ComplaintsforMcGrady-Perdue Heating & Cooling, Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  04/27/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 4/12/23 McGrady Perdue (MP) conducted 2nd visit of yearly maintained contract. They found a bad circuit board and cracked crank case box. The parts were under warranty. Contract was renewed for 24.see P - 1,2. MP sent an email that I would only be charged for labor $435, $137 for installation of the parts which I believed to be 5 hr. I had to authorize the work for the parts to be ordered. see P 3. MP scheduled the work for 2:00 pm on 4/21. after I agreed it struck me as strange as I expected the work to take 5 hr. see P 6. The MP technician arrived at 3:10 pm began to install the parts. I continued to do other work at the house. As I was busy my wife paid the technician $572 with a check. At 4:00 pm I was informed that the tech. had just left. I asked why he was unable to complete the work and was told he had. At 4:30 pm I sent MP an email questioning the $572 charge as I only had to pay for labor and it only took 1 hr. see P 5 On 4/24 I stopped payment on the check and sent MP an email informing them and asked speak to a manager about the charge. see P 4-5 On 4/26 I talked to ******* from MP. He stated no number of hours was ever stated and it didn't matter how long it took I pay by the job and I authorized the work. I kept reminding him I was only to pay for labor. see audio file MCP and P 5 (Unable to upload audio file can send by email if needed/helpful) I request I be sent a bill for 1 hour at the rate of MP technician labor I also request to receive a refund of the $330 for next years maintenance contract as I no longer wish to do business with MP.

  

  Business response

  05/08/2023

  This is in response to Mr. ******* complaint of service to his heating and cooling system. When we quoted repairs to his system, his parts were under warranty and labor cost was quoted and accepted.  We did not tell Mr. ***** a time amount, such as 5 hours, since the repairs would not take this long to replace the two parts required.  Our technician was at the customer’s home for one hour and 30 minutes to complete the repair.  Not counting travel time.The price does not just include just “one hour” labor.  It includes a warranty fee for each part, that includes shipping charges, filing paperwork, and returning parts to supplier for credit.   It includes the warranty that we include on our parts in case of failure within our labor warranty period, so if the part fails within a set time, we will replace it without cost to customer.  It also includes the trip/diagnostic fee of coming to your home to diagnose system and a trip fee to return and repair your system.  These charges are not covered by warranty, only the part itself.  The first trip to his home, which included  maintenance to 2 systems, was 4 hours long, not including any travel time.  This call should have been 2 hours.  The technician did not charge for correcting issues with the upstairs unit and resetting it.  We also did not charge diagnostic fees on either unit, although the technician diagnosed problems and repair solutions to both units.  Maintenance services do not include diagnostic fees.  On the second trip alone, the technician was on your call for 2 hours and 22 minutes, including travel, since you live in **********.  All contact with Mr. ***** was thru email, until after repair was completed. Mr. ***** called and spoke to our service manager about his complaint regarding the costs of repair, and our service manager said that if Mr. ***** could find where he was told an incorrect time of repair at 5 hours, he would agree to adjust bill.  We have not received any documentation.  We believe that we have been forthright in quoting repair costs and  repairing his system in a timely matter at the agreed upon price.  

  Customer response

  05/09/2023

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. There was no attempt at a resolution McGrady Perdue simply rebilled me for the full amount of $572.00 for less that one hour of labor. As I am still having trouble uploading the email bill, I have forwarded the email to you as in the initial complaint. Regards, *********** *****

  

  Business response

  05/10/2023

  Re:  Request for refund of $330 Maintenance Plan for twice yearly visits on 2 Heat Pumps/2 Air HandlersWe have already completed the first visit of the maintenance plan on 4/12/23.  Both of his systems' maintenances were completed with minor repairs completed to one system at no charge.   We can apply a credit of $165 (half of the $330 maintenance plan, ) to his current invoice since he still has one visit due in October 2023.  (Our once yearly plan for 2 systems is $308.00 with the second visit only $22.00, so we believe this is more than fair).   That will bring the invoice for his two repairs completed on April 23rd to $382.00. We am sending Mr. ***** a revised email invoice thru another method, since he is having problems downloading the prior invoices.  We are sorry that Mr. ***** was not satisfied with our services and believe we have been fair in our dealings with him. We wish him well in the future and can recommend another company, if he so wishes. 

  Customer response

  05/15/2023

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below. As we discussed, the routine maintenance visit on May 12 was the second visit of last year's contract. As the receipt designates, the service contract was renewed for a full year. This includes two service visits every 6 months to conduct system tests and routine maintenance.  If an additional visit is required inside the 6 month interval a new charge is generated. It does not come out of the service contract.  Their statements to you were incorrect and misleading. Even if they were correct, by diverting the money I paid for the service contract they are still charging me $572.00 for 1 hour of labor.  My objections were that this amount is unreasonable for 1 hour of labor, and the way they went about presenting the estimate. They would not order the part until I accepted the estimate. The estimate stated that the parts were covered under warranty and I only had to pay for labor. The estimate did not state the number of hours that would be billed. However I was given the impression that they were billing for 5 hours of labor, which I stated to ******* at MP at the time of telling her to order the parts.  Regards, *********** ***** 

  

  Business response

  05/18/2023

  We really do not know what else we can do.  We have given $165.00 credit back on the maintenance plan that Mr. ***** purchased (even though the second visit is only a $22 charge,) I gave an additional $22 discount on his bill, bringing to bill down to $382.00.  We’ve already paid $21.70 shipping, labor for our staff to complete and file paperwork to get reimbursement for the parts, and we have to hold the parts for 60 days to await ****** asking for them to be returned, so we may have to pay return shipping. Businesses have more than one person spending “an hour” labor at a home. We pay operating costs, taxes, trucks, insurance, gas, tools, training, and several backup people in the office to schedule calls, order parts, communicate with customers, file warranties, etc.  We have explained the costs of the previous visits but Mr. ***** does not accept any explanations.We are going to concede defeat. We are reducing the bill to $200.00.  His maintenance plan is void.  We wish him well with his new service company.

  Customer response

  05/21/2023

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.   Regards, *********** ***** The response from MP is quite puzzling. They continue to insist that that when I told them to order the parts that were covered under the warrantee, that meant I agreed to pay them $572.00 for a single hour of labor since they did not specifically state the number of hours they expected me to pay for. It did not.  They also continue to push the false narrative, that the routine maintenance visit on May 12th was the first of the new maintenance contract that was renewed that day. It was not. It was the second visit of the previous years contract . That is why the new contract was extended for an other full year (12 months) not 6 months which is what they would have done if what she is asserting is correct.  By applying the $330.00 to the $572.00 charge for the hour of labor and now expecting me to pay them another $200.00, they have reduced the charge $42.00 to $530.00 for the hour of labor. I do not find any of their arguments to have been reasonable including this one. It now appears that MP is asserting that the parts that were ordered under the warrantee that ai purchased when I bought the equipment from Lennix somehow belongs to them and they intend to sent them back and get reimbursed. The parts belong to me and they are part of the systems operating in my home. They will certainly not be sent back by anyone. MP did not incur any expense in ordering the parts, that is why as they stated in their proposal, teir was no charge for the parts only labor.  They were unable to charge anything for the warrantee parts, although it appears that is what they have tried to do by their deceptive bi;;ing practice. Thank You ***** *****

• Initial Complaint

  01/16/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  On 11/14/22 I called McGrady- Purdue to come out to my home to see what was wrong with my outdoor wood furnace. The service department called and said they would be out to my house between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. that day. I seem to remember them saying they would call before coming from their last job before me to let me know they were on their way but they didn't call me. They did not show up at 2:00 or 2:30 or even by 4:30. I thought they were a no-show. so when another company I had called who had said they couldn't make it until the next day showed up shortly after 4:30 I let them look at the furnace. I had not canceled them because I wanted to make sure I had a backup up if McGrady Purdue didn't show up. I've had too many service people called that just didn't show up. They left about 10 minutes before McGrady-Perdue finally showed up sometime around 5:30. It was already getting dark. I couldn't even see them walking up the drive but my husband did and stoped them and told them we already had somebody look at the furnace as they had not shown up and we had thought they were a no-show. Now they're sending us a bill for a service fee to my email. My husband says we do not owe that bill because they didn't show up when they said they were going to be there and they never called to let us know they were on their way and if they had we would have told them not to come. Plus they did not actually do any service call they did not look at the furnace. That would have taken anywhere from half an hour to an hour. They did not spend that time out here. They wouldn't have even been able to see the outdoor wood furnace enough to see and determine what was wrong with the furnace at that hour. The service manager wouldn't even talk to us just told the front desk to tell us we owed for a service call. We do not feel we owe this bill. We would appreciate any help you can give us. Thank you.

  

  Business response

  01/23/2023

  ** ******** was a new customer.  When she called on 11/14/22, we scheduled the appointment for same day, after 2 pm.  We worked her in due to the cold weather and need for heat in our area.  We often are unable to accommodate immediate appointments and usually reserve any same day openings for our current customers.  We made space for ** ******** as a new customer with heat issues and had to have our technician out after regular business hours this day.  We do not schedule exact times as technicians can take longer on some jobs than others. We give 2-4 hour blocks as estimates for time.  We would have never given a 30 minute window.  The technician called ** ******** at 4:25 pm when he was ‘on the way’ and was told to ‘come on’.  It took him 45 minutes to drive to her home from his previous customer’s home.  When he arrived at 5:17 pm, another company was there working on her furnace and had arrived, per ** ********, shortly after 4:30.  The homeowner told our technician to leave.  Our technician was working after hours and only charged for the trip fee of $79, which is regular time.  We usually charge $119 trip fee for calls after 5 pm.  The trip fee is for coming to your home and does not include any repairs or labor time.  We then diagnose your system and quote the costs of any repairs required.  If you refuse repairs, you are only responsible for the trip fee. We also charge a trip fee if the customer does not cancel the appointment before arrival.  I am sorry that ** ******** had contacted two companies to come work on her furnace and had not cancelled or postponed the other company.   If she had called and cancelled when the other company showed up, we would have been able to cancel the call around 4:30 pm before our driver drove 45 minutes to her home.  She had scheduled an appointment with us and we kept that appointment.We work any time, day or night, and our technicians are prepared to work after dark with headlights and lighting as necessary and in any weather.  We are on call 24/7 365 days a year.Regarding the complaint that no one would speak to her from our office; our service manager, *******, left 2 messages for the ********* when there was no answer to his calls.  We are sorry that ** ******** has had problems in the past with unreliable companies.  We are a reputable, trustworthy company that has served the New River Valley for over twenty-one years.  We are not unreliable and arrived same day as promised. We were not allowed to look at the equipment or offer repair solutions. Our company goes above and beyond with our service to our customers.  We arrive when promised with skillful, trained technicians to keep our customers and their family comfortable and safe in their home.  We maintain a high Google rating with excellent service and installation work.  In good faith, we will comp the bill that ** ******** is disputing and wish her well with her new company.  ******* ******Accounts ManagerMcGrady-Perdue Heating and Cooling, Inc.

  Customer response

  01/26/2023

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I will accept the offer of them copying the service fee. But I want it understood that they told us the service fee was $75 not not over $100. And the technician that called me that said he was going to be coming out that day had said he would be there between 2:00 and 2:30 p.m. and I never did get a call from him to say that he was leaving his last job and on his way. If I had I would have told him not to come. The other company that came had already left about 10 minutes before this other guy from Grady produce showed up. He was not at the house when they showed up my husband was. I I refer back to my original statement I stand by it it is true and accurate. I got a phone call just as the guy was filling out the paperwork that looked at my furnace and so was on the phone a little less than maybe 10 minutes. When I got off the phone I went out to my porch and it was then that I saw that Grady Perdue had just arrived with their headlights on because it was dark or getting dark. Maybe they could have looked at the furnace I don't know but it would be hard because my outdoor wood furnace is near a wooded area and you sure couldn't get a vehicle behind it to be able to look at the back of the Furnace where all the equipment is. They would have had to have some special lighting to do that. But I'm thankful they are kind enough to drop those charges. Also when I tried calling to talk to the manager of the service department he just told the woman from the front desk that we owed them for a service call. Regards, ****** ******** 

  Customer response

  02/21/2023

  I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.The incident happened November 14. I filed a complaint with You and they finally came back and said that they would Drop the charges. I accepted their offer to drop the charges but as They continued to Tell untruths And Malign my character by Doing so. I Felt it would be wrong to Let these untruths go without Clarifying the facts About what really was true. My husband even called them and talk to them And they said that they were canceling out the money that they were charging us and that as far as they were concerned That was the end of it. But now I've gotten a new Bill from them Charging us that same amount only this time they're claiming that nobody was home when they came. And They continue to make Make some of the original untrue Comments. I really shouldn't owe anything for this And I feel like I am being harassed. Regards, ****** ********

  

  Business response

  03/07/2023

  Ms ********, We did not mean to malign your character or your name.  The invoice was sent in error after our agreement to comp your service call fee.  Our computer program sends invoices out weekly automatically and it was sent in error.  Again, we charge a $79 trip/diagnostic fee to come to your home, not including any repairs.  The appointment was not cancelled before our arrive and our technician traveled 40 minutes to your home to work on your system.  I am sorry that you have dealt with unreliable companies in the past and required 'Backup" in case we did not come.   Our technicians often work late to finish their work. We have written off the invoice and I am sending you a copy showing that charges have been deleted for your records.  We wish you well in the future. 

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