ComplaintsforRed River Chimney & Fireplace

• Initial Complaint

  05/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Red River Chimney & Fireplace was hired to do work on our homes fireplace, specifically to seal it. During the course of the work, an employee dropped a ******* battery power drill into the fireplace. Employee stated there was nothing they could do to get it out and that we cannot use the fireplace. Obviously, we can not use the fireplace now as ******* will explode. Numerous calls were made to the company attempting to work out some type of resolution however, they will not return calls. We are now stuck with a center fireplace that no longer can be used and we paid for this.

  

  Business response

  05/31/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/05/04) */ Contact Name and Title: ******* ******, Owner Contact Phone: XXX-XXX-XXXX Contact Email: *******@rrcfp.com Red River Chimney and Fireplace Services LLC was hired to install a chimney cap and water proof their chimney. During the repair a battery powered drill was dropped into the chimney by accident. Under normal circumstances a flexible rope escape ladder would have been placed inside the chimney then a chimney sweep would have been lowered to the base of the chimney and the equipment would have been recovered. This chimney is in such poor condition it will not allow a person to be safely lowered inside. Water intrusion over a long period of time has deteriorated the inside of the wood framed chimney. Now Heavy ****** and stone are no longer supported by any of the original wood framing. The chimney is starting to fall apart at the seams. Much of the wood framing and particle board that were originally on top of the chimney have now fallen inside and now laying on the top of the firebox. Also the water that has deteriorated the wood has also deteriorated the fireplace. This is a very dangerous situation. The structural integrity of the chimney no longer exists and wood is now indirect contact with a part of the chimney that will get hot enough to combust wood and start a fire. All of this was conveyed to the homeowners. Even if the drill is removed the fireplace is not functional for any activity that causes heat. Our company did not know how bad of shape the chimney was in until we removed the old ****** cap. We will enter that chimney and recover the drill once a structural engineer, city building/codes department or licensed and insured general contractor say it is safe to enter. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/05/05) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) That was not stated at the time, in fact what was stated was that it wouldn't be safe to have a **** in the ****place as there is a build up of soot. My **** inspector checked the chimney out the following week and noted none of the new issues that were now being stated. The **** place was in use on a regular basis prior to this company coming out and the home does have a full inspection. City ****** ****, and inspector have all approved so if this were the case, it should have been stated at the time. If this were the case, then why is the company not returning calls? No, this is actually a case of negligence and now an attempt to avoid taking responsibility for their mistake. My attempt at working this out is to avoid taking legal action but simply put, they dropped an explosive item in a ****place endangering my family, and dont want to invest the time, work or money into correcting it. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/05/11) */ Red River Chimney and Fireplaces services LLC offers to pay the homeowner making this complaint $***** per phone call made to us that was un-answered, declined, missed, or answered by voice mail up to $****** maximum limit. Please submit trough the *** a log of the time and date of the phone call, number called from and number called to. This offer expires 23rd of May 2022 at noon. We will accept a written statement from any government official who has knowledge of residential building standards that the chimney is "safe to enter". After receiving the statement, we will enter the chimney to retrieve the battery powered drill. If the homeowner is not able to obtain a statement from a government official, we will make a direct payment to the company of up to $****** to a engineering company to evaluate the chimney. This offer expires 23rd of May 2022 at noon. If we are able to retrieve the drill, we expect the homeowners to pay their remaining balance of $******* that has not been paid. The quote provided for the chimney cap and labor was for $***** A deposit of $**** was paid. There is a remaining balance of $****. Previous invoices have not received a response. Even if the drill is recovered we highly recommend not operating the fireplace due to all the wood that has fallen on top of the fire box due to water damage. If the fire code inspector evaluated the chimney the week after we left please submit the report. We have all ready submitted our photographic evidence of the severely damaged chimney from years of water intrusion. In our opinion no reasonable inspector can look at a chimney splitting open from its own weight structurally sound. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2022/05/12) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I appreciate the response. As of this date, we have not received a single invoice from this company. Yes, I agree the initial quote was 2000.00 and I would not have paid that balance as things were left the way they were but again, no invoice was received here. In fact, we discussed why they ceased contacting us, and of course to add merit to this fact, why would they now say they are communicating with us when they wouldn't respond to phone calls. Of course we did not send them any documentation as they have been avoiding communication. Im a simple man, I am happy to pay the 2000.00 once the drill is removed. "You break it, you fix it". I'm not sure how this is debatable or confusing. I am well aware of the status of the fire place, as I am also the fire chief here. It worked fine and the story has changed from soot build up that would cause a fire to wood damage that makes it too dangerous to get the drill out. I am going out of my way to do right here, and avoid any legal action however my offer is this: Whatever you have to pay to get that drill out is on you. Get that done and I will pay the 1000.00. Business Response /* (4000, 15, 2022/05/23) */ We can attempt to retrieve the equipment by installing a chimney clean outdoor at the base of the chimney. Since the chimney flues are on two different levels it may not be possible. There is a decent chance of it working. Can we install a chimney clean out door at the base of the chimney?

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