Fortis Cleaning & Restoration Services LLC

An original appointment for duct cleaning was scheduled between 8-10am, with a follow-up carpet cleaning appointment set for 10am-12noon. The morning of the appointment we received a phone call at 10am, stating that duct cleaning work would begin at 11am. This of course forced us to push the carpet cleaning back until after the work had been done. Unfortunately, by 11am the duct cleaning crew still had not showed. After calling them they then said they would be there by noon. We finally had a crew cleaning the ducts out by 12:30. In addition to being egregiously late, the crew then proceeded to try and wring every dollar they could out of us. This included an initial charge of $300, on top of the $80 advertised service, for a 'blower housing cleaning' and 'A/C Coil Cleaning'. I can accept that these may cost an additional fee, but the company who performed this service last year did not charge us anywhere near this fee. Upon challenging the price-tag, they promptly decided to drop $150. Apparently this was a negotiable price... They also attempted to charge us for an 'additional vent' in the bathroom, and when we told them that we were not going to pay it they decided to clean it at no additional charge. It should be noted that the advertised 'special' included a total of 10 vent cleanings, and we had them clean a total of 6 with the bathroom vent included. The carpet cleaning went much better. The cleaner was willing to shift the appointment due to the late duct cleaning, and we finally began this at 3pm. He was very up-front with the costs and our various options, and the carpet was then cleaned with very little hassle.

The technician called to say he would be late. He arrived well after the appointed time and brought in a very dirty looking vacuum device (grime covered the suction tube). They had only brought one ladder and had to borrow mine for the technician's partner. They proceeded to take off the vents. The technician said he thought the return vent was too high for them to reach (it was located in the wall above the stairs), but assured me he could clean it via a downstairs vent. Despite my misgivings, I allowed them to proceed. They moved quickly, most likely too quickly, as I later discovered. They attempted to convince me to perform additional services for a total of $800, but assured me I could talk down the price to half that by telling the main office I had received a lower estimate. They did not clean up after themselves after they completed their work, leaving dirt and debris near where each vent was vacuumed. When they left, I noticed the AC's performance was markedly hampered. My thermostat reads 82 degrees even though my AC is blasting at full power. When I called the front office to report this situation, they said someone would call me tomorrow to rectify this. As of now, my home is sweltering. I urge everyone to avoid using this service. Even if they resolve the issue, it never should have occurred in the first place. My home also smells like dust and when I spoke to an Angies List-approved air duct cleaner, that person explained that the additional chemical treatment the Fortis technician offered me for hundreds of dollars was unnecessary unless mold was present and harmful in the absence of mold (due to the chemical potency).