Alley and Co. Heating/Air, Inc.

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me
The technician, ***, was very cordial, polite, and efficientHe replaced the defective parts without hesitation and confirmed that the A/C unit is now working to my satisfaction

We had to reschedule Mr. [redacted]'s A/C maintenance, originally scheduled on 6/24/15 during a heat wave. We got overwhelmed with customers who didn't have air conditioning at all and we give priority to them because  the high temperatures can be a hazard to certain people.I...

sent an email to Mr. [redacted] and asked him to please give us a call when he comes back from his vacation to reschedule his maintenance.We will extend his free maintenances. We apologize for the inconvenience.Sincerely,[redacted] AlleyAlley and Co. Heating/Air Inc.

We already talked to Mr. [redacted] and made an appointment for our technician to go the next day to his home to replace the motor and capacitor.  The warranty was up two months ago, but due to the very unusual circumstance where after a year the motor went bad,...

we will replace it at no cost to the customer, even though the warranty expired.  Customer is happy about resolution.[redacted]

Review: Requested A/C to be charged/refilled, tech said it was full and we needed a new system.

On Friday 6/28/2013 my mother in law scheduled an appointment for Saturday between 2-4pm. At 4:30 on Saturday she received a call letting her know no one would be coming and it was rescheduled for the next day between 10-noon. On Sunday at 3pm when it is now 115 degrees inside of the house we had still not heard from them. Mother in law called and told no appointment was ever set but they will try to come out at some point but due to how busy they were instead of being the $65.00 that she had already paid it was going to be $165.00. I called back and explained I had a 3 year old in the house and all of our fans had overheated and I would like a definite time frame on when someone was coming out. The lady explained they were very busy taking care of people who had made appointments and I had to re-explain they were supposed to be there the day before and were supposed to at least call on Sunday to let us know when the were coming out (or not). I let her know I was going to report them for bad business practices and she said she would have a tech there in 30 minutes. 30 minutes later the tech shows up and I explain to him every 6 months the system needs to be recharged because of age. He went on the roof spent some time and came down to tell us we needed a new system and there was nothing he could do. When asked if he had charged it like I asked he said he wouldn't and it wouldn't help. Gave a quote of over $2000 to fix it or to buy a new one. 7/3/13 a different A/C company came out and recharged it and our A/C is working just fine. I spoke to a Rosa today that told me we would not be refunded because the tech did look at the A/C. My issue is he was asked/told specifically what to do to fix it and refused. The services that were requested were not done and if they had been, I would have had A/C. From my understanding they did only charge my mother in law the $65 rather than the $165 which is another complaint in it's own. I do not believe you can change your prices because of the heat or how busy you are.Desired Settlement: I would like my mother in law [redacted] to be refunded any and all charges.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

I have the file for the customer, and the original service request that was written up as well as the technicians invoice. I'm not sure if the customer got mixed up from calling so many companies and thought they were scheduled with us, or if there was a mix up on this end because we were so busy, but the service request that I have says that the call came in at 12:43 pm on sunday, and that no time frame was given. we weren't giving time frames begining saturday 06/28 because of the magnitude of calls we were getting in. This was the busiest heatwave this industry has seen since 2006. When we do give time frames, our normal time frames are 9-12, 12-3, 3-6, and 6-9. They are always in three hour intervals. The service call price that was quoted over the phone says it was set up for $65. The customers reason for calling states that they think there is a freon leak. The technicians invoice has the following recommendations: outdoor coil cleaning: $274, indoor coil and blower cleaning: $995. It says if the system is showing low charge after the cleanings then the estimate is $824 to charge it with freon. If a different company came out and recommended something different I can take a look to see if we mis diagnosed something. Please provide the other company's invoice so that I can accurately make this determination.

Review: A/C unit blowing hot air. June 29, 2013. 109 deg in Roseville Ca. Alley ripped us off for a capacitor for $420.

Alley was the only company that could come out. They are rip off artists. $420 for a capacitor and $800 for 2 Lb of freon which is ludicrous.

I was told my unit needed th old freon which was more expensive. Thuni is 10 years old. Then they tryed to pressure me into buying a new A/C for $8,000. I said NO, but still got ripped off for $1335.Desired Settlement: Stop Alley and Co. from ripping off people. I was lucky that I did not fall for buying a new A/C unit. But $420 for capacitor and $400 per Lb of freon - and $165.00 service call. A capacitor cost about $40.00 - rip off charging 10X the normal price. I don't know what freon goes for $$, but we were desperate for some cold air. Inside the houe was 96 - too hot.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

I'm sorry you feel you were ripped off. I do want to point out that we were the only company willing to come out on the fourth of July, like you mentioned. We only charge emergency service fee on major holidays and late nights. The emergency fee is $165 service call fee in addition to any repairs, which are the normal fee times 1 1/2. So the rate that you were charged was more than normal, because it was service on one of four major holidays. Of course you are going to pay more. The call taker when you called in would have indicated an increased rate. As far as the capacitor being $40 online, of course we have to charge more than that to install it. You are paying for the trade, the time, the warranty, the overhead, you are paying for a trained specailist to take care of the equipment for you so you don't have to. The same goes for the freon, R22 is getting phased out and the cost is going up every 6 months. It is outrageous how much we have to pay for it. So please take comfort in knowing that my technician was away from his family on the fourth of July, so that we could make sure you and your family was comfortable, when no other companies cared enough. Please ask yourself what the value is in that, and if it isn't valuable, why did you agree to pay that amount?

Consumer's Final Response

(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

Your ad in the yellow pages says NO EXTRA charge for emergencies. I still believe the charging 10 times the price of the capacitor is a RIP OFF. Your call taker did not indicate the $165 was an emergency fee. Why did I agree to pay the amount??? What the [redacted] was I supposed to do. I am not a crook like you.

Business' Final Response

I apologize. When the complaint first came through I read it, but didn't realize the date. I am very sorry for this careless overlook. I assumed it was the fourth of July based off the complaint, because we charged emergency fees that day, of course. I forgot that on that Sunday, the 28th, and the following Monday, we charged emergency fee as well for same day service. That heatwave was very busy for us and all companyies, and to offere same day service, we had to charge more those two days to get a technician out the same day. The overhead was possibly double that Sunday and monday due to having more admin staff working to handle the magnitude of calls coming in as well as technicians, installers and installer helpers to make sure we could provide cooling same day to as many customers as possible. The overtime and double time hours were through the roof. Again, we had to charge more to be able to provide that same day service that you admitted was not available from any other company that you called. I'm sorry that you feel you were ripped off, but the way I see it is you were taken care of. Please accept this apology, and in the future, expect to pay superior prices for superior service.

Review: I had a contact with Alley and Co.Heating/Air and was paying a total of $16.95a month for maintenance and repair costs but one time my air condition broke down and I called this company to fix my air condition but after I was charged a total of $442.00 and $69.95 together, my air my air condition broke down again in a period of about two months and I had to call them over and they still charged me $85.00 even though I had a business contract with this company and this company was supposed to cover the expenses associated with the repair of the air condition.After this the air condition broke down again in about 3 months againand when I called this company and their technician came over again,this company wanted to charge me a total of $1430.00 for the repairand I flatly refused their charge and even though I had a businesscontract with them they not only did not fix my air condition, butthey also charged me a total of $69.95 which I believe is completelyunjustified and I am not happy with the service through this company.Desired Settlement: No refund is requested or needed with the Alley and Co.Heating/Air

Business

Response:

Mr. [redacted] signed up for our club membership where he made two monthly payments of $16.95 at that time. The yearly membership includes a free Fall and free Spring maintenance, extra discounts and other benefits but this does not include free repairs. The diagnostic calls are waived if we do the repair.

Review: Service tech. came out to do routine tune up and caused all of my Freon to leak out. Tony Alley quoted me $2169 to replace the damaged Shrader valve.

On 5/3/13 I called Alley and Co. Heating/Air to do a routine tune-up on my Air Conditioning unit because they were advertising a special and I had not tuned my unit in over 2 years. The job invoice #XXXXX shows [redacted] as the tech. The unit is a 3.5 Ton York. Model #HIDADXXXXXA. Serial #MGYMXXXXXX. During the maintenance [redacted] said that he didn't want to put his testing equipment back on the shrader valve because when he took it off the first time it was leaking. He then told me that he tightened the valve as far as he could. He did not offer me a price to replace the valve or let me know that very soon all my Freon would leak out. On 6/29/13 I found the invoice from Alley and Co. and called them. I explained my situation and the phone was given to [redacted] who would not correct the problem. I told him my system was running great before the tech came to do the tune up and that this was only preventive maintenance. He told me that he did not believe that his tech had caused the valve to leak at which time I reminded him that no one had touched the system in over 2 years which meant his tech had to have caused the leak. He restated that they had not caused the leak and quoted me $2169 to fix the leaking Shrader valve. Then he said he would take $600-$800 off that price for the cost of the Freon that leaked out showing me an admission of guilt. Because why else would he take $600-$800 off the bill? I told him that his tech must have caused the leak because now all the Freon has leaked out 6/29/13 only 1.5 months after the tech was here and that I don't believe the valve was leaking before the tech came to my house. I also let [redacted] know I would be making a complaint and that did not seem to bother him a bit.Desired Settlement: I told Tony I mearly wanted my system refilled and the valve fixed which would get my system back to exactly where it was before I paid Alley and Co. to come to my house. He would not take on that responsibility. He quoted me $2169 to fix the leak minus $600-$800 as he would not charge for the Freon. In effect, charging me $1400-$1600 to fix the problem his tech created.

4

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

The technician did not break the valve. He opened it to put his hoses on and that's it. The valve is made to do this. This has never came up before. I will check more into the matter and get back to you as soon is I get more data.

I run a restaurant, and on a Saturday our busiest day of the week when 98° outside, our air conditioning unit began to blow hot air. It was Labor Day weekend, and none of our calls for service were returned. We were finally able to reach Alley and Co. who agreed to come out as quickly as possible. I fully expected to pay the extra charge for a Saturday service call, but I was very pleasantly surprised to see that they advertised no additional charge for weekends and holidays. They quoted me a $140 service call, which could be absorbency into the cost of any repairs that we might need.

I was at a Pop Warner football game with my son so I sent my elderly father over to my business to assist in the service call. The repair man quickly determined that the AC unit needed a new fan motor, which we were devastated to hear would cost $1100. It would be an additional $850 to clean the coils in the unit. We are a small family business, and due to the high cost of running a business in California can barely afford such a cost for a repair. I approved the replacement of the fan motor for $1100, but said we could not afford the coil cleaning and it would have to be done at another time. The service man commented on how old my unit was (it is approx 10 yrs) and stated that he would like to get his sales rep out to visit with me to replace the unit. HA!! If I can't afford to clean the coils, how does he expect me to pay for a new air conditioner?

Shortly after the visit, I found that the coil cleaning can be done with a foam purchased at Home Depot for $5.49!!!! $850 for a cleaning? We looked up the price of a new motor, and found the cost to be $150 if purchased online. We were charged $1100!!! He was there for less than an hour to complete this repair. This is absolute highway robbery. Do they charge $950 per hour for labor? We were given a receipt without the labor and materials cost broken down.

We were scoffed at by the management when we called to try to speak with someone about the exorbitant charge to our business. This company are scam artists, and I would not use them again if it was the last air conditioning company on earth. Their sole intent in business is to rape their customers and leave them crying. I will be filing a complaint with the Revdex.com as soon as I am done with this one. I wish I could have given them negative stars for my review.

Do you think they were taking advantage of an elderly man? Or possibly they were taking advantage of an absent owner? Either way, they quite obviously are intentionally dishonest and operating a company with no ethics or morals.

Review: Alley and Co. Heating/Air charged me $3000 for Air Conditioner repairs July 2014. Everything they replaced needs to be replaced again in Sept. 2015. I was quoted the repairs they did last year can now be redone for only a charge of $1250. The technician offered to lower the price to $1000 but advised there would be no warrantee on the parts or service. Why am I expected to pay such an exorbitant amount. The item they replaced last year was 10 years old but their replacement lasted barely 1 year. For $3000 I would expect the parts to last more than 1 year or be replaced with little more than an apology. What happened to "Professional Ethics and Quality Service." You won't find either with Alley and Co. Heating/Air.Desired Settlement: I would expect the parts to last more than 1 year or be replaced with little more than an apology. I expect the parts to be replaced with little or no charge.

Business

Response:

We already talked to Mr. [redacted] and made an appointment for our technician to go the next day to his home to replace the motor and capacitor. The warranty was up two months ago, but due to the very unusual circumstance where after a year the motor went bad, we will replace it at no cost to the customer, even though the warranty expired. Customer is happy about resolution.[redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to my concern, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

The technician, [redacted], was very cordial, polite, and efficient. He replaced the defective parts without hesitation and confirmed that the A/C unit is now working to my satisfaction.

do not call these comp for repair of your HVAC repair.Their repair person will come in ,will give you estimate which would be so unreasonable that most probably you will pay them $85 in diagnostic fee(which will be 15 min tops) It is easy money for them. If you decide to go with them they win as you would be paying them twice or three times then any other HVAC repair company.

Review: We purchased a new heating/AC unit from Alley and Com. Heating and air. As part of the purchase we were to get 2 visit for annual service (1 Fall - heating /1 Spring - A/C). They contacted us about the spring service in the past but due to commitments and work around the house, we were not able to schedule until June. We finally scheduled for Wed June 24 (9-12 noon arrival time) about 2 weeks prior to the appointment after they had called us a few times to set up appointment. Prior to appointment date I cleared up access and the side of the house for easy access. They called on the 24th during the specified timeframe and said they could not make it as they were too busy and wanted to reschedule for later. As we are going on vacation in about a week we can not get our service completed until mid July (at the earliest). The summer season will be half over by that time and since no A/C service has been completed since installed (June 2013) (we were never contacted in 2014) the unit needs to be checked soon (per their phone calls which we received on a regular basis for the past couple of months). They were also requesting us to sign up for next years service plan when making the original appointment in which they did not keep the agreed upon timeframe.Desired Settlement: Need to get the service completed.

Business

Response:

We had to reschedule Mr. [redacted]'s A/C maintenance, originally scheduled on 6/24/15 during a heat wave. We got overwhelmed with customers who didn't have air conditioning at all and we give priority to them because the high temperatures can be a hazard to certain people.I sent an email to Mr. [redacted] and asked him to please give us a call when he comes back from his vacation to reschedule his maintenance.We will extend his free maintenances. We apologize for the inconvenience.Sincerely,[redacted] AlleyAlley and Co. Heating/Air Inc.

I would advise you to find another company for your Heat & Air Service or repair.

Go to the State Contractors Board website and check them out.

I neglected to check them out. I was charged 4 times the going rate.

Review: [redacted] & Co Heating and Air installed a furnace in my home on 6-16-12. At the time of installation I could not locate my warranty plan information. On 6-5-12 [redacted] Technician from Alley Co recommend replacement of condenser he repaired temporary. On 6-16-12, two salesman [redacted] and [redacted] they recommend the furnace was totally bad and I needed a new one. I had the work done with them $8500.

I have since located my warranty company information and have provided it to Alley and company so I can get help from warranty company but they can't get the information they need from Alley and company.

The information my warranty company Old Republic Home Protections Company need is a report of the old unit. Old Republic Home per [redacted] that they (Alley & Co) don't have any type of report of old unit and technicians don't remember what was wrong with old unit one removed from my home.

Note: I have called Alley Co & heating on numerous dates trying to get the information my warranty Co need old Republic Home Protection Co.Desired Settlement: To try and get Alley & Co heating Air to comply and give the information my warranty Co is requesting or reimburse the $8500. I was charged I feel I was deceived and false advertisement.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

I have sent over a copy of a letter to the old republic warranty company, describing what was found with the old unit on 6/16/13. I have also attached a copy of it to this response, and notified the customer this morning of the letter, just waiting for a response from her of how she would like me to send it. I hope this matter will be resolved after this, and I apologize that it was a struggle to get to this point. This should have been taken care of sooner, the dispatcher [redacted] obviously didn't know how to handle the matter. I want to simply mention that the one of the dates in the initial complaint from Mrs. [redacted] was off, [redacted] is our warranty technician and was out at Mrs. [redacted]'s home on 06/05/13. The problem he ended up finding was with her condensing unit outside, which is not a piece of equipment that we replaced.

Consumer's Final Response

I received a letter from Alley & Co. regarding this claim I have filed. The date of service was June 2012, when the work was done, not June 16, 2013.

I feel the company over charged me for the work that was done and I informed Mr. [redacted] and Mr. [redacted] that I might could use another credit card to come up with the total of $10,524.00. I was told I had to use Wells Fargo Bank for the total financing.

I feel Alley & Co. should reimburse me for part of this work and furnace that was installed. I told the two technicians I wanted to get another estimate, they assured me I was getting a good deal and they would check my outside unit for service.

I feel I have been "ripped off" and "deceived" by Alley & Co. So please let me know what I can do for help.

Business' Final Response

I'm sorry but I don't exactly understand. The original complaint was just to cordinate with the home warranty company so that the customer could get reimbursed by them for the work done. I have complied. I gathered the information required, I spoke on the phone with both [redacted] and the home warranty companies representative. [redacted] had told me that she was satisfied, and I told her that I would mail out what I was sending to the home warranty company. The Lady from the home warranty company had a long conversation with me and she agreed to refund the customer. My guess is that they did not refund the customer the total amount, so now the customer is coming after us for the remainder. I have not had a price complaint from this customer up until now. The system was installed June of 2012, the begining of last summer. In addition, we installed a start assist for the customer on her compressor, at no cost. We also returned to her home the following month and offered to install the condenser at a lower cost, we were going to take a small cash amount and then accept monthly payment from her. This is something that the company does not normally do, inhouse finance. So we have tried to work with the customer. I feel like her new request is unreasonable.

Review: On April 27 2013, I could not get our air conditioner to come on. April 28, 2013, I called the number affixed to the unit, Alley & Co. They come out that afternoon. He started with the thermostat and then the unit outside. He said there was no gas (Freon) and I had 2 options (see ref 1 and 2) replace the entire system or A/C only. I asked if their might be a leak that could be repaired. He stated there was 392 possible places and the could only check 8 of them (see back of ref 1). I paid $65 and decided to get a second opinion, hoping to find it cheaper. 4-29-13 Eds Refrigeration (see ref 3) came out and found the thermostat bad. He checked the gas (freon) and it was filled to capacity (no gas required). I attempted to call Alley 2 times (April 29-13 and May 1-13). Both times I talked to a receptionist and asked for the owner or supervisor to return my call. To date I have received no response.Desired Settlement: A return of the $65 and a matter of record with Revdex.com.

Business

Response:

Business' Initial Response

I am very sorry that you called in and received no response. This Revdex.com notice is the first I have heard your name. I have checked with both the morning and evening dispatchers to correct the matter, so that doesn't happen again. Had I known about this complaint sooner, I would have responded directly. I pulled my technicians invoice from his visit on April 28th. Unfortunately He didn't write down his numbers, the readings he took off the equipment, so I have no way of seeing how he determined low charge. As company policy I will need a copy of the other companies invoice, with his numbers showing that the freon levels were good. As long as that checks out, I will certainly refund the $65. I apologize for the poor experience you had, and will certainly make right any wrong doing and mis diagnosis on this end if that was the case.

Consumer's Final Response

the freon readings are a mute point since neither company showed the freon levels. the fact remains the second company (ed's refrigeration and heating) showed no charge for freon and repaired the problem by changing the thermostat. I submitted copies of both invoices. thanks, dale rogers

Business' Final Response

I am sorry for the experience you had and we have sent out a refund check of the $65 service fee.