ComplaintsforAllen Kelly & Co, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  06/01/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Allen Kelly installed an AC unit they knew was defective. They made several visits to my home and failed to fix the problem, the thermostat. Now they say they can not or will fix it. I spent $17,000 on the install and $800 on extended warranty. The tech said if they replace it, it will still act the same. They will not return my calls. They knew it was bad and they have many of these out in the field.

  

  Business response

  06/15/2023

  I have met with ****************** after realizing the issues that he had been experiencing with one of the systems we had installed back in 2019. The problem has been intermittent and as of today, we have not been able to force the unit to reproduce the problem while we are onsite. The issue seems to be related to the thermostat but another possibility is the pre-existing thermostat wiring inside the wall. If we replace the thermostat and the problem persists, I will have done nothing but inconvenienced the homeowner. I talked with ***************** at length onsite and asked him to call me directly the next time he experiences the problem and I will get there myself as quickly as possible. I live fairly close to him and offered to come at any time of the day or night if he calls me. I also explained to him that we sometimes are at the mercy of the equipment to show us the problem and prefer to be able to experience the problem firsthand before we just start changing parts. I made him a promise that I would not continue dealing with the problem and I would rip the entire system out and install a new one if that what it takes, but I just need to see the problem to make sure what we're dealing with. If there were to be a problem with existing thermostat wiring inside the wall, even if I were to put another new system in his house, we could have the same issue. The concealed wiring inside walls is not something we replace unless we know there is a problem. I asked him to allow me a little continued ***** to be able to see this problem for myself so we can make an informed decision on what the fix needs to be. Unfortunately, the problem has been very intermittent which are the absolute worst problems for us to troubleshoot. Sometimes we are left to just guess at the most probable faulty part and replace it to effect some kind of change. I did do a reset of the thermostat in question to see if that any effect. I am waiting to hear from ***************** with updates on how the system is functioning. I assured him that we would not leave the problem to linger any longer than necessary. 

  Customer response

  06/16/2023

   
  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.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***************************

• Initial Complaint

  06/08/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I called Allen Kelly on Friday, June 3rd and spoke to ****** who said that my AC unit is still under warranty. I gave her my name and info and I told I did not purchase the unit and gave her the name of the former owner who did purchase it so they can look up the information. The earliest they can get someone out was on Monday. I called another company who was able to come out on Friday and I was told I needed a new motor but he couldn’t get it until Monday. I paid him $75 for the service call. On Monday, I called Allen Kelly 3 times before the technician came out to make sure it’s under warranty because I did not want to pay $139 diagnostic fee if it isn’t. I explained to ****** if the motor isn’t covered, I will just pay the first guy who came out to replace it. She said she understood that I didn’t want to pay the fee but I will have to ask the tech when he gets here as he is on his way. He can also confirm the warranty issue. I asked if she can have him call me and she said to just wait to talk to him when he arrives. The Allen Kelley technician arrived at my house. I told him I don’t need him to look at it and to not bring out his tools. I explained to him the situation and that the ****** wouldn’t call him before he arrived. He said he called me 3 times but he was given the phone number of the previous owner. Allen Kelly gave him the wrong information. Allen Kelly sent me an invoice for $150 which I am not going to pay as I did not want the service call. The technician started to get ornery with me and refused to leave until I paid him. He finally left as he had other calls to attend. Allen Kelly is scamming people by charging a fee when they haven’t done anything. Allen Kelly should pay the tech as it was their fault to not communicate the correct information to him. I tried to resolve this before he arrived. I left a message with ****** ******* the manager but no response. Please help me resolve this issue. Sincerely, ******** ********

  

  Business response

  07/15/2022

  Allen Kelly & Co., Inc has officially been in business in Raleigh since 1987 and is family owned and operated still today. We have 65 people that work with us and we consider them all a part of this working family. We pride ourselves in just treating our customers like they are a part of our family and try to do our best to treat them just as we would want to be treated. We are not the company that is known for gimmicks and hooks to draw in customers.

  We do very little advertising today and we rely on a solid base of long-time customers that know us as a company, but also know as the people that we are inside of this company. We however are human and are nowhere near to being perfect and we are flawed as most humans are. We strive to be better in everything we do but we confess that we are not without faults. But when we recognize that we possibly could have done something better or have not delivered an experience to customer that they deserved, we will always err on the side that benefits the customer. For us it is not worth the time and energy to go into battle with a customer and fortunately we do not often end up in situations where our judgement or honesty has come into question. We do our best to understand what happened and why and try to make the customer whole again if it's a misstep on our part.

  We are sometimes called to give second opinions for homeowners after another company has diagnosed a problem. Sometimes the reasoning may be a lack of confidence in the other company or their diagnosis, or there could be a situation where we may have access to a part that another company does not. Either way, we do not solicit customers to call us for second opinion service calls. We do charge a customary, traditional, reasonable and expected fee to get us to the house and to give us time to diagnose the problem. Our service call charge may be more than some companies and may be less than others, but is reasonable in this market. Understandably, homeowners are not excited to have to pay a second fee for another company to come and possibly give them the same exact diagnosis that the first company gave them, but we do not travel or work for free just as any other company would not and cannot.

  We cannot use another company's diagnosis for a few obvious reasons. If the previous company has not diagnosed the problem properly then we will have wasted time, money and energy in a problem that did not exist and likely will have a part that we cannot use anywhere else. The homeowner obviously would not want to pay for a repair that did not fix the problem so we are left in an awkward position with a homeowner at that point. Our policy is to charge the same for a second opinion as any other service call.

  This particular situation was slightly different in that we had installed the air conditioning system at this house in approximately 2016 but for a previous homeowner. The previous homeowner would have had a 10 year parts and labor warranty but that warranty did not apply to subsequent homeowners without being transferred into the current owner's name. When we received the call from the current homeowner, we pulled up the property address which populated the original homeowner's name, not the current owner. The warranty information we had was attached to the property and the previous homeowner, not the current homeowner as this was the first contact we had with this subsequent owner. The previous homeowner's name was used only as a point of reference in the conversation to help identify the equipment and property, but was not used by us to judge current warranty status as the property had changed hands. If the current owner assumed that the previous homeowner's name could be used to validate warranty then that would not have worked when the warranty claim was filed for the faulty part.

   The service tech that travelled to this property is 72 years old and is one of most gentle and methodical people we have here. We affectionately call him Santa Clause as he looks the part except is he is very slim. We have never received a complaint of him being aggressive or rude or mean to anyone, let alone grouchy. Customers are surprised that he is still in this line of work. He has had a heart attack in the last couple of years but is still committed to being a part of this industry and this company. I consider him an asset and a friend and he will be missed when he does finally retire.

   

  If there were misunderstandings during the phone call and/or in person visit with this current homeowner, we apologize. We are not in business to scam customers out service call fees as this fee really only covers the cost of fuel, overhead and the salary of the tech while they are involved with the diagnosis. This fee is not a gold mine. It is the minimum we need to have a truck on the road with someone to drive it that understands how to work on air conditioners.    

    

   

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