When we moved in to our new (to us) home almost 2 years ago, we had a chimney inspection done to make sure everything was kosher. He took a look from the top and bottom (no video) and said that the chimney was fine, except the crown had a small crack and it needed to be re-layed at some point. The sweep was a retired fireman who seemed okay to us, what did we know? Well, fast forward to this Fall, when we started to consider replacing the gas logs the former owners had installed in our fireplace, and we hired another company to come out. They said that we had a chimney fire at some point, and that there were damaged tiles/etc. and that we needed to get it relined. We paid to have them do a level 2 (video) inspection, so we could file an insurance claim if needed. This company turned out to be shady, it took us forever just to get the report from them, so we could file it with insurance. Finally, we got the report, plus the pics, and sent it off to the insurance company. Well, the insurance company says "Oh, we've had problems with this sweep before, they're not trustworthy", I am assuming they try to get homeowners to file claims and get paid to do the relines...
So, the insurance co. says they're going to send out their own sweep that they know and trust, and we're saying "Uh oh, there goes our claim". You know what? This company says there was no chimney fire, it was a lightning strike that caused the damage, and the insurance co. looks at their report and strokes us a check for $6k to get a poured masonry liner done! Yes, we did luck out, but the most important thing is that I think we have found a very good chimney company to work with for the future, who does good work and is very knowledgeable. Also, they are looking into getting our stove for us (Hampton HI300) and installing it when they are done with the reline, saving us some bucks.
Sorry for the long story, just wanted to let other newbies know what my limited experience has been, and to try to find the best chimney co./sweep they can. Is there a place on Hearth.com that has a place to recommend companies? That would be a valuable tool for people looking for quality work from contractors.