Complaint Review: Ariel Services - Brooklyn New York

We hired a "Licensed" technician from this company on Monday Oct. 15th 2012 to come inspect a gas line for possible leaks, in order to receive services from Con Edison, which was a mandatory requirement.

The company has several names, DG Mechanical, Best Plumbing & Heating, Ariel Quality Services and lastly Ariel Services. I contacted the phone number provided on the Ariel Services website (Http://www.arielservicesnyc.com). On the phone I spoke with a very rude female representative, who turned out to be their "Manager", which I found out later. The conversation during the first call was very basic. I wanted to know how much it will cost to have the gas lines inspected, as required by Con Edison and if a free estimate/quote was possible, which she complied to, giving me a pricing and asked if she should send a technician over. I said yes, after asking her if I will be charged anything, where she answered "No".

Once the technician (Kyle Allen) arrived, he took a quick look around to figure out where everything was located. I figured that it was a free visit, considering the free estimate/quote, however when I told him that I'd contact him back later today about his services, he required a $85.00 service fee (Which on their website, they specifically advertise "No Service Fee".) So, after careful consideration, we decided to hire their services, one of which was to avoid paying the service fee and also because they were supposedly licensed (LMP# 896) and had the best price I could find at that point.

So, so far so good. The inspection was done, nothing was broken. After the service was finished, I asked Kyle to finish the job by filing the paper works necessary over to Con Edison and he told me that this will all be taken care of at the office. When I asked will there be any additional charges, he said "None". I paid him cash in the amount of $475.00, as requested (Although their website, again specifies that their company accepts, credit card, debit, checks and etc) I didn't question him yet, he finished the first portion of the job and now all I had to do was wait for the rest to be finish from his office. He told me that someone will contact me before the day was done. In the end, nobody contacted me, so I waited till the next day and contacted them to
ask if they finished filing everything or if they need any information from us in order to proceed.. the male gentleman I spoke with told me that he will ask the technician for the summary of the inspection done and our business address and that he will contact me within a few hours.  Again, after waiting, there was no returning phone call.  So, finally, today I contacted them once again and I was lucky enough to speak with the female manager.. once again.

This is where everything comes to light.

She stated that; In order to file any paper work that it was necessary for us to let them know in advance before anything was done, so she could calculate the additional fees... wait what? She, nor the technician mentioned anything about any additional fees previous to this conversation, even after I've emphasized that filing had to be done with Con Edison.

When I mentioned to her that the technician (Kyle Allen) told me that there were no additional fee's, she simply replied "Oh, he's a technician, he doesn't know anything". My reply to that ignorant statement was that, whether he knows anything or not, as an employee of the company, he should not be false advertising, or misinforming clients about charges and fees that was not aforementioned. I was totally blindsided. So after I paid the $475.00, after they tried to charge me a service fee, now they want more money from me.. does this count as the old "Bait-n-Switch"?

Back to the conversation. Now she was raising her voice, cutting me off and being as rude as possible. All she kept yelling on about was that "As a manager, I can't provide any services for free". I said "fine", give me your bosses phone number and give me your full name. She ignored me and just kept asking for my phone number in return. When I confronted her about not giving me her name, she replied "Oh, I have your number here" and then she hung up.

I tried calling back and here are the results:
-Ring, busy signal.
-Ring, voice mail (forwarded to another number)
-Ring, call has ended.

After doing some research about the company, I was able to collect the
following phone numbers which are all related to their company:
212-426-2180
212-961-0525
718-766-5800
718-766-8300
347-422-5279
212-937-1144
646-862-4937
718-989-5604
646-862-4855
646-862-4939
718-629-0298 (This is the number associated to D & G Mechanical, which is listed on the NYC.org License details page.)
and finally 347-235-2847* (I placed an asterisk next to the last number, because all of other numbers, all lead back to this one..)

Now, I can't get in contact with them, although their website specifies "24/7 guaranteed customer service", which isn't guaranteed at all.

So here is a breakdown of my complaints.
-Falsely advertised their customer support.
-Falsely advertised their fees.
-Has failed to fulfill their services.
-Shady business practices.
-Unable to provide necessary information.
-Said they only accept cash, while their website advertises otherwise.
-Attempted to include a service fee (which is still written on their receipt @ $85.00) although their website advertises otherwise.
-Has not returned my phone calls.
-Is not picking up my phone calls.
-This is my final complaint: They lied, misinformed, falsely advertised everything.

My main concern is, we had to get the gas lines inspected so I can get some heat in the offices during the upcoming cold season, however, without the licensed plumber's paper work, Con Edison will not activate my services. So, now I have to spend another $450 - $550 to get another plumber to stop by and run the inspections AGAIN.

Side notes:
They have waaaay too many phone numbers.

All of their employees that I've spoken with so far has either lied or is incompetent.

Their office (according to google maps) is the shadiest looking location I've ever seen.

I find it to be strange that all of their numbers all connect to one phone number and that all of a sudden, nobody wants to pick up.

The license number# 896 belongs to a gentleman by the name of Patrick Lynch, who is supposedly the President of BEST Plumbing & Heating Co. However, there is no mention of his name or any of that information on their business cards or websites.

Here are the 4 names of the people all somehow associated with the company:
-David Gutman(?)
-Patrick Lynch
-Ariel Mizrahi
-Kyle Allen (The technician)

Please beware of this company, they are shady as hell and VERY misleading.