ComplaintsforH.L. Bowman LLC

• Initial Complaint

  12/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I scheduled my annual tune up with H.L. Bowman on December 19th for my furnace. I had the contacter come out to complete the inspection and he informed me my heat exchanger has a crack in it and needed replacement with the possibility my furnace may need replaced instead of my heat exchanger. The inspector informed me due to the crack that it was leaking carbon monoxide and the furnace needed to be red tagged and my gas turned off. The inspector had said he checked my warranty and it was only 10 years and had expired in February so the replacement was not going to be covered. I set up a quote appointment with Bowman for Wednesday the 21st in the afternoon but also one with *** in the morning. *** came out and actually checked on the warranty and found out it did not expire as it is a 20 year warranty. Due to that misinformation/falsehood from Bowman, I decided to set up a 2nd inspection but with *** this time which was scheduled for this morning (27th). In the meantime, I contacted Bowman to cancel my quote appointment and let them know why. The service manager ******* emailed me to let me know they contacted the supplier who confirmed the supplier was the one was gave the wrong information regarding my warranty to the Bowman inspector and due to that that Bowman would replace my exchanger free of charge to me. Well the *** inspector came out today and took a look. He confirmed there was no crack anywhere and it was not leaking carbon monoxide but instead everything was working as it should. Not only does that mean I was without heat for a week in freezing temperatures but I had to spent money on 2 inspections. It was also an extremely stressful time for me. I can upload further documentation if needed.

  Business response

  12/27/2022

  Here are the technician notes.  We had high oxygen, so we determined it was a cracked heat exchanger.  The manufacturer gave us bad information which they will admit.  We offered to do the repair for free at absolutely no charge to the customer.  I'm not sure what else a customer would want us to do.   This would be 5-6 hours of labor we would not charge the customer.  

  Here at HL Bowman we will make a mistake.  The easiest and best way for us to handle it is to say sorry.  Once we've apologized which we have multiple times.  We then try to fix and make it right.  We offered to replace the heat exchanger for free with no cost.  Heat exchangers are tricky and we often side with caution.  You cannot always run a camera in to see every angle to find a crack and sometimes the cracks are very small.  We will reach out to the customer again and apologize.  Elevated oxygen levels are still a concern for us. 

  Here is the customer notes: 

  Today I meet with **** to tune up her **** gas furnace. Started by raising stat temp on thermostat for heat call. Gas furnace responded to heat call. Recorded a 43 degree temp split. Checked vent piping, found no rust or cracks. Checked blower motor, clean wheel, no play in shaft, and spins freely. All pressure tubing is in good condition. Electrical connections are tight and in good condition. Inducercspins freely and responds to heat call. Gas pressure was at 2.3 in.wc extremely low pressure, increased to recommended 3.5 in.wc. Checked and cleaned flame sensor. Scoped heat exchanger and found what appeared to be holes on bends of all three tubing. He led flue gases and saw higher levels of oxygen in vent piping. Oxygen was around 15 and co was around 14 ppm. Called Brandon from apr to check heat exchanger warranty. Unit is 11 years old. ******* said unit was not registered with grace period of 90 days after ship date and a 10 year warranty, units warranty expired in February 2022. Brandon from apr is waiting on Neil to give him pricing info on a new heat exchanger. Turned off gas valve and power to unit per company red tag policy. Notified **** of heat exchanger issues and warranty info. She would like to meet with a comfort advisor on Wednesday evening to discuss replacement.

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