ComplaintsforProair Heating and Cooling

• Initial Complaint

  06/11/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  This company had an employee come to clean our ducts & service our furnace on Oct 31, 2023. The company was aware that our furnace was intermitently working & that we had to turn the thermostat on/off to get it going every once in a while. When they came to clean the ducts and do the service, the furnace was working. The worker said our furnace was very old "older than me" and we should be getting a new one. He said he would send us a quote and that he was going to get his boss to come out the next day to have a look. He completed the job at 1700. We were out trick/treating with our child & upon returning home at 2000 that evening, we realized the furnace wasn't working and the house was cold. I called immediately the company & left a VM. They also missed cleaning 2 vents which I requested be completed. They returned my call first thing in the morning & said their top technician was coming to Revelstoke & would be there in the afternoon to fix it. He was very rude, crumbled a piece of wire in my face & all over my floor. He told us the furnace was over 40 years old, was very unsafe, expensive to fix, & that if he had been here yesterday he would have refused to service it. He then said that we need a new furnace for which he will be sending us a quote for. He then said that if we don't buy a new furnace through him, he would charge us for the trip out here today (Nov 1). I asked him if he was threatening us. He then repeated himself. I explained that when someone services a furnace, they need to ensure that the furnace is working when they leave. I explained that if it's not working, that the owner should be notified ASAP so they can come up with another plan. I told him I had a 4 year old & my husband was working nightshift, so we froze all night. I then asked him to leave. We immediately called a local furnace tech to come & look today (Nov 2). He told us the parts are cheap to replace, the furnace is safe & working fine, & that the furnace was made in 2006.

  Business response

  08/11/2023

  I am the manager of the company and was directly involved in this service call both working and supervising another technician.
  
  Ms ******** made arrangements with our office to have her ducts cleaned and her furnace serviced.  She did not mention at the time of booking the appointment that she had previous problems with the furnace.  I am attaching a copy of the work order which makes no mention of the previous problems with the furnace.  If she had mentioned previous problems with the furnace our dispatched would have noted that the furnace needed repair. I suspect Ms ******** didn't disclose that the furnace was malfunctioning in the hope that a furnace service would resolve the issue.
  
  Our duct cleaning technician attempted to start your furnace by the thermostat when he arrived at the house as is our policy.  He noticed the furnace still hadn't started 10 minutes later as he was setting up his equipment.  He informed Ms ******** at that time, prior to beginning work.  I am certain that this is true because he also called me, his supervisor, at that time to inform me that the furnace did not work.  I confirmed that later with a time from my cell phone call log. At that time, I told the technician that I would be in Revelstoke the next day. The technician informed Ms ******** at that time what the situation was and that I would be coming the next day to fix the furnace.  When I was there the next day Ms ******** acknowledged that she knew I would be coming so I am sure she got that message.
  
  When I arrived at the job, I discovered a simple problem with the furnace and corrected it.  I showed Ms ******** and her partner the problem and explained that it was due to the age of the furnace and its overall poor condition.  I recommended buying a new furnace and said that I would credit the repair cost of $200 to the new furnace if they chose to replace it.  That is our policy.  It is not intended to coerce a person; it is intended as a gesture of good faith.
  
  Ms ******** and her partner got very upset, and I could see that they were about to get very emotional.  Our firm had already charged Ms ******** an amount for duct cleaning, so I instantly rescinded the new repair invoice as a gesture of good will.  The amount already discounted to Ms ******** is more than $200.00.
  
  At no time while I was on site for the repair did she mention that there was a problem with the duct cleaning.  In her first complaint to me she said there was one duct missed, now she says two.  Our technician is an experienced and certified duct cleaner with a history with our company doing excellent work and gets commended regularly by his clients.  Its possible that Ms. ******** has mistaken defects in her ductwork which was built in 1927, almost 100 years ago, with a problem with the cleaning.
  
  I absolutely stand by the work and service we did for Ms ********.  From everything that I have seen with my own eyes it meets the highest professional standard and the advice she was given was sound.  I have already made several attempts to address Ms ********’s dissatisfaction but is embellishing and dramatizing the circumstances beyond any realistic resolution.

  Customer response

  10/11/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response as his explanation to what happened is incorrect.

  Please see email below for more clarity and details on the situation as I was limited in the amount of words I was allowed to use when initially contacting BBB. I will also post his response to my email. Please note, I have not responded to this email as I'd like all further commincation to be documented through BBB. Please also note, I phoned **** immediately and they were able to fix why Pro Air couldn't charge my credit card. They have since charged me for the amount of $790.65. 

  I believe it's important to note that I have done extensive renovations on two homes, as well as built two homes, and never have I experienced this type of interaction with a contractor before. Pro Air's ****** reviews will also show that this isn't the first time Steve (the owner) has bullied customers before. One of the reviews includes a breach of confidentiality by listing a customers full name and address, even after she repeatly asked him to remove this information.

  Our primary concern about our business with pro-air is that they lied to us about the condition and servicability of our furnace. The assertions that pro-air have made about the furnace and its condition have been contradicted by other furnace repair services. Parts and prices for this furnace are readily available and the furnace is not 40 years old but a model 2006. 

  At this point, what's important to us is that BBB recognizes that what Steve is stating in his responses are completely incorrect. They are fabrications of the truth and I hope that we can resolve this in a way that saves future customers from having a similar interaction.

  My email to Pro Air sent on November 3, 2023:

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  Business response

  15/11/2023

  I regret that we are unable to offer any more compromise on the clients complaint.  I stand by the work and advice that was delivered to the client.

  The client is confused about the difference between a furnace service and a furnace repair.  A furnace service identifies furnace defects and a furnace repair corrects deficiencies in a furnace, for a fee depending on the cost of the part and the amount of time that would be spent replacing the part. At the time of the repair we had already performed the duct cleaning and furnace service.  As soon as this false expectation of getting the repair came to light I immediately backed down to avoid a lengthy complaint. I have already given a credit of more than $200 for the repair that was performed on the deflective furnace. The offer to deduct the cost of the repair from a installation price is a gesture of good faith, I do it all the time in similar situations.  No other person has accused me of trying to coerce them.
  

  At no time was she treated rudely, nothing was "crumbled in her face" or anything of the sort.  No one would do that and then expect to sell a furnace.

  She also believes that she received bad or tainted advice regarding the age and safety of her furnace.  I have since sent her an email asking her to get an unbiased opinion from the Provincial Gas Safety Inspector.  I gave her the gas inspectors email address and phone number and copied him on the email.  Her fears can be put to ease by getting this unbiased professional advice.

  After an inspection from the gas inspector, if I am notified in writing by the gas inspector of any poor work or inappropriate advice I will gladly refund the duct cleaning invoice.

  The clients complaint has been inconsistent from the start.  She first claimed to me in person and to our office that the furnace had worked properly prior to the cleaning of the duct work. As the complaint proceeded she claimed that she told our office dispatcher she had intermittent problems prior to the duct cleaning being done, justifying her belief that the defective furnace should be fixed for free.  The next complaint indicated she believed one duct had been missed (in her email to Proair), then two ducts had been missed ( in her complaint to the BBB). Her communications contain exaggerations, false suggestions that threats have been made, and indicating she had the intention of contacting a lawyer and suing Proair. 

  I am unable to offer anything more at this time.

  Customer response

  18/11/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  If you check the call logs for the company, you will see that I called to book a cleaning of my ducts and then approximately 1 week later, I called to add on the servicing of the furnace as it had started to intermittently work (meaning, it would turn off but then with a restart of the thermostat, it would turn immediately back on). Pro Air was made aware during that phone call that this was occurring. I am happy to go back through my phone and take a screen shot of the two phone calls if needed.
  
  On October 31st, when Pro Air arrived to complete the duct cleaning and furnace servicing, the technician was also made aware of the furnace intermittently working.

  Again, never once did the technician tell us that the furnace had completely stopped working at any point during his time on our property.

  I have attached a photo that is date and time stamped at the top, to show the dirty duct that Pro Air was made aware of (per my first email). 

  In response to your recent email you sent me, offering a contact for a gas fitter; I will not be contacting someone you recommend, especially when you've stated "he knows me". Unfortunately our interactions with you in person and now through BBB have solicited absolutely zero trust in any sort of recommendations. I am happy to attach said email for BBB to review. We have completed our own assessment of the furnace by a professional, as stated in a previous response.

  I want Steve, owner of Pro Air to apologize for how he treated us during his interactions both on site and through emails. I am hopeful that this interaction will only serve as a learning experience for both Steve and his technician to communicate in a more professional way.

  Based on the photo attached and the threat received by Steve during our interaction, and the fact that I was without heat during a cold snap with my 4 year old, I am still requesting a refund. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

  Business response

  05/12/2023

  I will be happy to provide a written apology for any bad feelings that have been created. 

  I will also be happy to come by the house and inspect the workmanship on the duct cleaning and correct any deficiencies.

  Customer response

  06/12/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1. I'm not asking for an apology for the "bad feelings" created. I asked for an apology for your unprofessional manner during your interaction with us, as well as the fact that your technician left my 4 year old and I with no heat for the night, not to mention, your after hours on-call professional also did not answer his phone.

  2. The photo attached to the last communication with you through BBB shows you that the duct cleaning wasn't completed properly. As I said before, your receptionist was made aware of this on November 1st and told me you would deal with it when you came that day, which you did not. 

  3. Attached you will find the invoice dated October 31st with a completed date and time of "Tue 10/31/23 5:05 PM". On the third page you will see a highlighted section under "Duct Cleaning" that your company as written as part of their policies. It states "Duct cleaning technicians always check for normal equipment operation prior to completing a cleaning job.". A few facts that have already been previously stated but are relevant here is that the furnace was working when he arrived at our home, if the furnace wasn't working prior to his duct cleaning, why would he not have told us that before he started cleaning? This would have given him and I ample time to figure out how to get a repair asap, or get a back up furnace for the night so that we weren't left in the cold.

  The main facts that I continue to repeat to you is;

  1. The furnace WAS working when he arrived and it WASN'T working when you arrived. You know that.

  2. We spent the night in the cold - why would I do that if I'd known at 2pm when your technician arrived that the furnace wasn't working? Don't you think I would have got a hotel room, called around to all the furnace places and tried to get a repair? Or a back up furnace? 

  3. The duct cleaning wasn't done properly and wasn't completed when you came back the next day.

  Your apology for "bad feelings" is not accepted. As well, you are also not welcome in my home after threatening myself and my partner as stated in previous emails. 

  I will continue to ask for a refund as resolution.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

  Business response

  06/12/2023

  We have made every effort to resolve this complaint.  On the very first day I was at the house I gave the client a $200 discount off her whole invoice which was the cost of the repair.  I have offered to make any reparation's if she seeks the support of the gas inspector and he finds that I was in error in any way.  I have provided the client the contact information for the gas inspector.  She has not sought his advice.  I have offered a formal apology, she has declined it. I have offered to inspect the work personally an rectify any deficiencies I find, she has declined the offer.

  The client and I have irreconcilable differences. I can offer no more assistance, I accept the judgement of the BBB on these terms.  Thank you for your assistance.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩