ComplaintsforLehigh HVAC LLC

• Initial Complaint

  01/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired Lehigh HVAC LLC to complete the second half of the installation of a new mini split system (brand: ****** ******) and warranty registration. my first part of the installation after being reviewed by the technician "was acceptable". On their first visit to my address, they couldn't complete the installation because the technician forgot the refrigerant. On the second visit, I thought the installation was complete, but an error code popped up (PC **) with the technician present, then Affan B*** told me it was fixed, and I agreed to make the payment ($1,385) I asked for the invoice and the warranty registration And he told he is gonna address both of them. Three days later, the same error code popped up again, and I called to schedule an appointment, and Affan told me to wait or call another company. The technician came a week later and spent two hours sitting on the couch waiting for the code. I called the manufacturer myself, and they told me the code's reason. The technician came again, and finally, they spoke with the manufacturer and figured out with them that a couple of parts were broken at the factory. A week I received the replacements and tried to call Affan several times on his personal phone and his company’s phone for two days without any answer; sadly, I had to call him from a different phone number to reach him, who told me that all of his workers are sick and he can give me an appointment in three weeks. He took advantage of that, knowing that I needed heating for my children, pushing me to call someone else so he can keep my money without completing the installation - He never send me an invoice which I previously requested as an itemized invoice, to send to the seller thru ****** so I can get a refund on the installation's labor for the broken parts. ($1170.58) perform by another company. - He never did the warranty registration and he is the only one who can do it because he is the technician who released the refrigerant from the factory and the guarantee already expire. - I think his company and his technician confirmed to me he doesn't have an HVAC license in NJ where my address is located. I requested the invoice by email, and by phone, several times and after all of my efforts I received the attached document. -I request a full refund of $1,385 plus the itemized invoice and A valid Diagnostic report describing the system had a factory defect. (This was requested by ****** for the labor refund) or $1170.58

  Business response

  02/01/2023

  Date Written: January 28th, 2023 
  
  Dear ******* ***** at Better Bureau Business,  
  Thank you for reaching out to us regarding this complaint on behalf of **** *****. We are saddened to  hear that *** ***** feels this way and we hope that this response can provide more clarity from both sides.  We want to the entire communication line which we had with *** ***** – we hope that this helps the  Better Business Bureau make a thorough judgement on the situation here. Here is how all correspondence went: 
  

  1. First line of communication, November 19th, 2022, 2:31 EST PM: 
  

  a. *** ***** reached out to us on November 19th, 2022 to get an estimate for starting up a ****** ****** Split System which he, *** *****, performed a self-installation on.*** *****  explained to me, Affan B***, that he has purchased and installed a 5-Zone ****** ****** Split System himself. He communicated to me that after completing the installation, he cannot get the system started up. I advised him we will perform a service call for $85 to see  what is going on and from there we will give him a quote for the repair. We scheduled his  service call trip for Wednesday November 23rd, 2022. The proof of the first line of  communication is shown below from our ****** Business Account.

  2. Second line of communication (1 of 2), November 23rd, 2022, 12:50 EST PM. a. Upon visiting the site and seeing the overall scope of work, I quoted *** ***** $1300 (in  addition to the $85 for the service call) for performing a complete start-up on his system that  he installed. He agreed to the price, and we proceeded to start the job that day around 1 pm,  it was about a 4–5-hour job so we had time to complete it by 5-6 pm. Starting-up any HVAC  system entails: 
  i. Assessing pipe lengths, pipe conditions (checking for leaks, bents, etc...).

  ii. Vacuuming the system (this cleans the pipes and the system so that refrigerant can be  released into the system). 
  iii. Adding the necessary refrigerant based on-line lengths. 
  iv. Releasing refrigerant into the system to let it heat/cool optimally. 
  

  b. *** ***** agreed to the scope of the work and price, and we started the work. At 5 pm, we  finished steps 1 and 2 as listed above. We would not perform step 3 as we did not have  enough R-410 refrigerant on our van that day.
  

  3. Second line of communication (2 of 2), November 23rd, 2022, 5:01 EST PM. a. I called *** ***** to let him know that unfortunately we need to make a second trip to  complete his start-up as we do not have enough R-410 refrigerant with us.I said we will not  collect any funds until the system is up and running. He kindly accepted this and waited for  us to contact him for the follow-up appointment.
  

  4. Third line of communication, November 25th, 2022, 2:58 EST PM. 
  

  a. I called *** ***** to let him know we can come November 26th to complete the start-up  and he kindly agreed so we went on the 26th.
  

  5. Fourth line of communication, November 26th, 2022, 3:03 EST PM. 
  

  a. After successfully starting-up his system, with no error codes, I called *** ***** to let him  know that his system is up and running; he was happy about this and immediately paid our  lead technician/principal, Waqas Ahmad, the $1385 due to us in the form of a credit card  payment. 
  

  6. Fifth line of communication, December 8th, 2022.
  

  a. *** ***** called me on my personal cell to report issues with the system, error code EC-03  and we went the same day to see his issue. We got his system up and running, no extra  money was taken from him. The manufacturer says that this error code of EC-03 comes  when the system has the wrong pressure levels (excessive or insufficient refrigerant levels).  We got this unit up and running by balancing the unit again for him by adding slightly more  refrigerant to the system. We spent about 3-4 hours here and did not collect any money from  *** *****. Later that day, *** ***** contacted me to report the same issue again. We said we  will come back the next day. ************ is the phone # of ****** ******’s Tech Support. 
  7. Communication with the manufacturer, December 8th, and 9th, 2022. 

  a. We went back on December 9th, 2022, and performed about 3 hours of work where we tested  the unit with the manufacturer step by step. After spending approximately 3 hours of going  back and forth with the manufacturer to test the unit, the tech support advisor at the  manufacturer let us know that the unit has faulty high- and low-pressure switches which is why it is not reading the pressure levels properly and it is tripping unexpectedly due to  having bad switches. At this point, I advise *** ***** that the replacement parts have been  ordered and will come to his house. 
  

  We did not take any money from *** ***** for these additional trips we made and the time we lost to start  these systems up. For trips 3 and 4 we were not paid, nor did we ask for any money from *** ***** for  the time we spent working on his units. I advised him that we cannot help him further as his issue is something he must take up with the manufacturer who supplied him with a faulty unit. We performed the  start-up as provided and described.  
  

  In Conclusion: 
  We performed a total of 4 trips for *** *****, 2 of which were a part of the initial quote of $1300 plus  $85 for the service call (total $1385). Trips 3 and 4 were to help *** ***** with an error code that the  Cooper and Hunter Unit was throwing out. The error code was occurring due to a manufacturer's fault by ****** and ****** as they supplied a unit to *** ***** which had faulty low- and high pressure switches that were causing it to trip unexpectedly. *** ***** received a faulty unit from the  manufacturer which we spent an additional 2 trips on for which we did not charge *** ***** any  additional charges. I hope this helps you resolve this issue. Please contact us if you need any further  assistance. 
  Affan ***** B*** 
  Affan ***** B*** 
  Project Engineer / Principal 
  Mohammed ****** B*** 
  Mohammed ****** B*** 
  General Manager / Principal 
  Waqas A**** 
  Waqas A**** 
  Field Technician Manager / Principal

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