TLC Duct Cleaning

I was just contacted by TLC who said that they had serviced my furnace last year (no, they hadn’t), it was time for their annual service call, and they gave me an appointment time later this week. I told them my furnace is serviced by my oil company but the woman said TLC is doing that service now, which is not true.

I purchased a groupon for this company. They showed up and convinced me to purchase several additional services for around $ 200 — it seemed as though the groupon was simply to check vents, not to actually do any cleaning. That was in 2013. I moved states shortly thereafter and have since been solicited by them FOUR TIMES. I keep requesting to be removed from their contact list and let them know I haven’t authorized them to contact my cell, but apparently that’s a difficult concept to grasp. I was trying to explain this to their caller just now, and she hung up on me in mid sentence, prompting me to right this review.

These guys just showed up at my house. The problem is, I never contacted them for service. I’ve never even heard of them. I DID contact a company, but it’s a totally different outfit out of Bellevue and I can’t seem to confirm they’re related in any way. I plan on contacting the other company to see if they might have asked these guys to stop by — the other company was charging $ 99, TLC charges $ 49 (which is in red flag level).
I wanted to leave up a review though, because there were 3 things that stood out. First, they came in a marked van that had a toll free number, not a local number. Toll free usually (usually) indicates more credibility than local numbers and I do note a LOT of contractors in Washington just pass off a cell phone as their business line which is problematic. Second, the guy was polite about it when I told him I hadn’t contacted them for service (and again, I have no way of confirming they are or aren’t associated with the other company). He thanked me for the time and left. No sell, no scam, nothing.
Third, when I look on the website, they DO have a UBI number that is verified in the State of Washington. So I’m not sure where Joshua gets off saying they’re not bonded or licensed; yes they are. Now maybe they weren’t at the time of his review because the effective date is in October 2013. I’m not qualified to speak on the criteria for getting licensed/​bonded. But they formed an LLC which I DO have experience with, and it isn’t easy to do. They also went through great pains to update business profiles across the web. Try to avoid potentially libelous reviews — they can get you in trouble. I’m not saying they are or are not crooked, I’m saying there isn’t proof of them being crooked, and as of the time of this review, they appear credible, though new and possibly inexperienced.

Someone who said he works for this company had first contacted us by phone. The company and phone number he first gave us were not connected to him. The phone number was a sex line. We called the company name he gave us and they disavowed this person told to call the police. He just called us again giving us the name of TLC in Renton. That this is a probable scam. I can’t reccommend this company.

CALL THE POLICE IF THESE PEOPLE SHOW UP!!!
CALL THE POLICE!!!
REPORT THEM!!!
They DO NOT HAVE A BUSINESS LICENSE!
They are not licensed, bonded, insured, legal, you name it! They are operating illegally and scamming people out of thousands of dollars!!!
They even have a «Groupon» floating around.
AVOID!
If you see these people, call the Department of Labor and Industries and report a sighting of them. Then call the police!!!
These people have warrants out for their arrest!!!

DO NOT USE THISD COMPANY! They are a scam/​fraud. I was solicited on the phone to clean my duct system for $ 49. I thought that was reasonable. I have neverr had it done before. Make an appointment for them to come between 9 – 11:00 am on the day of the appointment. They called at 9:45 to say they would be here in a few minutes. The service was to take about 25 minutes. They did not show up until 11:30 as I was leaving to take my husband to the doctor. I said I would have to reschedule as I had to leave an they were very late. While I was at the doctor’s office waiting, they called back to reschedule. I said I was not happy because they were so late. He offered a 10% discount on the qwuoted price. I set the time for the same day at 2:00 pm.
They were there on time, came in with equipment the plugged in, using a camera, the boss lead me around the house to show me how much dirt was in the ducts. He talked very swave and even gave my husband a hug becausde they shared a birthday. What a con. He then took out a work form and marked what they would do. Clean out all ducts, including dryer vent and heater returns (2). I said ok. It took about 30 minutes. Then he wrote up the bill for me. The total was $ 1820.00. I was shocked. I did not have this kind of money. I said, you told me $ 49 less 10%. He said that price was just for the equipment. I said I cannot pay you this much. He said it’s ok we take payments. I said it is too much and I don’t see the 10% discount any where. He said he gave me a discount on the vents and no charge for dryer vent and deodorizing he put in the heater returns. I offered him $ 200 cash and a payment plan of $ 200 per month. He refused that. He said I had to pay balance in 2 payments 2 weeks apart. I was so upset, I said I do not have that much money. My husband and I are 82 and 70. I guess he figured we were rich or something.
Anyway, he would not leave, so I gave him 4 posted dated checks to cover the balance stretched out until Nov.3^rd.
I belong to Angie’s list. So I looked up three companies on that list and asked for a quote over the phone of what the cost would be to have this work done. Out of the 3, the average came to $ 480 plus tax. As a result, I stopped payment on all checks. The new total came to $ 521.28. I figured out the balance after the $ 200 I already paid, devided that into 2 installments. I am mailing the two payments for future dates to cover this cost. I felt this was fair and I did not deduct 10% to give them the benefit of the doubt.
I have also secured a complaint form from the Better Business Bureau to file a formal complaint.
I will mail the 2 new checks plus a letter of explanation to them. I don’t expect to hear from them again. I would give minus stars if I could.

i bought a group on from them and they never showed to my home because i didnt answer my phone. I called groupon and they refunded my money, thank god. I would not use this place

I had a very bad experience with this duct cleaning company too. Person name Peter talks too much. He came with another hispanic Guy. He had no tall ladder to reach to my dryer vent. He did the negative air pressure and cleaned the dryer vent. I don’t know was it cleaned properly. Through a camera he was showing the dust. But I couldn’t make the difference if it was cleaned or not. He kept on insiting to get the vents cleaned. He asked we $ 300. But for that visit I paid $ 60 and he asked for another $ 250 for the whole cleaning. He didn’t even show me the state license. He did not even gave me the receipt.

I would leave minus stars if I could. They are frauds! We purchased a groupon from this company for a dryer duct cleaning. They came to our home — the vendor then claimed to then clean the lint from the duct and told our nanny that «the dryer was hooked back up.» The only problem with that is a) they didn’t touch the vent — when we got home that evening and simply put our hand up to the outside portion of the vent from where they claimed to have initiated the work, it was completely caked with undisturbed lint we could grab out by the handful and b) the dryer in our basement was pulled out 6 – 8 inches from the vent duct making it clear it was not hooked up and the vendor never entered the basement. The job was essentially COMPLETELY untouched — AND they lied about it. When we then called the vendor to raise concerns, besides being called «sweetie» on the phone, we gave them the benefit of the doubt and figured perhaps they had a bad employee but that the company was okay. Instead they were unwilling to commit to a time they would have someone send someone to fix it, seemed indifferent, and when I suggested that I would post my experience on Unilocal,let Groupon know and report to the BBB, I was hung up on. 20 min later I got another call by a female then trying to schedule something. We provided a window between 8 – 8:30 AM that would work for us in the AM to have the situation remedied and were told someone would be here. At 8:25 when no one had arrived this AM I called the company. The same female answered the phone and said «I don’t know what you want me to do, he’s on his way.» (last I checked cell phones were a prevalent technology and organized and non-​fraudulent companies are able to contact and locate their workers). I inquired from where they were coming and were told that at 7 am they had lett Renton for the University Village area where we live. This is NOT a 90 minute trip — especially at that hour of the day. I asked why she had not called us pro-​actively to find out if the employee had reached us, and I pointed out that there is NO way the trip takes 90 min and that once again, whomever was fulfilling this service is not being truthful. She then hung up on me only to then call back in 5 minutes and announce to me on the phone «I found our driver and he says he’s nearby and I’ve told him not to come.» STAY AWAY FROM THIS COMPANY. THEY ARE CROOKS!!!

I am so impressed with the customer service of this company and their services. I spoke with the owner to schedule my appointment, and he came out personally to provide the service. He was knowledgeable and very respectful about being in my home. When I need my ducts and dryer vent cleaned again, this is absolutely who I will call.