Auchinachie Reviews

The site for open and honest feedback about your experience with Auchinachie Home Services in Binghamton, NY.


Open submission feature now available January 2025!

Did you come here to submit a review?

Click here to share your review with our user community.

Did you come here to read our reviews?

Browse our community submissions below, and also feel free to check out the Better Business Bureau review site.




Review Summary:

Negative Reviews 53
Positive Reviews 4
Neutral Reviews 0


Review #1

Summary: Water damage multiple times, improperly installed furnaces, bigoted comments, unannounced collection visits to my home, a lien on my property... and suing me! Beware of this company.
Rating: Negative
Posted: 12/23/2024

Resin in the toilet and all through our water system
Leaking water filter
 
Click to view full album of damage

I am writing to share my extremely disappointing experience working with Auchinachie (https://www.auchinachie.com) in Binghamton, New York. While I have plenty of feelings about this company and the individuals I interacted with from their leadership team, I will keep this review to a factual recounting of the details, and strip out as much personal interpretation of the events as possible in order to provide a non-biased and fact-based review, as a basis for other consumers to understand what they might experience should they consider working with this company.

I was new to the Endicott, NY area and moved into a house that was in need of replacement furnaces and air conditioners. Having no frame of reference, I asked my in-laws if they knew who I should call. They mentioned that there was a company called Auchinachie, and that one of the owners used to live in their neighborhood. Unfortunately, I took the recommendation at face value, foolishly did not do my due diligence, and reached out to this company. After meeting with Rich, I was quoted a price that seemed very high (over $39,000), but I needed the work done as it was the middle of the summer. I paid a large deposit and agreed to begin the work.

They sent a crew over for this job, and did eventually get the equipment replaced. Shane, the lead tech on this job was friendly, worked hard, and seemed to know what he was doing. However, near the end they ran into an issue with some of the equipment, and the thermostats were not working properly. After they left, I did quite a bit of troubleshooting (tinkering on my own, online research, and working with the manufacturer) and got one of the two thermostats to work properly. Despite further attempts at troubleshooting on my own, and with other technicians at the company, the second one was never able to work as expected. As part of the process of getting the new furnaces installed, I was told that I needed to unclog a drain in the utility room. On 7/16/24, another technician Jonathan was sent over to help with that. I asked if, while he was there, he would also look at 4 drains in my garage, as a couple of them seemed clogged. After a bunch of tapping on his tablet (a process I would later learn to despite) I was shown lots of really expensive alternatives, and then quoted a “lower” price price of $189 per drain. Now I understand there being a charge for a service call and having certain equipment, but thought it was a little excessive to charge that much for a process that would likely take a few minutes for additional drains in the same house/room. The technicians who were working on the HVAC equipment were there when the drain guy quoted me this, and I overheard them afterwards saying to each other that they couldn’t believe he was going to charge so much for the work. I asked the drain guy if he would consider a reduced price given the limited amount of time required and the fact that the drains were all right next to each other. He said he was just quoting their standard pricing. I asked if he might ask his manager, to see if in-light of a nearly $40,000 overall project, he might consider dropping the rate a bit. His response was pretty shocking: I can call my boss and ask him if he’ll give you a discount for all the drains, but he’s Jewish, like really Jewish, so, it’s not worth it. I was considering between calling the company directly to let them know what kind of people they had representing their company and kicking him out of my house. However, I decided I wasn’t there to have an intellectual conversation with this man or teach him about bigotry, and just told him to do the job as quoted. He got 4 of the 5 drains unclogged (was unable to address the 5th one), charged me for all 5 of them ($1,020.60), and went on his way.

During this time, we also had a leak in our tankless water heater. They sent Zach over to diagnose. He declared that this Navien product was not good, and while he could replace the broken part, I should really just buy a new unit. I was quoted $7,501.68. Trying to figure out how to avoid these continued expenses, I looked at the unit and saw the Auchinachie sticker on the side of the unit showing the install date. I looked in the manual and saw that it should still be under warranty. I brought this to the attention of Zach, who told me that it wasn’t actually under warranty, since I was not the original owner, so I would have to buy the new unit. Becoming a bit skeptical of Auchinachie having a primary goal of revenue-generation rather than appliance repair, I called Navien directly. The representative I spoke with confirmed that I was correct and the unit was in-fact under warranty. I let Zach know, who again told me that I was wrong. After additional convincing, I finally got him to take my comments seriously, and he did eventually admit it was under warranty and that Navien would be sending an entirely new replacement unit free-of-charge. I was still billed $2,000 for them to swap out the unit (translating this to an hourly rate gets exceeds most lawyers and doctors), but I was happy that I was at least able to advocate for myself and save $5,000. We needed hot water in the house, so I had them proceed with the replacement service. As a side note, I later find out that there is a service plan that I could have purchased that would have discounted all of these rates, but no one thought to mention this to me while I’m paying for all of these projects, until one technician did bring it to my attention. I was then told that it couldn’t be applied to any of the work that had already been done.

Auchinachie had also originally installed a water filtration system at this house, and said that they knew all about how they worked. They had another service call to do a tune-up on the machine and replace the cartridges. I was out to dinner (either than night or the following one), and when I came back home there was water all over the basement floor. It was pouring out of the water filtration system they had just been working on. I saw a shutoff valve near the unit, so I attempted to turn it off. Unfortunately, that actually opened the valve, rather than closing it. And even more unfortunately, they had left an uncapped tube sitting on top of the wall between two rooms. This caused water to start streaming down the ceiling and wall until I noticed what was going on, closed the valve again, and shut off the water main. When this was all done, I had standing water on the floor, damaged walls, and quite a bit of lumber that was ruined (we had been storing the baseboard for our entire basement in a pile in this area while the flooring was being replaced). They returned to find that something was cracked which was causing the leak, and told me that I would need to purchase a new unit. Again, the tablet came out, and again I swiped my card (I believe this was another couple thousand dollars). I spoke to Rich, the original manager who was the lead on our project, to explain what was going on so he understood what we were dealing with. He apologized and said to provide estimates of the damage/repairs, and that he would make it right. I provided those estimates, and was told that it was being taken care of and sent to the right people in the company. However, there was delay after delay, and I never was offered any sort of reasonable compensation.

The final project we entrusted Auchinachie to handle was servicing a water softener system (again, something they had originally installed in the home before we purchased it). Another technician came for this job and said everything had been completed successfully. A week or so later, I made a comment to another technician who was in the house that I was surprised that the water didn’t feel any different, as I was expecting it to have that “slimy” feel that water softeners often produce. He said that didn’t sound right, got a test kit out, and informed me that our water was still hard and that machine was not functioning properly. Apparently the technician who did the original work didn’t actually complete the job properly, and didn’t think to test the water afterwards. Someone was sent back to repair the job. He seemed frustrated with how it was going and said that he was just going to take a break to go have lunch because he was having trouble. He left with a puddle of water on our new flooring, and black resin on the floor, which I cleaned up while he was on his break. He returned and eventually said he had finished the job and we were all set. When we woke up the next morning, there was almost no water coming out of the shower, and the sinks were running slowly. There was also some black substance coming out of the faucets. Keith came back to investigate, and determined that something had gone wrong and there was resin throughout our water system. He went around the house taking all the regulators off sinks and showers and trying to unclog them. He said to keep trying to flush the system out the next couple of days, and that hopefully this should help. I thanked him for his assistance and tried to tip him on the way out the door. He let me know that he appreciated that, but it was against company policy to accept a tip and he could get fired. I was surprised to hear that, as four of his colleagues previously had no issue accepting tips before I learned that from Keith. Unfortunately, this was a short-term fix, as everything started malfunctioning again soon after. Showers weren’t working right, facets weren’t working right, and our dishwasher and washing machine were throwing error messages and stopped mid-cycle. Keith came back out and said that clearly there was still resin in the system, and something would need to be replaced in the unit. After speaking to his boss, he came back in to the kitchen with the tablet to break the news about how many more thousands of dollars I would be charged this time around. Before I could even get a response out, I heard a noise come from the laundry room. The door had blown open and it was pouring water out on the floor, in the closet, and through the hallway. I ran downstairs to find water raining through the ceiling. It soaked the insulation, damaged electronics, documents, and other items stored in the room below, and caused a mess. In an ironic twist of fate, just that morning we had prepped the new baseboard for the basement (the product we needed to replace as a result of the prior water damage caused by Auchinachie), and had it lying on the floor directly under where the water was coming down. It all got ruined. I asked Keith to come down to witness the scene for himself, just so no one thought I was making up a story so unlikely and unfortunate. He nodded and acknowledged. He helped clear out some of the faucets so we had water pressure, but said he was not comfortable handling the repair of the appliances, so that became my responsibility to address. As did the remediation of the water damage to prevent further issues or potential mold growth.

At this point, I made a decision I should have made many weeks earlier: Auchinachie was no longer welcome in my house. It also became clear that while they were still interested in collecting the balance of their invoice, they were not terribly interested in making good on Rich’s promise of “making things right” and offering reasonable compensation for all the issues I experienced. I had some back and forth over TXT and email that didn’t accomplish anything. One of those messages was Rich saying that he was going to be stopping over to discuss the matter and collect payment. I told him that I was working and it was not a good time for him to show up. Some days later, I answer the doorbell, and there is Rich at my front door. He had come to collect payment. This will be a summary of the conversation, but he essentially explained that:

He was aggressive during the conversation, and rather threatening in his approach. The most memorable moment was when he said “How about you write me a check for 20 grand and I never have to be on your porch again.” One might interpret that to mean that if I don’t pay him money on-the-spot that he will either not leave my porch, or I should expect him to continue showing up at my property unannounced. Despite the tense nature of the conversation, I thought we actually were able to come to an agreement. Rich asked for $20,000, I had in my mind that $15,000 might have been fair, so I decided to try and meet him in the middle and handed him a check for $17,500. He shook my hand and said “I appreciate you working with me.” I thought this might be the end of the saga.

However, the next day I received an email from Chris Holleran, who is the Senior Vice President of Auchinachie. I won’t recount the entire saga, but his original message came off as extremely aggressive, especially for someone who had never even spoken with me about the situation to get my viewpoint. He let me know that he would not accept the check that I gave Rich. I later learned that he wouldn’t even accept the $20,000 that Rich originally demanded/requested, and that Rich was acting outside his authority when he was negotiating settlements with me on my front porch. I’m accused of blackmail and informed about the law firms they work with that I can expect to hear from. I was also informed that I sneakily cancelled a payment (which turned out to be his office incorrectly charging the prior owner’s credit card that they apparently had on file, and they declined the charge). I suggest that rather than trying to intimidate me into submission, that it might we worth having a phone conversation with me to get his customer’s side of the story. He agrees and we have a roughly hour-long civil talk, where I explain to him about my experience. He seems extremely surprised to hear many of the things I say. By the end of the conversation, we have discussed a couple of potential solutions to resolve the matter. I follow up by email to recap the options we discussed, and provide him with photos and videos to back up everything I had explained. I again think we are headed towards a resolution. However, the response I got was very unexpected. I was told that his technician never made bigoted comments, that I hadn’t provided sufficient evidence (apparently 38 photos and videos of damage are less than he expects to see as a result of his employee’s work), that my photos did not support what I told him, that I was misleading and unethical, and that there was no damage to my home. I was informed that I had two options: Pay him in full or file a claim with my insurance company. I spoke with my insurance company who told me I had a $10,000 deductible, and that filing any claim (even for over the amount of the deductible) would likely increase my premiums. In essence, if I filed a claim for $10,001 that was accepted, I would be paid $1 and my premiums would likely go up. They also explained that I was under no obligation to file a claim, despite what Chris had insisted. I was advised to not follow Chris’s advice/demands.

When I shared this guidance with Chris, he replied letting me know that he will proceed with the “appropriate steps to recover the full amount owed.” I assume this means I will now need to deal with lawyers and judges to resolve the situation. I did just receive a Mechanic's Lien Notice in the mail. Even this legal document included factual inaccuracies, with fabricated dates to try and stay within the statute of limitations which had already expired. While I don’t know how or when this will eventually come to a resolution, I wanted to document my experience, both to have prepared for defending a lawsuit, as well as to help inform anyone else who is in search of an HVAC company in the Binghamton region. I have since worked with two other companies that have been wonderful to work with, professional, reasonably-priced, and competent that I would highly recommend. And I have also encountered 7 distinct groups that when mentioning "Auchinachie”, they just started shaking their head in disapproval of even bringing up that name in their presence.

Update 1/27/2025: Since this review was originally posted, I have since been served with a summons to appear in the Broome County Supreme Court. In addition, on the evening of 1/26/2025 I decided to invite some family over to do a bit of investigation, as our house has simply never heated correctly. There are entire areas that are noticeably cold, and my wife has been pointing it out to me on a near-daily basis that something is just not right. We identified that they removed our previously-zoned system and replaced it with a non-zoned system, but left the existing zoned-dampers in the shut position. For the last five months, we've been blowing air into a blocked duct (I'm sure this has been hugely energy inefficient and caused an increase in our rising NYSEG bill), which is why our house hasn't heated properly. My family member and I accomplished what numerous highly-trained service technicians were unable to on their own. For the first time, I woke up today and there was a more even heat distribution on the main level of our house.

Update 1/29/2025: Today a technician from Fancher Services came out. They fit me in same-day and sent out someone who was knowledgeable, patient, and thorough. He agreed with my assessment of how they improperly left the dampers in a closed position. He added on a mechanism to ensure they stayed open. In addition, he was surprised with how unevenly the house was heating, and how low the air flow was. After performing some tests, he discovered that one of the furnaces had been improperly installed. It is a two-stage furnace, however it was only set up to stay on the first stage. He was able to correct that mistake, which immediately helped with the air flow through the house. He next noticed that the house felt dry. Each thermostat had an attached humidistat, however when taking apart the humidifier, he saw there was no water being introduced to the system. He found out that there was no power going to the solenoid that allows water in. The wires were improperly configured, so the system could never possibly work. He found this to be the case on both of the furnaces. He got both of them properly wired so there was power to the solenoid. As a result of all of this, our hose was not heating evenly, it was not heating efficiently, we were wasting a large amount of energy, and our house has been very dry (which likely explains why we get electrical shocks so often). It is extremely obvious that no one thought to confirm that what I was charged for was working properly.

Update 2/5/2025: Today we had Fancher back out to address a leakly faucet in our master bathroom. Upon taking the fixture apart, they discovered that resin from the water softener issues had caused this problem. They got things cleared out, while explaining how someone improperly installed the water softener, and the facuet worked properly after.


Review #2

Summary: Worst
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025

<rating only - no details provided>


Review #3

Summary: Once Reputable, But No Longer
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

A once reputable company that has turned into a bunch of money grubbing, morally bankrupt, thieves. Willing to rake people over the coals every chance they get.

Just last week while standing in the checkout line at the Home Depot, I heard two gentlemen mention them in their conversation. I told them that I wasn’t surprised to hear their criticisms. The one fellow then proceeded to tell me that a nephew started to work for them awhile back. He was told to bill the customer based on what kind of car was in the driveway. He quit after 3 days because he was disgusted at how the company operates.

I’ve heard enough bad about them from countless sources. Such that in my opinion, they deserve every bit of criticism that comes their way.

They’re a bunch of rotten scumbags, through and through. I look forward to the day they’re no longer in business.


Review #4

Summary: Embarrassed to say how much I paid them
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

I will never use them ....years ago they charged me triple it would cost to just have my faucet and Hot and cold knobs changed out in my tub. I had nobody else at the time . I am embarrassed to say how much I paid them. They took advantage. I always tell my friends never to use them.


Review #5

Summary: Betrayal of Service
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

I had what I call a betrayal of service. A couple weeks after they fixed a bathroom sink and plumbing, a friend checked the work out. Not only did I have to call them back 3 times, my plumber told me I was taken advantage and sold a bill of goods. What is sad is that the repairman knew me, old and disabled and knew i couldn't check his upstairs service.


Review #6

Summary: Criminal
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

I’m shocked that their people don’t show up with a mask and gun. That’s how criminal they are. Don’t believe all the hype their commercials suggest.


Review #7

Summary: Scam artists and crooks!
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

100% agree, they are scam artists and crooks! They did so much damage to my house


Review #8

Summary: Quoted $6,500 for an $89 repair
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

Agree totally they tried to charge us 6500 for something Evans plumbing fixed for 89 dollars. They are a dishonest company.


Review #9

Summary: Take them to court
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

I had problems with them years ago and actually went to their place of business to get a refund. Take them to small claims court. You will get your money back. Make sure you have pictures.


Review #10

Summary: DO NOT USE List
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

when I bought my house, I asked my RE agent to give me a few good contractors. And these guys were att he too of the DONOTUSE list.

And ever since then, I seriously have not heard one good thing about them.

TBH, I think that they stay in business due to their size. They are successful at this, even if unpopular.


Review #11

Summary: Costly, but techs were great
Rating: Positive
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

I’m so sorry to hear that so many people had such bad experiences with them. We used them 2 years ago for a major job (new split furnace, duct work, new water softener and whole house water filtration system) The job WAS costly, but the techs we got were great. They were professional and we didn’t have any price issues afterwards because the price was agreed upon up front. It’s really something to see how many people didn’t have the same experience as us. I guess we were lucky?


Review #12

Summary: $212 for 15 minutes
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

I had them come out to the house to clean out a simple drain they brought no equipment charged me $212 and did absolutely nothing was at the house for 15 minutes.


Review #13

Summary: Expensive, false sense of urgency
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/1/2025 *

I had Auchinachie in to look at a problem. They said immediate repair was essential and charged a very high price for the repair. I later checked with 3 other companies, all of which said it was not an emergency and gave me quotes of about 25% of what Auchinachie charged me.


Review #14

Summary: Zero issues
Rating: Positive
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

Sorry you had negative experience, they put my boiler in all new pipes for heating and all water lines, water treatment and well pump and pressure tanks (person that owned before us took everything) zero issues here been over a year they also service both my rentals


Review #15

Summary: Made a mess of my yard
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

They overcharged me! Not very sympathetic to situations and their excavation crew they used to dig up my yard made a mess! I was promised they would fix my front yard. No one ever came back to seed or sod. Never using them again!


Review #16

Summary: Wanted to replace my whole furnace over a minor electrical problem
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

They wanted to replace my whole furnace, I asked them to leave, it turned out it was a minor electrical problem.


Review #17

Summary: Took them to small claims court
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

Yes my father in law had issues and even went to small claims court years ago. don't use companies with A's it seems companies beginning with A have issues.


Review #18

Summary: They are awful and always have been
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

My independent HVAC guy I hired worked for them for a year. He said he had to quit because he wanted to sleep at night and the illegal s*#t they were asking him to do haunted him. That was 20 years ago. They are awful and always have been.


Review #19

Summary: Bed reputation
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

They've had a bad rep for years so I thought once they were under new owners things would be better... Guess not.


Review #20

Summary: Carbon Monoxide poisoning used as scare tactic
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

I hired them to do an annual checkup on my furnace. They told me that I had a crack in some part of the furnace and that I was in danger of Carbon Monoxide poisoning . They said that they could replace the furnace that very day for only 2,800.00. I said that I didn't have the money to do that right now. So I bought 3 carbon monoxide monitors and not one of them rang. A few months later. I called another company to service my A/C unit and asked them to check my furnace to see if they saw any cracks . They went into the furnace with a camera and didn't find anything wrong. John Piccarelli heating is honest and reliable.


Review #21

Summary: Don't stand behind their labor warranty
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

They sell questionable products and also do not stand behind their labor warrantees.


Review #22

Summary: Horrible dishonest crooks
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

Horrible horrible dishonest crooks. Beleive me and anyone else that has nightmarish experiences with them. Run away as fast as you can and hide your money because they will drain you dry. Pun intended.


Review #23

Summary: $300 "just look at it" charge
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

I called them in June to fix a leaking pipe. I dug it up and everything. Piece of pipe was 5 feet long. I told her what it would take to fix. Lady told me it would be $300 just to come look at it. Then told me the "tiers" they had in fixing it. Band aid fix up to actually fixing it right. I about had a stroke. Fixed it myself for $100. Did it right. Posted on one of these FB posts 6 months later. Lady called my house like 15 minutes after I posted. Started making excuses for the $300 just look at it charge. Wanted to know if I still needed it fixed. Started offering discounts. I said it's been 6 months. It's fixed.


Review #24

Summary: Walked off with our parts
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

They spent 15 minutes replaceing two valves in our house and tried to walk off with the old ones. I kept them. Googled the parts and found them under 75 dollars combined. I took one of the valves to my usual plumber and he showed me how to adjust it with a turn of a screw and there was nothing wrong with it. They charged me 950.00 for the SERVICE and Bob Auchinhie would not come to the phone on multiple calls. Never Again!!


Review #25

Summary: Reputation for selling you a new product rather than fixing what you have
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

They have a reputation for selling you a new product rather than fixing what you have. I fell for that once when my hot water tank was leaking at the pressure valve. I was heading out on vacation and had not the time to dispute the claim of a crack below the pressure valve that I could not see. A few months later it was my furnace and they wanted to replace because they claimed it was too old for parts. I hired someone else who found the part after hours and fixed it for a reasonable price.


Review #26

Summary: "our truck doesn’t come out for less than $150"
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

I know an elderly couple who needed something looked at in their house. They asked about cost and the person they spoke with at Auchinachie said “our truck doesn’t come out for less than $150. Once we know what the problem is, there will be an additional charge to fix it plus the cost of parts”. Needless to say they called someone else. The person was so smug over the phone, it gives a very bad impression right from the start.


Review #27

Summary: Fire hazard
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

Several years ago we had Auchinachie install a new propane water heater in our home in Kirkwood. Two men came and installed the heater. Fast forward to last year; we were thinking of putting our home up forsale. Before putting it on the market, I wanted to be sure we were selling an ok house. I had a home inspector go through the house. He did an outsanding job. He supplyed us with a 25 page report, and 25 page of how to fix the things he found that should be fixed or those that we might want to fix, like a hand railing etc. One of the two things that were on his MUST fix list and number one was the propane water heater; Auchinacie put in. He stated to me it was a fire hazared, and needed to be fixed ASSP! I called Auchinachie and reported the problem he found with the installion. I talked to them three times,and they would do nothing, I even thought of Small Claims Court, but even if you win, you still have to get them to payup. Last time I talked to a Michael at Auchinachie, they would do nothing for us, in fact, he stated "one of the two men that installed our water heater is now his head instructor teaching his crew on how to install water heaters. " I had some electric work on that list done by Thancher Electric and plumb- ing. I called them, and they came and reistalled our PROPANE water heater correctly, that cost us $500. I highly recommend them for first class plumbing and electric work. PS: If you have had a PROPANE water installed by Auchinachie in the past few years, have the installion check. On another note. When I was a young man living in Conklin, the Auchinachie family lived near us, and were on my paper route. I not suere , but at that time, the Auchinachie nane was the place to go for plumbing work!


Review #28

Summary: Destroyed my finished basement
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/2/2025 *

They are the worse company to work with. They destroyed my finished basement and all of the so called work they did was not relevant to my origional problem and my basement ended up with major water damage. I hired another company that did a fantastic job that was much more extensive and half the cost that Auchinachie charged me for flooding my basement. Also the took all of my copper plumbing out unnecessarily, replaced it with pvc including the main line and took it without my permission. I have yet to pay these crooks. I plan on taking them to small claims court to replace the berber carpet and walls and the clean up crew I had to hire.


Review #29

Summary: My experience has always been a good one
Rating: Positive
Posted: 1/3/2025 *

Oh my goodness I am so sorry to hear about the problems people have had with them. My experience has always been a good one. The service technicians have always been phenomenal. And the staff has always been wonderful but that's been my experience ?? I work at 3 different Church organizations as well and they've been wonderful as well!


Review #30

Summary: Their techs aren’t really plumbers, they are salesman
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/3/2025 *

I agree. They are horrible. Their techs aren’t really plumbers. They are salesman that offer “good, better best” options after they break the thing they came to fix. I would sooner dig my own well or build an out house before calling them to do anything ever again.


Review #31

Summary: Unable to recommend Auchinachie
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/3/2025 *

Unfortunately I am unable to recommend Auchinachie in any way shape or form. My past experience with this business was anything but pleasant. I called them to repair a furnace issue in 2002 when I lived in Chenango Bridge. Their service person arrived and spent a few minutes surveying the problem. He then told me he needed to make a call and proceeded to walk out the door into my garage. He did not realize I’d followed him. He called his boss and after a brief conversation, hung up. He turned to see me behind him looking surprised. He then told me he was going to have to go in and disconnect my furnace and flag it as it needed to be replaced. I was told it was going to cost 4 to 5 thousand dollars. With a smile on my face, I hit the garage door button and told him to leave my property immediately. I called a friend that was a realtor and she sent a different repairman over. He replaced all of the seals on my furnace and was on his way in a matter of hours. It cost me 500.00 including the service call. I’ll never let Auchinachie near any property I own again.


Review #32

Summary: Worst company I have ever dealt with
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/3/2025 *

Agree 100%. Worst company I have ever dealt with.


Review #33

Summary: predator company
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/3/2025 *

excellent idea - these predator companies need to be run out of town - enough is enough


Review #34

Summary: Pressure tactics
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/3/2025 *

They tried to sell me a new furnace I didn’t need, and for top dollar too! The salesman told me it was dangerous than tried to pressure me into getting it right then and there. After calling several other companies and having them check the furnace, three said it was fine. Haven’t used them since.


Review #35

Summary: Good to me
Rating: Positive
Posted: 1/3/2025

I like them and they always give my grandparents discounts.


Review #36

Summary: I do my own plumbing so these folks will not get a chance to screw me
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/3/2025 *

Now that they have been sold best to use someoneelse. I caught them charging my elderly neighbor $2000 for a job that only called for cleaning out a bathroom drain. I do my own plumbing so these folks will not get a chance to screw me.


Review #37

Summary: Item never received
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/4/2025 *

I had a problem with this company years ago. The charged me $300 for an item I never received. They got caught. I went to a source that help the order public and got my money back. I would be very careful today with any company. They are out to get whatever they can. I’ve even had problems with the local realtor organization. They work both ends of the deal and you end up paying more because of them. Please people be careful and always look into who you hire. Always talk to others that have used the company you are looking into.


Review #38

Summary: It has changed a lot
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/4/2025 *

I called them cause a place I worked at used them. That was literally 42 years ago! It has changed a lot since then. $300 to drive a couple miles to look at a leaky pipe is a little to much. I could see paying them for there time but come on. If she would have said the $300 goes towards the bill if he fixes it I would have been ok with it. But $300 before he even touches a thing is ridiculous. It was a simple fix. I literally was having my knee replaced 2 days after this. Thats why I was struggling to do it myself. A plumber with everything on his truck it would have taken maybe a hour.


Review #39

Summary: Stay Away!
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/4/2025 *

Stay away from that company PERIOD!!!!!!!!!


Review #40

Summary: In the old days...
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/4/2025 *

In the old days we'd be outside their office with torches and pitchforks


Review #41

Summary: I totally overpaid
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/6/2025 *

I totally overpaid for a small repair to my furnace last year, and what's worse, I agreed to pay an extra $450 for the technician to "clean" my furnace, which took a small rag and about 10 minutes of his time. Avoid, if you can.


Review #42

Summary: Class Action suit?
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/6/2025 *

Charged $800 to have basement sink removed and pipes capped. Class Action suit?


Review #43

Summary: Worst company in the Tri-Cities.
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/9/2025 *

Worst company in the Tri-Cities. Literally stole thousands from an 80+ year old woman to fix our central air, claiming the damage was caused by the children changing the temperature on the thermostat. I had that claim checked by another company who said that's an impossibility.


Review #44

Summary: Souldering one pipe
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/22/2025

When I was just beginning with maintenance I tried souldering a water pipe. After many tries I called Auchinachi. $350 for one soulder joint. Never called again


Review #45

Summary: Work didn't hold up
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/24/2025 *

They did work for me 15 yrs ago, the work didn't hold up, they put tiles back up that fell ,put new splash wall around tub, replaced floor under toilet,replaced faucet in kitchen that I have to call them to remove screen for cleaning n not leave me a key to do it myself,


Review #46

Summary: They ROBBED my sick Mother
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/24/2025 *

They ROBBED my sick Mother 6700$ for 2 small ,furnaces that is for small houses.Mind you I tried to stop this from happening,but 5 or more guys circled her w her check book in her hand,
They more or less told me to leave her house.I wouldn't refer them to NOBODY.


Review #47

Summary: 40% to 100% more expensive
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/25/2025 *

Had them over one time to give some quotes for furnace related work before I learned better, they ranged from 40% to 100% more expensive.


Review #48

Summary: Refused to take any responsibility
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/26/2025 *

They did some furnace work for a family member a few years ago, tracked fuel oil through the house and refused to take any responsibility for it.


Review #49

Summary: We are so sorry we went with them
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/26/2025

We bought a system from them for a tankless heat and hot water system. It has been defective from day one and we are so sorry we went with them. They won't do anything about it and we have been without heat and hot water this week with single digit temperatures. This isn't the first time this has happened to us. I highly recommend you go elsewhere and STAY AWAY FROM AUCHINACHIE! They are horrible on keeping their systems running but are more than happy to charge you every time they have to come and half the time it doesn't work after they've been here. They "cleaned" the system which was supposed to be "free", but it cost us over $250. They were here on Wednesday and Thursday night the system went down. We called them on Friday and they said they would call us back. It's now Sunday and we haven't heard from them. Stay away from them!


Review #50

Summary: Left me without heat in my basement for a week because they forgot to turn a valve back on.
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/27/2025 *

I haven't had too many major issues with them, but their prices are quite steep. I also paid for their service plan which is supposed to cover a yearly visit, but every time they come by they find something to do that costs me thousands. The only time they ever did affordable work was when one of their people left me without heat in my basement for a week because they forgot to turn a valve back on.


Review #51

Summary: I know that my credit will be destroyed
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/27/2025 *

I shared my horror story in these reviews, my plumbing problem was so severe and needed immediate intervention. They were the first company to respond that day. I trusted them to know how to tackle the problem. (Collapsed grey water line) I allowed them to set up financing with the bank they use. Long story short, they hadn't a clue how to handle my problem and ended up causing major damaging flooding in my finished basement. The "work" they did only exasperated the origional problem which in order to fix they wanted many thousands more to fix what they did! I hired a very competent father, son company that took care of everything and saved my house for a tiny fraction of the cost that these crooks charged. I have not paid the creditor a penny. I talked to them a few times about what occurred and told them I will not be paying the debt. They contacted Auchinachie and of course they lied about everything so the bank (I think it's called Greensky) would not waive the debt. I again told them that I will not be paying them for the incompetent company that caused so much damage and stealing a lot of copper from my home. I'm not sure what will happen next but I know that my credit will be destroyed. I'm thinking about taking them to small claims court.


Review #52

Summary: Auchinachie riped off my parents so badly
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/27/2025 *

Auchinachie riped off my parents so badly on service warrenties and calling us repetitivle to hawk products.
Ruind plumbing at cottage cuz the thought it was year round housing.


Review #53

Summary: Auchinachie is a rogue company praying on the public.
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/30/2025 *

There are a number of good heating and plumbing companies in Broome county. Bless them for serving the public. Auchinachie is a rogue company praying on the public. Beware.


Review #54

Summary: I don't understand how they continually get away with these things!
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/30/2025 *

I don't understand how they continually get away with these things! As you mentioned thete are 50 reviews so far, imagine how many more people were the unfortunate victims of this dishonest incompetent business. I'm still getting monthly statements from Greensky, the financial institution that they use with hundreds in interest but as I told them I am not going to pay for the mess they made and how I had to hire another company to fix the major issues that I had with my plumbing.


Review #55

Summary: I will add another disastrously negative experience with Auchinachie.
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/31/2025 *

I will add another disastrously negative experience with Auchinachie. More importantly, let me add several superbly positive experiences with Fancher's. They're also local and do plumbing and electrical work. I've had wonderful experiences with both. Use my name.


Review #56

Summary: Thieving bastards.
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/31/2025 *

Auchinachie came to clean our furnace and in less than 5 minutes tagged it saying we had high carbon monoxide and quoted us $13000 for a new furnace. We declined called Apollo who couldn't find any carbon monoxide (we have detectors too). Since our furnace we purchased from Apollo was 27 years old, we got a quote from them. Low and behold, it was only $5000. I would recommend Auchinachie, thieving bastards.


Review #57

Summary: $300 just to come over to my house and look at it.
Rating: Negative
Posted: 1/31/2025 *

I called once cause I had a leaking pipe. It was out in my yard. I dug it up. Made alot of room to get around it to do whatever they needed. I called to see if they could send someone out to look. I usually do things myself but was actually scheduled for surgery 3 days later. Lady told me it would be over $300 just to come over to my house and look at it. I expected her to say if they fixed it that money would go towards the repair. Nope. $300+ then the clock starts to repair. I figured by what she said it was going to cost me $1000 or more. I toughed it out. Fixed it myself for under, way under $100.


Note: (*) indicates posted via Nextdoor