Centerpoint Chimney

This company came recommended by a friend of ours. However, I encountered the same issue with the other two reviewers. I requested a cleaning and he inspected it, told me that it was too clean to sweep — instead of $ 75 for the inspection he said that it would cost more to clean and so he recommended that I save my money. I Thought to myself, ok that’s really nice of him.
However, he proceeded to show me on his cracked iPhone screen pictures showing issues with the chimney and repair work necessary and I subsequently received a quote of $ 7000. I hired another company to inspect the chimney for a second opinion — to confirm the issues and at least so I could get a second quote for the job. The second company told me there were no issues with the lining nor was there significant damage just some masonry work at the top because of normal water damage — cost me around $ 150-​$ 250
I’d like to give people the benefit of doubt and like car mechanics you end having to trust professionals and go with what they see and recommend — it’s a leap of faith. However, with two separate Unilocal reviewers having very similar experiences, it does raise red flags for me. I will probably hire a third company (certified of course) to sweep next year and see if they mention anything about liners needing replacement or 7k worth of work. However I seem to doubt it. Because of the question marks surrounding the experiences of multiple people both with similar stories I would hesitate to recommend them.

I called to get my chimney cleaned. I was told I needed a new flue ‚$ 6000! They showed me fuzzy pics of my supposed flue to proove it was falling apart. They told me I could possibly get carbon monoxide if it wasn’t done. They were at my house literally 10 minutes. They also told me the chimney wasn’t dirty enough for a cleaning. The charged me $ 75 to «inspect», each of my flues. One for the fireplace, one for the furnace. I didn’t ask for an inspection! I wanted my chimney cleaned!!! $ 150 for a peek at my flues!!! I felt sick to my stomach. I got another highly recommended chimney guy to clean the chimney, not telling him what centerpoint suggested, just to see what this guy would say. He’s came in looked in the fireplace and flue and proceeded to clean. Once he was done I asked, so how is the flue? He told me it was pretty dirty and needed the cleaning. I asked how the structure was and he said it’s fine. I told him what Centerpoint told me. He looked shocked and said no way did it need work like that. I think these guys saw I’m in Bedford and smelled money which I’m not rich and thought I was clueless on this stuff cause I’m woman. Im so mad, $ 150 for nothing. Fraud!!!

This chimney guy seemed very cool, on the level, and honest but my gut tells me & I suspect that we’ve bean had in a big way …
I think this guy saw a woman very concerned about a house fire and a man with a nice car, the house, etc. (we are by no means wealthy folks) He talked earnestly of chimney fires, though his photo viewer never worked quite right to illustrate the chimney condition — chimney tiles I recall seeing in the one or two pics he did show were white not red as ours are/​were …
The quote in hind site (always 20 – 20) was astronomical for what materials, service & time it took — ONE day NOT the 2+ «until the job’s done» for such a big job as we were told. For the job itself, well a lot of tape was used. A lot. The double-​walled super high tech flue he boasted during inspection/​pitch is a flue with batting-​like material taped on with a lot of tape. A lot of tape. How long is that supposed to last? Some of it was torn already. Seeing inside the chimney to see the batted taped flues, there is plenty of room in there to have left the tiles in tact.
Mortar patches are already cracking. As they say in the biz, «bad patch job». Broken tiles were left in the chimney — we pulled a couple out from the living room where a former stove once vent into the chimney there. There was very little creosote on the tile shards; they were just black on the chimney facing side.
The system is making more crack bang pop noises than the last seasons.
Plus, I’m no engineer but I’m concerned the tile removal job may have an impact on the structural integrity of the chimney. ¿Am I seeing smoke come through the chimney bricks?
The flues, the chimney cap, the mortar, ¡the tape! all seams chintzy not worth 7k. I can only hope it’s safe.
With home repairs, contractors, etc. there is little-​no recourse after the job is done & perhaps not done to spec or done well. Thus, the Unilocal review …
Homeowners with chimneys beware…