ComplaintsforAire Serv of Rochester

• Initial Complaint

  02/11/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We paid the owner Rick to have his repairman Bill tell us what was wrong with our furnace. He initially told us it would cost $88 to diagnose the problem, they charged us $203 because we elected not to use them for the repair based on the repairman's poor customer service and rude behavior. The repairman proceeded to STEAL our circuit board and other furnace parts and cut the wires to destroy the furnace on the owner Rick's instruction. The owner said he didn't like that it took us 30 mins to call back with payment even though we communicated to his repairmen that I couldn't call until after work with payment. The owner also left us threatening voicemails that he was going to destroy our property and deface our names all over the internet. He didn't tell me that he had stolen the parts and cut the wires when I paid him the $203 that night.

  

  Business response

  03/09/2022

  The response:  The customer ****** ******** called Aire Serv at 6:05PM on February 8th for an emergency no heat situation. All our calls are recorded and the customer indicated the residence at *** ****** Boulevard does not have heat. The on call tech person was Rick the owner who proceeded to ask if the person calling is the owner and is at the residence. (Part of our call process is to make sure the caller is the owner due to the fact that the tenant will sometimes call without the permission of the landlord in order to get their furnace up and running.) The customer said yes and Rick proceeded with the information needed to help the customer. In addition Rick was very clear and it is written in the job summary in our CRM that Rick told the customer that we charge a dispatch fee of $99.00 dollars since this is an afterhours call and in addition we charge a diagnostic fee of $89.00. If the customer chooses to do the repair with us we then wave the $89.00 diagnostic fee.  Our tech Bill called the customer ****** at 6:41pm and had a 5 minute and 12 second call where Bill let the customer know he was on his way. Bill asked ****** if he was at the house and ****** said no, my tenant is I just left to run an errand but we left the door open for you to get in. Bill then said who is paying the bill, you or the tenant. ****** then responded me. Bill said he will call when he knows what the problem is.****** than said I know what is wrong with it and I want to save on the fees so can you just order the part? Bill was very clear that if you want me to come out we charge 99 dollars and then 89 for the diagnostic fee. Bill then went on to educate the customer that what they think is wrong may or may not be the case and we will not order a part for a customer without seeing what the actual problem is. This went on for a few more minutes where Bill was educating the customer as to all the possible causes of what ****** thinks is wrong. At 5 minutes and 7 seconds into the call ****** than said I understand you are running a business come and take a look. Bill arrived on site at 7:08pm. Bill called ****** at 7:30pm and had a 2 minute and 32 second conversation and told the customer the draft inducer is bad and it will cost at least 900 dollars to obtain the part tomorrow morning, he also indicated this is an old unit so we won’t know until tomorrow if we can even get the part. Bill went on to explain it may be more cost effective moving forward to replace your furnace since the equipment was installed in 1995. ****** than said I knew this was a waist of my time and at 1 minute and 53 seconds he told Bill he would give him a number to his wife who is going to pay the bill. ****** did not follow up with a text message for another number to call so Bill called ****** back at 7:36pm and again at 7:38pm and left a message. Bill then called Rick because he was still at the residence and Rick told Bill to leave and take the bad part as payment. Rick then called ****** and also left a message indicating he will take the bad part as payment and if you call back to pay the bill we will return the part and in addition knowing they are a small business, Rick said he would not hesitate to write a review about their business practices.****** then called back and was yelling and screaming at Rick, (Note: that I am not going to write down the words used by ****** because it isn’t appropriate language to document in writing) Rick said all we want is to be paid for the service.  ******** called Rick later that evening and they proceeded to have a long conversation about what transpired and we were very clear and just want to get paid for coming out to your residence for a no heat call after hours. ******** paid the bill at 9:43pm using a **** for $203.00. Dispatch fee of 99, plus the diagnostic fee of 89 plus 15.00 in taxes – which totals $203.00.  The next morning Bill returned the part and was greeted by ****** and a few other people who blocked and surrounded Bill’s truck. Bill called the police and the officer called Rick on the phone in which Rick said he understands taking the part as payment was not the best decision and had every intention on returning it since the customer paid. The officer indicated that the home owner could press charges for taking the part and returning it which would be a civil issue while Bill could press charges for being detained against his will which is a criminal misdemeanor. Both parties indicated they did not want to press charges. Note: Rick did not write a review about the business since they did pay the invoice.  At the end of the day ****** is upset because we caught him lying about his intentions on paying the invoice and we forced his hand to pay the $203.00 invoice. We have over 200 reviews with a 4.9 rating and pride ourselves in quality service by helping our customers understand the most efficient and cost effective way to get the most our of their HVAC system.  Thank you again for reaching out so we can respond to this complaint. Tracey D. 

  Customer response

  03/09/2022

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. You can even see in their account that it was never stated to us that payment needed to be received before the repairman could leave the premises. Most HVAC companies send an invoice/ bill when they return to their office and give you time to pay it. I was working that evening and couldn't handle the payment until I was home with work as ****** clearly told them I would be the one to handle payment. The intention was ALWAYS to pay the bill. I called as soon as I got off work and ****** informed me that they had gone crazy threatening us because they hadn't heard from me fast enough. I called and even apologized for the delay and paid before I had any knowledge they stole the part from our property. The owner was incredibly rude to me calling me a liar and inappropriately telling me how so many people don't pay him and he has a ton of debt from outstanding bills owed from other people. The owner knew that they took the part and never told me on the phone that night when I spoke to him and when I paid him!!! that they had taken it but were intending to return it. I had to discover it was missing and call the owner the next morning myself to be told they would return what they stole. The way I was treated after I paid is what really warranted this complaint. The owner had every opportunity to tell me he had his repairman take the part  I am so appalled and disheartened at the way businesses are allowed to operate with no retributions to those they damage. We do have a home remodeling company ourselves as they alluded to and we would never remove a toilet from someones house on a bathroom remodel if there was less than 24hours (in this case it was only 2 hours before they heard from us) between us getting in contact with the customers to receive payment. Is this how businesses should be allowed to operate in our country?  I just want people to know what they are dealing with the police officer told me that the repairman admitted this was not the first time they stole parts from a job when they thought the customer would not pay and that is UNACCEPTABLE. The police officer told me that I was completely in the right and mentioned no fault or criminal behavior to our actions and instructed me that the Better Business Bureau should be contacted and this report should be filed. I don't care about a refund for ourselves honestly $200 is afforded very easily by us, I just don't want anyone else to be treated this way!! Should customers not be made aware that if the owner of this company makes a judgment call against you based on no legitimate evidence they may threaten to deface your good name publicly and damage and steal the very property you hired them to repair?!  Regards,  ******** ******  

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