ComplaintsforAlways Fair Heating & Air

• Initial Complaint

  07/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I had this company install a new ******* 16 seer dual stage unit 2 yrs ago and i have had nothing but issues ever since. The compressor fails to turn on even with a hard start kit. Now it is not running again and its 113 outside. I called to get it repaired and was told i had to wait unitl the next day from 2-6. When i called back to tell them that was unacceptable i was put on hold for 10min, i hung up and called back and got the answering service. This should be illegal my ac has not run in 15 hrs and will be 24hrs before they even come to look at it. I have no other way to cool my house and they didnt even offer to bring temporary cooling to get us through until they can repair it for the 15th time( not exaggerating). I had to go buy swap coollers just to keep one room in my house slightly ****** but now its so humid its miserable. No company should be able to install a new unit and then leave the customer with out a working ac they should be out immediatley to fix it. Also they didnt even initially install a communication board that they should have when it was installed. And they dropped the condenser off the truck when they were here to install it. I heard it hit the pavement from inside my house...

  

  Business response

  07/06/2024

  *******,

  First of all we installed this unit in 2021.

  Yes we have been out several times. None of those times you were charged for anything, including the times this was a thermostat programming issue. Once for a run cap, once to add a start assist kit and a few times for routine maintenance.

  We have honored everything in our original agreement, everything we ever put in writing.

  So where does it say that we are required to give you "immediate" service in the middle of JULY? You called in at 4:15 on the Friday following July 4th holiday. We were literally knocking on your door 25 hours later to take care of the issue. 

  If you are expecting faster service than that....IN JULY then you need to call one of the larger companies for immediate service.

  You went with our company because of price, we saved you thousands of dollars and one of those draw backs is that we do not guarantee service within an hour, or two, or even three. It's just not realistic to expect that from ANY HVAC company in July.

  And yet you hold us to that standard?

  I am going to look back on you original contract, if you had a 2 year labor warranty it has long since expired. If it was 5 years then at least we are almost done with our commitment but a letter to the BBB like this seems like a clear desire to terminate those remaining years.

  In closing, to any and all who read this. We do not over promise. We do everything written out in our contract. There is nothing anywhere stating priority, emergency, weekend or one hour service on any of our advertisements. We do the best we can even in 115 degrees heat but you may have to wait behind a few people ahead of you.  Any AC company in July has a wait, why you would think you would not have a wait is beyond us.

  But we are literally on site as I type this diagnosing this issue.

  Customer response

  07/08/2024

  My complaint isn't that you don't fix it when it stops working, my complaint is it shouldn't need to be fixed several times a year its only 3 yrs old. I am sick of being without ** in the summer. My 20 yr old unit was more reliable than this new one has been. I was told the ******* 3 ton 16 seer (Dual Stage) R410-A ********* System was reliable by your company. This unit breaks down so often I have to worry everyday I am at work if my ** is going to run through the day or if my dogs will be baking in the heat when I get home. I find this to be unsatisfactory I have never had so many problems with a ** in any of the 3 homes I have owned. Issues started within days of it being installed. The install crew had no idea what they were doing when it was installed 3 yrs ago 1 guy was in my hallway calling to 2 people in my attic on what they should be doing and how to connect the wires. These issues are probably due to a bad install which is very important part, other than maintenance, for a ** to run properly. You come out and fix it every time without charge, as you should, but I am left without ** for at least 24hrs and its always over 110 outside. This time I have been without ** for 4 days and it is 113 outside. Your company didnt offer anything to keep us comfortable while waiting for the part to fix it again so I had to go buy 3 portable ** units at $400.00 apiece which I don't have money for but I cant be home when its 100 inside let alone my husband, daughter and dogs. Getting these portable ** units from the store and setup was extremely difficult since I am only 5ft tall and weigh 85lbs.Getting them out of the car,in the house,unpacked,setup venting,and finally get them running almost made me pass out from heat exhaustion. My daughter is staying in a hotel since all of us cant be stuck in 1 room for days, another unexpected expense due to the ** not working. I want a ** unit that is reliable and does not need to be repaired several times a year

  

  Business response

  07/08/2024

  *******,

  We do feel your pain, and if for some reason we didn't feel your pain you sure go out of your way to ensure that we should. Between the constant telephone calls and having to stop and respond on the BBB website it is a bit taxing, but here we go, trying to put our best foot forward.

  1. When you first appeared to us through HomeAdvisor we gave you a choice of 3 brands, *******, Carrier or Trane. You picked *******, your choice. We stand behind it. We are handling all of these repairs under warranty and we are doing so in a timely fashion, that is literally what a good service company is supposed to do. We do not manufacturer these things, we did not make it, we just pulled it straight out of the box and installed it.

  2. We did a great install, none of these issues stem from a poor install.

  3. We can either keep spending time hashing these things out on the BBB website or I can keep calling around looking for a warranty replacement for your coil.

  4. We do apologize for your inconvenience, we are not trying to overheat your dogs. But this is why WE give you a 5 year labor warranty instead of 2 like most companies, so you are not coming out of pocket for ANY of this, we are. We have to purchase the coil and wait for the warranty to kick in and refund us. But we cant make you wait in a hot house while that happens so we are trying to locate your warranty coil as we speak, once located we will call you to schedule.

  In closing, no one can guess as to which units will have problems and which ones wont, and why. Its c*** shoot. All we can do is keep coming out and making repairs as needed until you tell us to stop or until your 5 year labor warranty runs out.

  Customer response

  07/09/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait for the business to perform this action and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.
  
  Regards,
  
  ***************************
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased a new ** unit $7200 in June 2023, to replace an older working unit. The technicians did not reconnect the heating portion of the system, and my husband had to figure this out when it came time for the heater. Additionally the techs hid the attic trim in the attic. Fast forward to needing the ** April 2024 and it is not cooling. After a couple calls, a guy comes out and confirms there is a leak on our brand new unit and he recharged the unit and said someone will call us to schedule time to fix the leak. Nobody ever called. We called again, several times and got someone to come out (a contractor to the company). He immediately confirmed that the installers smashed a piece during the install and the coolant was leaking out everywhere. He supposedly fixed the issue. 6 days later, we are again with no ** on a brand new unit. 12 months with a brand new broken unit. Upon the original install we had improvement because the older unit had a small leak, so any improvement was remarkable. Additionally, I was looking for duct work after the install to see how much of an impact the new unit would have. I was advised this would be best and they could come back in cooler months to do duct work. Unbeknownst to us that we could have had an even better improvement had the installers not damaged the unit and made it worse.

  

  Business response

  06/08/2024

  I swear, it's like people think we have a technician on stand by one mile away from your home in hopes you will call us someday, the ** business does not work like that in June, July and August.

  This customer is literally on the schedule for Monday morning between 8am and 10am so our field supervisor can take a look at there issue.

  Our on call tech for this weekend is the same technician that was at their home last week and could not properly diagnose the issue, so there would be no logic to sending him back out there on a Saturday would there?

  This customer has 2 ac units, so the house still ahs some cooling, in case anyone thinks we would just leave a customer without ** all weekend we try very hard not to do that.

  This customer received an email on Saturday near 1pm informing them that the first opening we had was Monday morning first call with our supervisor. Instead of just accepting the fact that we are super busy and this was the first available appointment we had, they take to writing letters to the BBB.

  There is nothing on our installation paperwork stating same day repairs or response time within a certain time frame, we are not that big of a company to offer that so we don't advertise a service like that. We are doing our best to get to their home, they are scheduled for Monday morning first call.

  We would appreciate it if in the future if this customer (and all other customers) would simply accept the fact that ******* are hot, that we do not have a technician available to see them at their convenience and that there may be a wait time.

  Customer response

  06/09/2024

  I appreciate the business' fast response.  I'm disappointed to see the tone of the response. We do recognize this is a stressful time in PHX and we have been and continue to be extremely patient. We've been trying to get this resolved with the company since April.  This response was the first notification that we were on a schedule for someone to come on Monday. We did not receive an email and nobody we spoke to Friday or Saturday told us that.  The last technician did not tell us the problem was not resolved and we were surprised to discover 6 days after his visit that we had no ** again.  If that was the case and it wasn't resolved then I would think it there would be a note from the week before about a scheduling need.  I chose to use BBB instead of ****** review to have a more controlled and professional engagement that was not meant to embarrass or shame the company.  We purchased a new unit from the company, the installers did not properly install and they seemingly damaged the unit.  We just want the unit that we paid for to work properly.  I will resolve the complaint when the ** unit is fixed. Every technician and person that answers the phone has been pleasant and we've actually been surprised at some of the fast response times.  However, the problem persists and we are hopeful that this company will resolve the issue.  Thank you. 

*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. ↩