Deep Breath

Total scam. I refused to pay them for their **itty services and they threatened to show up at my home. Avoid at all costs. If I ever see one of them in my neighborhood, I’m calling the police.

Do Not Use this company!!! We paid $ 1,000 for air duct cleaning & complete cleaning of our furnace with an extended 1yr warranty should it become dirty within that time. The first time I had to contact this so-​called company after the service was because the technician didn’t re-​connect our furnace when they left. Deep Breath said it wasn’t their responsibility, so we had to pay $ 150 for an electrician to do it. The second time I contacted them was to have someone come back to re-​clean the air ducts as they were once again clogged with dust. Deep Breath said they couldn’t find me in their system even with my invoice number, phone number & address. They said its not they’re responsibility to fix it cuz they just book appointments and Hung Up On Me!!!

0 stars. Same as others, they did not show up on scheduled date of ⁹⁄₂₃ after they gave me an appointment 3 months after the date I called. I rescheduled for ¹⁰⁄₂₉ after several phone call and they still did not show up while I waited for them in the 3 hrs window for arrival. Groupon eventually returned the money, but what a waste of time.

Looks like I was also one who was taken in by their Groupon. Not only did they cancel their first scheduled appointment with us, then fail to show up on time for the re-​scheduled appointment (weeks and weeks later), it now appears that they have introduced some kind of leak into our air duct system.
Since they performed their «service», the air from our vents doesn’t seem as hot or forceful as before. We were unfortunate enough to notice the problem (our thermostat never comes fully up to temp no matter how long the furnace is going) more than two weeks after they came out, so now they refuse to stand behind their work. Two Weeks! As if that is long enough to evaluate their work when the weather may not have been cold enough those two weeks for us to really need the heat, and now that it has gotten colder we really do notice the problem.
Now they want $ 49 to just come out and look at it again, which they are so generous as to apply to whatever additional service they will inevitably diagnose needs be applied to FIX the problem they introduced! I politely asked them to waive the fee given the circumstances and they refused to budge from their «strict policy». I don’t think I’ll be throwing more money down that hole. I’m already burning extra gas just try keeping the house habitable.
If they won’t stand behind their work, I would rather pay somebody else $ 50 for an honest assessment… anybody have a good suggestion?
UPDATE:
After calling some reputable businesses based on good Unilocal reviews (
and
) I received some advice that perhaps my furnace filters were just clogged after the duct cleaning. Based on this *free*, over the phone advice, I opened up my filters and duh! they were filthy! I cleaned them myself and the heat and force came back in full.
I almost want to give some credit back to Deep Breath that they did clean the air ducts… but on the other hand, they
A) left my furnace filthy without telling me this could be a consequence of the air duct cleaning
B) were not knowledgeable enough about the impact of their work to help me as these other businesses were able to
and
C) Still made absolutely no effort to do right by their work.
Bottom line, I guess I got what I paid for, and damage to my system was actually minimal, but the whole experience was extremely unpleasant. Still a big FAIL.

Do NOT use them!!! This was a Groupon deal. They came in immediatly wanting to know how many vents I had, then told me since they were dirty (the shock!) it would cost an extra $ 200 to use the ‘brush.’ I refused the extra charge, so they did the basic job, which was taking their shop vac and running it a few feet into the vent pipe. Worthless. They scuffed my brand new bathroom door edge with their shop-​vac hose (wracking back and forth while cleaning. Then, the tech hit my car while he left my house, claiming he didn’t know anything to the police, later. Police just gave up. Now, I have to pay for the repairs myself. Fly-​by-​night scam.

UPDATE: True to other reviewers word — THEY CANCELLED on us the day before! We DID NOT reschedule and will use the credit that Groupon gave us for something else. Something… LEGITIMATE!

Are you kidding me? I paid $ 69 (Groupon deal) to have someone come to my house and give me the hard sell? This was ridiculous.
One technician vacuumed my air ducts (didn’t seem to be any further in than I get with my own vacuum) while the other looked at the intakes and furnace for approximately 3 minutes. I got the line that my air intakes were the worst he’d ever seen and that they needed to be cleaned out NOW, for $ 45/​intake. He showed me pictures on his phone… I have no way of knowing if they were actually pictures of the intakes in my house or not. (Since they were cleaned thoroughly 3 years ago, I somehow doubt that I am in peril of death by dirty intakes.)
I knew as soon as he launched into his «good news/​bad news» spiel that it was an up-​sell scam, so I said I’d just take what I’d already paid for, thanks. At that point, he offered to call the office to see if they could lower the price. I thanked him and declined. By that point, I wanted them OUT of my house. Luckily, they were gone within 20 minutes of arriving. I’m certain the «cleaning» they did do must have been terribly thorough. (It was supposed to be a $ 518 service? Don’t I feel stupid for believing that!)
Don’t fall for this scam! If you already bought the Groupon, just eat the cost. It isn’t worth it to even bother.
UPDATE:
Big thanks to Groupon — after writing to them to let them know about this situation, they refunded my money. Although Deep Breath is clearly a shady company to be avoided, Groupon made things right and deserves recognition for that.

I hate giving bad reviews, but the service I received was horrible! I too bought the Groupon deal for $ 49, a «Complete Air Duct Cleaning». Yeah right! Basically 2 guys show up who speak very little english, pull out a glorified shop-​vac and shove that into the vents… no brush, no tools like on the website. They tried to charge me an additional $ 110 to clean the air returns… last time I checked, those were part of the air ducts! One of the guys spent the entire 30 minutes on the phone in my driveway yelling and arguing with someone, in his first language. Then, the «furnace inspection» was taking off the bolts and looking at the wires and rotor with the light that was on the end of his electric screwdriver. This was a pathetic attempt! I feel very cheated and upset.
Trying to get ahold of the company to complain and get a refund, I was on hold for 35 minutes only to be sent to a voicemail box. I doubt I will be able to get anywhere with them, but hopefully Groupon will be able to refund my money.
Reading the complaints, it looks as though the company oversold and used sub-​contractors. Not sure if that makes a difference in my opinion of the company, but I will hear them out if they ever call me back.

I have had the same Groupon experience as everyone else. They came to our house today and told us that our «Complete cleaning» we bought didn’t cover everything, and wanted to charge us an extra 500 bucks for a «thorough cleaning». We told them do what we paid for or give us a refund.
After they did the minimal work they could do, they decided to go into our attic because they do mold evaluations as well. Coming out of the attic we were told they would send us an evaluation, but they noticed right away that they would need to replace the insulation because it was obviously old. We actually replaced the insulation last November, just 9 months ago.
What a total scam. This company if just filled with one rip-​off after another.
AVOID AT ALL COSTS!!!

My review is for service purchased, but never received…
We purchased the Groupon. I called in late April to schedule after being on hold for over 30 minutes. I had to call more than once because guess what people — I don’t have time to sit on the phone waiting on hold all the time forever! I, too, have a job. That’s how I pay for things like vent cleaning.
I was told that the next available appointment was in July. July! So I schedule for a day in July that I somehow hope will work for me when time comes. The day before my service I get a phone message that «unfortunately» they cannot honor the appointment time and I need to reschedule for the next available opening. WTF?! Given how well my attempt to schedule in April went my first question is whether or not the next available opening is going to be in 2013 or 2014? Somehow, after being on hold for only another mere 20 minutes (calling twice, by the way), the person who was helping me was able to get me in for a vent cleaning appointment the coming Sunday — at 8 am. Ha! I end up rescheduling for early August against my better judgment after being assured that my Groupon will still be honored despite the fact that it technically would have already expired by my appointment date.
Turns out the date that I had originally scheduled for was not going to work. The next day I call back to reschedule. After being on hold for over 15 minutes each time and also getting transferred to some random voicemail box (where I was cut off when I tried to leave a message) twice, I finally reach someone. Now the next appointment is in September. Really? There seems to be no logical pattern or reasoning as to how their scheduling works because it strikes me as weird how the day before, I was able to schedule an immediate (within the next 5 days) appointment and the next day I’m another month+ out there. I end up canceling my appointment because of my experience just trying to get someone out to my house.
… Then I come online and read the reviews and now I’m glad I cancelled my appointment. Seriously Groupon, you need to do some research on these companies that you’re marketing, because otherwise, I’m never going to buy another Groupon again (or even go to any businesses that you’re selling Groupons for out of sheer fear that they have sub-​standard business practices to have turned to Groupon for marketing in the first place!).

Never one to be negative for the sake of being negative, but this service was not good. We purchased the Groupon many months ago for «Complete Air-​Duct Cleaning and Furnace Inspection» Little did I know that removing the register and cleaning the first foot that could be reached with a rigid tool was a «complete air duct cleaning» I asked about brushing out the ducts to remove any dust that is not in the first foot, and they said «that’s not what you bought»
Very very disappointing.

I have always followed the principle «if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all» but in this situation, I truly believe that I need to share my experience. I bought the Groupon in January as many others did. I called to schedule the appointment and was told July 3 was the first date (3 months seemed odd). I was given an appointment time which later became a «range». When noone arrived, I tried calling and was on hold for 20 minutes before being switched to voicemail. I left a message then tried to email. I received an email response that the time was a range, not exact appointment. I then received a call that he would arrive in 15 minutes. An unmarked white van arrived and a man with no credentials gave me his first name and wanted to see my Groupon then all the vents in my home. He brought in a large vacuum and began. He informed me that I had mold in half my vents and needed to do a full wash at an extra charge (the expected up-​sell), I declined and told him to just clean them. I had my air quality tested a few months ago and even with a dog, was given an excellent report. I have NO concerns about mold.
If I was uncomfortable initially, this just got worse. He was not happy about just doing the groupon, did not do anything other than look at my furnace (thankfully) and told me it was fine, that it was new. Well, they still need to be cleaned but he did nothing so I am hopeful it will continue to work.
I wish I had seen these reviews prior to having my home invaded. This is no company I would do business with and am actually shocked it was offered by Groupon. I have notified them of my dissatisfaction and hope that even if others bought the Groupon, they will not allow these people into their home.

Terrible! Completely unprofessional!
I bought a Groupon (should’ve read the reviews here first.!) But yes, everything the other reviewers said here came true for me… they showed up late (my service had to be scheduled in April for the last week in June. huge wait time), asked for extra to do everything. At one point, those guys wanted $ 35 per vent (like every average home, we have atleast 2 per room… do the math!)
Folks like these give the business a terrible name. Take everyone’s advice… use your money wisely elsewhere!

Terrible service.
First of all, it takes forever to get through, if you are lucky enough to actually reach someone. Sometimes some weird message will come up about how the person at ext 3452 is not available when you didn’t call that extension. and then go to voicemail.
I had an appointment at 8 am. They called at 7:50 to cancel. Okay, fine. Then they wanted to schedule for a Sunday at 8 am. Um no, thanks.
I rescheduled, which again, took for f**king ever, for 3 months later. I received a confirmation call 2 days before the appointment. They had it for 10, I had it down for 11. Okay fine. Come TODAY, the day of the appointment, it’s now 11:01– not here. I email these guys after being on the phone for about 30 mins (
) and complain. They tell me it’s supposed to be BETWEEN 10 and 1. WRONG. That’s not what I was told. No apologies, nothing
This company is HORRIBLE. I am complaining to groupon and getting my money back.

I bought this groupon back in January before all the bad reviews. Damn.
The Groupon I bought was for Deep Breath Air Duct Clean, but Deep Breath Air Duct Clean is not who performed this service. I guy calling himself «Joe» showed up. Totally upsold me on service I didn’t want then took my check, within minutes of leaving my house, to the bank and cashed it. He told me to write the check out to «Elad» which is his ostensible first name. We got a copy of the cancelled check from our bank which he had altered to include his last name.
Turns out his business, Pacifica Air Care, does not even have a business license and has numerous complaints to the BBB and L&I.

Updated 5÷15÷12 Less than two months after the cleaning performed by Deep Breath, my furnace simply stopped working. I am LUCKY that I have a friend in the industry, who does house-​calls. He came within a few hours, and took a look. The motor had come loose. It is held onto the furnace by just 3 bolts, which had apparently been hand-​tightened. I was just so disappointed — the last person to touch that motor, or those bolts, was the tech who took the motor apart to check it as part of my furnace inspection.
I just can’t recommend this company.

I had an appointment today btw 1−4pm. I called and confirmed. The guy that was to do the cleaning left me a message that he was on the way. I call back to say that I was home and waiting for him. But no one ever showed up. Been here all day waiting.
Now I’ve read the other reviews and perhaps the fact that no one showed up was a good thing. I have had the exact same experience. I’ll ask for a refund, too.

This company is a fraud. I bought the Groupon and regret it; I’m asking Groupon for a refund or credit for another Groupon. It’s impossible to deal with these Deep Breath people. Their only contact information is a California-​issued toll-​free number. They never answer the phone and their system takes 18 minutes to go to voicemail.
They’ll call back days later, very rude, very inflexible with scheduling, and other times won’t call back at all. Reading these other reviews I am putting a stop to it right now before they even arrive for service. I will not put up with their bullshit high-​pressure up-​selling of their highly over-​valued service.
Don’t fall for it, don’t even let them come to your door. If you bought the Groupon ask for a refund; the shear volume of dissatisfied customers will speak quite loudly and Groupon will do the right thing.

Bought the Groupon $ 69 complete home ventilation and furnace inspection with optional $ 20 dryer vent cleaning. They told me that 2 of my vents were not covered under the coupon and would be $ 35 each to clean. It sounded fishy so I called the company and was told that was correct and I needed to pay the guy directly. I watched them the whole 30 – 40 minutes they were in my house and all they did was pop off the vents and vacuum around the edges. When I showed the guy the picture on their website with a professional looking hose with brush at the end (not what they were using), he said that was an extra charge and not all houses needed that. I feel completely ripped off and no where on the groupon does it state that not all vents could be covered… in fact it says COMPLETE VENTILATION cleaning. which to me is false advertising. I am really pissed I let myself get taken advantage of and want to warn others about the upselling and false advertising that this company is obviously known for doing… wish I had read Unilocal before purchasing. The value of $ 518 was grossly overstated – 2 guys who barely spoke english with a beat up old vacuum should have been my first clue that this was going to end up badly. $ 69 +$ 65 upsell =$ 134 of my hard earned money wasted.

Very interesting actually. Bought what I thought was an air duct and furnace cleaning. Ended up paying forty bucks on top of my already paid groupon for an additional service I was told was $ 5. Will not go back. Felt as if I was being taken.
Contractors used and show up with an unmarked car and no ID. Pretty Shady.