Erika in Toronto

Had a technician come out to inspect some unusual furnace behaviour and flashing codes. An hour later he told me that the board was shot and multiple other very expensive parts were also not working. He mentioned that the furnace was bypassing safety features and suggested keeping it turned off. At the time of the inspection I was home alone with my 4 month old and doing the best I could to understand the problem and possible solutions. The next thing I knew he was suggesting I buy an all together new furnace (the one I currently have is 12 years old). I was quite shocked at the diagnosis and a little scared for the safety of my family. The technician mentioned he could get someone out to discuss our options further, which I later found out was a furnace sales person. My husband and I were not quite ready to dish out $6500 on the spot so we told them we would take the night to think about our options. We decided to get a second opinion on the diagnoses the next day. To make a long story a little shorter, there was a visibly broken piece on the outside of the furnace that this technician pointed out right away (within 2 min of looking at the furnace). He fixed it within an hour and the furnace was good as new. There were no board issues, no expensive parts to purchase, and certainly no mention of a new furnace being needed. Needless to say, I feel a combination of being taken advantage of as well as a lack of due diligence and expertise on the gentlemen's plumbers part. If you hire the gentlemen plumbers, I would be ready to dish out some more $$ for a second opinion on whatever diagnosis they give you.