So Quiet Soundproofing

I contacted So Quiet Soundproofing on Dec 5/17 to soundproof the HVAC system in my condo. There is a constant buzz that two previous Heating/Cooling repair companies inspected and said there was nothing wrong. This noise was something they couldn’t eliminate. I was guaranteed by the So Quiet Soundproofing’s Director, Sales & Client Relations that they could soundproof the unit (they advertise this on their website). I sent them a couple of photos, they said “it looks like a pretty standard job”. I was quoted $1072 and asked to pay 50% up front. I agreed, but they ended up mistakenly charging the whole thing to my credit card. They did alert me right away, corrected the error, and reimbursing half of the fee back ($536).

Six booked appointments later, over two months and nothing has been soundproofed. The first two appointments (Dec 21 and Dec 28, over my Christmas holidays) were cancelled on me. The first because the technician had the flu and the second because the Managing Director's car wouldn’t start. The technician did arrive for the second appointment and took some photos, but he didn’t seem to have much knowledge or experience, which seems to be why the Managing Director was always required at the appointments.

The third appointment (Jan 2, showing up late) they (“tech” & MD) attempted to soundproof the unit by putting some sound absorbing materials in the HVAC system. I was told via email previously, "A project like this one will typically take about 4-6 hours." They were there for about an hour, tops and did not sound proof anything. I had to book another appointment for further inspection.

Again, it took me constantly chasing them down for the appointment & information and I had to take time off work. The 4th appointment (Jan 12th 2pm sharp) the “tech” arrived on time, but as I previously mentioned, he didn’t seem to be skilled at doing any actual soundproofing, so once he opened up the HVAC system (which took all of 5 mins), he then sat there reading his phone while we waited for the Managing Director who was 40 mins late. They did another inspection and said the noise was coming from one of the three fans in the unit and that they would arrange, on my behalf, the ordering of the replacement fan, booking the repairs with another company and overseeing the work done. Why this couldn’t have been assessed in the previous appointment confused and annoyed me. After the 40 min wait for the Managing Director, this appointment lasted 35mins. Again I took time off work for this.

A week later I get an email from the Managing Director saying they contacted the manufacturer and ordered the fan and would book an appointment with the recommended repair company. I had already paid $536, and I was now given a price of $436.80 plus delivery, for the fan, plus $150 per hour repair service and told it would take two hours. But So Quiet Soundproofing said they would waive *their* fee. This brought my total up to over $1312.10 (incidentally it would seem this is in violation of the Consumer Protection act which states that a company cannot bill over 10% of the original quoted price unless a new contract is signed and agreed upon). Thankfully he was wrong about the price of the fan which ended up being only $150, which they received from the manufacturer another week later.

The next appointment was booked for Thurs Feb 1 10am-12pm. I had to, again, chase them for info (the repair company name, the name of the manufacturer etc.). I took more time off work.

12pm passes and no repair technician showed up, so at 12:20pm I called the Managing Director. He said he would find out what happened. No one called me back. An hour later I called him again and the Managing Director told me they are having difficulty finding the HVAC repair tech they hired and that the So Quiet Soundproofing “tech” (the same one who previously visited) had been waiting on call for this repair person. Why the “tech” didn’t bother to let me know once the 10-12pm appointment was missed or alert the Managing Director, is still a mystery to me. The HVAC repair tech (from JPS Canada) was never found and I lost another day at work and nothing was fixed.

I then received a call from the So Quiet Soundproofing “tech” with an apology. I asked that the fan be left with my building concierge and I would deal with it from there. The “tech” said he would leave the fan at the concierge either that Thursday evening or Friday Feb 2. I also got a call back from the Managing Director, who was apologetic and insisted they wanted to right this wrong. I said I had no more time off work so a weekend appointment would have to be booked at their expense (an expense they didn’t confirm).

On Friday Feb 9th, finally another appointment was booked for Sunday Feb 11th 11am-1pm. Again I had to request to get the repair company info. In the confirmation email, the Managing Director mistakenly confirmed that I had received the replacement fan. I had not, the “tech” never dropped it off like he promised. Clearly he didn’t communicate this to the Managing Director and clearly no one from So Quiet Soundproofing was going to be attending this appointment to oversee the work as promised. He assured me that the “tech” would deliver the fan that Friday afternoon. 8pm Friday rolls around and no fan arrived. I emailed the Managing Director alerting him of this. He assured me the “tech” would deliver it on Sat. Feb 10th. Saturday evening arrives, but no fan, I emailed again. Sunday morning at 10:30am I emailed to ask where the fan was. The Managing Director assured me he was pursuing this and said he was worried the “tech” had had an accident as it was unlike him not to be in touch.

By this point, I felt stupid for allowing this to go on. I was confident nothing had happened to the “tech” and I was right. At 12:30pm I received an apologetic email from the Director of Sales & Client Relations saying they had found the “tech” and he would be delivering the fan in the next two hours and would I be available for the appointment from 2-5pm. I did not trust the “tech” would arrive with the fan (why would I) and I had plans so I said no. And then I emailed again to quickly say I would no longer be doing business with their company. About an hour later I received an apologetic email from the Managing Director which stated, in part “With humble apologies, we are going to discuss your account tomorrow, and offer you something in compensation for all of your trouble.” I didn't hear from them for a week. I had to chase them down for a response. They have not offered any compensation at this time.

I did receive an email from my building concierge at 6:56am Monday Feb 12th letting me know I had a package. The fan. See the attached pic below. It arrived with no box, no invoice, no receipt. Just a dodgy sticky note stuck to it with my name spelt wrong.