I'll start this review out by saying I do not write negative reviews. I barely write reviews at all, and only when it's a great experience normally. I am only writing this because of how bad this experience was. I'm going to try and keep my anger out of it, but imagining other people going through this honestly makes my blood boil. I will also say that I do have some experience in machinal work and repair. I know my way around appliances and machines.
Thanksgiving morning, I wake up to a house where 3/4 of the home is cool. Heat stopped functioning in 2 out of 3 zones. I know my way around my boiler, and troubleshoot my way to finding the circulator pump that ties to both cold zones is not working. Power is getting to the pump, the pump is not turning. I manually turned the pump, which moved easily, so pretty simple - I need a new pump. Any place I can get a new pump is closed, so I decide to make a call.
I call Haller, who I am a new customer of, and am told the service charge on a holiday will cost 199$ - no issue. They put my on the schedule and tell me there is no ETA, but they'll call. Awesome, all good. I get a call about 3 hours later. The tech states "if you can wait until tomorrow, it's only 79$, but I'll come if you're ok with the 200$ charge". I tell him I'm good with the charge and explain I just need a new pump. He says ok, be there in 30 minutes.
The tech arrives and asks to see the boiler. I tell him what's happening and show him the pump that's not working. He ignores me, and starts to feel the pipes. He asks if the thermostat is calling, to which I say yes. He continues to feel the same pipes for about 3 minutes - the pipes that are be being returned to by a dead pump. He then checks a Flow Control valve which prevents backflow, and manually opens it (this is important). He then tests the power to the pump, to which is does get power. What happens after this moment is, in my opinion, insane. He says "pump seems fine"...
I'm confused. I ask "wait, did it kick back on?" and he says "i think it's good". It's not. I feel the return, it's warmer than before, I also feel the inlet. which feels the same as before. "The pump isn't working" I say. He says "it is, the pipe is warming now. Your Flow Control valve is bad". The return should be cooler than the inlet as it's the end of the loop, especially if the returning water has been sitting in the baseboard for hours. This was because he MANUALLY opened the backflow valve, which pressure of the boiler then reversed the flow. There are only 2 possibilities here: 1) he didn't know this but somehow I did which is hard to believe, or 2) he's trying to sell a service and repair I don't need.
At this point, I've totally lost trust, and I want him out, but I'll play the game and see how far it goes. I ask what the estimate would be on the Flow valve. He quotes it at 2735$, to which luckily I have documented. WHAT?! Utterly insane. The even more disgusting moment? He then says "at that point, you may want to consider a new unit". Ah, there it is. Sure, a whole new unit because a part failed. Sure, man. Sounds great. Replace the whole kitchen because the sink needs to be replaced.
I pay the service charge and ask him to leave. Once he realizes I'm understanding this game, he says "if you're good with your hands, you could open the back of the flow valve and clean it to see if that would do the trick". Yeah, ok. We're good here. Happy Thanksgiving.
I got up this morning and hit Lowe's first thing, bought a new circulation pump and I'm up and running. 275$, and a couple hours of work. Easy. I would have happily paid for that to be done yesterday with no complaints. Flow valve is fine.
Think twice. If you're not mechanically inclined and familiar with your system or if your parents/grandparents/loved ones aren’t, I'd recommend someone else. I can only imagine how many un-needed repairs are being done every day and people have no idea.