ComplaintsforFarnen & Dermer, Inc

• Initial Complaint

  07/03/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  **** HE Heat Pump system purchased through the company (Farnen and Dermer) on 5/5/21 for $10,985 - for the first 5 years of service an “exclusive no hassle protection plan” was part of purchase. 3/4/22- a “bad outdoor control board” was needed, and had to be ordered. 4 days later on 3/8/22 the “faulty defrost board” was replaced.5 days without air. Just over a month later another visit was necessary totaling $209.00 - including replacing filter, clearing drain pipe and checking temp/pressures. On 8/12/22 an outdoor motor and module had to be completely replaced, totaling $1675.00. F&D claimed this to be from “a storm” that didn’t happen; refused to fix without a payment. At least two visits occurred in 2023. In 2024 there have been multiple visits/multiple faulty parts including: checking for leaks, placing dye in the system (6/4/24 - not long after F&D had been out for the supposed maintenance check - this visit took half a day resulting in missed MD appt), 6/6-6/7 for replacing an indoor coil (requiring the dog sitter be at the house the entire day if 6/7) and again on 6/28 for a “found indoor blower motor needs to replace … also need to balance refrigerant pressure and subcool.” This is being submitted to the BBB on 7/2/24, and there is still no resolution. The business will not answer their phone unless our number is blocked and does not call to provide updates. The business is stating they “don’t have the part” and originally stated it would arrive today (7/2/24). The house temp has gotten to above 90, requiring we move our three canines to another families home. The business is refusing to admit they installed a faulty system, and will not take accountability for their work or the product they sold to us just over three years ago. Additionally, this business falsely claims to have “24 hour emergency service” - while they have a call service, this is simply to take a message to give to the office when they are opened from 09-1630 M-F.

  Business response

  07/10/2024

  Thank you for your message. We understand how inconvenient and uncomfortable it is to have your AC system not cool properly. We have done everything we can to respond to the customers requests in a timely fashion. The latest repair (blower motor replacement) is unrelated to the repair required earlier this Spring (refrigerant leak, search, and consequent indoor evaporator replacement). We completed all of those repairs at no cost to the customer. Our extended labor warranty is stipulated upon the customer scheduling a Spring and Fall maintenance check on their equipment. With a lapse in maintenance, we can revert the labor warranty to 1 year. We sent a Spring maintenance reminder to the customer on April 1, 2024 and did not hear back until May 23, 2024 when they were having an issue. Despite that, we still extended our labor warranty and took care of the needed repairs. We believe we have made the situation right by correcting the issues with the customers AC unit. Again, we apologize to our customer for the inconvenience and hope they see our efforts to make this right. 

  Thank you,

  Farnen & Dermer

  Customer response

  07/10/2024

  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  To imply that any of the issues that have occurred with this repeatedly faulty HVAC unit because of a "lapse in maintenance" is an outright lie and is quite frankly embarrassing; never have we had a service come to our residence as much as F&D has.

  FIRSTLY, this unit installed on 5/7/21 has had issues since six months after installation, starting with a visit on 11/9/21 that states "found unit wired up wrong ... found unit to be over charged..." From there things got worse into 2022 when there was a "bad outdoor control board" on 3/4/22 followed by a "faulty defrost board" days later, on 3/8/22. Five months later, on 8/12/22 the "outdoor motor and module" had to be replaced, which took approx one week and $1675 - requiring we move ourselves and our canines out of the house.

  Which brings us these past few months - once again, to imply that ANY of this occurred due to Spring maintenance happening in May verses April on a barely three year old system is absolutely dishonest. Per the F&D "Exclusive No Hassle Protection Plan" which is the "5 year extended labor warranty," as evidenced above there has been no sort of "peace of mind" - all words written on the F&D protection plan. Every year since installation we have absolutely gotten the routine Spring and Fall maintenance WHICH, TO NOTE, DOES NOT SPECIFY SPECIFIC MONTHS/DATES - so to say that our labor warranty could be reverted to one year is again, dishonest - on the contrary, we haven't been able to NOT contact F&D with issues. As with most visits from F&D, a different tech comes out each time with a different idea on what is wrong and what to try, and the next tech vocally disagrees with what the previous one did (as in the case with the 6/4 and 6/6-7 visits) - and each has commented on how frequently we've had "NO AIR" in the short time we have had this unit. Again, we are not talking about a 5, 10, 15 year old unit here. 
  
  Regardless of Spring 2024 maintenance (supposedly) being completed, the HVAC unit still required 4-5 additional diagnostic and repair visits from F&D, causing us missed appointments, having to juggle office time/on-call shifts for the State, and figuring out how to keep our three canines comfortable when the house got up to 90F; it required that we once again, move the dogs and us out of the house. In June: on 6/4/24 a tech was at the residence for half a day (requiring cancelling a MD appointment), 6/7/24 was a full day visit (requiring our dog sitter to stay at the house all day - that time F&D "replaced indoor coil") and countless phone calls to eventually get the "found indoor blower motor to be bad, need to replace" that was diagnosed on 6/28/24 - which because F&D finally sent a tech out so late in the day on the 28th, of course the part that they didn't have - for a system they sold us and installed - could not be ordered until Monday 7/1/24; and of course as of Tuesday 7/2/24, despite having to repeatedly call for an update, F&D was clueless as to when they would get said part - no follow up was done on their end. It was not until 7/3/24 that we randomly received a text message that a tech would be on the way.

  This could have all been circumnavigated by: acknowledging from the start that this was a faulty unit installed in 2021, both indoor and out; along with being responsive and accountable for errors, following up on critical parts needed for the various major fixes, and having some semblance of consistency with the techs familiar with the faulty unit. Instead, F&D chose to blow this off like its no big deal and play games (i.e. not answer the phone unless we blocked our numbers); we are lucky it is just us and our dogs in our home. It is to the point where we started to wonder if F&D bills the manufacturer (York) for each visit. Additionally, both the "F&D Exclusive No Hassle Protection Plan" that promises "will provide peace of mind for years to come ..." as well as the "Emergency 24 hour number" clearly needs the wording changed to be honest about the serves provided.
  
  Any and all PDFs of communication with F&D can be supplied. Everything above in quotes is from the F&D invoices.
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *** ******** **********

• Initial Complaint

  03/29/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Customer Service Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  poor customer service and distrust of twice a year service. Today I contacted main office to discuss identified thermostat issue. Ed states technicians are not trained to service thermostat to HVAC which was installed by them at time of ***** HVAC purchase 5 years ago. 'Ed' hung up on me after curt 'thank you'. Did they install a 'bad' thermostat, or that technician broke it? There is nothing in purchase agreement stating exception of thermostat and servicing.

  Business response

  04/24/2023

  We visited the customer's home for a routine maintenance visit that was to be paid for at the time of service ($209). When we arrived, the thermostat was not operational therefore we could not perform the maintenance as planned. We offered to replace the thermostat (at a cost to the customer) and the customer declined. The thermostat was out of the warranty period therefore not our responsibility. We charged our minimum trip charge to come to the house instead of the full maintenance fee. 

  Although we feel we are not at fault for the customer having a faulty thermostat (or willing to pay for a replacement), we have issued them a credit for the minimum service fee they paid. 

   

  Customer response

  04/26/2023

  
  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.

   

  I am still surprised that Farnen & Dermer do not acknowledge responsibility for a thermostat that they installed with new HVAC
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** *******

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