Carroll Home Services

Carroll Home Services has gone completely downhill since being sold to Star Fuel (out of New York). The company has serviced our address for 50 years. This will change next season. The operation is out of control with few technicians and very poor customer service. When did the customer become the enemy? The home delivery oil system is antiquated. Last winter, we ran out of heating oil 3 times because our usage was miscalculated. Right before the snow storm, I called to communicate that our fuel gauge read under a ¼. The customer service representative was arrogant and not helpful. One week later, we still do not have oil and now we do not have heat. Since the initial call, I have had to call at least 4 – 5 times, to get a delivery scheduled. Each time, I was told a time and each time, oil was not delivered. The manager finally intervened and oil is supposed to be delivered this evening. I will believe it when I see it.

If I could give them a negative number I would. We have had the displeasure of dealing with them for 3 winters now in a rental home. All 3 winters we have run out of oil and been forced to live and sleep in a freezing house. The last 2 winters we were on an automatic refill plan… doesn’t matter, oil still runs out.
Our most recent mishap, Tuesday night upon return from an out of town trip we find there is no oil and our house is sub-​40 degrees inside. We call Carroll, «we are sorry but no one can come tonight, you should have at least a quarter of a tank according to our calculations.» Well your algorithm for assessing fuel levels is flawed, I can assure you of this. After a freezing cold night and being assured we will have a FULL fill up the following day (Wednesday), I come home in the afternoon to discover… you guessed it, no oil. I call Carroll — «oh the order says to fill your tank on Thursday, the best we can do is send a technician with 10 gallons to get you through the night.» Fine —– send him —-7:30 pm Wednesday we finally get the heat back on. This technician notices we have no fill cap and assures us it will be replaced the following day (Thursday) when we get our tank filled. I bet you can’t guess what happened Thursday night when we get home —- no oil. Customer service tells us that the delivery truck got a flat tire (not my problem), I demand we have oil delivered tonight —- long periods left on hold, now they tell us that actually the delivery driver came and since we had no fill cap refused to fill our tank. Not sure where the flat tire lie came from??? Not sure why a fill cap was not replaced by the delivery driver as the technician the night before had guaranteed? Our customer service representative refused to contact a technician to deliver another 10 gallons of oil since at the current time we still had a few drops of oil from the 10 gallon emergency fill up the night before… so TECHNICALLY we aren’t out of oil (although I am looking forward to waking up to a 40 degree house), if you want 10 gallons delivered there is a 240 dollar charge. Don’t worry, a supervisor (who I’m sure is sleeping in their warm home) will call us during normal business hours. Can’t wait for the generous 10 dollar credit we will get for dealing with this 72 hours of misery.
Oh, and here’s the kicker… same thing happened last winter. This company is a disaster. Please avoid them at all costs. I can’t wait to be done with them. They simply do not care about their customers and make empty promises consistently. No person deserves this type of treatment from any business. The level of apathy is appalling.

Their service tech Andre came for annual preventative maintenance at 830am two weeks ago after we had agreed to do them a favor and move up our afternoon appointment to 8AM. No explanation for lateness.
He proceeded to do the service though he faked the condensation pump cleaning by telling me to add bleach later to reservoir.
He failed to re-​screw in a screw he had to loosen to do the service of the oil pump.
He failed to fully test the system when it was repaired so after he left the system had an oil leak of a few ounces an hour.
I called them at about 930am and they promised to send nearest tech. I asked if I should turn off system. Answer was no.
Tech didn’t show up until 230 pm. Was Andre again.
He spent 2.5 hours trying to fix leak. He failed to find the loose screw but thought leak was from one connector of 1 oil line to pump. He didn’t know which way to turn to screw it off (clockwise or counter) and struggled 20 minutes using brute strength trying both directions, likely damaging pump.
He then took off BOTH oil line connectors, despite thinking only one was leaking. When he repaired the one he thought was leaking, leak continued and he decided it was now from 2^nd oil line. He then replaced that connector. But it was still leaking.
All the while he complained about this make of pump being susceptible to leaks.
I suggested he call his office to consult someone who knew the system, which THEY had installed 4 years ago. He did and refused to let me talk to their office staff or supervisor.
Supervisor showed up at 6pm and found the problem of the unscrewed screw in 10 min, but then discovered the first tech had put one oil line back on at wrong angle so the pump cover could not be reattached.
The ONLY reason I used their company is that they installed this system. Then they send me a tech who doesn’t know their own system.
I complained to their online system and got one voice mail. I have called back multiple time over two week but haves never been called back.
Stay away from this and their affiliated companies.

Lung cancer patient left to freeze.
Heat goes out 8PM yesterday right in time for first serious cold snap of the year. The heating fuel tank had been allowed to run dry (not the first time late auto delivery has left us without heat).
I was informed just now, after 14 hours of waiting, that our service technician had worked his maximum hours and «driven home.» This after informing customer service rep at 6AM that my wife has lung cancer and still has chest tube for drainage from recent surgery and that we are not free to simply bunk up with neighbors because she must sleep sitting upright in a chair.
Assured of fuel delivery today, I nevertheless provide my cell number and request a call when the driver is on his way so that we can be sure someone is there to meet him (we have Dr. appointment). No promises made re cell phone call, but the offered backup plan is that if the driver can’t get in, a technician would be sent to bleed the line. I am assured we will have heat today.
Sure enough, driver delivers fuel when we are at the Doctor but can not get in and no call is made to us by anyone. Not driver, not customer service, no one. I place three more calls spaced hours apart to be sure that backup tech is still coming. Friends lending space heaters and we are burning wood. Wife under blanket and sleeping bag.
Last call I learn they have simply bagged us. The CSR admits it’s not likely anyone would be here until Day 3. Not her fault, but this last gal caught an earful from me. All she can do is weakly suggest that I Google «how to bleed a heating oil line» saying it was «not that hard». As angry as I was, she’s the only person who actually helped me this whole fiasco. I Google’d it, she was right and I was done in ten minutes. She’ll probably get fired for suggesting that.
This is the last time I let them on our property. The Thanksgiving installation of a new humidifier led to mis-​wiring which fried the wires and killed not only the new dehumidifier, but also our Nest thermostat. After ten days and three more service calls it was fixed and Nest replaced at no cost but I think we came dangerously close to a house fire.
I can’t really believe any company wishes to do business this way but apparently this organization has serious problems. I see the nice courteous response by the company to another Unilocaler’s bad score and the person who writes those responses probably means well, but I would stay miles away from this company. This was no mere communication «challenge».
Maybe we are at the very edge of their territory and no one wants to drive all this way but they should have told us that. Mixed bag of good techs and CSRs with inexperienced people whose work must be cleaned up by others. Of late, It has been nothing but problem after problem after problem. Today’s experience was unconscionable.

Horrible customer service and practice. So, we talked to them at the beginning of the year just to get some pricing for our new home. After looking around we found someone cheaper and told them we would be using them, but maybe next fall we would check back in with them so don’t erase us from the system (big mistake). So come November we get home after a day of work and find a bill from Carroll for filling our tank. They did contact us to check in but we didn’t need any oil so never called back. Apparently if you don’t contact them back that must be a «yes, please come fill our tank» in their eyes.
We called and were given ever excuse in the book. They even told us, well you are going to use it anyway, might as well pay it. Also, they said well the previous owners have automatic so that just carried over. I was shocked. I have very few pet peeves but getting hosed, which is exactly what I was feeling, is right on top. I was given a service and a bill for something I didn’t ask for and now I had to pay for it.
After a about a month of going back and forth they told me either I could pay a discount or they would come and pull the oil back out and dispose of it because now it is unusable, which makes my environmental side sick. I am basically being bullied into a situation that I should have never been in the first place.
Carroll is like the mob. Pay or we trash it.
Learn from our mistake. If you do go with the company know you will be placed on automatic delivery wither you know it or not.

I never thought to review this kind of service. I am doing so becuase today they re-​affirmed that I made the right call years ago when I needed to replace my heating system. They were great then, prompt courteous and they remain so today. This is one area of my life that I just send the monthly automatic payment and forget about it. They have been consistently responsive.
I had a problem develop Sunday. I have a service contract. So I called this morning around 0900, talked to «Lisa» (excellent ambassador for the company). They came out and were done before noon. Thank you!