ComplaintsforAccu-Temp Heating And Air Conditioning Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  12/21/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  HVAC System failed. Told plastic pan cracked within unit, plunger failsafe switch failed as well as wet/dry switch that sits in auxiliary pan failed. Three failures all at one time? Please explain. Neither on site tech nor I saw or could find a crack in the plastic pan. I have a photo of same. Accu-Temp would not leave the pan with me. Accu-Temp said needed it to support warranty purpose with manufacturer. Techs could not explain the failure of the fail-safe switches or why the HVAC System did not shut off when leaking. $6-8,000 worth of garage damage, ceiling, fan, garage door opener, epoxy floor, attic floor, mold & many personal items damaged. Tech completed installing a new coil (not requested by the way which makes this even more suspect) and a new plastic drain pan. Asked me for payment and I requested an explanation prior to payment. I never refused payment for their work. I was and am seeking an answer to how/why this occured. Their response is simply "failed parts". We had a twice a year maintenance and the system was purchased and installed by them in February, 2020. They insist on payment prior to providing me a sit down discussion (not in the dark night at 7pm like what actually occurred or standing around in the garage hypothesising "maybes" with a tech) answers and helpful, insightful solutions. I had to suggest to the tech possibly a different type fail-safe switch, and to ask him what else could be done so this never happens again. I seek answers prior to payment and Office Asst., severed the relationship. Office Asst. wasn't present and lies when she said she recorded (without telling me) our conversation and that I refused payment. I never refused payment. I maintain that our semi-annual maintenance of the system should have prevented this issue. They want payment. Period. No sit down explanation. Accu-Temp severed the relationship. Office Asst. lied to me and I have no trust in Accu-Temp.

  Business response

  01/18/2022

   

  In regards to the complaint for not leaving the auxiliary pan with the customer, I have reiterated to him that the manufacturer, Trane, does require the return of parts replaced under warranty for inspection and confirmation of our diagnosis in order for us to receive credit for the replacement parts. We do have pictures of said pan removed from his home in his files, which we advised we would forward him for insurance purposes as well. 

   

  In response to his desired settlement to "not pay as Accu-Temp refuses my request for a sit-down meeting to understand", I would like to have it notated that we had him scheduled to meet with the Field Supervisor on Tuesday, December 21, but as you can see from the email attached, we requested payment for the work rendered in which he responded, " No, **** is coming to explain first ...his visit does not automatically authorize/approve payment". At that point, I had to cancel our meeting until payment was rendered. We would like to rectify this situation for our customer, however, we provided a service and did not receive payment. If he agrees to make the payment for the service, we can schedule a meeting with the Field Supervisor at our office located at *** * ******* ******* ******* ******

   

  I have attached a copy of his invoices for your reference as well as a PDF copy of my email back and forth with *** ***** for your review. Please let me know if you need anything additional.

   

  Should you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to me via email or at the telephone number below. 

   

  ******** *******

  Business response

  01/20/2022

  In response to *** ******* email, I would like to reiterate that this system was not a brand new unit on a brand new home, but was a replacement system attached to existing ductwork, copper lines, drain lines, and electric AS IS on a 2005 home. I have attached a copy of the work order invoice, in which *** ***** signed off at the bottom of the invoice reflecting the following statement: "I find that all work has been completed in a satisfactory and workmanlike manner. I have been given the opportunity to address concerns and/or discrepancies in the work provided, and I either have no such concerns or have found no discrepancies or they have been addressed by [the contractor] to my satisfaction." I have also attached a copy of the mechanical permit that Accu-Temp pulled for the replacement unit with Volusia County as well as a copy of the PASSED completion certificate from the county inspector. 

   

  This unit was installed in 2020 and has been running with almost no issuesf or two years. We did go out for a service call request on March 17, 2021 as the system was not cooling, in which the technician had found a bad transformer and replaced it under warranty. From our recorded call logs and service history, this customer never previously had any water leaks to our knowledge. Our replacement systems come with a one year labor warranty provided by Accu-Temp as well as a complimentary maintenance visit. We performed said maintenance on 1/5/21 and we returned 5/10/21 to perform his first maintenance visit under his maintenance plan, which in turn would leave him with (1) more pending visit due in November (which he was not in Florida for this visit to be rendered). We do have checklists, readings, pictures, and documentation on all our maintenance visits that show the system was cleaned, maintained, and working properly at the completion of the job. I do want to note that we do not use shop vacs to clean out HVAC drain lines but use a water hose and adaptor to flush out the drain line from the inside as water follows the path of least resistance which subsequently does a more thorough job than a shop vac. At his last maintenance, we also installed an enzyme kit on his main drain line to prevent clogging on the drain as well. 

   

  In regards to finding problems with our work by another contractor, it is heresy that the other company found any issues from an installation completed almost two years ago. If issues were found, it may be due to the fact that we had three employees onsite, the customer refused to let our Installation Manager inside his home, asked all employees to leave the premises, and proceeded to shut the lights off to his home before refusing to pay. I then instructed all technicians to vacate the property per the homeowner's request. It is especially not legitimate nor feasible to make these statements on the quality of workmanship on the initial installation job which was performed and passed by the county almost two years ago.

   

  Accu-Temp cannot be held liable or responsible for repairs/damages on a vacant home due to faulty parts, wear and tear, or accidental causes. We cannot monitor someone else's property when they are out of town for water leaks or any other HVAC issues as that is not within our scope of work. All homeowners are responsible for their homes when they are away. As unfortunate of a situation as this is, it is the negligence of the homeowner for not monitoring his own property. Upon arrival, we found the drain pan cracked, which caused the water to cascade into the auxiliary pan, which had a failed pan switch causing the water leak. Also please keep in mind that there have been previous issues with Trane's evaporator coils in the past and we replaced his coil under warranty as a courtesy. You can read many reviews online for leaks in the evaporator coil which could be the determinant for the unit to freeze up and also cause the pan to crack. In our opinion, once the customer had found out that this damage was caused by failed parts and not the fault of Accu-Temp, he requested us to vacate, which compelled us to leave the job not completed. He was then able to call in another company to find "said issues". 

   

  Accu-Temp was in no way negligent in this situation and we exercised due diligence on our bi-annual maintenance visits, service calls, and installation. Our work was performed in a timely manner to get our customer's HVAC system working again and we were not paid for our services. It is common practice to file a Mechanics Lein as he now outwardly stated in writing that he is refusing to pay his bill, but we would like to come to an amicable resolution within the next week.

   

  Again, these damages were quite unfortunate but were not caused by Accu-Temp. It is the customer's responsibility to monitor his own property when he is away for extended periods of time. *** ***** advised he was out of town in Detroit from May-December last year. Again, the customer was not home nor had anyone check on his home which in turn caused more damage. We offered many solutions including a water monitoring device through his alarm company as we do not know how long that system was leaking which caused the extensive damage to his home.

   

   

  ******** ******* ************

  Customer response

  01/27/2022

   

  ***** ***** ***** ********************* ***** ********** ******* *** **** **** ** *** **** ******* *********************** ******** ********

   

  *****

   

  The one message you sent via the BBB website would not allow me to enter the date and time and phone number for the Teleconference.  I do plan to attend on 2/17/22 at 11am via phone number ************.  Thank you.  ****** *****

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