Advance Mechanical Inc

Was asked to look over entire unit. Did not even look at coils when replacing defrost board on outdoor unit, now had to pay $1000 in repairs.We bought a house in March, and had an inspection done. The inspector said the coils on the outside unit were frozen over and that possibly it was not going into defrost mode. So the homeowner had Advance Mechanical Inc come in. She asked that he look over the entire unit. He replaced the defrost board in the unit and said everything else looked fine ([redacted] order XXXXX)Had he taken 5 seconds to glance at what the defrost board was supposed to defrost, he would have seen why it wasn't working. There was an inch of mold, mildew and black clumps on the coils. Now whether he was too lazy to clean the coils that day or what, he closed the unit back up and went on his way.3 months later it's 92 degrees outside and we have no air conditioning. We call in another company to look and the first thing they look at is the coils. We ended up having to spend $1000 that we shouldn't have.[redacted] "I am very sorry for your situation and deeply apologize for any misunderstanding. However, Advance Mechanical does not feel that our technician was negligent, deceitful or portrayed any wrong doing in the repair of you're a/c unit. His paper work and our notes clearly show that he was called in order to repair a nine year old unit, that has never received maintenance from Advance Mechanical. During his call he replaced a defrost board and check electrical connections. He noted that the system was running in good condition, which it was, and did for nearly 5 months. In our notes he was never asked to clean the coils or never claimed to have cleaned the coils. In conclusion, Advance Mechanical does not feel responsible for the malfunction of your outdoor Coil. I sincerely apologies for your misfortune and strongly suggest that you always get a second opinion for major repairs and replacements for heating and cooling units. Two sets of eyes are always better than one."I feel as though your technician was negligent. He was called in by my real estate agent and asked to look at the ENTIRE unit while she waited in the car. He was asked to look over the entire unit, whether it was 9 years old or not is beyond the point. His job was to look over the entire unit, whether the paperwork says or does not say he was asked to, my real estate agent is absolutely certain he was asked to look over the entire unit. You are basing your argument on the fact that your technician did not write down that he was supposed to check over the entire unit. He came back to her and said it was the defrost board, without even checking the coils. He also said that the rest of the unit LOOKED fine, which meant that he would have had to look at the rest of the unit. I truly believe that 1 inch of black mold and mildew on the coils does not constitute "fine". The first thing you should check while checking the defrost board is the part that it defrosts. I have had 2 other companies tell me that. He was not asked to clean the coils because it was at his discretion to look over the entire unit to find problems. The coils were a problem and he did not bother to fix it. Another thing, when you hire a company to come out and look over an entire system, you shouldn't have to hire two companies to do the same, which is a waste of money and the first company should have the ability to diagnose a problem properly. We were going on good faith that you hire competent technicians to check out our entire system. You cannot simply base an argument that we should have had a second quote; that simply downplays the competence and the service that your company should be giving to the public. You also can't say the unit was running in good condition, because we have paid incredible amounts without knowing why on our electrical bill. Also we were breathing in the very mold and mildew that your negligent mechanic missed. Whenever you have a low air signal in your car, do you check the tire pressure or do you check the sensor without looking at the tire first?Desired SettlementI am looking for a refund on the services provided to us. This is because those services were not actually performed. We were charged $124.50 for 1 pound of Freon and a $135 service fee that was inadequately performed and resulted in us having to spend $1000 not 4 months later. I am not disputing paying for the $175 defrost board, however, it may not have even had to have been replaced had he properly cleaned the coils. Date of service was March 24, 2014 and the receipt number was XXXXX. The CS# was XXXXX and the total charges were $435Business Response On March 24, 2014 our office was contacted by a local realtor requesting us to "Check system, to make sure all is working properly". One of our technicians was dispatched that day. According to his work order, he "checked all electrical connections, pressures and amp draws. Found the system low on refrigerant and found the defrost board was not recycling. He charged the unit with one pound of refrigerant and replaced the defrost control board. Then he cycled the system and the unit is working properly". We performed the work exactly as requested by the realtor. The unit was not cleaned because the realtor did not request that type of work to be performed.Our only contact with the new homeowner was last week, four months after the repair was made for the realtor in March.This piece of equipment is nearly 10 years old and we did not receive any request to clean it in March nor since then, but only to make sure it was working properly, which after a few repairs it was. We were not negligent.The homeowner appears most concerned about a specific repair bill from a different company four months later, that involved the coils. Perhaps the system has never been routinely cleaned. If that is the case 10 years is a long, long time to neglect a mechanical piece of equipment with moving parts.Regular maintenance by a professionally trained technician is invaluable for keeping any mechanical equipment operating properly and efficiently. Most manufactures require proof of regular maintenance so as not to void the warranty. Going forward, we would like to extend to the new homeowner a 1 year courtesy Club Membership to help get her on the right track for keeping her heating and air conditioning system regularly cleaned and maintained. Her covered equipment will receive thorough cleanings twice a year on her heating and cooling system. As she gets more on a routine schedule for cleaning her system, she can possibly extend the life of her equipment. It is my sincere hope that she will accept our offer and can rest assured that with her Club membership, she will be on her way to a cleaner and more efficient system in the future.