I was called by Thompson Heating and offered a furnace inspection and tune-up for $58. I agreed to this service. While servicing my furnace the service tech. showed me what appeared to be holes in my heat exchanger and that CO Carbon Monoxide was leaking into the air in my house. He subsequently red-tagged my furnace and said he was obligated to shut it down. He was more than glad to set up an appointment with a sales rep.

After the tech. left, I called to set up an appointment for a second opinion later in the afternoon. Next, the salesman showed up. Wrote up an estimate of $4, 500+ to install a new 80% efficiency furnace. He tried all he could to close the deal, besides being one of the coldest days of the year. I told him I need just a few hours to think about it and get a second opinion, which he was not comfortable with. I told the salesman to leave the bid and I would call back in a few hours if I was still interested.

Later that same day, a different heating specialist came over and inspected my furnace. I stayed with him and we were unable to find any cracks or holes in my heat exchanger. Although my furnace is old and will need to be replaced in the not too distant future no holes were found. Also, CO testing showed 0 [zero] CO emissions into the house. This cost me another $70 service call. Finally, I was told he could install an 80% efficiency unit for between $2, 800 and $3, 000.

Later that evening it occured to me that the service tech. from Thompson showed me a video tape of the inside of a bad heat exchanger. I saw him use a remote control under the guise of " I'm recording this for quality purposes."

These people need to be put out of business! Upon further research, as of 2/2009, Thompson Heating had the most complaints with the BBB of anyone in their industry in Cincinnati. They have a D rating. I found complaints lodged with the Attorney General and no one I've talked to has anything good to say.

I hope this complaint gets viewed.

Bottom line, ALWAYS get a 2nd opinion when faced with a major purchase or repair AND I would discourage doing business with Thompson Heating in Cincinnati.