TroubleShooters: Electric fireplace frustrations

You've probably seen ads for Heat Surge electric fireplaces. They look nice and they're supposed to save you money on your heating bills - but what if the product stops working?

Denise Scharch and her husband wanted a new way to add heat to their home.

So last January, they bought a Heat Surge electric fireplace for $317.

"It was nice. It put out a lot of heat," said Scharch.

But they say after only a few weeks..

"It would totally just shut off like the flames would shut off, everything would shut off - no heat came out - nothing," said Scharch.

The Scharchs tell Action News they were told to reset the unit.

"We kept taking it off the wall and resetting it until finally one night it said, 'I'm not going to work anymore' and it didn't work," said Scharch.

The Scharchs tell us they were then instructed to take the product to an appliance repair shop.

"They gave me a claim number and said, 'We'll call you when it's done," said Scharch.

Many months went by, in fact the entire winter passed. When we met the Scharchs in September, they were still without their fireplace.

"I keep paying on this thing and I don't have it and I can't get any satisfaction from Heat Surge," said Schrach.

After the Action News TroubleShooters called Heat Surge, the company sent the Scharchs a brand new unit.

"I tried so hard for months and months and months to get this thing and you guys came in, and in one day, it was all taken care of," said Schrach.

And our Action News photographer and TroubleShooter Jason Marraccini, installed the couple's new fireplace.

"Problem is solved and I appreciate so much your help, I really, really do," said Schrach.

However here's the twist, Scharch told us the new unit stopped working, too!

Action News contacted Heat Surge again, this time the company gave the couple a full refund.

Also, the company tells us it's no longer making that particular model - the EV2 Portrait - and blames the delay in resolving the Scharch's problem on miscommunication.

Heat Surge also says it believes the Scharchs didn't follow all the instructions in the manual.

Recommendations include: You should NOT use extension cords with the unit and you should not plug other appliances into the same circuit.

Read the full statement from Heat Surge below:

Thank you for forwarding William and Denise Scharch's inquiry to us. Here at Heat Surge we respect and value our customers. We have continuously worked with Mr. and Mrs. Scharch from the beginning to solve their problems with their Heat Surge EV2 Portrait. We regret that Mr. and Mrs. Scharch were not satisfied with their purchase. We have worked with Mrs. Scharch to repair their unit, we reshipped the unit, and we fully refunded the full purchased price of the unit. Last time we spoke with Mrs. Scharch she received her refund and she was happy that we able to solve her problem.

The out of production models you asked about are Y10 and W10. These nearly identical models are out of production because we introduce a new model every year. Although not as popular when compared to other Roll-n-Glow models , we are still planning to build and sell a limited number of Portraits this season for those who want them. Thanks.

If you need help with a problem visit 6abc.com/troubleshooters, email troubleshooters@abc.com, or through our Call for Action volunteers by calling 1-866-978-4232.