ComplaintsforExpress Air Conditioning & Heating, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  10/12/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  On 8/30/22, I purchased two Express A/C and Heating Inc. Comfort Club contracts for my rental properties at 3175A and ***** ***** ***** Dr., PCola. Each contract cost $139 and included two preventative maintenance inspections for each unit during the 12 month contract term. For unit 3175A, after several attempts, I was able to schedule the 1st service (furnace) on 12/21/22. When I called in the spring to schedule the 2nd service (a/c), I was told Express Air would schedule directly with the tenant once the 'weather had changed'. In early Aug of 23', after realizing the 2nd service had not been completed, I contacted Express Air and was told they were too busy handing customers without working a/c to service maintenance issues under the Comfort Club contract. My husband then called and spoke to Laura Allen, Operations Mgr, about refunding us for the 2nd service. After several more calls to Express Air, Laura said the owner had agreed to the refund of $69.50 and would send a check. On 9/19/23, Laura said a check had been mailed the previous Fri. He spoke with Laura again on 9/28/23 inquiring about the check and she again said she would check on it and get back to us, which she didn't. To date, we have not received a check. Over the phone, Laura has always feigned disbelief that a check had not been send; would look in to it and get back but never would. For unit, 3021C, the 1st Comfort Care Service was performed on 2/1/23 and the 2nd service has not yet been performed. In phone inquiries to Express Air in Aug 23', I was told they were not scheduling Comfort Care services as they were only servicing customers without working a/c units. On 9/19/23, my husband spoke with Laura Allen and told her we wanted a refund for #2 service at 3021C ($69.50) as the service had not been performed per the contract. As a follow up, my husband sent Laura Allen an email to verify the conversation. In her response, Laura said she had recorded the conversation - which she had not disclosed to my husband, and said she had to receive permission for the refund from the owner. On 10/4/23, my husband called again, spoke with Laura who said the owner had approved a refund for both units and that she had personally dropped a check for $139 in the mail on or about 10/2/23. As of 10/11/23, we have not received a check. Express Air has not complied with the terms of our contract and we are asking for a refund of $69.50 for each contract for a total sum of $139.

• Initial Complaint

  04/25/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On April 4,2022 I had a scheduled appointment for Express Heating&Air Conditioning Inc. to service my unit between 2-4pm . I was out doing errands and while I was out I received a call at 12:30pm from Kerry the Technician that he was out my home and I told him I'd be home soon in which he said ok.When I arrived at my home Kerry the Technician was parked in my driveway and I parked my car and I approached him to say hello and he was very rude and hostile! I didn't say anything but I was uncomfortable and found it suspicious he was hanging around my home for an hour and a half! Kerry was complaining the whole time about having to wait and I told him he wasn't expected till 2-4pm! I was uncomfortable with Kerry the entire time he was here but I keep my mouth shut! I asked him was there any problems with the unit and he said no everything was good so I paid him for the yearly service of $139.00 and he left. Kerry's behavior was very unprofessional! Well on April 21,2022 I began having issues with my air conditioning unit when I checked the vents no cold air was coming out and I was hearing a clicking noise inside the indoor unit so I called Express Heating& Air and told Amanda the issues with the air conditioner so she scheduled me for the next day between 8-11am. On April22,2022 I made sure I was up to make sure I wouldn't miss there call well 8am came and went,9am came and went so at 10am I called Express and asked where the tech was and the security don't recall her name said" well you spoke to Amanda and she's not in the office today so I don't know what the **** you want me to tell you!"WOW! I was polite with her even after she cussed me and she hung up on me! I called back and another woman answered and was rude to me also! By this time it already after 11:00am and no Technician! I called again and asked to speak to the Manager and a woman said I'm the office manager and I said no I wasn't to speak with the manager of the company in which she refused and she hun

  

  Business response

  05/19/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2022/05/12) */ Ms. ****** called on March 29th and scheduled a maintenance for April 4th. She was scheduled from 2-4 that day per her request. Kerry the technician was running ahead of schedule that day and called Ms. ****** to let her know he would be a half hour early. She told him that's fine she's at the grocery store and would be home as soon as she could. Since she was his last call of the day he chose to wait instead of asking her to reschedule. He did his maintenance check and when he gave her the paperwork Ms. ****** chose to renew her yearly maintenance agreement. Ms. ****** called back on the afternoon of April 21st and said it just stopped cooling all of a sudden. For 17 days the system ran fine after Kerry left. She was very nice and asked the office if we could send Kerry back out. Since he only does maintenance, and this is a no cool service call we told her we had to send a different tech out. The next day the technician was running behind due to a difficult call. The office kept her up to date that he was running behind. She called back at around 1pm and started screaming that she was on the schedule for 8-10. I explained that Amanda was the one that scheduled her appointment, and she was gone to lunch but that the technician should be leaving his call shortly and will be headed her way as quick as possible. Ms. ****** called back about a dozen more times screaming into the phone. So loud in fact we couldn't even make out the words so yes, I hung up. Every time she called the office we would answer the phone like normal and when she started screaming, we would hang up. We are not and never will be asked to allow customers to scream or disrespect us. Ms. ****** stated we cussed at her. I am going to attach 2 videos in this response showing what really happened and after watching this anyone will be able to see that Ms. ****** is the aggressor. We tried repeatedly to help her and defuse the situation, but she insisted on screaming at us. I will not allow anyone to scream at me when I am trying to help them. Minh diagnosed a high-pressure switch leaking at the outdoor unit. Just a little insight on this. Ms. ****** has a Rheem system these systems are notorious for leaks in the high-pressure switch. These are inside the unit which is not an area my tech would go when doing a maintenance. The customer stated we were trying to push her to get an install which is also incorrect. I am also going to attach a copy of the invoice showing the repair and the cost. Not one time does it say anything about buying a new system. After Ms. ****** repeatedly disrespected the office staff I went ahead and sent my technician out to see if he could at least get her system running. After speaking with the owner *****, we have decided to refund Ms. ****** the $139 she paid to renew her yearly maintenance agreement with us. Ms. ****** has been placed on the DO NOT SERVICE list and we wish to not do business with this customer. Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2022/05/13) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) This response from Express Heating& Air is a flat out LIE! When the technician Kerry was scheduled to service my unit in my previous complaint I was not his last call of the day and Kerry told me so when he was at my home complaining about waiting wan hour and a half which I never told him to do so he could've and should've went on another service call or rescheduled the appointment if he had issues! Kerry was scheduled between 2-4pm not 12:30! It's unnerving and uncomfortable that he sat at my home for the length of time he did! When I called Express back and told them about my air conditioner not cooling I NEVER requested for Kerry to return and why would I when he was nasty and rude towards me?! I was NOT the aggressor as Express is claiming and this business is FLAT OUT LIARS!! I was cursed at and I never screamed at them like they claiming I did and Express Heating$Air should be ashamed of themselves of how they treat customers! When the technician Min came out he told me I was scheduled between 8-10am and that he was on his way over but then he saw on his phone that I was moved to 1-3pm which was deliberate! I've been nothing but nice to Express and I find that very spiteful that they would act in such an unprofessional matter! Express did give me my refund of $139.00 back but I feel they should pay for the additional repairs! Express is claiming in their response that I'm on a "Do Not Service" list but why when the technician Min was at my home was he trying to sell me a new unit and told me to call the ****** that Express wanted to speak with me?! I already have another Air Conditioning business that I've used in the past to service my unit from now on! On April 28,2022 I began having issues with my unit again and the business I use now came out and told me my blower motor went out and I had to pay another $474.00 out of pocket! The technician saw in the reports that their was a previous leak and Freon was added , he then told me that the previous issue I had with my unit caused the blower motor to go out! I payed over $1,000 out of pocket for what I believe was Express Heating$ Sur Conditioning's fault! As I wrote in the previous complaint I can't prove it but I most certainly believe it was not coincidental! I've already told others not to use Express! People do talk and word of mouth is much more powerful than making a complaint! Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2022/05/17) */ Here are 2 videos for the above case. I also attached below the refund for this case Consumer Response /* (4200, 15, 2022/05/17) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) As I said in the last response that Express Heating&Air did refund me the $139.00 back to me so I don't know why they feel the need to continue sending a video of it! I know what the truth is and that's all I have to say!

• Initial Complaint

  11/30/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contacted Express Air to install a new AC unit I spoke with Laura. She asked me how I was going to pay for the purchase, I told her so would be putting it on my existing credit card. She stated they offered financing and might be able to offer zero percent. I told her I didn't really want another bill, I already have a fixed low rate credit card since I work for a bank and didn't really want another card. She said she could pull a soft pull on my credit and see what my options might be. I gave permission to ONLY do a soft pull NOT a hard pull, and if she was going to give me options for zero percent I want to make the final decision. She agreed and said she'd look at a few things and give me a call back within a couple hours and she asked me some personal information such as my social, DOB and what bank I worked at. I did not give her my annual income and other things that are needed for a credit card application so I thought only providing some information I'd be safe in providing and took Lauras word. Laura called back and gave me 3 options. I told her I was still going to be using my existing credit card. I made sure that she understood I was paying with my credit card and did not want the ones she was offering before ending the phone call. I spoke with several people at the business and shared the same concern that I was not interested. (Laura, Rick, Travis and the owner Shree). After installation was complete I received a credit card in the mail from Wells Fargo and a mailer from Midland bank that a credit card app was submitted. This was not done by me and I didn't give verbal consent for a hard pull on my credit nor a credit card to be sent. I would like for Express Air to refund all of my money for the air conditioner and installation. The price I paid them was 5,651.00.They can schedule a time to come out and remove all their equipment from my home. I will do business with another company. I do not want to continue to do business with Express Air.

  

  Business response

  01/10/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/12/07) */ On August 27, 2021, ****** ****** requested an estimate to replace her homes` ac system. On October 7th she called wanting to know if we would honor the price given almost 5 weeks earlier, I told her yes even though we had a price increase October 1st. To that she started crying explaining her grand baby was in the NICU and she hadn't been able to work but she had to have the air conditioner situation resolved before the infant could come home. After hearing about her financial situation and as a courtesy I offered financing to which she said she was relieved as she didn't want to put it on her credit card. I explained she had two options: 1. She could fill out an application for Greensky or Wells Fargo via our company website financing link. 2. She could give me DOB, social security number, etc. and I could do it for her. She chose option 2 gave me all her pertinent information needed to fill out the application on our Wells Fargo portal. I called her back within the hour to inform her that Wells Fargo had approved her and that the APR was 7.99%. At that time, she said she would think on it and that her neighbor offered to loan her the money. ****** ****** called on October 11th just one day before the previously scheduled install date to confirm the date and time with Amanda (I was gone to lunch). I didn't find out that Ms. ****** used her Regions credit card until the installers arrived back at the shop from completing her install and they informed me she did not want to use Wells Fargo but instead ran a credit card. This payment method is preferred by Express as we would have to pay a dealer fee (a percentage of the job based on which APR the customer chose anywhere from 3.5% to 19%). In this case we would have taken a loss of a little over $400. Express nor do I have any vested interest regarding whether a customer pays through a finance company we offer or pays cash, check, charge. To the contrary we prefer them not to use Wells Fargo. At no point between October 7th and October 12th did ****** ****** communicate any reluctance regarding her credit being ran and never was the jargon "soft pull, hard pull" used. It's been 2 months' time since Express installed ****** ******`s air conditioning system and to date she hasn't communicated any dis-satisfaction with the equipment, price, installation, salesman, or the workers that installed the unit. She signed the invoice accepting the installation and made payment via credit card. Wells Fargo policy is that all credit applications be signed whether approved or declined. Since I took ****** ******`s information over the phone with her verbal consent, we sent Johnnie (sales guy) out to her home and request she sign it, she declined stating, "I don't need to sign it as I gave verbal consent". Johnnie reluctantly said okay and left. ****** ****** unethically and I'm almost certain against her Fiancés employer`s (our insurance company) policy, obtained the owners wife's (******) personal cell phone number and called her threatening litigation and said the police were on their way to her home and she would be making a formal report against us and myself (Laura) for credit fraud. The owner's wife inquired as to how we obtained her information to which ****** stated, "I gave it to Laura" to that ****** told her to not contact her again. None of this complaint makes any sense as to what ****** ******`s issue is. At first, we assumed it had something to do with debt-to-income ratio and WF having an open unsecured credit line that was now available to her, potentially negatively affecting her debt-to-income ratio. After inquiring with our account rep with WF we found that the account was closed and that the credit inquiry only negatively effects a person's credit score by 1 insignificant point. We only did what ****** ****** requested as a courtesy and verbal consent was given. Ms. ****** is requesting we remove her system and reimburse her the entire sum of money paid. This is not reasonable and will not make the 1 point to her credit score go away. Seems like a lot of inconvenience for Express as well as Ms. ****** as she will have to hire and pay another company to start over. I suspect this is all a ploy due to buyer`s remorse, maybe she decided she wanted a different product (brand, efficiency rating etc.) that we don't offer. Regardless, something doesn't gel here. We will not be refunding ****** ******. We sincerely feel that we did no more or no less than what was requested by the customer As a reminder, we offer a 2-year warranty, and the product comes with a 10-year parts warranty from the manufacturer. Please do not hesitate to call us with any problems with the system. However, Ms. Baily is not required to use express for her ac needs she can go through any other company, and they will honor her parts warranty. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/12/08) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Using my credit card was my plan prior to me calling Express getting a consultation set up. Never once did I say I wasn't intending to put the unit on my existing credit card. After the consultation weeks went by, I told Laura I would have to move money around and borrow money to make the full funds available on my credit card because of my grandbaby being in the NICU. I never knew I was doing an application to begin with. Hence the reason I only told her to go a soft pull on my credit. Soft pulls on your credit does not result in a submission of an application. I was never provided two options of doing an application. Furthermore, I have never heard of Greensky prior to receiving information in the mail after a credit card application was submitted and processed by Laura. I confirmed with Laura and other employees on several occasions I was going to be using my existing credit card. Laura stated she could possibly do zero percent on their credit card and started asking me my DOB, social etc. I never provided my annual income and told her she could do a soft pull and not a hard pull on my credit. I only provided my DOB and social. She called back within the hour and gave me zero percent options. I declined and stated I was using my own credit card and confirmed my neighbor was lending me money. Never did I give verbal consent for Laura to do a hard pull on my credit. I used that specific "jargon" after Laura mentioning possibly offering zero percent, before providing Laura with my DOB and social I stated, "You can do a soft pull on my credit but not a hard pull". Those were my words verbatim. I also spoke with Rick and Travis and told them I wasn't signing anything. The credit card applications were submitted prior to the installation guys coming. All my conversations with Johnnie were prior to the installation. I personally never spoke with Johnnie after the installation. Johnnie came to my house after the installation and spoke with my fiancé. On camera in the front of my house I have Johnny and my fiancé' speaking. My fiancé specifically told Johnny, "****** isn't going to sign that credit card application. Johnnie stated, "It's not a credit card application, it's a cancelation for a credit card application. " My fiancé came back inside and told me, with my front door cracked open I yelled, " I'm not signing a **** thing!" My fiancé' shut the door and on camera/ video tells Johnnie, "She did not consent to any application being submitted nor her credit being hard pulled not even verbal consent. She spoke with Laura about credit options and ****** declined those options. My fiancé asked Johnny if the company did soft or hard pulls and Johnnie confirmed, "yes". Johnnie then left my house. (Laura submitted the credit card application days before the installers came.) " On Oct 20th at 1:04 pm after Johnnie left Laura sent a text message from her personal cell phone stating, " ****** this is Laura with Express. You told me the other day you didn't gave a problem signing this application. The only reason I went ahead and processed the application without your signature was because of the circumstances and I was trying to help you. We can be removed as a vendor with Wells Fargo and I can be fired if I don't get this application signed. I was trying to help you now I'm fixing to lose my job because of it." I would like the to request proof of the date the credit card applications were processed. This would prove Laura submitted the apps way before the installers came and prior to my call to Express when Laura was at lunch and Amanda answered. Aside from the soft and hard credit pull I should've never received any credit card. I did not sign anything nor give verbal consent to have a credit card mailed to me. I have not been disappointed in the equipment, installation, or Johnnie. I do not regret the product, the brand, or efficiency rating. I'm very satisfied. No "buyer's remorse" other than purchasing from a company with zero work ethic and morals and would rather take advantage of my unfortunate situation. I would still like to schedule a time for Express to come out and remove their equipment and provide a full refund. As far as the credit reporting agencies, they have resolved the issue by removing the open accounts from all credit reports, updated all reporting agencies to show the inquiry as a soft inquiry, and receded the points on my credit report. The banks have closed the open credit card accounts and confirmed no transactions posted during the time the card was open when it was sent to the wrong address. I'm in litigation currently with Wells Fargo and Greensky. In addition, I'm also working with a fraud investigator at ECSO that has opened a case and is documenting all communications. He will be requesting sworn statements from the names listed in the BBB complaint and issuing subpoenas soon. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2021/12/17) */ Ms. ****** stated that she always intended to use her existing credit card and never intended to use our financing. She also stated, "I never knew I was doing an application to begin with". Unless Ms. ****** has a habit of giving her social security number, date of birth, employer, gross income, etc. to anyone she speaks to those previous statements are not even logical. The jargon soft pull or hard pull was not used since Wells Fargo has never offered soft pulls. As far as the text that was sent yes, I did send it. If a customer decides after the estimate was given, that they want and/or need financing and they do not have the ability to come to the office we get verbal consent and process the application. Whether the application was approved, declined, or in this case the customer chooses to not use the financing after being approved, the application still has to be signed and sent to Wells Fargo to be included in our monthly audit. I assumed that since protocol was broken there was going to be repercussions from the owner as well as the merchant. Ms. ****** stated that she wants to prove that I submitted the application prior to the date of the system installation. Yes of course it was. This is the one point we seem to agree on. The application was submitted on 10/7 when she gave me verbal consent and the install was on 10/12. Ms. ****** also stated that we used her "unfortunate situation" and took advantage of her. What advantage? What advantage does Express gain when a customer chooses to pay through a finance company? We don't earn a kick back when a customer goes through a lender we provide, quite opposite we have to pay the lender for the customer to use their services. Saying that Express took advantage of Ms. ****** by offering financing is completely absurd. We have been working diligently with Greensky to get answers about the application that was processed. After our rep sent all of the information to his Credit Operations Team, the response read "it was an external source. Most likely through a web button (finance portal) and not through a sales rep app." Ms. ****** stated "Furthermore, I have never heard of Greensky prior to receiving information in the mail after a credit card application was submitted and processed by Laura." Ms. ****** gave her information via our financing portal...Not me! Ms. ****** will not be receiving a refund. Consumer Response /* (4200, 11, 2021/12/22) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Much of the rebuttal from Express Air is full of lies. I never provided my annual income. Laura had to make that figure up as I was never even asked that question. As I stated NUMEROUS times before I provided my social based off the agreement of only doing a soft pull on my credit. Patricia, the case manager from Green Sky verified in writing that the application was submitted by Express Air from an external source meaning one of their vendors submitted the application. I have never heard of the company so therefore I would have zero knowledge of their website!! If I've never heard of them how can I supposedly compelte an app on their site? That makes no sense, good try on that lie though. Additionally, if I was intending to use my existing credit card there's no logical reason for me to go to another site to submit a credit card application. The assumption of me giving my social and personal information out of habit is clearly wrong. If Laura couldn't have done a "soft pull" on my credit like I requested, she should've clearly communicated that. But honesty with Express Air is obviously not what you get when you do business with them. The fraud investigator with ECSO has subpoenaed both banks and from their information provided the 2 apps where done from the same IPS address with the location being Express Air. Based off all the proof I have provided to the investigators, text message from Laura admitting she was going to get in trouble for what she did, Express Air is grasping at any straw they can to look good. Clearly anyone with a brain would know Laura committed fraud for submitting cry it card apps without verbal or written consent. This is considered fraud bc no signature was provided and I only gave verbal consent for a soft pull of my credit. Regardless, no credit card application should have ever been submitted. Wells Fargo also was asked to provide proof of the credit. And application for a signature, in doing so they could not produce a signature meaning the app was subitted with fraudulent intent. Wells Fargo also provided a written statememt stating the address for the credit card application that was submitted didn't match address for the for the installation. This proves that Laura purposely typed an incorrect numerical address for the credit card application. Why would that be typed wrong when Express had my proper address for the install? I just happened to intercept the credit card when it was mailed, when it was intended to go to a different address that I've never been associated with. Laura was hoping to hide the fact she submitted the credit card application and had hopes I wouldn't receive the credit card. If I was any where close to being wrong with my allegations, the credit reporting agencies would not have removed the inquires and rescinded the points. I wouldn't have the sheriff's ****** involved with the investigation and I would not be in litigation with Wells Fargo with mediation already having a set date. I have filed filed claim on my Credit card for the refund and received the credit. The charge back via ACH that will debit Express Airs account when their ACH department receives the credit card claim reversal. I gave no verbal consent for any credit card application to be submitted, only a soft pull on my credit. Thank goodness for the camera video/audio footage at my house that captured a conversation, the text from Laura frantically stressed bc she knew she committed fraud by submitting the credit card apps, the screened recorded telephone call on 10/7 between myself and Laura, and no signature for the credit card application to prove all the above is Express Air's attempt to cover up fraud. Credit reporting agencies don't remove something without enough proof for a dispute. Working for a bank myself, credit card applications receive a kick back of approved appliactions. If there wasn't a kick back why would there be a need to offer that service with several banks. The banks get kick back too if the account remains open in good standing. The resolution for the above has been further investigation from ECSO, credit report removed the inquires and rescinded the point deduction and my refund from filing the credit card dispute. None of this outcome would be possible unless my allegations against the company were true. Express Air is a great company if people want to deal with deceptive marketing practices, owners that agree with their employee morally wrong decisions and zero work ethic. I will continue filing more complaints on Express Air with the Florida Bar, OCC (office of comptroller), State of Alabama Banking division, State attorney ******, Florida department of financial services and the Florida ****** of business and professional legislation so that all this gets investigated throughly.

• Initial Complaint

  09/29/2021

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I contacted this business at the end of August regarding a leak in my HVAC. They scheduled a diagnostic appt and never showed. They apologized and rescheduled for the next day. The tech, Drew, was over 2.5 hrs late. He came in and diagnosed only one area of the unit and said it was a cracked drain pan. He ordered the part the Tuesday after the Labor Day holiday. The receptionist called that Wednesday to schedule a followup appt for repair. After scheduling it, they cancelled and rescheduled us for the next week. The next week came, and they attempted to cancel our appt again before finally showing up several hours later. Drew, the same initial tech, did the repair in half the time he quoted us for. Within days, we saw the same leak occurring and called him. He said the office would reach out to us to schedule a followup that would be covered under the initial repair. They never called. We spent several days calling before he finally came out at the end of the week. He stood in our hall where the HVAC is located and proceeded to tell us we had a new problem- a coil leak. The issue with that is that our initial repair involved checking the coils and the refrigerant, both of which he said he did before leaving our house the day of the repair- and both of which he said were in proper working order, not once but twice. Both my husband and I asked to be clear of this. He proceeded to tell us that these things- a new leaking coil- can sometimes occur just like that, within days of service. We repeated what our initial repair was to have included and how that did not line up. We asked him if he had taken his time, would he not have found the leak then, since the coils were supposedly checked. He admitted yes, then proceeded to walk out of our home with nothing more to say for himself. We called the office manager immediately and she would not listen. She yelled over me and told me the company owner was too busy to talk to me, then hung up on me. I've since hired another company to come service my unit, and they have confirmed 1. That the initial diagnosis was a crock. It is impossible for the leak we had to have come from below, where the pan was located, since water drops down and gases rise. 2. The coil that is leaking would've been the very first place to look upon initial diagnosis, since it is above the area where water was gathering. And the list goes on. So I tried one more time to reach out to Express yesterday and very calmly explain what I had learned and ask again to speak to the owner. I was hung up on every single time. I called 5 times. 2 hang ups and 3 no answers. I finally left a message explaining I would begin reporting them since I did all that I could to give them the opportunity to correct this, and they will not. As of this morning, I received a text from the tech, Drew, forwarded from the supposed owner, Jason, starting out by referring to himself as Trump and saying "you do not call and ask to speak to Donald Trump if you have a problem while staying at the Trump Towers. There is a chain." This is disgusting and deplorable behavior. There are no words for the treatment we have received, especially since we let them know what we we were expecting from the get-go, after already having poor installation of this init by the original installers.

  

  Business response

  10/25/2021

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2021/10/14) */ On August 31st of this year Mrs. ***** called in and made an appointment for September 3rd of this year for a water leak problem. Due to a shortage of people, we could be there a day early on the 2nd but we could not get out there on the 3rd as originally scheduled. We tried to contact her several times but never got an answer so we sent a technician by there but nobody was home, so we left a card in the door to call the ******. When she got home, she called furious with us before even letting me explain what was going on. She ended up cancelling all together and hung up. Mrs. ***** called back on the 3rd of September telling me that nothing has gone right with her new home, stating that every contractor they used has shown poor customer service not caring about any of the concerns she has had. I then apologized and offered to put her on the schedule for Saturday and waive the after-hours fee. She accepted and the conversation ended with what seemed to be a happy customer. The Saturday call was scheduled for 1-4 (we give our techs a 3-hour window to show up and complete the diagnosis). My technician Drew was on call that weekend and not long after he got to the job that Saturday, he discovered a cracked drain pan. This drain pan was cracked at the lowest point of the pan where the drainpipe is. Drew also observed an obvious water stain on the filter rack which shows this issue had existed for some time. He showed Mrs. ***** a picture of the drain pan and told her that this was the cause of the water leak. He told her that all of her parts were under warranty so the only thing she would have to pay is labor. He explained that the cost for us to replace the pan would be $345 minus the $74 diagnostic fee that would be paid today. Bringing the total cost to $271.00. She agreed and Drew explained that Monday being a holiday all the parts houses were closed but he would order it first thing Tuesday morning and the office would let her know if it was in stock or if it would have to be ordered from the factory. The office did not call and schedule the part replacement as Mrs. ***** previously stated, However, we did call her Tuesday morning to let her know that it was ordered from the factory and that it was looking like the 10th or 13th at the latest (please see email attached from distributor) but we would call her the moment it came in to get her on the schedule. She wanted to go ahead and get on the schedule, but it is our company policy that we do not schedule part replacements until the parts actually come in so that we don't have customers getting rescheduled. During this phone call she expressed concerns that she didn't want anything to get damaged when we do come back out as she had already experienced that with other contractors. She asked if we could send a 2nd person out to help with replacing the pan. Normally we do have an additional fee but the fee was waived to accommodate Mrs. *****. On the morning of the 13th our distributor (Climatic) called and said that the drain pan has arrived and available for pick up. Our office immediately called Mrs. ***** and got her on the schedule that day from 10-1 with two of our techs (Drew and Kerry) I told Mrs. ***** that they had to go pick up the part and head that way. She was more than happy to say the least. Drew got the pan and got out there at about 9:45 am. Within an hour the 2 techs finished the repair and left. On Friday the 17th Mrs. ***** text Drew and said that she was still seeing water leaking. Drew explained that now that her system was running properly with the leak repaired it could be a couple different things. (PLEASE SEE ATTACHED TEXT MESSAGING BETWEEN DREW AND MRS. *****). Drew told Mrs. ***** that he was going back on call that weekend and could come out on Saturday to look and see what was going on. Mrs. ***** said that wasn't going to work, that they were too busy. Drew explained anything other than weekend calls would have to go through the office but not to worry that she would not have another diagnostic fee. On Monday the 20th Drew relayed the message to the office and we called her to get her on the schedule. We offered her an 11-2 window that day. She needed an afternoon appt because she wanted her husband there but she went ahead and took the 11-2. Mrs. ***** called back about 30 minutes later and wanted to know who the tech was going to be. The dispatcher told her it would be Drew. Mrs. ***** said she did not want Drew back out there. Amanda (dispatcher) explained that Drew was the only tech in the area and that if she wanted another tech that would be fine but it would be Wednesday or Thursday before we could get anyone out there. Mrs. ***** started raising her voice and demanded a tech out there today. Amanda put her on hold and gave the call over to me. I tried to explain to her that if she didn't want Drew out there that was perfectly fine but it would not be today or tomorrow. She told me not to worry about it and hung up. At that point she was moved off the schedule. Mrs. ***** called back the following Tuesday afternoon and said she didn't care who it was that came out she just needed someone out there to fix this and she needed and afternoon appt because of her husbands` job. We put her on the schedule for Wednesday between 1-4 and made her fully aware that it would be Drew and she said ok. On 9/22 Drew called Mrs. ***** at 12:16pm (SEE CALL LOG ATTACHED) and told her he was on his way out. Drew got to Mrs. ***** house 15 minutes early (NOT AN HOUR AS PREVIOUSLY STATED BY MRS. *****) When Drew got there he went over to turn off the system and immediately heard a hissing noise. After conducting a leak search, he was able to visually detect a leak in one of the solder joints of the evaporator coil. At this time both Mr. and Mrs. ***** were standing in the hallway with Drew. Drew started to explain that he detected a leak in the evaporator coil at a solder joint. At that point Drew said that they both started to attack the company, his character, and his ability as a service technician. Drew stated to me that he never had a worse encounter with a customer before this. Instead of writing up the invoice along with the labor price for replacing the evaporator coil Drew left the ***** home. As soon as Drew got in his van he called me and asked to please not send him back out there. He told me what was said to him and that he wasn't comfortable going back there. Mrs. ***** called me about 30 minutes after Drew did demanding that we refund her money in full and that if we didn't we were thieves. I was kind of thrown back from that statement and asked Mrs. ***** if we could discuss the problem. She stated that first we charged her too much cause Drew told her it should have taken 2 to 3 hours and it didn't it only took him a little over an hour. I explained that we don't charge by the hour we charge by the job. I further explained that all our pricing is in a flat rate price book, and she is more than welcome to look at it. Whether it take 1 hour or 5 hours the price would still be the same and then I reminded her that we also sent out a 2nd technician free of charge just so she would have a little piece of mind. She started talking over me before I could finish so I`m not sure if she heard what I was saying. She then said that we took her money and didn't fix the problem. I explained that we fixed a problem. Drew showed her pictures of the drain pan and showed Mr. ***** the actual drain pan when it was replaced. I tried my best to explain several things to Mrs. *****, but she kept cutting me off and eventually ended with her hanging up on me. On the 29th Mrs. ***** called me to let me know that she had employed yet another AC company (#3) and that she had a hole in her evaporator coil. I tried to yet again explain to her that this was the exact same diagnosis we gave her on the 22nd. She stated that the new coil was going to cost her $1800 and it was all our fault that we caused all of this (Please note that our cost on all of this was $506 to replace the coil). First thing I told her was whoever quoted her $1800 needs to be fired because her system is under warranty. Then she demanded to speak to the owner. I told her he wasn't in that I however was available to speak as I am the operations manager. After several times talking over me and interrupting me...ma`am if you don't let me speak there's no point in having a conversation. She called me a B**** and that's when I hung up the phone. This is the first time she cursed at anyone in this company we don't tolerate disrespect and we don't ask any employees with this company to do so either. After all this I still tried to reach out to our rep with American standard and she told me that yes this particular model of coils is common to have factory solder joints start leaking it's a problem they have had and there is no way to tell other than just replacing it. After speaking to Mrs. *****, the first time and hearing how she has had bad luck from the very beginning with all the contractors from the home builder himself to the plumber and the original air conditioning guy himself (Covenant Air), I tried my best to be understanding and restore a little faith in Mrs. ***** that not all contractors will take advantage of people. It seems that this is what the ***** do. Starting with Dale the home builder to Bo the original AC man that offered to pay Mrs. ***** for the drain pan when she confronted them with the problem but didn't want them back on her property. When Mrs. ***** sent a message to ***** the owner of Express AC and HTG (via text message through the tech Drew) (PLEASE SEE THE ATTACHED TEXT MESSAGES) she said that he took the money for the drain pan and implied we were responsible for replacing the $1800 coil. If Express was responsible for the problem at hand, we would correct it at no charge to the customer as that would have been the easiest way to deal with this. In regard to Mrs. *****, she made the comment about ***** (the owner) referring to himself as Trump. She clearly meant to mislead the moderator reading her letter to perceive ***** in a negative light. Its obvious ***** was attempting to use analogical reasoning to make a point. Analogical arguments do not assert that two things are identical only that they are similar. The ***** are requesting that we refund the $345 that they paid to replace their drain pan. This is the same pan we took a picture of and showed them before the pan was ordered and then replaced. I will not refund on principle. Express did the work as previously agreed upon and solved the issue of the pan leaking. The ***** logic is faulty. The ***** believe that we should refund their money because they had a water leak before our repair and still had a water leak after the repair, so they believe that we misdiagnosed the issue, this however is not the case. Two separate issues can co-exist simultaneously and cause the same outcome even a child understands that concept. Another analogy: a car that leaks oil on your driveway may have multiple leaks (drain plug, oil filter, rear main seal, valve cover, etc.). If I pay a mechanic to fix the oil leak and after replacing the rear main seal it still leaks oil and he tells me the oil pan seal is leaking I don't demand a refund and trash his business online. I personally and professionally believe the ***** had a leaking evaporator coil and a cracked drain pan simultaneously, but our technician Drew only found the cracked pan on his initial visit. On the second visit (installing the drain pan) he also found the fitting on the TXV and replaced the seal and added a couple pounds at no charge. Troubleshooting is a process of elimination. The 3rd air conditioning company that the ***** called on did not have the privilege of seeing the cracked pan. This 3rd company lacks any credibility based on their ridiculously expensive repair price for a warranty evaporator coil. This is not a customer that needs a problem rectified or even a customer that had a bad experience; this is a customer that must find someone to blame for every problem that comes their way. We just happen to be among the others on the list for the *****. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2021/10/14) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) There are many inaccuracies within the business' response that I will try to address one by one below: On the 2nd, my husband was on vacation from work- which can be verified. He was home with my son pressure washing outside while I was working at my church all day- this also can be verified. No one from Express came to our home and left a card. They only left a voicemail which I received at the end of that day and replied to the next day- as stated in my initial complaint. I never called furious. I called on the morning of the 3rd to confirm my appt and explain why I missed their call the previous day. Again, our appt was scheduled for the 3rd so I would not be anticipating an early arrival on the 2nd- a day I had plans to be away all day. And the business claims to record all calls, so they should be able to produce this conversation. As for the day of the 13th, the tech- Drew- called that day to reschedule saying the part was not in, after we were told it was the previous week. I commented that perhaps I needed to go elsewhere with my service. Suddenly, the part appeared. That call was at the time mentioned above- 9:45am. Drew did not arrive until approximately 11. Another tech was not present until later when Drew was finishing the job. This call should be able to be produced as well. Next, Express Air did not initially call me on the 20th about coming back out. I made that call when they failed to get back with me, which Drew said they would. I never hung up during this call. As for the followup appointment, Drew did not arrive 15 minutes early. He was an hour early, as I stated previously. Three people were home that day to confirm it. Neither my husband, nor myself, attacked Drew verbally. We simply repeated what he told us as he left our last appointment- that the coils and refrigerant all checked out. Then we asked if that were true, and he had checked them thoroughly, how had he missed a broken coil. He could not produce an answer. He quickly exited and we called the office to speak to the owner. We were told her would call us. He never did. Not once. We also never once spoke with a Kerry, as mentioned above. We reached out multiple times after that date to reach the owner, and were told repeatedly he would call us. Gordon A/C finally came out on the 29th and quickly diagnosed our problem and showed us quite plainly how Express had misdiagnosed us. There was no rebutting what they showed. The Gordon tech, Dennis, was adamant about pursuing a resolution with Express, because their repair made no sense- given water drops and does not rise. The drain pipe rests below the filter, so it could never have been the problem. Any liquid on the filter- our initial concern- had to come from above, where the coils were. I called Express as soon as they left to let them know this and to ask to speak to the owner once more. I was the one that was hung up on, multiple times. Then my calls were not answered at all. I never once used foul language on any call. Again, the business should be able to produce these recorded phone calls. My final attempt to reach Express was a message that I left on both their answering machine and the techs cellphone stating I would be reporting them after several failed attempts to reach the owner. Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2021/10/14) */ ***Document Attached*** Furthermore, we never once stated the repair done by Gordon Air on our coils would be $1,800. The statement was that by the end of ALL repairs, we would have put that amount out- which we did. All repairs and diagnostics totaled $1,832.86. And we never conducted business with a Bo at Covenant. I can only assume that name was taken from their internet page reviews by Express Air. The only person we spoke to at Covenant was a female, and she told me our one year warranty had run out. Therefore, she would be charging me to check and/or repair our unit. She showed very little interest in making amends of any sort for free until our builder called her and offered to pay the cost himself. And then it was begrudgingly. Given their poor installation to begin with- they put a hole through our wall, which our builder can confirm- we decided to go through someone else to have things repaired properly. This was our hope anyway. I shared this info with Express Air when I first called them for help, and it appears they have twisted the info to suit their agenda. Attaching the invoice for my final repair through Gordon. It does not include the $99 diagnostic fee. Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2021/10/19) */ Regarding Mrs. ***** response, I still stand by my previous statement about dates, times of all appointments, our diagnosis, and phone/text conversations as shown in the prior attachments. This is the actual definition of conjecture). An opinion or conclusion formed on incomplete information). Mrs. ***** formed her own opinion on what was wrong with her system without all the correct facts and without understanding the situation in its entirety. Mrs. ***** called because she had a water leak and she found condensation on her filter. She stated in her last response that "the liquid had come from above where the coils were" and "that the drainpipe rests below the filter so it could not have been the problem". This tells me that neither my technician nor the Gordons technician took the time to explain this. The truth is the coil sits inside the drain pan, then the drain line is right below that and the filter is underneath it all. I know sometimes this can be hard to understand. I work in the office, and I know seeing a picture is literally worth a thousand words, so I have attached pictures of an air handler and how its looks so that maybe it will show the bigger picture. This whole problem is pretty similar to the chicken and the egg; which came first? Problem is which came first the leak in the drain pan or the leak in the coil. Of course, the Gordon tech is going to say the coil. He was not around when there was a crack in the drain pan. He came in after the fact. My technician is saying it was the drain pan because it was obvious with his initial diagnosis. How does that saying go; if I knew then what I know now oh how things would be different. Maybe I would have not given you an appointment after you started bashing all the other contractors or maybe I would have made my tech stay there until he found every single flaw or problem your system had. Bottom line is you needed your drain pan replaced and we replaced it. Obviously two technicians found the leak in the coil, so it needed to be replaced as well. Express did not charge you no more or no less than the price to replace the drain pan under warranty. This whole thing is about Mrs. ***** stating we misdiagnosed her system. No ma`am referencing back to the previous picture we included in our first response of the drain pan that was cracked while still installed was not a misdiagnosis. It is called a partial diagnosis. If this complaint was about my technician not being 100% thorough when he came out the first time. I would say yes that I agree and that it does appear that he missed the coil leaking when he came out. Unfortunately, that was not the case. The only thing that resulted from this whole ordeal was that it took a little bit longer to get the entire situation rectified. We corrected one issue and Gordons (I'm guessing) took care of the other issue. From the price that Gordons quoted to replace the coil under warranty I could only imagine what the price would have been for the coil and the drain pan. As for continuing to call and speak to the owner. He is the owner of the company. He hires people to take care of different aspects of his company. He hired me, and I worked my way up to being Operations manager. Which means anything that pertains to a job no matter if its service or a new install I take care of it including any unsatisfied customers. The message was relayed to the owner that you wanted to speak to him and as he stated prior that he has complete faith in his office to take care of matters like this. I'm not a technician or an installer I am a person just like Mrs. ***** and I have been taken advantage of before so I know how it feels, but I think I have proven time and time again with Mrs. ***** that I would do what was necessary to make sure our customer was satisfied, within reason. I cannot respond to Mrs. ***** comment about recorded phone calls because I'm not sure what she's talking about. The only phone calls that get recorded come by way of our website and that is only for tracking purposes. Bottom line is Mrs. ***** believes we should refund her money for the drain pan that had a crack in it. Mrs. ***** your drain pan had a crack in it. Why would we do that free of charge? The original building contractor offered to pay for that but why would Express? As far as not catching the leak in the evaporator coil, we apologize for falling short of perfection we strive to do our best but like everyone else we do fall short from time to time. Consumer Response /* (4200, 15, 2021/10/20) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I stabs

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