ComplaintsforRussett Southwest Corporation

• Initial Complaint

  05/14/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 10/21/2021 we purchased a new heating/cooling system from Russett Southwest of Tucson AZ. WE paid $9946.10 for the unit. The Lennox equipment has a 10year parts warranty, 10 year compressor and 20 year Heat Exchanger warranty. As stated, we have had the equipment for approximately 2 years and 7 months. The cooling unit began making intermittent knocking noises the middle of April 2024. We contacted the Russett company regarding the noise and the company sent out a technician to check the system. The system did not make the knocking noise during the technicians visit and he further concluded that perhaps something may have clogged the unit which created the noise we were hearing. Therefore there was no diagnostic finding during the service call. The day after the service visit we began to encounter a thermostat problem. The thermostat was automatically lowering the temp setting to 73 degrees from the setting of 76 degrees. This lowering was occurring daily and we were unable to correct the problem. We contacted Russett to report the matter. A Russett technician was sent to our house to examine the problem. Just as the tech arrived and began working on the thermostat the outside a/c unit began making the knocking noise. The tech immediately went outside to check on the source of the knocking sound. After his review and testing he concluded the compressor was the source of the noise. The tech indicated that he would report back to his supervisor so they could determine what to do to fix the problem. We received a call 0n May 6 from Service Manager who stated that to fix the Compressor the cost would be $2,735.00. I reminded him that the Compressor unit had a 10 year warranty and that the $2735 amount was an exorbitant charge. He stated he would talk to the sales department and get back with me. He called me on May 7 and stated he had spoken with Sales and that the charges could be reduced to$2530.00 but that was the best they could do. Isn't that excessive considering the warranty?

  Business response

  05/15/2024

  Regarding the Lennox HVAC system installed on 10/20/2021, there was a 2-year parts/labor warranty included in the purchase. The particular warranty has expired, however the 10-year parts warranty on the compressor and thermostat are currently active. The cost reported to the homeowner does not include the cost of the compressor, only the refrigerant, labor, recovery/reclaim, processing fees, and misc. parts required to replace the compressor. We were able to offer a discount of $195.00 to help the homeowner, but we are unable to lower the cost of the repair any further. We will replace the thermostat at no cost at the same time that we replace the compressor to address the temperature variance in the home.

• Initial Complaint

  05/08/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Purchased Lennox Furnace & Air conditioner. Installed by Russett Southwest December 27, 2023 without a permit filed. Permit for Marana was signed and obtained the end of January. Spoke with a woman named Toni who arranged an inspection with Marana for a "final inspection" during the week of February 19th. Toni was advised that I would not be home because I was going to be in Costa Rica. Was told they did not need to go in the house. I gave them permission to enter the gate into the back yard. Mid-April I received a call from Toni, told inspection not done because they need to look at the furnace in the attic. April 24th a Marana inspector shows up but doesn't have a ladder to get up in the attic. He informs me that Russett is responsible for having a ladder at site. I again spoke with Toni who will have someone from Russett drop off a ladder May 1 early morning and I called Marana and requested an inspection May 1 afternoon. No ladder delivered, so I obtained a ladder at my other house and waited all day for an inspector to show. Even called Marana x2: Told still out doing inspections (he is the only one, short staffed due to a conference). I was given phone # of inspector, and I sent a text around 4pm asking if still coming. No answer back. Now I am being charged $75 for a "re-inspection" fee. Marana will not schedule an inspection until paid. (Thus, I'm told now why the inspector never showed). Russett says it's my problem. *The very 1st inspection, Russett knew I was not going to be home. *The 2nd inspection, according to Marana, Russett was to provide a ladder. (I was never told by anyone that the inspector who is coming to look at a furnace in my attic was going to show up without a ladder). This is ridiculous. I expect Russett to pay the re-inspection fee.

  Business response

  05/14/2024

  Good Morning ~

  This complaint has been resolved. The $75.00 fee was paid by us to Marana to schedule the reinspection. Called homeowner to schedule the reinspection for Marana, per homeowner reinspection is scheduled for 5/22/2024. Also made arrangements for ladder to be dropped off to homeowner on 5/21/2024. Also spoke to inspector from Marana and made sure that reinspection is in fact scheduled for 5/22/2024. Please closeout complaint.. 

  Thank you

  Customer response

  05/20/2024

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 21685287, 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,
  
  Barbara Lucas
  
   
  

• Initial Complaint

  06/21/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I bought a new HVAC system in 2014. I’m already on my 4th coil as they keep leaking. Each time one leaks, it costs me close to $1000 to add Freon. The coils are all under warranty but the labor isn’t. I just got a bill for almost $700 for the last coil installation. 2 of their technicians have already told me that the ADP coils are inferior. I’ve had 3 other companies telling me that 4 coils in 9 years doesn’t sound right and that the leak is probably coming from somewhere else. One of their techs even suggested I buy a whole new Lenox system. My system is a Rheem which Russett no longer sells.

  Business response

  06/26/2023

  To whom it may concern,

  we have read the complaint from Mrs. Jane Kaskel in regards to the Evaporative coil issues she has been having. Our warranty  standard here at Russett Southwest is if the system is brand new, we give 2 years labor warranty and standard 5 year warranty on parts. In this particular case with Jane Kaskel, we have provided the coil under a part warranty status. Unfortunately, labor and refrigerant are not covered under the warranty if beyond the 2 years. I believe the last service we did for Mrs. Kaskel was even done at a discounted rate per the service manager. We understand that this is very frustrating to the customer and technically is out of our hands. We do not manufacture the coils or the equipement, our job as a company is to install and help maintain the equipment we provide. According to our records, we have replaced the Evap. coil 3 times. The most recent was on 6-15-2023 where we charged Mrs. Kaskel $ 676 which was a discounted rate and have yet to receive payment for at this time. Our typical warranty process to verify if a coil is leaking, is to add Dye to the system and top off the refrigerant charge. Approx. 3-6 weeks we will return to verify pressures and look for any dye with a black light to verify exactly where the leak is if any. At this time if a leak is found, we will follow the steps to order and verify the evap. coil warranty. Once again, if this item is beyond the 2 year mark of install we charge for labor and refrigerant. Again we apologize for any inconvenience that Mrs. Kaskel has endured, but again our hands are tied at this point and can not give away labor & refrigerant.

   

  Regards

   

  Jeff Wilson

   

  General Manager

• Initial Complaint

  10/13/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Order Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  In December 2021 I had the HVAC Gas/Ele package unit replaced on my townhome by Russett. I have had a number of problems with them and the unit since then. First, I paid for new metal support rails for the unit, which were never installed. Instead the installation was done on the existing support rails. I never was refunded the money for the metal support rail fabrication. Next, the thermostat installed never worked properly, and although that was eventually replaced, it was only replaced after many complaints and no-shows by Russett. I was also charged for the replacement of the faulty thermostat. Now, we have been told that our unit is leaking coolant and we scheduled in advance a time for Russett to repair the leak. We were told that since they could access our roof, we did not need to be at home. A Russett tech came to the house and left without doing the repair. When I called to complain, I was told I'd be contacted first thing this morning to reschedule. However, I have not been called and it is 1pm. I have been very frustrated with the lack of service, the misrepresentations, and the delays, which will impact our warranty. Moreover, because of the leak, I believe our a/c has had to work harder to cool our home, resulting in electric bills hundreds of dollars more than last year. I would like an immediately scheduled repair, an extension of our labor warranty by at least one year, a refund of the charge on the thermostat, and a refund for the cost of fabricating the metal support rails that were never installed.

  Business response

  10/17/2022

  We at Russett Southwest pride ourselves in always doing the right thing for our customers. We have always done the right thing since 1947 for our customers. We understand and are aware of the issues with the customers unit. We have done our due-diligence in taking the proper steps to verify the proper operation of the unit & to verify if and where the leaks are located in the system.  We have verified and found numerous leaks located in the Evaporative coil of the unit ( 10/13/2022 ) . These leaks that were found are not repairable. 

  We have contacted Lennox the Mfg. of the equipment to order the new part for repair on said unit. So, at this point we are waiting on Lennox to find out when that part will be available for the customer. We have tried numerous times to contact the owner by phone without success. We have E-mailed him numerous times ( which seems to be the only method of contact ).  So, we will update customer as soon as we have a response from Lennox.

  Business response

  11/04/2022

  To whom it may concern,

  as stated in our previous response to the customer, we are currently working on a resolve for the situation at hand.

  We have been in direct contact with our supplier to find a solution to the ongoing issues with the AC that we installed 10/22/2021. Ironically enough I was in contact with the supply house yesterday ( 11/3/2022 ) and was informed that Lennox will be sending us a new Unit next week for the customer. Now, the only task at hand is to find time in our schedule to replace the unit.  This situation will be addressed and completed without failure. So that  everyone is on the same page, we at Russett Southwest have always prided ourselves in doing the right thing for the customer. This situation is no different. Something else I think should be said is that, we do not manufacture the equipment. We install it to the best of our ability and hold a high standard. This particular situation has nothing to do with our capabilities of installing, it is a manufacture issue.  We will be in contact with the customer by end of business 11/4/2022 to inform them of scheduling his replacement of his HVAC unit.

   

  Regards

   

  **** ******

  General Manager

  Customer response

  11/04/2022

  I am glad to hear that the coil will be replaced soon and that the business will reach out to me today, but since the problem is not yet resolved I wish to wait before closing this complaint.  Additionally, none of the other issues has been resolved.

   

  Thank you.

• Initial Complaint

  01/20/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My furnace stopped working due to a faulty limit switch. I called Russett for service and I was quoted $84 per 1/2 hour plus parts. The technician spent 34 minutes at my home from arrival to departure. He replaced the limit switch, and I was charged $268. When I questioned him about it, telling him that is not what I was quoted and asked for a breakdown he replied "that is what it is", when I asked him again how he came up with $268 considering he was only here for 34 minutes and the OEM replacement switch part is less than $20, he again replied "that is what it is". I didn't argue further as I assumed there was a miscommunication between him and the head office which had provided me the quote. The next day I called the main office to discuss the situation and asked for a partial refund but it was denied telling me that was the cost for that particular job. I am disappointed with Russett as they have always been fair with me but this time I feel they they took advantage of the situation. $268 for 34 minutes and a $20 part is simply wrong. I have left the door open for them to call me back and work to rectify the situation by providing a partial refund.

  Business response

  01/26/2022

  The original service was $84 to diagnose the failure per half hour. After the service tech (J**** *******) arrived he diagnosed a faulty limit switch in which he gave a flat rate price of $268 to repair. Mr. ****** approved the repairs saying he had no choice to our tech (we all have choices)

  Behind every repair is more than the costs of material. Health insurance, car insurance, workmen comp, general liability, fuel, vehicle maintenance, office overhead, office staff and on in on. We at Russett Southwest pride ourselves on taking care of the Tucson communitities for over 75 years. That is why we charge flat rate in lieu of greed commission

  Jim Baldwin

  President

  Business response

  01/27/2022

  All~

   

    Being in business for 75 years it is our job to treat every customer the same

   

    If the job was not done right or if we treated Mr ****** in any manner that does not uphold our customer satisfaction I would look into a resolution, but he (Mr ******) agreed to the price up front before we did the work

   

  Jim Baldwin

  Customer response

  01/28/2022

  I am not satisfied with the response. They have offered no resolution.  The quote I received was quite clear, if they intended to add all the extras (insurance, and other overhead expenses) they should have mentioned them from the beginning.

  The only reason I accepted the work to be completed is because the tech was not answering my questions on why the quote had changed. My only option was to accept and hope that the main office would make a good faith effort to fix the next day. 

  I will be satisfied paying, and my offer to resolve is to pay for 1 hour and 100% upcharge on the part which comes out to $208 ($84 per 1/2 hour x 2 and $40 for the part) and the rest should be refunded. 

*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. ↩