Have their furnace + A/C repair and maintenance plan for years and very inconsistent. Sometimes they'd clean and check both units thoroughly. Other times it was a disaster. One year a technician doing my furnace clean & check left with parts hanging out of the furnace by their wires and of course it wouldn't start. Since then I learned to always ask for a senior technician when scheduling. I've just decided (3/15/18) to completely end their coverage. It makes more sense to me to be my own insurer. If I had put the years of monthly payments into a bank account instead, I could have bought a new furnace by now. And their technical expertise and competence was a roulette game as to who they sent out with what qualifications. read more

Received a postcard telling me that my service plan was set to automatically renew unless I call them to cancel. 866-642-6793. Funny thing is... I don't have a service plan with them. So I called the number given, and they included some Account Number... just to check that my information and their information is correct. 17 minutes of listening to muzak, and I'm still waiting to talk with a customer service person. IF THIS IS WHAT people have to put up with to contact someone at this company... I pity the person with a serious service issue. In the time it took me to compose this review... 20 minutes... and still no customer service contact. 23 minutes later, and I spoke with a customer service rep, regarding the postcard. It seems I do have a 'plan' which covers any gas leaks INSIDE my home from my stove / range. 60.00 a year, for something I've yet to use, and isn't mandatory according to NICOR. Annoying that I had to wait so long to talk with someone. read more

I thought when I called Nicor home services for heating and air replacement estimate I would be getting a reputable company with a reasonable estimate. Much to my surprise I received the slick sales guy approach. The oops did I happen to turn to the picture of my family again did I, the none of our installers are convicts line as if they teach hvac in prison or something. I was quoted a 3 ton carrier ac unit and a 80,000 btu high efficiency furnace for $15,000 on the high end to 11,500 on the low end! When I told the guy that I knew the equipment was worth only about $6000 where is the other $9000 going? He did not refute my claim. I am pleading with anyone who considers using hawthorn hvac and Nicor home services to get several estimates. This business is obviously praying on people who are desperate for a/c and have not had other estimates. Shame on Nicor!! read more

Called in for repair on 1 1/2 galvanized pipe.9/23- Repair man from Centerguard plumbing, Fox Lake, Illinois, 847 406-8883 showed up 9/24looked and said he had to order parts. 3 days later, still no parts and 2 calls to NICOR Home Services, just got me " tomorrow for sure-lies". Still waiting. I offered to got to Our local ACE to get the parts (which they have) but the tech said he was not allowed to do that. For this I pay $150.00 per month??? When I called CenterGuard this morning, the story changed. now it is maybe 2 days from now??(9/28) NICOR obviously is having trouble finding qualified firms and are overloading the schlocks they have with too much workload.... read more

This is probably a scam service. Called to set up a service for a stopped up toilet. They called back and explained that they could get out to look at it in four days. That was unacceptable. They agreed to send someone out the next morning.... Morning turned into about 3pm. Technician said that toilet was clogged because it has poop in it, and that the toilet needs to be replaced (toilet is less than a year old)... Toilet started flushing, but slow. Was completely clogged again by 10:30 pm. Called another plumber, and all was clear in about an hour. There was a bottle cap in the line. If the Nicor plumber had rooted the line when they came out, the problem would have been taken care of. Not to mention, I wouldn't have had to shell out for my own plumber. Told Nicor what happened. Supervisor, Milton, choose to blame me for not giving them more chances to get it wrong, ave accepted no responsibility for their missteps. By the way... Seems like a nice guy. But, unwilling to do anything for the inconvenience. His manager, Cezar, is supposed to call back. Will update if he does. But don't really expect much to come if this. Save your money. This is likely a major scam. read more

i have been very happy with nicor home solutions for my own home . i am a real estate manager broker and as a real estate agent, its a great plan for peace of mind and to sell a house and give the buyer the plan for a period of time. After all, one of the fears a buyer of a house has, is that anything can happen after they close on the property, but with this plan that nicor offers , its a great selling point. i have used their services for different things and i love the inspection on my furnace and air conditioning system every year. My home isn't that old, but switches can break and leaks can happen and things like a dryer or washing machine or refrigerator etc can stop working . read more

We're still waiting to hear something from Pivotal concerning our request for a refund for all the years we've had their service, but never felt the need to file a claim. On the occasion we did recently need their services, we were told there were "no contractors in our area" and we'd have to find our own contractor, pay them up front then maybe/maybe not Pivotal would reimburse us the charges. My spouse and I are retired and on fixed incomes and don't have money to spend up front. The services we need are electrical in nature and we feared a potential fire hazard in the making. We told Pivotal since finding and paying a contractor upfront using our own money was not an option for us, and the representative saying that was the only option they could offer, we decided to cancel business with Pivotal and request a refund. The rep said it would be immediately be cancelled and suggested we'd be refunded or credited. We prefer the refund as our payments for Pivotal was collected through our natural gas company each month, added to our natural gas charges and appearing on our gas bill for several years now. Since that time, we've not gotten any more responses from Pivotal. Not even a "check is in the mail" response. We found we have another similar deal through our local water company, we'd forgotten about, and called them on Friday and they sent someone out today. They'd contacted us yesterday but we were at our doctors and didn't get the message til much later in the day. Too late to call back. So we called this morning and the electrical business our water company matched us up with sent someone out in less than 30 minutes. We will not recommend Pivotal to anyone. I think they should have more options if they don't have contractors in some areas. Such as, the customer could obtain a legitimate estimate from a legitimate business and Pivotal could cut the customer a check to pay a contractor. We felt our situation required quick attention as the problem could possibly have been a potential fire hazard causing an electrical fire. read more

I want to put it simple and straight. I had "furnace repair"(haven't tried other service yet) with Nicor home solutions, and am paying about $10 / month. My furnace stopped working as it did and I contacted Nicor home solutions for help. They have the policy of covering $400 / incident and $2000/ year as max benefit. For my problem, I chatted online with the customer service lady first, who turned out to be very helpful. And the technicians came twice. First visit was to do the diagnose(under $100), so it was fully covered, and they recommended changing components that are still under warranty. The 2nd visit was to change the 'heart' of the furnace, which is the heat exchange, checked online, it was going to be a big operation. But it turns out to be a very effective process, the technician named Daniel is very skilled at it, and he contacted the manufacturer and got the components ready and the job took several hours and finished very well. My old furnace is basically having a new life now, the efficiency of gas burning is enhanced and I would expect savings on the gas bills. read more

Don't use this service. It is a scam. I have paid for this service for years and when my toilet wouldn't flush they sent a plumber out who said it would be hard to find the piece and would replace it with a similar toilet. He replaced it with a tiny toilet that looks like it belongs in a preschool. No one in my family will use it. It is soooo close to the floor. when I called to complain they said too bad its a standard size toilet. But that IS NOT the size I had in the first place. someone should have told me I would be getting a cheap unusable replacement. I would have made other arrangements. When I asked to talk to supervisor at Nicor home solutions they said he was busy. Total scam, they just want your monthly payment and don't want to live up to their contract. read more

Have been waiting 8 weeks for a cancelled contract refund. Three calls so far. No check, no satisfaction. Find another company for your service. read more

Had extremely bad experience with Nicor Home Solutions. I would not recommend this service to anyone. Terrible customer service and too many loopholes to use the warranty. read more

I've had this service for over 10 years. I think the technicians are barely trained. They sent 4 different ones to fix my furnace and it was still not working. I ended up paying out of pocket to get my furnace fix and now it's working like it should. Thumbs ALL the way down read more

Pivotal Home Solutions are the worst company . They tell you have complete home coverage. But when call to get A problem fixed they tell you the problem is not covered. All they want to is sail you additional coverage. read more

I have scheduled an HVAC cleaning and check three times in the past 2 months. The first time, the technician blew off the appointment without a phone call and without anyone letting me know that he wasn't coming. The second time, I received a call after I left work and was already home stating that the technicians were too busy to make it that day. Today, I called 3 times prior to the appointment to verify that someone was coming, and was repaeatedly told that the technician would be here between 3:00 and 5:00 as scheduled. I didn't hear anything from anyone, so at 5:10 I called again, and was told that the technician would be here between 5:00 and 7:00. From the very beginning, every time I called the company during this fiasco, I was very careful to remain polite with the person with whom I was talking on the phone. (Except for the last time - sorry Jasmine, you caught the end of a drawn-out frustrating endeavor). And each time, I was handled by a sugary-sweet but completely impotent phone representative. Basically, I'm discovering that this is a standard overblown, oversize and top-heavy "service" company has lost all touch with the true service that probably was in operation when the company was originally established -- service that built it into the unconcerned lackadaisical company that it has become today. IF the technician actually shows up today, it will be the second-to-last contact that I will have with this company. The final contact will be shortly after the technician departs, when I call to cancel the "service" agreement. read more

Their coverage for any home repair is useless. Their exclusion list is so long, that they basically don't cover anything

Contracted with Pivotal once Eversource stopped providing service contracts. Had no heat in our basement so called Pivotal and they had a tech from Reliable Mechanical Contractors out of Windsor CT contact me. They came out within the time frame they said, but the response when they were here left me shaking my head. Was told that there was air in the line and my contract did not cover that. OK, I need the heat to be fixed, so how much. Quoted $180 by tech which I said was fine, but then he said he had to call Pivotal to make sure they would allow him to do the job. WHAT?? He stated it was a 2 man job and that since I did not have anywhere to drain the water it might be problematic (although I have a bar with a full size sink steps away from the furnace). He stepped outside, called Pivotal and came back in to tell me that he was told by Pivotal he could not do the work. I then contacted a local plumbing and heating contractor who came a few hours later and agreed there was air in the line, but that it was absolutely NOT a two man job. One tech was here. He went out to his truck, retrieved a bucket and 20 minutes later my heat is now working. Pivotal apparently doesn't contract out with qualified local technicians. Needless to say, this contract will not be renewed. read more

One of the worst customer service ever! Had a problem with the heat not kicking on in the morning during a cold spell. Pivotal sent out a technician from AireServe in CT. By that time he came the furnace was working fine again as the culprit was a low battery in the thermostat. But I figured to have the tech check things out anyway, just in case. He told me that the flame sensor needed cleaning; he could do that for $170 out of pocket as Pivotal does not cover cleaning. Other than that Pivotal would be charged more than $600 for a replacement of the part which would eat up my allowance for repairs for the year. I agreed to the cleaning, which took about 15 seconds, and was charged $173. Trying to get the terms of my contract for a cross-chek from their website was futile, so I contacted them. Was told that there is no such max limit, that they pay for repairs but not for replacing parts. I should submit the invoice to them for reimbursement. Where to send it to? No answer. Where can I read what is covered under my contract? No answer. Will I get a transcript of the chat? No answer. The agent then told me that upon checking with the 'back-office' that the service I got was for a 'combustion check' and that was not covered under the contract. I should go back to the provider for clarification. The invoice explicitly states 'Clean Flame Sensor'! but here I stand, fool that I am. Anita S. read more

read their fine print because Nicor will blame you for not reading their fine print.. I had a sewer blockage, which in the past had cost me $100 to $150 to fix, and in less than a few hours. With Nicor Home Solutions it cost me $250 and a 24 hour wait time. then when I asked for explanation, they blamed me repeatedly for not reading the fine print. their fine print was that they cover only the first 100 feet of your sewer line. read more

A good thing gone bad. I had the heating and ac coverage. Things had gone fairly well for the past couple of years. Today I sat home for 5 hours to NEVER see a tech. (They said to be available from 8 - 5! - I called this morning to ask for a narrower window and they said 3 - 4:00 ) I got home at 1:09. By 4:55 no one had shown up. When I called the service company they first said I had "declined repair," but that she had no way to contact the tech. Since I had never seen anyone I found that interesting. and asked for a supervisor. The next person I talked said that the tech had arrived at 2:43 and I wasn't home. (AND btw - they can arrive 2 hours on either side of that 3-4 window! - which no one had told me when I called this morning) However, since I was sitting on my couch looking out the front window while watching a football game on television from 1:09 until just after 4:00- that was not possible either. She then tried to call the tech. It was going to voice mail. (Thought they couldn't contact the tech?) I decided this was not a company I wanted to deal with. So I call NiCor Home Solutions to cancel - however THERE IS NO Guarantee FOR CUSTOMER SATISFACTION. He basically told me it was my word against the provider and he was sure there must have been a "breakdown in communication." I asked for a supervisor. He said there was none available. If I cancelled I had no check up on my furnace (for which I have already paid.) So I said fine - let's schedule with a different provider. He came back MUCH LATER and told me there was no other company to service my area. (and get this) He had even talked to HIS SUPERVISOR! about other options. (Thought there was no supervisor present at that time?!?!?) So, I cancelled. I am out the money that I have paid for 12 months to have the inspection done AND I STILL DON'T HAVE MY FURNACE INSPECTED! Put away $15 a month and pay the tech you want to come when you want! read more

I realized that they have been billing me for 17 years, nearly $6.00, for nothing. When I asked if I had actually signed a contract, I was told that we had given "verbal" agreement. We never signed for this maintenance agreement because we have agreements with other companies for our furnace and air conditioning. A total scam; let's see if they actually remove the charges for the next bill. read more

. During the recent deep freeze here in NE our heat was not working. I called for service under our coverage and was told that due to the overwhelming demand on their contracted service people, I had to find my own provider and they would reimburse me. I spent the better part of the next 12 hours begging to find a local plumber get us help. Luckily we did but had to shell out more than $700 to pay that person. I submitted all the needed paperwork to Pivotal only to be told it would be 4 to 6 weeks for reimbursement! WOW. I did a lot of calling and found a claim rep who told me they had all the needed info and only process payments on Thursday and Tuesday - I said excellent today is Thursday - only to be told it would probably not be until Tuesday. I challenged her to be a customer experience champion and escalate and make it happen today. We'll see. This is their moment of truth and opportunity to deliver on their value - even though I had to find my own service provider. UPDATE - they rallied!! Pulled out all stops to achieve same day reimbursement! Impressive! Lots of customer experience improvements likely needed for their processes but I believe they are truely committed to making them. 1 star now 4 star review. read more

They are a joke.Called for service (on my contract ) today was politley told they were to busy find someone else and maybe they will reinburse me but i need to read my contract closely. Good luck first cold night calling some one out of the blue for an emergency. PITIFUL HOME SOLUTIONS read more

We had the worst experience with this company. We canceled our account more than a year ago but continued to receive bills. When we called again today asking for an explanation, the customer representative was the worst representative we have ever interacted with. Their customer representatives are also biased, so you better be prepared to experience services accordingly. If you have a choice to go somewhere else, then go there. This company shouldn't even be in the business. read more

They damaged something and did not repair it. They sent a company to clean and check my furnace. The first scheduled time they did not show because they called the wrong phone number to confirm the appointment. I had specifically told them NOT to call that number and gave them two alternative numbers which they did not call. This has been a recurring problem. When they came for the rescheduled visit, they did something which stopped my humidifier from working. It was working before they came. They said it was not their fault and they are not going to do anything about it. I realize it is my word against theirs. It took over 3 phone calls to handle this and get this final answer. As a business owner myself I would have handled this much differently. Now I will have a $150 bill for another company to fix it. I have two homes and pay them $100/month for coverage. read more

This company took over my service contract from NSTAR and started to send me invoices which I tossed in the trash thinking it was simple junk mail. When more Pivotal Home Solutions mail arrived I opened the envelope and noticed they were billing me for a service that I did not request. Next I called and was informed that my original NSTAR service account (that Pivotal took over) was set to auto renewal (which was a surprise to me). Next after reading about Pivotal's poor customer service I requested that they cancel/close the account that was automatically transferred to them from NSTAR and stop sending me invoices. However Pivotal continues to send bills. read more

I guess I'm wondering why Nicor is involved with this mess at all. My elderly father uses this service and it's been a total disaster. At 85 years old, on oxygen and in heart failure, they have been out to "fix" his air conditioning at least four times already this Summer, charging him twice on one occasion (and in one instance, the problem was that the technician "moved something" to the wrong location). More importantly, when the air goes out (which it has again today) and you explain to them that the man is dying, on oxygen and does need air conditioning to survive, they say they'll be out in three days. Okay... Will call Four Seasons and foot the bill myself. read more

Sara at Nicor took my call re a high bill again. Nicor mistakes. I asked about Home Solutions late fee, she said questions will be answered by calling number on bill. She seemed irritated. I called Home Solutions, Melanie answered. I asked about late fee, she stated Nicor was billed as the bill was late. I let her know I paid on time as Nicor had screwed up the bill. She said Nicor mustn't be sending payments thru. She could have removed the charge. She didn't. It's not the amt of the fee, it's the principle. Nicor screwed up & I am paying and Home Solutions is running a con. I have paid almost $5.00 per month for almost 8 years and got nothing but a runaround when they charged a late fee that was Nicor's fault not mine. read more

I tried calling pivotal home solutions only be to be greeted by a prompt which asked for an extension number. ...No opportunities to ask for an agent were even made available. When I typed in zero for an operator, I was told that there was no one to answer the phone at this time. Clearly their customer service is far from acceptable. read more

I have been using this service from Nicor Gas last 10 years. I have built in Microwave. Clearly stated in microwave website. This company refuse to accept that and refuse to pay for fixing it, saying that it is a countertop microwave. Stay away from this company. A simple thing they cannot verify microwave website. I spent last 3 hrs to argue with them. I hate this company. Need to move to new company within one month. read more

Giving them four stars only because the phone wait is 30 min. and you'll think it's an "insider" if I leave five. But they're worth five to us. Have had great success with these guys with two visits. This is the program where you pay $20 a month for furnace or plumbing or air conditioner, or whatever and they fix a problem when it comes up. Cheap insurance if you have old stuff. You know the contractors will push hard to get you to buy a "new one," no matter how simple the repair. These guys just fix what's wrong - whatever it happens to be. Took a week or so to get 'em out but Roberto just replaced the furnace motor. Would have cost $600 normally. I don't think the "pros" would have even considered fixing it. read more

Absolute rip off. I signed into this program Oct 2014 for annual service for our whole house generator. Nov 1st, 2015 (after paying for over a year into this program on monthly payments as part of my Nicor gas bill), I called for "annual maintenance" . I had missed the August window and discovered there was a minor issue when we had our first big snow. First rep said:" We don't have contracts for generators". After she looked up my contract number, she learned they DO. Great that their reps don't even know what contracts are out there. I asked to be contacted by the main Naperville office. She said she would have them call me. As of Dec 8th, no call received. I called again, spoke to rep #2, a supervisor. She said they "Do not perform generator maintenance in the Winter and I must wait till Spring. PS it's BALMY outside right now. I pointed out that my contract states NOTHING about limits to "when" the maintenance can be performed and asked her if this meant they were not honoring my contract. Her exact response: "Yes". I called the Naperville office later that day to cancel the contract (rep #3) and asked for a refund since I was clearly told by a supervisor that they are not honoring my contract. He said: "We will get this taken care of and get the generator serviced. You will be contacted". It is now Dec 11th at noon. Still NO return call, no maintenance. I call again (rep #4) to cancel the contract. Explained the details and ask to just be set free of this complete rip off and that I will eat the past money payed and consider it my "lesson in stupidity for 2015". She explains she can cancel the contract but I'm STILL gonna be billed and extra $29 something... because the billing isn't current. WHAT !??!?!? Incredible! Totally wrong. Complete lack of any "customer service". Just talking heads on the other end of the phone. This "service" is NO service. They are a complete rip off. If you really want to waste money then sign up. They are not professional, not responsive and will tell you (their words)...they will not necessarily honor their own MANY page contract. Save your money. Call a local service company. Stay FAR FAR away from Nicor Home Solutions. read more

Our furnace stopped working during a cold night, and we tried to call Pivotal Home Solutions. We were on hold for over 1 hour and 30 minutes, and still no one answers the call. I tried to call from a different phone line, and was told the wait time is 15 minutes and requested a call back via automated response, but no call back after 1 hour! We have yet to speak to someone because no one answers after hours even though they say they have a phone line for 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. read more

Been with Nicor Home Solutions for years and when my home flooded due to plumbing issue, Nicor plumber wanted $550 to rod the pipe. What is the purpose of having this program, if I still have to paid ridiculous prices. If you have Nicor Home Solutions, cancel it immediately. A classic ripe off. read more

Update - To everyone that reads these reviews and to Pivotal Home Solutions. There is accountability at this company, thank goodness! Pivotal Home Solutions sent the nicest service person to my house this morning. He did not leave until he checked everything and made sure I was satisfied. This was an unfortunate event, but I received a call from the senior management at Pivotal this afternoon who not only apologized, but walked me through where the process didn't work and how they fixed it. Thank you for fixing everything Pivotal! read more

This company has lousy customer service. While we put up with the mixed service provided by technicians over the years, we were floored when we received a bill after we've moved from our home. They don't make it obvious when you sign with them that the contract renews every year. What's more, they send out a bill after the start of the new contract year. If you want to cancel the service, there is no way for you to do that without incurring a fee. Despite explaining the situation to their customer service department that we have not lived in the old home for 6 months, and that I called them about the cancellation right after receiving the forwarded mail, we're still getting charged. If this is not entrapment, I don't know what is. read more

Please save your money on some providers, there are many all over the place that will provide a good service. I am the latest of their victim that wasn't reimbursed for the A/C installation. All the possible excuses were presented just really wanted to get away. This was the very last of the unhappy service they provide from repair. So much to mention, I hate to complain, they already wasted my time. But I wanted to help out those who thought of going for their company. Avoid Avoid, if you doubt with the star rating, then try, I am sure you will be pissed!! Someone will respond to this and say call them, but I will not call, it will just bleed more!! read more

Absolutely the worst service ever! Heat related issue reported at 9am, no response by 1pm. Upon follow up( and waiting over 25 minutes on hold) there would be no fix until the following day (maybe). Good luck with your heat was the reply. read more

Don't use this company. I reported this company. They are rip offs. Go to BBB and choose better home warranty companies that's registered. This company is not. read more

Nicor Home Solutions is a terrible home warranty plan. Please do not waste your time or money with this home warranty plan. It is a scam, the monthly fee you pay Nicor is a lot more than their competitors and their service just outright sucks! Take my advise and save that money and put it in an interest bearing account or go with another reputable company that will cover your home appliance repairs the way they should be covered. First and foremost, anytime you have an mechanical break down you are going to have to pay money out of your pocket. Specifically if your appliance is not repairable. Nicor will only pay $400.00 towards a new appliance, this does not include the contractor's labor and parts fee. In addition, their contractors appear to always jack up the price for the repair, therefore be prepared to pay a lot more money than what you may have expected. Hence, if you cancel their plan they will continue to bill your Gas bill and will tell you that you do not have a contract with them. In addition, they will give you a hard time in reimbursing you for their $400.00 incident fee as well as those additional service monthly fees. Stay away from Nicor Home Solutions it is one of the worst home warranty plans on the market. read more

I want to give minus 5 stars, but I can't. I agree with Michael from Hudson, MA. Same situation this very night. Furnace won't start. Called, but was referred to a repair company and given a wrong number to call. Rep was more concerned about adding my email then dealing with the problem - no heat!!!! First company said they could come in 18 hours. Are you kidding? 24 hour service - not really. Perhaps they should say 24 hour phone call, service takes much much longer. Requested 2nd repair company be assigned - 45 minutes later and still no call. Your website says you (Pivotal) are honored to have this service. Obviously bull. I hope you are up front with your own employees when you try to sell them a home protection policy - if you can be cold for 48 hours then maybe, just maybe, we can get a repairman out. This is a joke. I sent feedback to your customer service page. read more