ComplaintsforLifetime Heating & Air Conditioning

• Initial Complaint

  06/22/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I received the collection notice from ************************* on behalf of Lifetime ******************************** for $191.71 for ** diagnostic fee. I mailed the letter to ************************* on 6/14/2024 explaining that Lifetime ******************************** broke the 2 year labor guarantee and did not complete the diagnostic test on 5/17/2024, but want to charge me $175 and $1.94 late fee, totaling $192.34 for a diagnostic test that the Lifetime technician ************************* did not complete. ************************* ignored my explanation letter to dismiss the incorrect charge and sent me another collection letter for $192.34. The technician that Lifetime sent out to my residence was too big and he refused to climb up the ladder to examine the mother circuit control board up on the attic, so he could not complete the diagnostic and took the picture of my ladder for his incomplete diagnostic form. He stated that Lifetime should schedule for another thinner technician to complete the diagnostic test. The technician and I had informed Lifetime Heating and Cooling of the issue. Lifetime Heating refused to send out another technician to complete the diagnostic test and kept insisting that I need to pay them $175 for the diagnostic test that ************************* did not complete. In May and June 2024 I had to hire another company to complete the diagnostic and fixed my ** that Lifetime in May 2022. The Greenwood technician stated that Lifetime might not properly fill up the refrigerant level when Lifetime first installed the ** in 2022, causing the motor to fail. I reported the ** problem to Lifetime in Dec 2023 while it was still under the 2 year labor guarantee, but Lifetime did not send out any technician to do the diagnostic test then. Instead Lifetime kept asking me to pay for the ** maintenance in the winter of 2023. When I reported the ** problem to Lifetime in Dec 2023, Lifetime then realized that they had not schedule for inspection in 2022.

  

  Business response

  06/25/2024

  We called ********** on December 28, 2023 and offered maintenance on her equipment, which she declined. A transcript of the phone call is attached. We also reached out to her via text in January, 2024 reminding her that her mechanical permit was about to expire and an inspection of our installation needed to be scheduled. ********** didn't say at that time there was an issue with the equipment. She did schedule the inspection by King ******* and the equipment we installed passed inspection on January 12, 2024. The permit details are also attached. She did not report a problem with her system until she called in on May 13, 2024. We scheduled a technician to go to her home on May 17, 2024 and informed her via phone and email that there would be a diagnostic fee if the issue was unrelated to our installation. While our technician did have an issue getting into the attic due to built in closet shelves, he was able to run diagnostic tests on the outdoor equipment and troubleshoot the issue. After that point we were unable to get a hold of ********** again. She refused to pay the diagnostic fee when our technician tried to collect and never took a call from our office again, even to discuss the issues that she had with the work that was (or wasnt) performed, or to schedule another technician to go to her home. We attempted to call her seven times between May 21 and June 4 and ********** never answered, nor did she call back. On June 4 a message was left for her stating that she would be sent to collections if she didnt pay her past due invoice, yet she never called our office to discuss.

  Customer response

  06/27/2024

   
  Complaint: 21886309
  
  I am rejecting this response because:
  Lifetime keeps denying that I reported the ** problem in December 2023, but the recording proves that I reported the problem. Instead of sending an installation technician to examine the **, Lifetime only scheduled for an inspector. That was why Lifetime realized that Lifetime failed to schedule for the inspection in May 2022 when Lifetime installed in 2022. The inspector that Lifetime sent over only spent a minute looking up at the attic, did not go up the attic and didnt turn on the **. The purpose of inspection was about safety not about whether the ** was functioning/performing or not. It was in the middle of winter and Lifetime asked me to schedule and pay for maintenance. That was why in the recording I asked Lifetime to send someone out in April, but Lifetime never scheduled for a technician to come in April 2024. That was why I called again in May 2024. However the technician could not complete the diagnostics test and fail to report why a brand new ** motor would fail in 2 years. The technician was busy troubleshooting another problem with another technician at another residence. The technician failed to diagnose why a brand new ** motor failed in two years when it was not supposed to. 
  I emailed Lifetime on 5/17 after the incomplete diagnostic test. I have been taking to Lifetime over the phone many times. Each time Lifetime would deny and find ways to not honor the 2 year performance guarantee. Lifetime only offers me to pay maintenance and diagnostics fees for the plumbing and heater maintenance, but would not honor the 2 year performance guarantee for the ** problem. After my explanation email in 5/17 Lifetime still send me the bills. The attached email shows that Lifetime on 5/20 insisting that I have to pay for the incomplete diagnostic. So disappointed with Lifetime I had to pay another company to properly diagnose the ** and repair it because Lifetime failed to properly install it in May 2022. Talking so many times with Lifetime and I feel being scammed and deceived. I dont wish to talk to Lifetime on the phone anymore. Please read the attached documents. Lifetime needs to stop sending me to collections for the incomplete diagnostics. Lifetime breached the  contract. A brand new ** motor fails in two year when its not supposed to!! 

  Sincerely,
  
  ************************

  

  Business response

  07/31/2024

  Please see the transcript of ************** call to Lifetime on December 28, 2023. There is no statement that her system isn't working properly, nor a request that we send a technician out. The inspection that was scheduled and performed has nothing to do with the rest of this complaint. We include in the paperwork we provide to customers who have a new HVAC system installed instructions about scheduling their own inspections. This way we don't have to play the middle man between customer and inspector. The text messages attached include communication regarding the inspection. This was only in regards to the mechanical permit required for the work Lifetime performed, not any issues ********** may have had at that time with her AC system. The mechanical permit and inspection results are included. It wasn't until May 13, 2024 that ********** called in and reported an issue with her system. The transcript of that call is included here. The manager that ********** spoke with informed her that if the issue she was having had to do with our workmanship, we would repair it for free, but if it was something else, she would have to pay a diagnostic fee of $175 plus tax. We never added on any late fees or interest - that was something the collection agency did. I understand that ********** took issue with our technician's diagnostic because he did not go into her attic. However, his conclusion was the exact same as the conclusion of the technician she hired through another company (*********). Both diagnostic reports are attached, as they have previously been provided to the Washington State Attorney General and forwarded on to us. After her refusal to pay when our technician was at her home, our office reached out to ********** to attempt collection a total of six times - May 21, May 23, May 24, May 28,May 30, and June 4. Not once did she take a call to discuss why she wouldnt pay or have any conversation. The final call on June 4 was from our Accounting Manager informing her that if we didnt receive payment by end of day on June 6 that she would be sent to collections on June 7. ********** was given the direct phone number for the Accounting Manager and invited to call. Customers invoice was also emailed to her multiple times with a link to pay online and yet it was never paid, nor did she contact our office after the May 13 call during which she scheduled the diagnostic appointment. collections. 

• Initial Complaint

  06/06/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We had lifetime heating and air to our house on January 17, 2024 to repair our heat pump/heater that wasnt heating. They ordered a new motherboard which was over $2000 and did not show back up with the part to repair the heater for weeks. We had to purchase 7 small space heaters for the whole house just to keep pipes from freezing. They determined that it was unrepairable after the mother board failed to fix the issue. We purchased a brand new heat pump and back up gas furnace for both the upstairs and the downstairs for 25k. They came to install both new units on 3/6/2024. Today is 6/6/2024 and they have been fully paid and we are still unable to use the upstairs unit at all!! They drilled a hole in the first unit during installation which rendered the unit useless. A new unit was ordered and brought out weeks later. The unit was not working properly and we called multiple times to get them to come and troubleshoot why a BRAND NEW unit is still not working. First they told us it was because the refrigerant was low and the technician they sent wasnt certified to put in refrigerant. We waited weeks again until they could send a refrigerant technician out and he stated it was not due to the refrigerant, but a valve was sticking and he needed to order the part. He left & the upstairs heater stayed on nonstop and heated the house to 98 degrees and the heater would NOT turn off. We called the emergency line because even turning off the breaker would not turn off the heater. We were afraid our house would catch fire since the beaker box wouldnt turn off the heater. We called and they wouldnt send someone until I told them I was going to file a complaint on their business license. The technician came the next morning and he was able to turn the heater off and told us not turn it back on at all. We waited over a month and they came out today and had the wrong part. They could not provide a definitive answer to a solution to get this working after 6 months and 25k!!

  

  Business response

  06/19/2024

  We reached out to Customer in regard to complaint filed. Customer's equipment is now working and we have offered free maintenance on all HVAC equipment as an apology for all they have been through. 

• Initial Complaint

  02/04/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Lifetime Heating and Cooling came out and installed an AC in our house on August 30th, 2021. This involved changes to our electrical panel, furnace and thermostat. A few days ago our heating cut out and the house became ice cold. We decided to call Lifetime for service (****** or ****** I don't remember) as the house was not being warmed. They only had availability in the following week and the rep suggested if we needed quick service to opt for after hours service which would cost ******. Since our house was getting extremely cold, we opted for after hours service.The technicians came out and ruled that our thermostat was at fault, the heating had started working and that we needed to replace it ASAP. There wasn't anything else they could do. The following day we lost heat again. I called Ecobee, the manufacturer of our thermostat and ordered a brand new thermostat from Amazon. After a few hours of debugging, the manufacturer's technician ruled that the thermostat was working as expected and that our furnace was at fault. We had ordered a thermostat from Amazon for no reason and we were left without heat once again.I called Lifetime again and explained the situation. The lady I spoke to indicated that there wouldn't be a charge since this was a follow up call and there may be additional charge for parts. The technician came out and said that a particular molex was the problem. When pressed on why he believed that, the tech indicated that the furnace turned on when he pushed the wires together. He then looked further and discovered that a wire into the sequencer was fried - there was visible damage to the wire. He replaced the wire and the furnace started to operate once again, ruling out the thermostat once and for all.At the end of the service, the technician said there would be a $300 charge for an after hours service. This was never indicated on the initial call and furthermore the call a few days ago did not properly diagnose and fix the problem.

  

  Business response

  02/07/2022

  Good morning, 

  I attempted to call this customer and he does not have a voicemail setup. I waived the charge from the visit on the 4th and refunded the customer for the initial afterhours fee on the 2nd. I also emailed the customer explaining this and Apologized for the miscommunication. I also offered to replace the failed sequencers at no charge. We acknowledged the first technician made an incorrect diagnosis, we returned two days later and found the actual cause of failure. Made a temporary fix and recommended the repair and to have the parts ordered. We are waiting for a response from the homeowner.

   

  Thank you, 

  Valura *********

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩