AA Richards Heating and Cooling

STAY AWAY!

Before we spoke with [redacted] wanted the whole service for free. That was the last we heard from [redacted] said they only cover the capacitor. Not all parts are covered under the warranty. We are sorry for the inconvenience, please see attachment for refund slip.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
[redacted]

[redacted], the AA [redacted] team apologizes for the confusion that you may have.You appear to be under the impression that our company has installed/ replaced the furnace in March 2013. However, this statement is untrue according to our records, we have no record of our company installing a...

furnace at your location.  In 2013 the furnace had a clogged chimney which, the fire department was notified resulting in the notification of New Jersey Natural Gas. This chain of events resulted in your gas meter to be shut off. Our company ran all new flu type B vent from your furnace through your room. The cost of that job was $1,400.00. This was the only job that A.A [redacted] has completed at [redacted] On December 20,2015 you called our office for a no heat repair request. Upon arrival the tech found the unit needed a new flame sensor, a sign of lack of maintenance. According to our records the last time it was serviced was March 2013. To avoid problems like this, you must have your unit service every year. We offer annual maintenance agreements to prevent these problems (like changing the oil in your car.) The service/diagnostic charge and flame sensor required to get the heat back in working order came to $220.

[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.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
Thanks for your help in resolving this open matter.
Regards,
[redacted]

I was extremely upset with the office staff and the unprofessional manner in which they spoke to me when asking about services they are suppose to provide according the their website. Then I went here and read the reviews and actually was at a ladies luncheon and one of the ladies in our club said she had the same experience. They were rude and she heard yelling and screaming when had called. Thank goodness for sites like this. I am an older woman with a very large home. They would have taken me for a ride. DO NOT USE THESE PEOPLE, THERE IS SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG!

Review: 1. Bad initial communication

A call was placed somewhere around 9:00 to 10:00 am on October 8th 2013. Upon calling to set up appointment company fail to relay proper information to technician concerning services needed. A removal of soot with a concern of a " smoking oil furnace" due to possible clog was requested. Company marked request as "Standard cleaning" The price of 150.00 US dollars was agreed upon between parties. Service date was set for October 9, 2013. Time frame for arrival was set from 12:00-4:00. Company was called at 4:00 due to a non arrival. Customer service had stated technician was 10 minutes away from destination. Customer service asked to verify type of heating unit, which had been stated during the initial phone call. Customer service stated technician was not equipped with proper tool and that service could be done the following morning . The service date had been set for the following morning. Arriving October 9, 2013 The technician followed by an apprentice began to dismantle components of the furnace, telling a resident of the home cleaning for a "clogged furnace" was 850.00 US dollars. The technician was asked to put a halt to the work and consult the home owner. Note : At this time apprentice continued to dismantle components and troubleshoot furnace. Home owner stated to the technician the amount of 850.00 was out of his price ranged and asked that the initial price be honored, to which the technician agreed.

2. Bait and switch

Tech requested services and upgrades be done to fix said issue in and around the amount of 7000.00 us dollar. Homeowner rejected the sale offer.Tech red tags furnace yet continues service.

3. Repair result in additional damage

Furnace was left dismantled.Upon reassembly furnace smoked more then before.

4. A failure to honor contract or agreement

After two conversations with business owner, owner agrees to wave any fees due to conflict of service home owner is charged in the amount of 80.00Desired Settlement: Refund of 80.00 dollars

Business

Response:

As stated in the complaint we did go out on October 9, 2013. It was scheduled for a. basic cleaning of oil fired furnace for $149.00. Upon arriving to [redacted]

an extensive cleaning. While taking the tech. realized it was not properly maintained and needed apart the unit (to clean it) he found cracks in system and unit was red tagged. That is when the tech. recommended the price to repair or replace the unit. [redacted] signed invoice to pay the 149.95 (our company’s furnace cleaning charge). [redacted] then called office 1 hour later said he was not paying because he requested just a cleaning and now his system was red flagged. In order to result/e his financial concern We reduced the payment to $80.00 (our diagnostic fee).

So we assumed that the matter was handled. Attached is original invoice.

Thank You,

[redacted] Office Management

Consumer

Response:

Complaint[redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

A cleaning was requested yet furnace was left apart an not cleaned. Apprentice was allowed to work on furnace unsupervised. Furnace ran worse after call. Proper liner is in fact present. system past home inspection. Followed up with another company [redacted] for second opinion. furnace was fixed and is running for a fraction of original estimate. This is a perfect example of bait-and-switch : Request for a cleaning at 150.00 only to be offered the installation of a new system and equipment at 8000.00 When upgrade is turned down system is "red tagged"

*Note there is no signature on merchant copy of receipt*

Regards,

Business

Response:

this was a cleaning call when the service tech with 17 years of experience went to job site saw the unit need way more than a basic cleaning informed owner that it need to be taken apart and cleaned and it would be 850 or more he didnt want it done service call for going is 79.95 plus tax with comes to 85.55 we told him we would chage him 80. he agreed to charges and sign concract

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

My wife signed the contract, prior being misinformed to service completed. Furnace was left apart. Money was taken despite verbal phone conversation with business owner saying no charge will be made. A Reputable company serviced the furnace days later without issue.

Regards,

Review: I call them for a service to the a/c units ,that was working but not cool enough ,probability just need recharge whit free on ,the last time we have done was 4 or 3 years ago ...so there coming in my house ,I wasn't there ,my wife was home and they start paper work as routine,whiteout even look he have a personal idea what was wrong whit the a/c and he start take look and tell my wife that maybe was a burn wire ,so he get in the phone whit me and spoken whit him fill like he try to do the right think ,then 5 minutes later he call me again and tell me that was few leaks ,I was really surprise,so I ask how much was gonna cost me all this ,so we went from $99 for regular service to at $3,876.00 at

This point I tell him to not do anything ,becouse I fill something wasn't right ,he start suggest to replace the all unit becouse was an old machine.....I tell him to leave anything connected the way it was (as he find ) and I tell that now I want a second opinion from somebody else,becouse was to much money for me at the present time,so he said that I can get price from a different company and if I fill to call him back was no problem,so I call NJR home services and they're coming the next day06/25/15,so we spoken whit the technician and he start take look ....he can't believe what he see ,he tell me that wasn't any burned wires that there looking great ,...then he discover that a braket ( betwin compressor and the units was Repen off and create the leak becouse welded,and the other leak come from where the wires was connected and it look roffelly cut,the technician ,tell me that those damaging was created whit purpose,and he do not want take responsibility to work on it becouse the wiring was left in the ground dangerously becouse the high voltage ,he else find the beck up safety hook brocked off .....so I get is report ,and he left without do any performance.so I call back aA Richards for an explanation ,and they refuse any responsibility of that,..and whit nasty textingDesired Settlement: This business gonna respond for damaging and expenses that gonna be to replacement else for the legally action against them,for nasty texting by the Owner operator and tecnician ,I did report all this to the nj police and I will take to a small claim Court of [redacted] nj and file lawsuit against .

Business

Response:

The A.A Richards team apologizes that [redacted] felt he had a bad experience. However, our company was asked to come to [redacted] home to repair an air conditioning unit, which was blowing warm air. A.A Richards sent a qualified HVAC technician to [redacted] on home on June 24th 2015. The technician noticed the wires were not connected, and they did attempt to reconnect the wires. He also felt that there may have been leaks that should be tested for. Following inspection of the unit the technician felt that the unit was not worth attempting to repair. Then suggested to [redacted] that he consider obtaining a new unit, our technician then quoted [redacted] $3,855.00 and our technician also offered a payment plan to help [redacted] due to his finances. [redacted] was not interested in our suggestion, and wanted our technician to leave the unit as it was. So our technician charged for the service call and left. The total for the service that day came to $80.00, which was paid for by check. To accuse our qualified technician of destructing a unit that was not working correctly when our technician arrived is illogical. We do not take responsibility for a unit that we went out to repair and were told to leave it as is. So we charged a diagnostic fee, which we are holding until this is resolved. Once again, we do apologize that [redacted] felt he had a bad experience. However we feel that our team at AA Richards has done everything correctly.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Regards,

Review: We hired AA Richards to convert our oil furnace to gas. They were to put in gas lines cap the oil and do all conversions service and parts. We scheduled the work under the impression that it would take 2 guys 1 day to finish. I guy showed up 4 hours late and didn't finish the work. The next day we learned that he never capped the oil line and we had oil leaking in the house. When they returned to finish the work over a month later a new crew come and informed us that all the work that was previously done had to be redone. We were also informed that they were expecting final payment. We told them that we would not pay until we got the final approved inspection. The crew called their boss and were told that if we didn't pay everything excepted $150 that they were to walk out with job unfinished. I had no choose but to pay. they finished the work that night. However, the final inspection never got done. We told them that we paid for the permits but that it was under their name so we could not schedule the final inspection. They still didn't. They threaten us with sending us to collections. Finally we went to city hall to see what they could do for us. they informed us that we couldn't do anything that AA Richards needed to do it. We called them and tried to explain to them but that was unsuccessful. I called the office again frustrated and was hung up on. I called back and asked to talk to a manager. He couldn't understand why I couldn't schedule the inspection. I explained that I paid for them but it was pulled under their company name. He final said that he would call the city and see if I was correct. How is it that a company this big doesn't know how permits work. We have started this work several months ago and we still haven't had the final inspection. We were told it would be a one day job. The service was horrible and we had to take days off of work in order to be there for them even if they were several hours late. I have never been so unhappy with a company.Desired Settlement: I would like them to only charge us for the parts that they installed. The service was horrible. I don't want to be charged for the cost of installation and service. I also want they to finish the job and come back to fix any thing that doesn't pass inspection. I also want them to call and schedule the inspection as we can't.

Business

Response:

Please see attached PDF file 3.5 page letter and proposal, thank you. Text only below:

April 24, 2014

Re: [redacted]

267 Center Street

Complaint # [redacted]

We understand as a homeowner, your perspective

of the permit process can be a bit confusing. We believe you a misunderstanding

what took place. We will explain what happened with AA Richards, [redacted]

[redacted] and [redacted]

Our service

manager [redacted] met with [redacted] on August 05, 2013 for an estimate to

convert the boiler from oil to gas at 2[redacted]. He

was giving three options: [redacted] gas boiler, [redacted] gas boiler, or [redacted] conversion

kit (all options needed gas piping with install.) [redacted] went over with [redacted]

[redacted] that the longest process with any of these options would be the permit

process.

On

October 22, 2013 [redacted] signed the proposal and gave a deposit of 50%

for the [redacted] conversion kit to save money. We filed for permits the same

day. As per the signed proposal, “All permit cost are clients responsibility,”

therefore when the permits were ready to be to pick it up we requested the

homeowner go to the township and purchase said permits. Also, [redacted] was

told to schedule with our office to start the gas line piping, which was

scheduled November 11, 2013.

After

the gas piping was completed, as per township requirements the gas line piping

was be tested (to assure the air test could hold 15 lbs. of pressure.) We

informed [redacted] to schedule the Township of [redacted] to make an

appointment to do so and schedule us back to complete the job. After the

appointment with the township we came out November 21, 2013 to sweep the

chimney, clean inside existing boiler, install conversion kit, and connect gas

to burner.

As

the installer was completing the above listed items, he found that the

materials provided to him were the wrong sizes. We apologize for the

inconvenience, as we did five months ago when this occurred. Unfortunately, in

this industry we rely on not only the office staff, technicians, and Township

staff but also our suppliers. In this case our suppliers made a mistake of give

us the wrong sizing for the materials to complete the job. The gas unit

produced heat though, and [redacted] no longer stressed the issue of running

out of oil. We requested on the invoice to call to schedule remaining work.

We

went back and forth trying to schedule a date that someone could be there.

Finally, [redacted] from our accounts receivable called [redacted] because of

the remaining 50% balance. [redacted] and [redacted] discussed that the work

was not completed and the boiler was producing heat but needed a few things

done according to the invoice which recommended the customer to schedule work,

to complete the installation. [redacted] had made many follow-up phone calls to

make an appointment.

After several

phone calls, [redacted] and [redacted] agreed to an appointment on February 10,

2014 to complete the job and collect the remaining balance. We sent two installers back to complete the

job, then we were told that you did not wish to pay for the work completed

until finally inspections. According to the contract that [redacted] signed

the payment of $1,550 upon completion was owed and had the right to hold 10% of

that balance which was $150.

I

understand that this was stressful starting a conversion two months into the

winter season. Please be advised when [redacted] was speaking with [redacted] in

August he told him that the oil in the tank would not last long. We did all we

could do to speed this process along. We never heard complaints about an oil

leak but I know there were several complaints regarding the length of time it

took for the permits and inspections. We waited patiently for your availability

to complete the job and collect the remaining balance which took 12 weeks for

you to confirm an appointment.

After

10 weeks since the job has been completed we called to inform you that

inspections needed to be completed and that you had an open balance of $150. It

is understandable that you were frustrated with the process of the installs

timely manner and yelled at our office staff. Our company filed permits under

[redacted] as owner in fee. It is our policy to have the homeowner schedule

for final inspections because we do not know how their work schedule will be

according to time frame the township provides.

On April 22, 2014

at around 9 A.M, after speaking with our service manager [redacted] you advised him

that we can call for inspections at any time and you would have someone there.

We called the township and they require a permit number to schedule for

inspections. You purchased the permit and are in procession of the permit

number. At around 10 A.M you were left a message, letting you know that the

township does allow the

homeowner to schedule inspections or the contractor. You were given the option

to either call us back and give us the permit number or schedule the

inspections yourself.

We

never received a call back with the permit number or a confirmation that the

inspections were schedule. Instead, 4 hours later this complaint was filed.

Please note, if these final inspections are not complete the township can issue

fines to both the homeowner and contractor.

I apologize for the length the township took to process the permits and

come out for gas line test. Also, we apologize for the frustration of

rescheduling due to the wrong sizing materials to finish up the job. We have

already given [redacted] our lowest price and the option to just install the

conversion kit inside of switching out the entire boiler to help his budget. Of

course, if there is any failed inspection items AA Richards Heating and Cooling

is responsible for that permit to close (all inspections are approved.)

Therefore

please provide us with the permit number and be ready for the next available

inspection date and time frame. Unless if you would like to call the township

and schedule when you know [redacted] will be available to meet the

inspectors. You can call [redacted]. Let us know which you proffer, thank

you.

Consumer

Response:

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

I can understand that the supplier gave you the wrong supplies but what I can't understand is why a experienced installer would put the wrong parts in knowing that they are not the correct parts. When dealing with gas and oil it becomes a safety issue. I thank god that nothing bad happened before the next set of installers came in noticed the issue and redid the work. They were not aware that the work was done incorrectly when they came to finish the work. Also, we were told that all the work would be done in one day. This was dragged out because the AA Richards didn't complete the job the first time they came. [redacted] was hospitalized as was I during this time between the two installations so scheduling was an issue. We were pleased not to have to worry about about the oil however the first installer never capped the lines and because of that we had oil leak into the house causing a larger problem. You are correct in that you weren't noticed as we did call the oil company instead and they capped the lines for us. Also, you called us threatening collections on us for $150 dollars before the finial inspection was complete. We assumed that you were to scheule final inspection we were never told that we need to. However after the threat with collections we did go to the city and they told us that you were suppose to schedule the final inspection and that we needed to call you. We did pay for the permits but it was filed with your company. To resolve the issue we went down to city hall a second time and explained to them the situation and they we able to scheduled a final inspection. We have had one problem after another with AA Richards. The office staff was rude and unhelpful on several occasions and the service was incomplete and poorly done the first time and I still am not sure if the job will pass inspection.

Regards,

I want to thank the owners and staff at AA Richards. My mom lives in Toms River and is 92 years old. I live live 3 hours away in PA. Last week her AC wasn't operating at all when it was over 90 degrees outside and over 80 in the house.I called AA Richards and was told that they were booked due to the heat. I explained my moms condition & was totally pleased to hear they would arrange someone to go to her house that evening. A fine gentleman named [redacted] arrived at my moms house, looked at the outdoor unit and determined it could be the compressor but the unit was too hot to safely touch. He returned in the morning & found it to be something simple and restarted the unit. I since went to change her thermostat since that was her major issue. It was an older style that did not have a delay so when my mom would try to set the dial up and down it over heated the unit. BOTTOM LINE IS AA RICHARDS, THE ADMIN OFFICE STAFF AND LEE ARE GREAT !!!! I would recommend them in a heart beat! [redacted]

Review: I had my heating and cooling system replaced on Mar 2013 and by Dec 2015 I had problem with the heating I called them they arrived I showed them the receipt and the man told me they did not install this unit and it was JCP&L , I advised him( Chris) that I had never had any dealing with JCP&L .. This man was aware he was here couple years ago with fire dep. due to complain by down stair unit and had to change the vents.. When to my they convinced me that I should change my furnace and they did with replacing the vents which came $1400... Well I insisted it was not them and charge me $ 220 for replacing the sensor

They should not be in business since they are extremely dishonest and cheat

I would not recommend then to anyone at all and the citizen of the towns around here and the state should what kind of CROOKS they are dealing withDesired Settlement: I personally do not wish to deal with them anymore. But I am hoping every one in the neighborhood would aware of how dishonest this people are... Now there is any resolution regarding reimbursement , I would accept it by check through mail, I do not want to deal with them as a matter of fact I was going to hire an attorney to deal with them but I thought complaint through Revdex.com I can be some service to the citizen... Thank you

Business

Response:

[redacted], the AA Richards team apologizes for the confusion that you may have.You appear to be under the impression that our company has installed/ replaced the furnace in March 2013. However, this statement is untrue according to our records, we have no record of our company installing a furnace at your location. In 2013 the furnace had a clogged chimney which, the fire department was notified resulting in the notification of New Jersey Natural Gas. This chain of events resulted in your gas meter to be shut off. Our company ran all new flu type B vent from your furnace through your room. The cost of that job was $1,400.00. This was the only job that A.A Richards has completed at [redacted] On December 20,2015 you called our office for a no heat repair request. Upon arrival the tech found the unit needed a new flame sensor, a sign of lack of maintenance. According to our records the last time it was serviced was March 2013. To avoid problems like this, you must have your unit service every year. We offer annual maintenance agreements to prevent these problems (like changing the oil in your car.) The service/diagnostic charge and flame sensor required to get the heat back in working order came to $220.

Horrible

POOR CUSTOMER SERVICE, INEXPERIENCED SERVICE TECHNICIAN