Jack Lehr Heating Cooling and Electric

The complaint received contains several important factual errors.  The service provided followed proper procedures for proper customer service and safe work practices.  First, we have never performed work for at the address listed.  We recently were called to work at another address...

for a customer with the same last name so I am assuming that is the subject of this complaint although it is not a complaint from that customer.We have experienced record low temperatures and extreme winter weather for a prolonged period.  We provide priority service to existing customers so they can rely on us to provide a good response time when we are needed.We received this call for a older person with no heat.  Although we had never worked at this location we moved this call to a high priority for the sake of the person and responded the same day within hours of receiving the call.Upon arrival we found the house had two heat pump systems and one was operating properly and maintaining that area at proper temperature and preventing the rest of the house from reaching excessively cold temperatures that would harm the occupant or itself cause property damage.  Half the house was perfectly comfortable.  Clearly different from the 'facts' in this complaint.Both systems are heat pumps.  In winter both the indoor and outdoor unit operate as a system to provide heat.   When the system stops, proper diagnosis requires checking and testing both the indoor and outdoor unit.  When we are called to diagnose a failure we perform a thorough set of tests so the customer does not receive an incomplete problem list.  An incomplete problem list can lead to a decision to authorize a repair only to find the system is not operating completely correctly and the repair decision was incorrect wasted money.  Heat pumps can cost twice as much to operate when the outdoor unit is not functioning properly so a heat pump diagnosis must include accessing the outdoor unit and the indoor unit.The complaint does not contradict the statement that there was not proper access to the outdoor unit.  During our recent weather there is ice and snow on the branches of shrubbery.  Diagnosis is performed with the power on.  A severely overgrown shrub against the access side of the unit not only hurts the efficiency of the unit, it can electrocute the service person who is pressed against branches when another branch swings into the exposed electrical compartment of the unit.  We make every effort to accomplish our work but there are some extremely poor conditions that have developed over many years that cannot be overcome safely under these weather conditions.In an effort to restore some heat, our tech moved to the indoor unit only to find shelves built in front of the indoor unit with many items.  The items would need to be removed and the shelves disassembled before work could start.  Access to this unit was not provide while our tech was on site.  That is why our tech said we would return when the access was available.  We very much wanted to perform the work in one visit as there were many customers with issues and we wanted to provide service as efficiently as possible.  The claim that the person was left in a home totally with out heat is absolutely false, insulting and slanderous.  We responded in the first place to try to help a senior in distress.Ed L[redacted]President

The complaint received contains several important factual errors.  The service provided followed proper procedures for proper customer service and safe work practices. 
First, we have never performed work for at the address listed.  We recently were called to work at another...

address for a customer with the same last name so I am assuming that is the subject of this complaint although it is not a complaint from that customer.We have experienced record low temperatures and extreme winter weather for a prolonged period.  We provide priority service to existing customers so they can rely on us to provide a good response time when we are needed.
We received this call for a older person with no heat.  Although we had never worked at this location we moved this call to a high priority for the sake of the person and responded the same day within hours of receiving the call.
Upon arrival we found the house had two heat pump systems and one was operating properly and maintaining that area at proper temperature and preventing the rest of the house from reaching excessively cold temperatures that would harm the occupant or itself cause property damage.  Half the house was perfectly comfortable.  Clearly different from the 'facts' in this complaint.
Both systems are heat pumps.  In winter both the indoor and outdoor unit operate as a system to provide heat.   When the system stops, proper diagnosis requires checking and testing both the indoor and outdoor unit.  When we are called to diagnose a failure we perform a thorough set of tests so the customer does not receive an incomplete problem list.  An incomplete problem list can lead to a decision to authorize a repair only to find the system is not operating completely correctly and the repair decision was incorrect wasted money.  Heat pumps can cost twice as much to operate when the outdoor unit is not functioning properly so a heat pump diagnosis must include accessing the outdoor unit and the indoor unit.
The complaint does not contradict the statement that there was not proper access to the outdoor unit.  During our recent weather there is ice and snow on the branches of shrubbery.  Diagnosis is performed with the power on.  A severely overgrown shrub against the access side of the unit not only hurts the efficiency of the unit, it can electrocute the service person who is pressed against branches when another branch swings into the exposed electrical compartment of the unit.  We make every effort to accomplish our work but there are some extremely poor conditions that have developed over many years that cannot be overcome safely under these weather conditions.
In an effort to restore some heat, our tech moved to the indoor unit only to find shelves built in front of the indoor unit with many items.  The items would need to be removed and the shelves disassembled before work could start.  Access to this unit was not provide while our tech was on site.  That is why our tech said we would return when the access was available.  We very much wanted to perform the work in one visit as there were many customers with issues and we wanted to provide service as efficiently as possible. 
The claim that the person was left in a home totally with out heat is absolutely false, insulting and slanderous.  We responded in the first place to try to help a senior in distress.
Ed L[redacted]
President

Review: I contacted Jack Lehr to repair an air conditioning unit that has mold or some strange smell coming from it. The technician arrived on time. He then told me, without looking at the appliance, that it was the coils of the air conditioner that needed cleaning and that the cost would be $150. I have had a service contract with them for years, all the time I have owned the furnace and air conditioner. He then took out a can of a scented product, and I told him that he couldn't use that, since I am severely sensitive to chemical smells. He agreed that it would be a problem and called his supervisor to see what else could be done to remove the mold or bacteria. But he told me the entire coil system and pan were clean and had no mold in it. but that the particles were microbes and not visible. then he came back and said that he was going to use dish washing liquid instead. I said that dish washing liquid would not get rid of mold or bacteria. So I called the company and they told me I would need a $1500 ultraviolet light installed in the system, but that they couldn't do anything until a salesman came to do an estimate. I set up a time for the estimate. Then the technician replaced the door of the air-conditioning unit, without doing anything at all. He then came in and said that I owed him $175 for doing nothing. Just for his time, which is mostly spent talking with his supervisor about what to do, or complaining about the fact that his iPad program wasn't working properly for the business and calling his supervisor to see if they could fix it, which had nothing to do with my time. I don't mind paying a fair price for the time (5 minutes to take the door of the air coils on and 5 minutes to take them off, but to pay $175 when the original price was only $150 to do actual work does not seem fair to me. I have contacted the company and they refuse to respond.Desired Settlement: I would like to see the full amount refunded, since I have been paying a maintenance fee for nothing all these years. If that isn't possible, I would like to see a fair price for the time spent, not for the time he talked with his office or the time he was fussing with the business iPad. Those are not my fault.

Business

Response:

[redacted],

I received an email today, 11/14, indicating that [redacted] initiated this complaint with your organization on Friday, 11/8.

We had called [redacted] on Friday afternoon and agreed to return her check but apparently that conversation occurred after she called you. We mailed her check on Tuesday or Wednesday.

I spoke with [redacted] earlier today and she said she was going to call your organization to cancel this complaint.

** Lehr

President

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Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

Regards,