Sparks Monroe Heating & Chimney Services

AA U.

Can I give a zero? Bought a Groupon but they were a no call/no show. Difficult to try to reschedule a convenient day/time bc I was a Groupon customer. Got a refund for my Groupon and will not use this company or recommend them.

Rick H.

I used this company to do a masonry/chimney repair job. It is my recommendation that you do not use this company.

This company was very good about coming to my house in a timely fashion to provide a quote and come to my house to ""repair"" my chimney after an agreed upon price.

I noticed that there were problems with the chimney repair when I finally got up onto my room to clean out my gutters a few weeks later. The flashing around the chimney was not sealed and water could still leak around the flashing. The patch job on the masonry repair was sketchy and the fact that I found moss growing (moss doesn't grow very fast) on some of the joints from under the paint meant that the workers didn't scrape and test all of the joints that may have needed to be repaired or re-jointed.

I called the company to get them to come fix this job (Nov. 2015). I couldn't reach the office manager (keep this key important sentence in mind....it will be a recurring theme) and it was some time before she got back in touch with me to schedule someone to come out and look at the chimney to discuss with me the problematic nature of their repair job.

When I finally made contact with the office manager, we made arrangements for someone to come look at my chimney (this did not occur until the end of December 2015. I'm certain that they make it a point to make appointments for first time customers who are paying customers (I already paid and they already had my money).

On the date of the scheduled visit by the representative of this company, they give you a five hour window of their arrival. I stayed home during that time to make sure I was here to meet with them. No one showed up and no one had the decency to call to let me know they were not coming. I called to complain about this service and the office assistant that answered my calls did not know anything about it and said I needed to speak with the office manager (have I mentioned that it has been nearly impossible to get in touch with the office manager...she says that she is in the office from 8 AM to 3:30 PM, but oddly the office assistant would tell me it would be best to contact her between 8 - 11 AM because she often left the office after the office assistant arrived around 11 or 12). Since I was on vacation I decided to show up to the office first thing in the morning. The office manager was in the office. She apologized and said that she didn't know that the representatives didn't show up and said she didn't know that they didn't call to let me know they weren't coming. She said, ""I'm sorry, that sucks. I will make sure that your next scheduled appointment is a priority.""

The representatives were no shows for the next appointment also - no call either. Then, I scheduled several other appointments only to have the office manager call to leave a message that they couldn't arrive on that day. She stated that other people have heating emergencies and that is the reason they couldn't show up. I find it hard to believe that there were heating emergencies that prevented a person from showing up to my house and spending 15 minutes to look at the problem with me to identify an appropriate course of action - ON SEVERAL DIFFERENT OCCASIONS!!

I made several requests to speak to the owner. I was told that I could not reach him directly and that she (the office manager) would pass along my request to him. To this day, I still have not received a phone call from the owner despite several other requests.

After several other failed appointments and a filed complaint with the Better Business Bureau the office manager asked me if I had pictures (something I told her I had way back in December when I arrived at her office in person). She asked me to send them to her via email and from those photos it was determined what they needed to have done.

Several appointments were scheduled and canceled. Some of them were canceled because of legitimate reasons revolving around the weather. Perhaps the most irritating of the cancelled appointments was one scheduled for the beginning of March, 2016. The weather report showed that on Friday, March 4th, it would be very cold (below freezing), but no precipitation and not much wind. I called on the day before to inquire as to whether the temperature would be a factor and if we should reschedule. The office manager said she spoke with the owner and they have a compound they add to the masonry mix that would prevent freezing and cracking in cold temperatures and that it wouldn't be a problem. The next morning we received a voice mail stating that they had to cancel because of the weather. It was sunny, no wind, my 3 year old children played outside in the sunshine that day....but the weather prevented this company from coming to repair my chimney. The office manager didn't return my call for over a week to confirm a new date. When she did, she couldn't remember why they canceled.

This company is not dependable!

Mark M.

Took a chance because they offered a groupon for a chimney sweep. They did the initial cleaning and provided me with a quote for some additional work. I decided to go ahead & schedule them because their prices were reasonable and I had no issues with their initial job. They have since canceled on me at the last minute 3 different times! Two of the appointments I had to take off work because it was during the week. No apologies or discounts offered and they stated they had bigger more important jobs to do. Unacceptable! Is my money not green? I'll defiantly be searching for a more reputable & reliable company to do business with

Stacey C.

Horrible service cancelled first two times because of an ""emergency"" I wasn't home when the chimney was supposedly cleaned. First time the fire was lit plastic smell consumed the house. Chimney was never cleaned!! Chimney cap not secure correctly. Was just gonna right it off as a bad company not to use again but now the cap which was a lifetime guarantee is sideways about to come off and the nasty Secretary said I should have called earlier and that wind or rain could have done that to the cap. Wanted a $150 just to come out to look at their lousy job!! Wish I could post a picture. Not that we would have ever used them again couldn't believe I don't give a sh*t attitude.

Phil B.

Terrible experience! Contracted them to replace furnace. They did not show up at specified time. Called 1, 2 and 3 hour mark and was told all three times they were on there way. Obviously a lie. Manager called back 30 minutes after last conversation saying they were not going to make it. offered me a discount and free cleaning coupon for inconvenience after I complained about misleading me and I threatened to take business else where.
Next day furnace was installed. Crew was very good, cleaned up pretty well and answered all my questions.
Called office to send me receipt, payment plan and coupon. Never received. Called back 4 times, was told each time that the info would be sent. Took six months and only after more complaining and threatening to withhold payment.
While they were slightly cheaper than other installers, not worth the aggravation.

Diane S.

This business receives zero stars. I purchased a groupon for a chimney sweep in November of 2014. We placed many calls to schedule an appointment and all appointments were missed. It is now August of 2015 and they are refusing to honor their service. I spoke with the owner and he hung up on me several times and went as far as to call my place of business to report me for using the business phone for personal issues. I am the manager/ controller. Are you kidding me? This business is less than reputable. Check the Better Business Bureau site. They have had many complaints registered. Check out the Yelp reviews as well. The reviews resonate with the same complaints over and over again.
Check their facebook page. Run away from this company.

Spencer B.

It takes incredibly poor customer service for me to use my time to write a negative review. Sparks Monroe Heating won the contest. One of the worst companies I've had the displeasure of working with. I wish I would have looked at some of these reviews, the bad ones, same type of experience.. Suffice it to say if you are smart, you will look elsewhere. Buyer beware. Now I have to decide whether to take them to small claims court or not. BBB is going to be hearing from me, as well as groupon.

Dave ..

I purchased a furnace/air conditioner in early 2014. My pregnant wife and 2 year old son were home on Sunday in October and started the furnaces or the first time of the season. I came home in the afternoon to an overwhelming gas odor. I called RG&E, the local gas company, to discover the furnace was not vented properly and turned the hot water exhaust into an intake. RG&E came out and red tagged the equipment due to the issue. Sparks was supposed to come out on Monday morning. I called at 10:30am and they said I would be called back. I called again at 2:30 with no success and again at 4. Someone finally showed up around 5pm. He said it needed to be reverted and turned the water heater all the way up on high even though it was red tagged and said it was fine. As long as the furnace remained off. He also said that the service charge or $89 for coming out would be waived because it was a result of the equipment being installed incorrectly. He and the receptionist were to be calling me first thing Tuesday morning. Tuesday I called at 11am after not receiving a call and was told sorry someone will call for appointment. I had to call again at 2pm to be answered by an answering service. I called again at 5pm and someone finally called at 5:45 leaving a message which I returned and quickly and was told sorry again and he would be sure to follow up at 9am with the office manager on Wednesday to remedy the situation. I went back and listened to the voice mail he had left and during the message he thought he had hung up but did not and he was using obscenities on my voicemail. Upon not receiving a call again on Wednesday I called at 11am and asked for an appointment immediately and to have the owner call. An appointment was scheduled for Thursday at noon keep in mind my furnace and water heater were turned off on Sunday. They tried to tell me they wouldn't be able to do the service till the following week. I had to be adamant that it needed to be done now. I also asked for the owner to call me so I could discuss the customer service issues and the voicemail. He never returned any of my calls. The technicians came out Thursday and looked and did the work saying I would only be charged for a new water vent which would be $200. When they were done and I went to do the bill I saw my bank account was charged for the $89 service call from Monday and I asked to have it deducted from the total like the service technician and the receptionist had previously stated. He said he had to go to call the office to confirm. When he came back he stated the owner (who still hasn't returned my calls and said because he left sick) said now he had to charge the service fee, labor and for the exhaust vent which went to $550 now. If I didn't pay he and the other technician were going to have to remove all of the equipment. To say the least I was dumfounded. He also said that he thought this was ridiculous and was very apologetic and felt bad that he had to talk to me and not the owner. He had never seen anything like this. I was never rude or irrational when I rightfully should have been up to this point. After talking with the receptionist for 15 minutes nothing was resolved and my account was charged so I could have heat and hot water again. I would never do business with these crooks and would advise anyone to stay way from this company. Beyond ubethical!

Sent from my iPhone

Colleen C.

Buyer beware! I decided to test the waters out with this company for a simple yearly furnace cleaning and tune up on my 7 year old hi-end unit 3 weeks ago. The HVAC tech provided me with a receipt that included a quote for a new $570 motor that should be replaced ASAP.

Today, the furnace completely stopped working. 12 hours of trouble shooting later, a different repair man found that my furnace shows no signs of being serviced 3 weeks ago, but does show signs of being taken apart & improperly put back together - causing it to break down!

14 complaints closed with BBB in last 3 years and 4 negative reviews on the site since 2012 ... http://www.bbb.org/upstate-new-york/business-reviews/heating-and-air-conditioning/sparks-monroe-heating-chimney-inc-in-ontario-ny-31843/

Photos and an update to be posted ASAP. See also: the 11 reviews for Sparks Monroe Heating & Chimney Services that are not currently recommended by yelp, and therefore hidden, many of which are 1-star.

As of 02/21/15, Sparks Monroe refuses to return any of my phone or email messages since last Sunday.

April 2015 - BBB complaint closed in my favor :) but I did not recover damages yet. (Total closed BBB complaints = 17)

Also see the 15 additional Yelp reviews for Sparks Monroe Heating & Chimney Services that are not currently recommended or included in the rating of this biz.

Dan K.

WATCH OUT FOR THESE GUYS. On Oct. 18, 2014 I purchased and scheduled a chimney cleaning for the morning of Dec 18. I took off from work to be there for the cleaning. Not only did they not show up, they did not even call. After calling them to see what happened, they rescheduled me for that afternoon. Again they did not show up or call. Upon calling them the next day I was told they had a big job and wanted to reschedule for Dec. 24. Against my better judgement I agreed. On Dec. 23 They called me and said they needed to reschedule my appointment again for Jan. 18.
I cancelled the job and had Amazon Local refund my payment.