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"as advertised"

"Astar: S#!tshow Incorporated An absolute catastrophe from the moment I sent them money until they finally got their act together to finish the project four and a half months later (with mediocre results at best). Their ability to communicate was abysmal and they utterly failed to take any sort of meaningful responsibility several times over. They proved unable to track information both internally and especially coming from me (even by email!) and in the end seem not to have much of an understanding of the products they sell. The trouble initially arose from their failure to note the several times I told them I was in Putnam rather than Dutchess county. It turns out they're not licensed to work in Putnam, but rather than doing the right thing and telling me that so that we could find a solution, they gave me nebulous excuses about how there was a snag with the electrical permit and that it was going to take a little more time. They were quick to get some things installed (probably so I couldn't walk away from the contract if I learned what was really going on), but then were unresponsive and would only give me a runaround on when things would happen and never answered my questions fully. This issue almost screwed me out of a rebate as I had to tell them several times that I'm with NYSEG instead of Central Hudson before they got it right. Their initial timing estimate left me with the choice of shlepping diesel for a few weeks to keep my hot water running or dealing with 100+ gallons of fuel oil when the job was done, so I went with the former. That would've been easy if it had hit their early target of two weeks and a reasonable but manageable hassle at their late target of six. They left me cold for three unexpected months (Jan-Apr) during which I spent many hours and hundreds of dollars on diesel, firewood, and electric heaters (not to mention an astronomical electric bill). In compensation they took roughly $1200 off my $43000 bill, which feels about like getting a dollar tip on a $20 check. Along the way, there were other issues (such as their plan to leave the boiler "as a backup" for me to deal with despite my having told their sales rep point blank that my whole aim was to remove the boiler). The quality of work was OK, but by no means great. The vents they use are absurdly cheap, don't really open & close properly, and the control knob frequently comes out when I try to operate them. Information from the installation planning meeting was either ignored or changed on the fly but their technicians, and one of their guys gouged my mechanical room door while removing the old boiler tank (which would've been easily avoided with the extra minute's work to put a blanket over it) & didn't so much as apologize for it. On top of it all, I'm still finding trash from the job around my property. Finally, their design of the system doesn't allow different rooms to run different functions; an issue I never would have accepted if I'd known. (for what it's worth, that seemed a surprise to the technician who came back to address the non-functioning thermostat they initially left me with). Also: upon the end their last scheduled install day, and with zero warning that this was going to happen, the installer demanded that I pay the remaining $23000 balance right then and there as though everyone simply has that amount of cash in their checking account or available on their credit card at all times and would not leave until I put half on a card, only accepting the half payment because I could name issues they still needed to come back and fix. Jason, the rep that sold me the system in the first place was kind, courteous, and gave me lots of faith in that company. I don't believe that was misleading me intentionally, but I deeply wish that they'd sent someone less likable and more reflective of the way their company actually operates. They sell an image of professionalism that absolutely misrepresents them as a company. Listen to the complaints about their outlandish pricing and terrible service. Jason told me that Yelp offered to scrub the bad reviews for them for an exorbitant amount of money and to trust the other sites, but I can only conclude that it's a lot cheaper to manage your brand image on Angi and other, less ubiquitous review sites."

"It was not bad. They were a little bit pricey. They were very professional."

"It went fantastic, Highly Recommend them!!"

"They did a great job in a a very satisfying time period. Picked up the mess and we're verify accommodating. Price was totally acceptable."

"I am a single female and mother of 3. I have used ridouts for 3 years to check my heating and cooling at beginning of the seasons as they usually run specials. My furnace and ac were about 7 years old and professionally installed. I also always pay with cash or check when they come for the service call. For 3 year they have refilling my refrigerant when I suspected a leak I was told that It was just cheaper to refill it and it wasn’t illegally leaking yet. Then last December I called for no heat. Scott the owner was able to come to my home in a reasonable amount of time. When he arrived he went to my furnace and in about 5 min he told me that I had a furnace that had a bad heat exchanger and that the brand offered warranty work. I asked him how much this would cost, would I have heat through the weekend and if he had done this warranty work for this brand. To which he said no, this would be the first time and it might run you 400-600 in labor because that would not be covered under the Brands warranty. So I asked would it happen again if it was the same part that was being replaced, should I not just think about replacing the whole furnace? To which I was told, “Even if you told me today you wanted a new furnace, I do not have time to replace it. I don’t know what you believe in but you better pray what you have lasts you the weekend.” I was very upset by this and asked him if it was running now and he told me he was going to rig it to work on high. I told him I wanted to talk to my dad about it and get some quotes first before I made any decisions. He walked away from me and made a phone call on his phone as he was leaving and I asked him how much I owed him for the visit to which he said we will bill you. About a week later I had 3 other company come and give me estimates on a new furnace none of them worked on the one had. But I did ask one of them if they knew how my furnace was rigged. His eyes got really big and he said do you have windows cracked... I said no and he asked if I had co2 detectors, which I did and then he said I’m not sure and looked at my furans told me the safety switched had been pulled so they would bypass. I was upset that ridouts never suggested to open windows or worried about our welfare on top being treated rudely. Finally about a week and half later ridouts called me to set up a time to make the warranty repair work. I was a bit shocked by this and proceed to tell them I was getting quotes from other businesses to which the secretary asked if Scott gave me one. To which I told her what Scott said about not having time. She said let me talk to him and in about an hour I emailed a list of furnaces with prices. I know nothing about furnaces and I guess I was supposed to know and just pick one. I decided to go with a different company whom I was very happy with. When they took out my old furnace I asked them to let me know if the exchanger was bad for my own peace I’d mind. In about a week the own of the company who removed my old furnace said that the exchange was not bad but what they did find is that a fan was freezing up which would have caused the safety to be tripped. So long story short they did not properly inspect my furnace and then they sent me a bill for the ordered parts and wanted to charge me shipping to send them back. I explained over the phone to Scott that I did not agree to the work and he should not have order it with out my consent therefor should not be responsible for those fees. To which he said if you don’t pay I’ll send you to collections. I would never recommend anyone who does business like this. Scott is lair and crook."

"They charged me over $900.00 to fix my toilet. Please stay away TJs."

"It took the plumber 25 minutes to tap into existing line and attach connector water line to refrigerator. He charged me $250.00."

"Falsely advertised their "lifetime warranty." Would not correct this or provide any compensation. Manager provided disrespectful customer service. Would NOT ever use again."