Community Heating & Cooling

Community Heating & Cooling is NOT a legitimate repair company based on my experience today. If you have a Heating or cooling problem do NOT call Community Heating and Cooling, call someone else. It was soooo weird, it was like they didn’t even acknowledge that their job was to repair anything. They just documented things without any quote for fixing my problem.
My home warranty company sent them out to address a furnace that was going on and shutting off intermittently. Obviously I needed this fixed whether or not the warranty company paid for it. The guy from Community acted like he was a city code inspector rather than a repairman… sooooo weird. He looked at everything in my attic (roof, water heater venting, furnace) and took pictures and wrote a report of everything that he thought was «not up to code» or «possibly unsafe» or «installed poorly».

After his visit I still no idea what specifically is broken or how much it will cost to fix it.
An example of why he’s not a repairman: He documented with pictures and on his report that «a paper towel had been unsafely stuffed» around a tube in my furnace. He did NOT EVEN REMOVE THE PAPER TOWEL! Even though it was too close to the flame.
I asked him why he didn’t just pull the paper towel out and he said it was «unsafe». When I called the office to complain about the entire visit I brought up the paper towel as an example. Kathy said he couldn’t possibly have removed that paper towel because of liability. When I asked why a «repairman» hadn’t done anything to repair anything or even quote any repairs she said «We couldn’t possibly touch that furnace!» I hung up at that point.
THIS IS NOT A REPAIR COMPANY. THEY ARE A HOME INSPECTION COMPANY FOR HOME WARRENTY COMPANIES AND YOU PAY THEM $ 65 JUST TO WRITE A REPORT AND DOCUMENT EVERYTHING WRONG IN YOUR HOUSE.
Call a real HVAC company if you need a repair.

Called them for a heating cert. Guy showed up, I believe, expecting a bribe. Said I’d «have to pay him when it failed». Not catching on, I asked what he meant, and after an awkward pause, he explained that I would owe the certification fee ‘if’ it failed. I had him do the inspection on a relatively new unit which was working flawlessly, as I was sure it would pass.
He said I had a cracked heat-​exchanger. Couldn’t show me the crack even with a lighted camera scope. He even gave me the whole story about how I could kill people with carbon monoxide. He dismissed the fact there was a working carbon monoxide detector just feet from the furnace. In and out time was less than 15 minutes, most of which was spent explaining that he couldn’t certify the furnace, couldn’t replace the part; and would need a whole new furnace which would cost $ 3,000– $ 6,000.
This sounded wrong. I asked around and determined that (1) a crack in the exchanger would be obvious and could be seen in a mirror with a flashlight, (2) the exchanger can be replaced without buying a new furnace, and (3) that the unit should be under warranty. Checked with Carrier, verified that it was indeed under warranty.
Called Sun Ray in Matteson, since they were listed as a Carrier certified repair dealer. They came out, were very professional, very thorough, and certified the furnace without any issue. Their inspection took CONSIDERABLY longer, was WAY MORE COMPREHENSIVE, and returned NO ISSUES WHATSOEVER, specifically, no issues with the heat exchanger.
I accept a good deal of fault for this situation. I received a list of approved companies that could do the cert. Being naïve and confident, I called several to find what they charged for the service. Community was the cheapest, by a considerable margin. I can now understand why. It was worth paying the extra money to have a professional do a real assessment.
I cannot dissuade people enough from using Community, and would without hesitation recommend Sun Ray.

beware* if community heating & cooling inc. is servicing your ac unit or furnace you will be needing a replacement in ten years or less! they provide very poor servicing! i purchased a new furnace in 2004 which community has been servicing, annual y & had to replace it in nov. 2014, and a ac unit in 2006 which stopped work ing 3 yrs ago! they are not to be trusted! and i do intend to contact the attorney generals office concerning this matter

BEWARE!
These guys are terrible. They sold me expensive outdated equipment and did a lousy soder job that needed to be serviced later because there were several places that leaked. Not to mention some attitude from the people over the phone. I had to eventually replace what they sold me 3 years later and buy a new unit from another dealer.
FYI: You no longer need to purchase boilers with pilot lights anymore! Pilot lights are OLD technology!!! But this place is still selling units with pilot lights. Get a clicker like on your stove top which is available now in new units.
Avoid this place if at all possible! Go elsewhere!!!