ComplaintsforNorth Pacific Mechanical

• Initial Complaint

  02/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Name of Company: NORTH PACIFIC MECHANICAL. Fee for Residence Visit: $129. For: Furnace tune-up and inspection Invoice #: 2240929.I would like to share with you an incident I had with a company named NORTH PACIFIC MECHANICAL on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.On Monday, February 19, I called to schedule an appointment to rectify what I described as a "grindy bearing noise," and get "maybe a tune-up" of the furnace. The next day, the tech showed up, took a look at the running furnace, and asked me how long it had been since I had cleaned the filter. I replied, "over seven years." After taking the filter out and looking at it, his response was something to the effect, "well this is your primary problem, right here". Keeping the filter out, the still-running heater then started sounding and running (to my ear) much better than it had been previously. Previously, it had been turning itself on and off - that was no longer the case... it kept running continuously and smoothly. The tech then proceeded to look more closely at other components of the furnace. Several of them he found to be, according to him, something along the lines of dissatisfactory or worn or needing replacement. He named which parts and we discussed them. He then started talking about carbon monoxide, and told me that certain things that the heater was doing while he was observing (I couldn't say precisely what, something to do with the shape of the flame) were indications that carbon monoxide might be currently being produced. He told me that a "6" (on a standard meter) would indicate an automatic shut-down of the heater, and a "9" would mean something to the effect of "that's it, your done" - which I took to mean mortality. He then said that he was obligated by law to "red-tag" any appliance which was deemed unfit and/or unsafe for operation, and that his professional credential would be on the line if he didn't shut down any appliance which didn't meet (his?) standard of safety. He said that just to "cover his ass", he had to abide by that industry requirement. All of the previous is my paraphrase of the conversation; the gist of the conversation was not far from this paraphrase.We then went indoors (the heater is in the garage). He held his meter to two separate vents. After approximately 2 to 3 minutes - maybe more - of holding the meter at each vent, he reported readings of at one vent of "0" and of "3" at the other. (I never personally saw the readings). We then went back to the garage and continued to examine the heater. He said that he had no option but to "red-tag" it and said that he was disabling it, and pulled out a tag and affixed it to the heater. I objected, asking him on what grounds, specifically, he was taking this action - to which I never got a satisfactory answer. I asked, if a "3" on his meter was the highest reading that he had witnessed in the house, and if that that if a "6" was grounds for disabling the heater, then by what other criteria is this action informed? Again, I did not get an answer that was clear to me. He then asked me where the electric box was so that he could take photos. I refused to answer him and said I would not talk to him until I had contacted ** Natural and asked them about the nature of what was currently happening. While I was on hold with ** Natural, he disabled the heater from functioning (I do not know how), accessed the electric box and presumably took photos, and definitely threw the breaker switch to the heater off. So, while I was still on hold with ** Natural, the heater had been disabled in a way that I didn't understand and didn't know how to rectify. I finally got a representative on the phone from ** Natural and described the situation to them. While I was talking to them, I believe the technician tried to have me sign paperwork (which I did not do), and then he departed the property. I immediately scheduled an appointment with ** Natural to visit the property. Two technicians from ** Natural were at the property within 26 hours after the above-described event. They turned the gas back on, and ran the heater. The findings on the Notice of Hazardous/ Unsatisfactory Conditions report which they provided me were:"Air filter needs replace""Fan impeller needs cleaning""Exhaust vent needs to have 1" clearance from combustible"I asked the ** Natural technicians specifically, is there any reason to believe, given what youre looking at now, that there is a higher level of ** being produced than is safe? They said no. They did not red-tag the heater or disable it. I asked them if it was safe to continue running the heater in the state that it was in, and they said that, other than the above concerns not relating operation itself, they could find no reason why it shouldn't be. They left the property with the gas on and the heater ready to run.It should be plainly obvious from this description that North Pacific Mechanical is possibly blatantly and maliciously misguiding customers into believing that they are in danger. If not, the least that should be evident from this description is that they are tampering with personal property to a degree that is unfair, unjust, and perhaps illegal. I, for one, take issue with this company's professional practice. I would be surprised if others, too, haven't been victimized by them.

• Initial Complaint

  09/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  This complaint includes two companies; North Pacific Mechanical and American Home Shield.In August 2022 I submitted a claim to American Home Shield because my heat pump was completely icing up. They dispatched North Pacific Mechanical. It was recommended that I replace the heat pump and evaporative coils because the heat pump was at end of life. It took 3 different appointments over 2 to 3 months to get everything installed because the wrong parts were ordered by American Home Shield. Everything worked fine through the fall and winter and then in August of this year, right before the heat wave in ******, the evaporative coils started icing up. We were experiencing the highest heat and humidity since the installation the previous year. I called American Home Shield (AHS) since my unit was still under warranty and I was told to call North Pacific Mechanical (NPM). When I talked to NPM they told me I needed to go back through AHS. So I submitted a ticket to AHS and then was assigned to a different company, not NPM. My appointment was for Friday, August 18th, I had called first thing Monday morning, August 14th. I finally was able to get the order transferred back to NPM and they came out that Thursday the 13th. Mine you, I work from home and am 62 years old. I had been working from home all week long and my house was 95 degrees inside! The service man from NPM said the unit was installed incorrectly. A plate that had been installed next to the coils was cutting off the air flow and thats why the coils where completely icing up. He moved the plate and used tape to ***** rig it into a new location. That seemed to work and once again the ac was cooling. He told me NPM would be calling to come back out and properly install the plate. No one called and 2 or 3 weeks went by and I called them and left a message. The installer called me back and said it was not installed incorrectly and that he would come out and take a look. When he came out, he put the plate back to where he originally had been installed and the coils started to ice again. He then said the real problem was that American Home Shield had ordered the wrong size coils for the cabinet that I had and thats why he had to install the plate to begin with. He informed me he would let his service team now to call me back and set up an appointment so the still ***** rigged plate could be properly installed. He also said they would schedule a free winterization for all the trouble I was caused and would call me back no later than Sept 11th. I called them on the 11th since I had not heard back and left a voice mail. I still have not heard back from them. I paid almost $2000 along with a Home Warranty to get my heat pump unit replaced. If the parts (coil) are not the correct size they should be replaced with the correct size and AHS should place the order correctly and have NPM install them correctly. If for some reason that is not an option, then NPM should come out and install it correctly instead of leaving a brand new unit basically taped together.

  Customer response

  09/21/2023

  North Pacific Mechanical was out yesterday, Sept 21, and replaced the evaporative coil with a new one that is the right size for the cabinet. I am satisfied with the resolution to my complaint. 

   

  Thanks, *****************

• Initial Complaint

  05/17/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unanswered

  More info

  Paid $11,723.75 (1/2 on Jun 25 & 1/2 on Oct 18, 2021 - invoice #*****) for replacement of existing gas furnace & A/C with high-efficiency Rheem furnace & heat pump.System was installed in July 2021 & seemed to work fine during the summer.With colder Fall weather, we started seeing system problems in terms of the heat pump's inability to heat our house (Sep 2021).NPM diagnosed a failed TXV (outdoor unit) & replaced TXV (Oct 2021). System heating performance improved somewhat.As temperatures dropped, we continued to experience system heating problems; NPM was unable to diagnose problem (Nov 2021).Regional Rheem rep assessed system & diagnosed a failed reversing valve (outdoor unit). NPM subsequently replaced reversing valve, ****************** (Jan 2022). *********** distributor provided a commitment to replace entire outdoor unit should a 4th major component failure occur in the future.System performed fine until we again started experiencing heating problems during the following Winter (Feb 2023).NPM diagnosed problem as a failed TXV (Mar 2023), which would be our 4th major component failure for the outdoor unit. NPM no longer sells Rheem products & does not have a business relationship with the local Rheem distributor (******); as a result, NPM has been unable to deliver a new heat pump unit per their earlier commitment.Received another system assessment from a local Rheem-authorized dealer (May 2023) which confirmed the failed TXV diagnosis. In addition, they also identified a (slow) refrigerant line leak, suspect liquid line braising work, & subpar TXV bulb insulation.My confidence in allowing NPM to perform any further work on our system is NIL based on their track record with our system; NPM is also unable to provide a new unit due to their lack of a relationship with *****. Additional warranty repair work via an authorized Rheem dealer will entail further (& significant) out-of-pocket costs for labor, etc.

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