ComplaintsforAlan's Air Conditioning Service, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  In June 2023, I discovered that Alans Air Conditioning never obtained a permit for an ** installation at my home in late September-early October 2021. The entire job was handled poorly, with minimal communication, piecemeal installation, technicians showing up without notice, trash left in my garage and failure to haul away my old unit until I called three times. However, the current problem is probably the reason the company did not pull a permit as required by state law: Apparently, a dedicated electrical line is required. The installer said something about electrical work while he was installing the new unit and gave me a number to call (which I did twice, at the time of installation, but no one called me back). When no one returned my call, I called Alans and a woman there told me the electrical work was included in the estimate. A couple of weeks later, two ****'s technicians showed up unannounced, asked to get in my garage, and installed something in the breaker box with no explanation to me. I thought the work was finally done. Instead, after I discovered this month that no permit was pulled and made several phone calls to ****'s, a company representative finally told me today (June 26) I have to find and pay for an electrician to do the work so the ** unit installed by Alans can pass the city inspection it should have had over a year ago. A technician from Alans who came to my home on June 13, 2023, found, in addition to the electrical work problem, that no safety switch was installed. He said Alans always pulls a permit unless the homeowner requests otherwise. I certainly did not ask for an unpermitted ** installation, which would not be legal. My desired resolution for this complaint is that Alans pay for the required electrical work that was not mentioned in the estimate for my ** replacement and never adequately explained to me at the time the installation was performed, much less in advance, as it should have been.

  

  Business response

  08/17/2023

  Hello,

  Sorry for the late response as you are probably aware I own a HVAC business in ******* and we are at peak season right now. Being a small family business 

  I am out in the field most days. I did reach out to ************** immediately following her complaint. Explained to her that our permit was applied for with the city

  but put on a hold due to the electrical work needed to pass inspection. I explained to her that we are not an ****************** and she would need to hire one to complete. 

  the work. Everything was done properly with her new AC system but when we tested the drain lines and it would not flow enough water, we had to install a condensate pump.

  The pump was wired up to her Air handler circuits temporarily until a electrician could come install the proper circuit per the electrical code. Evidently this was not explained well enough to her

  and she thought everything was took care of and she would not have to pay for a electrician. 2 years later she is trying to sell her home and finds out the permit was never processed and 

  obtained. (City had our application but would not issue without the electrical permit also attached) This evidently slipped through the crack on our end as we thought she had hired the electrician.

  and both permits were closed out. The lady we had as our permit tech kept really good notes that is how we knew the original application was submitted for review and that is where it stayed unfortunately.

  She is no longer with us so getting any more information was impossible. ************** became upset that she had to spend more money on a electrician and the permit and filed this complaint. As the owner i 

  take any upset customer and their issues very serious, I scheduled a visit with ************** and inspected the issue. I contacted multiple electricians and sent one to her home to access the situation. ************** stated 

  she was not too impressed with him, so I found another. We completed the wiring needed, paid for the electrician and the permit so ************** was not out of pocket. As of today, her electrical permit inspection has passed, and we have scheduled her final mechanical inspection with our new permit.

  Customer response

  08/20/2023

   
  Complaint: 20241068
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  1. The ** unit has still not passed mechanical inspection, and ****'s took over a week to get back to me about scheduling it, even though I called and told the company **** **** that the electrical inspection passed. I received no follow-up information. It is amazing how much time I've lost having to remain at home waiting on people to show up to complete this project or at least let me know something.

  2. ****'s had its regular ** crew install the wiring, then had a licensed electrician come out to sign off on it. It took the crew a full day to complete the work, which I was told by other electricians that I asked for estimates was a 2-hour job. It was obvious they did not know what they were doing, as they had the wrong wiring and left me all day with no **, told me the work was complete, and then when the ** unit failed to come on, discovered they had shorted out a wire. I am hardly inspired with confidence about this.

  3. ********************** exaggerates when he says he immediately responded to my complaint. I emailed him directly on 6-9-23, and I had made numerous calls to his company before that. It took him over two weeks to contact me, even if I filed the BBB complaint. 

  4. There are several other distortions in **************' account of events, including the fact that I was told twice by the city building permit reps that the original permit application was never filed. Not started, not dropped -- just not filed. 

  5. I was not just unhappy about spending money for the electrical permit. ****'s ** failed to properly explain to me what needed to be done, not just at the beginning of this replacement but after the lack of permit issue came to light. This caused considerable angst and wasted my time and that of electricians I called. I question whether the condensate pump was even needed, as several of my neighbors recently got new ** units and don't have one. 

  6. In short, I don't think ************** truly appreciates what he has put me through, and I think this does not bode well for his prospective customers in the future. However, if the ** unit passes the mechanical inspection by the city, I will accept the response.

  
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  Business response

  09/07/2023

  All work has been completed and inspections have been done and approved for both the **** and Electrical permits. Please see work orders uploaded and note ****'s AC 

  hired, scheduled and paid for all electrical work and permits even though this was never included in our quote. We saw an issue with the subterranean 

  drain line not operating correctly and installed a pump to help remove the water so our customer would not have to have the concrete slab busted up and replaced after the drain was installed.

  Unfortunately, in order to do this an electrical circuit is needed. Even though this was unforeseen and unavoidable we have taken care of all the extra work and paid for the electrician

  and permit for **************. We apologize for the inconvenience and wish ************** the best moving forward. 

  Customer response

  09/07/2023

   
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
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