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Review content:
$399 to change out a Rheem furnace igniter - are you kidding???? The igniter went out in my rental and my tenants needed heat. After researching the issue online and testing a couple things, it was determined the issue was an open igniter. It shows it is very simple to change and the part is $20 on Amazon. I would do it my self, but I am not in town so I needed to find a company that could take on this simple task for a FAIR price I called a few companies and Pro Lline gave me an estimate of $180-$240 prior to being sent out. Bell said their technician would have to see it before they could determine the exact cost, but they should be competitive. And,the $49 trip charge would be waived if they did the work, and the technician would call with an cost after determining the problem. I decided to use them because of high ratings. WHAT A MISTAKE - I SHOULD HAVE USED PRO LINE!!! The technician called back and said it was the igniter (DUH) and it was going to cost $399. I did not agree with that and said I need to talk to the service manager prior to letting him start. I called, left 2-3 messages and never heard from the service manager, Steve. I SHOULD HAVE LEFT THE TECHNICIAN HANGING AT THE SITE LIKE STEVE DID ME. But, it was not the technician's fault. So, I did not want him to do the work but felt forced into it because if he left, they would charge me the $49 and after that, paying for someone else to do it was going to end up costing more. Plus, the tenants still needed heat. Steve did not call back until I called again and left messages. He told me they cost so much because they are a big company, they pay lots of liability insurance costs, they are part of a union, they have lots of certifications costs, blah, blah, blah. I requested a technician to perform a simple task of replacing an igniter, not a brain surgeon to stitch a minor cut. The technician worked about an hour - so, subtracting the cost of the part, $20, that equates to a bill rate of $379/hr. Even marking up the part cost 100% and adding the trip charge it still comes to over $300/hr. I told Steve I was willing to pay a fair cost of $225, but not his outrageous cost. I told them to take my credit card information off file, and he just replied, "I guess you can dispute it, but we are charging you". Now that's customer service. Don't worry Steve, a dispute will be coming your way and you have lost this client forever. I hope the rest of you that read this realize there are a lot of fair contractors out there, and you decide NOT TO USE BELL HOME SOLUTIONS FOR ANYTHING!!!
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