to ensure that the BBB does not publish any document or posting that identifies my personal information. For example, both the business' response to my complaint and the document they filed in support of their submissions identify my name. Accordingly, I would like this personal information redacted before any information is made available to the public.
	I have also attached a redacted copy of the invoice referred to in my original complaint and in my response submission. 
2018-05-25	  TRM	EMAIL	non-AB - Forward Consumer Rebuttal to Business
2018-06-12	  OttO	BBB	No Response from Business re: Consumer Rebuttal
2018-06-12	  TRM	BBB	Pursued Complaint, but OUT OF PURVIEW
2018-06-12	  TRM	MAIL	Inform Consumer - Pursued, but Out of Purview
2018-06-12	  Otto	EMAIL	Inform Business - Pursued, but Out of Purview
2018-06-12	  Otto	BBB	Case Closed - OUT OF BBB PURVIEW