Business ProfileforGem Plumbing & Heating Services

Steam boiler installation at ************************************************************************* for ***********************. During the quote process, we specifically asked about the reuse of the existing chimney flue. The new boiler needed to be installed to the existing flue / chimney. We did not want a concentric vent system with wall or window penetrations. I asked that the scope be defined so there are no extras. *** replied that the new boiler will be vented same as the existing into the chimney flue.During the installation, the *** workers stopped and told my mother they could not finish the installation because it needed to be connected to the chimney flue. They went on to tell her that the installation would remain incomplete. However, they offered to get a guy right away that could perform the chimney flue work to connect the boiler and finish the installation. All she would have to do is pay the guy $2500 immediately to do the work. This guy, apparently not a *** employee, showed up to do the work. My mother paid him the $2500 because, as she put it What was I supposed to do? Leave the boiler unfinished? Id have no heat.This work that *** agreed to in the quote should not have been an extra. The *** employees pressured her on the spot with the threat of an incomplete system. The guy that was conveniently available showed up and basically conned my mother out of $2500. I write this email as a licensed professional Architect in the states of RI and MA. I understand how the construction quotes and change orders work. If *** felt that this work was outside the contract, there should have been a discussion, at which time my mother would have been afforded the opportunity to point out that the chimney connection was part of the contract she agreed to. How this was handled was not ethical. My mother was wrongfully taken advantage of and exploited. We respectfully request the *** make amends for this transgression.