ComplaintsforSimply Comfortable Heating and Cooling

• Initial Complaint

  11/22/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I have carefully listed out our grievances below for review along with any additional documentation attached: Wiring of Panel: As admitted by **** verbally, he purposely completed the 2 wire installation although knowing the set up should require 3 because, in your words this is what I had with me at the time. I have attached the schematic that verifies the wiring should have always been 3 wires. Also, we have had this reviewed by another HVAC professional as an independent consultant who verifies the wiring should have always been 3 and never just 2.Work Completed by ************************* (homeowner): **** solely mounted the control panel and provided power to the panel by installing a junction box and running wire to the power control panel. Provided assistance to crew with specific questions as it relates to power isolation during boiler installation and wiring work. Time spent reviewing work completed to verify wiring work was completed accurately and found significant electrical safety concerns. This was also verified by another individual journeyman electrician after inspection. 1. Caught missed 3RD wire as mentioned in item 1 listed above. 2. Caught missed installation of 15 AMP fuse which by **************** code is required. Disposal of project debris: as mentioned, the removal of the concrete, boiler as well as piping that was disposed of in our rented dumpster was disposed of by crew without homeowner consent. Work Scheduled Timeline: project quoted as roughly 2 days, then pushed to 4 days. The final completion was 1 from start date. During this time, for electrical and code concerns, the heat was not used to prevent any damage to the home. Undisclosed Charges: The unexpected charge of $333 for installation of thermostats as well as installation of customer power head. These charges were not discussed. We were reimbursed partially but seeking additional reimbursement due to negligence, poor workmanship, and unfulfilled customer satisfaction.

  

  Business response

  12/07/2023

  Hello and thank you for reaching out. 

  We performed a job for ***********************. During this job there were complications but we were able to complete the job. I stand behind all the work completed. During this time we made sure to clean up after ourselves and we made sure this job was done completely. We even performed some extra work in order make the customer happy. The customer was requesting thousands of dollars in additional discounts and threatened to report us to the BBB if we did not provide these discounts.

   

  -I provided the customer with $833 and $200 discounts. These were provided as a courtesy to attempt to make the customer feel better.

  -The customer's father approved the orginal wiring of the zone valves. He then called me a week later and was upset about the wiring. I told him I was sorry for the misunderstanding and I returned and spent 6 hours redoing all the wiring to his satisfaction. This was done free of charge.

  -The customer's father wanted a fuse on the boiler. I told him that in my experience the panel breaker for the boiler was adequate but her preferred a fuse on the boiler. I went out and bought the parts for this additional fuse and installed it myself free of charge.

  -The customer did some of the high voltage electrical work. This work was not covered in the scope of work detailed in our proposal/invoice. ****** wanted compensation for this work. I told her it was not part of the scope of work and that her father did it without our direction.

  -The customer's father was there and was sometimes helpful but often times was distracting to us while we were trying to work.

  -The customer asked us to install 8 thermostats after the job was complete. We installed the thermostats and billed them for $350, much less than normal. They were very upset that there was a charge for this additional work. This was part of the reason for the courtesy discount.

  -The customer's father told us we could use the dumpster onsite to throw out the old boiler, etc. The homeowner then wanted a $1500 dollar discount for us using the dumpster. I offered her $350 even though I know I could have thrown it out myself for free.

  -We installed extra zone panels and replaced all the wiring(about 400') in the basement for these valves. This was far beyond our scope of work but I wanted it to look nice and wanted to make the customer happy.

   

  Overall, we were courteous and patient with the customer. I wish I could provide them with more discounts, but I have employees and suppliers to pay. I am sorry for the way the customer feels and I have done as much as I can to improve the situation.

  Customer response

  12/09/2023

   
  Complaint: 20905463
  
  I am rejecting this response because of the following reasons in response to business reply:
  

  1) The $200 discount was provided in the original proposal as request that was made by us, the customer, as we felt their price for removing a concrete slab was high. **** agreed to the $200 PRIOR to any work being completed. Attached proposal of work shows discount applied prior to any work being done. Therefore, should not be included in solution to the problem of mishandled work. 

  2) My father highlighted the schematics showing the 3 wiring requirement and **** still completed the 2 wiring schematic. When my father called 3 days later (1 week) he fought with him stating that "he has been doing this job for 14 years and that's how it should be". After pushing from my father, **** agreed to return to install the 3rd wire. Upon his return, he was going to just add the wire as a workaround to the panel, but my father insisted he complete a full rewire which lead to a longer repair/fix process. Additionally, as mentioned in my original complaint, **** ADMITTED verbally that he knew in his "professional opinion" that there should have bee 3 wires but moved forward with 2 wires because "that is what he had with him at the time". 

  3) The fuse installation was not just a request of my father, is a requirement by the city to be installed. Therefore it is the duty of the company to make sure that the installation is held to code. The distraction may have come in when the Simply Comfortable team was asking for help from my dad. They ineffectively isolated wires. My father was not always present during the work and when he was he was inspecting finished product, asking for detail on what was being done, or was asked help from the team.  

  4) There was NO approval for the team to use the dumpster outside. 

  5) The installation of the thermostats was offered by ****, but he NEVER mentioned any additional cost for this installation. In fact, he told us the model thermostats to purchase, mentioned if we bought them ourselves he "would install them for us". Therefore, the $333 charge for installation should have NEVER happened because a price was not discussed for installation. I just received a random bill for this amount and still paid it! I put in the notes how upset i was that i go this. That is when **** reached out and apologized and offered a refund! not a discount as this should have never been charged.  

  6) Installation of zone panels and writing was verbally discussed. If this was something that the company felt would be "outside scope of work" it was their responsibility to verbally and in writing provide additional cost information. They did not and said they would do it for us as part of the job. Coming back now and claiming it was "to make it look nice and make customer happy" and "outside of scope of work" is not conducive to the verbal agreements the company provided to complete the work. 

  7) Additionally, the company threatened to have our bill sent to collections and falsified that the job was completed a month earlier than it actually was! Text string provided to show this. 

  8) **** also REFUSED to provide any response in writing to original email laying out complaints and asking for detailed reply to his claim of inconsistancies.

  Overall, the company and **** are trying to be sly and crafty with not admitting guilt to their unauthorized use of dumpster, failure to meet city requirements with fuse, falsifying and claiming discounts when 40% of the $833 was a refund NOT  a discount, admittance of negligence in installation of wiring now trying to pin it on owner. Not to mention the rude, snide remarks from **** verbally and even shown in the text messages attached and him claiming to be "courteous and patient". I would strongly caution against using this company as they tried to be sneaky with their "workarounds" and to be *****, some improper installation, which could result in failures and issues down the line. 

  Sincerely,
  
  ***********************

  

  Business response

  12/11/2023

  Hello and thank you for your response. I will do my best to respond. Please know that I only want to move forward and hope we can resolve this.

  1. The $200 discount was agreed upon before the beginning of the work.

  2. The wires were redone with the "3-wire" configuration. When her father called me I was in the middle of another job and told him I would call him back. When I did I informed him that I did prefer 3-wires and I was willing to go back and redo it all. I spent 5 hours redoing all the wiring free of charge.

  3. The fuse was installed. I also did not argue with her father. This was provided and installed free of charge as well.

  4. My employees told me her father said it was ok. That being said this was part of the reason we had offered the courtesy discount.

  5. The customer requested the thermostats. I told them we could do it but I should have mentioned there would be a charge for the extra work. This was included as part of the courtesy discount.

  6. We verbally discussed redoing the controls. The zone panels were above and beyond what was discussed as well as what was defined in the proposal.

  7. I do not like to send anyone to collections. I only wanted to get the bill resolved. The customer was provided sizable discounts and I only wanted to get this resolved so we could move forward.

  8. I did not want to get into a back and forth via email/text and I am very busy. I offered multiple times to speak with them directly on the phone, while they recorded it, if that would help.

  I hope this helps.

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

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