This winter's temperatures have been cold and unpredictable and the heat in your home could be just as unstable.
Home furnaces are causing many people problems this time of year. Multiple heating and cooling companies list the top problems consumers face are lack of maintenance, dirty filters and wear and tear.
And as furnaces get older, the more problems they can cause.
Experts say the best way to be pro-active are doing annual checkups, but in Cleveland weather, it's especially easy for them to get over-worked.
But even when they're new, problems can arise, and that’s exactly what’s been happening to Norman Dorety and his wife in their Medina home.
"This has been one bad experience after the other, it would just click, and then it would stop clicking,” he said.
Since December, Dorety says his two-year-old furnace has been the only thing on his mind.
He’s had to call an installation company out six times to fix it and was charged for the visits every time.
Dorety is still under his manufacturer's 10-year warranty, which covers all replaceable parts, meaning he should only pay for the service.
On the sixth visit, the company realized he needed a new circuit board and to his surprise, he was charged an additional $350 just to have that put in.
"Now if I had a 15-year-old house here, or 10,12-year-old house and the furnace wasn't on warranty, I could perfectly understand paying for everything," Dorety said.
We reached out to the Better Business Bureau, to find out how people can avoid such charges.
Ericka Dilworth, Director of Operations for the Cleveland BBB said the pricing for services and replacement parts can get really tricky.
“It’s kind of all over the board, depends on what your warranty says,” she said.
The best thing she said consumers can do, is know all the ins and outs of your warranty, that’s a good rule of thumb before issues occur.
Also, if you need work done, most of the time your manufacturer warranty will allow you to utilize another provider, so she recommends getting that second opinion.
Something most people might not know is that you can even check with your city to see if a permit was pulled when the furnace was installed. If so, they may be able to come inspect it and help you get the work done that you need.
Lastly, if all else fails, you can file a complaint with the bureau, if you're unhappy with your provider.
