BLACK MAGIC CHIMNEY SWEEPS

The service itself was ok, even though the final cost was $50 over the estimate, because there was too much dirt in the chimney, they said. However, for some reason, the technician left all the dirt he removed from the chimney right next to my house in a large plastic bin. He was supposed to take all this dirt with him and dispose of it, but it is still sitting there by my house for over a month now. I made repeated calls to the company and they promised to pick it up, but never did. On top of that, the guy who answers the phone showed me attitude a few times, and even hung up on me twice. So, overall, it has been an unpleasant and ongoing experience with the company. I would not consider hiring them ever again.

The staff was friendly and helpful. We pretty much knew what we wanted since our downstairs neighbor had just installed one. The installation went smoothly and the fireplace is great. They also recommended an excellent plumber to install the gas line.

Good service, fast response. They showed up on time and completed the job as expected. It's hard to judge quality because I don't really have much to compare to, but they seemed to know what they were doing.

Everything went very smoothly. It was a very busy time of year for Black Magic, but our insert was installed within a month of our ordering it. All the workmen were very accommodating, friendly and neat.

Excellent service. Derek, the person who performed the scan, was personable and professional.

Excellent service. They returned my call promptly and came the same day to unblock the chimney. They were professional, thorough, and courteous, and cleaned up when they were done.

I did not pay the balance owed and kept calling them to fix it; over 1 1/2 yrs went by. Then they filed for payment in small claims court. When I called them about it they said they would fix it instead of going to court. I gave them the dimensions of the fireplace again, and they never called me back until I called them. They went to court anyway (with out telling me) and got a judgment. Now I will sue them back if they do fix it. Incidentally I was in small claims court a couple of months earlier on another matter and there was someone there from Black Magic with over a dozen suits. Apparently they frequently do bad work and then sue for payment. Also they did some repairs on my living room fireplace and even though I asked them to, did not lay down a drop cloth (said he didn't need it) and then tracked soot on my oriental carpet.

Bill scheduled a visit after we saw products in the showroom. He did not show up. We called, and then he came immediately. Apparently he forgot about the appointment. He helped us a lot with information on the kind of gas stove that would fit our room. Once we ordered the gas stove, it arrived on time, but one of the accessories did not arrive. So we had to keep calling until he personally looked for them inside a container and found one of them. We had to wait a bit more for the other one to come. The overall service was OK, but he could have been more careful with the order and could have given us more information on the product we chose. We thought it had temperature control on the remote, and it had not. After installed, the gas stove showed problems. We still don't know if it were product defect or bad installation. Anyway, they always look very busy, but this is the only store around with such a variety of gas stoves.

First of all, I would not call them again ever. It was all fine when they were working, but they never finished it. They did not answer my phone calls or anything. They did not follow through with anything. I actually had to go over there and speak to someone directly. I checked Angie s List and this was also the main complaint about them on there as well. My sister recommended them to me, but I was not pleased.

When they came out to look at it they informed me that I didn't need it done. They then informed me that they receive a lot of calls from people who think their chimney needs swept when it doesn't need to be. They were prompt and polite and very helpful. They didn't try to clean something that didn't need to be cleaned.

I was able to get service the same day I called, without saying it was any sort of emergency. The technician quickly and competently corrected the problem (the hot water heater flue was not properly drawing).

They were very busy, so we had to wait a couple weeks for an appointment and then, all they could do was Saturday. It took approximately an hour for the workman to clean several clogs out of our system. However, several hours later, when we tried to use the fireplace we noticed that our house was filling up with the smell of gas. This did not happen prior to service. Upon contacting Black Magic, they directed us to call our gas vendor and would not take responsibility for not double checking their work. We now have to call someone else to fix the problem that Black Magic created.

Workers were courteous and professional. The linings were installed with no problem. The insert is in good condition and works well. The cost was reasonable and competitive with other businesses. The insert keeps the living room warm, but does not heat the whole downstairs as the sales rep. Bill, claimed it would. I would not use this company again though because of the poor job by the sales rep. Bill. We specifically asked for a remote which could operate the fan and flame, but instead received an "on-off" remote. While we were not charged for the more expensive remote, we ended up with a less convenient setup. He also measured the fireplace incorrectly and, to get the new insert in the workers had to break the back of the fireplace.

Black Chimney never showed. I called them on the recommendation of another trusted chimney sweep company (they could not do the work since it was very extensive). I spoke to Perry who was supposed to come to my home for an estimate. I told him that I had read some of the reports on Angie's List and wanted to make sure that he was able to come on the expected date and at the expected time. He said he would be here. He called me a few hours before the expected appointment, on a crackling cell phone, and I could not understand the message. I tried to call him but could not reach him. I left him a message for him to call and I never heard from him again.

Chimney sweep never showed up. Called the main office several times to find out where he was/when he would arrive, main office was unable to locate/contact the sweep. Hired another firm to do the job.

Initially they appeared quite knowledgeable, but quite soon I began to have trouble with their returning calls or calling me, when they said that they would. I started this process in August 2005, and the part that they did, wasn't completed until February 2006. The insert wasn't stable and the logs in the gas stove were not placed properly, and it took much persistence to get them to correct these problems. I had contracted with them to install two flue sentinels, which was never done. The workmen measured for these in February, but this was never acted on. I called again about this and was told that their records showed, that they were going to measure and do this in the spring and that they would check on this and call me back. I have yet to have a call, but I called them to say that I was having another company do this for me. I have had more trouble with this company and the worst service from them, than any company I have dealt with, since I moved to the area 2 1/2 years ago.

When we went to their showroom, they said they had the model we wanted in stock and that it would be no problem getting it delivered by the time we scheduled another company to install it (as they were doing other chimney work). Two weeks later (after the chimney was repaired) and after numerous unreturned phone calls and promises that it would be delivered, we still have not received the stove. We have even had to reschedule the installation twice and we're still not sure if the stove will arrive on time. The people we've been dealing with are utterly unhelpful and unsympathetic. Several times, while "on hold," they didn't push the hold button and we could hear that they were having personal conversations with other employees lasting several minutes that had nothing to do with our needs, wasting our time. Frustrating!

I purchased a gas fire from this company and a few years later called to ask for general servicing and replacement of a part that had deteriorated. I explained that I was willing to pay full price for their service, given the age of the gas fire. It took four calls to them before they called back. Someone came and checked it out and said that the part that was visibly crumbled was fine. He said he would be back in two weeks with parts to repair something that had not been a problem, but which he said was about to go. I'm no expert, so I agreed. Two months later I hadn't heard anything and called back. After three calls to them with no return call, I went to their shop and made an appointment for the serviceman to return. He never showed up. When I called about it, they didn't call me back. A couple of years ago I went to them with a problem that was easily solved, but I had to go to the shop then also, because they didn't return my calls.

The representative called to explain he was going to be a few minutes late which I appreciated. He was courteous and helpful in explaining what he did and when I should follow up.

After giving the estimate, he never showed to do the actual work. He was very informative and a very nice guy. He told me everything he was doing from the start to the end of the estimate. I would probably call him again for a future job just because he was so nice.

Good. Punctual, quick, and no fuss. I would use them again.

I gave them a deposit and didn't get a receipt with what the other costs will be. So, what I thought would be a $1,000 stove installed, actually cost $2393.24 w/ the electrician and plumber costs added! The owner, Pery, is "extremely" nice, but he has an incompetent and/or rude staff, except for one younger woman I dealt with. Also, Pery is the only one with the answers - he either needs to hire and pay better staff or stop taking in so much work. I gave up calling, and ended up driving there every time I had a question. The icing on the cake was that during the install, they miss-read my wall and left me with a 4 inch gash that I had to fix! I complained about it in a letter w/ my balance payment and Pery sent me a $100 and a big mea culpa, for the record.

THEY CALLED ME YESTERDAY TO SAY THEY NEEDED TO CANCEL BECAUSE MY HOUSE IS LOCATED INCONVENIENTLY (IN WAKEFIELD), AND ALL THEIR APPOINTMENTS FOR THE DAY ARE IN CAMBRIDGE.

THEY WERE COURTEOUS AND PROFESSIONAL.

FIRST OFF ARRIVED ABOUT 30 MINUTES LATE. NO BIG DEAL BECAUSE I HAD THE DAY OFF. I NEVER GOT A CLEAR ANSWER ABOUT WHAT I NEEDED AND WAS DISAPPOINTED THAT HE FAILED TO EVEN LOOK INSIDE MY CHIMNEY. I WAS TOLD THAT HE WOULD CALL ME WITH AN ESTIMATE. HE NEVER DID.