Bell Energy Management Corporation

In response to ID#***
*** *** has multiple properties with no preventative maintenance agreement. On 1/**/2014, *** *** contacted Bell Heating & Air Conditioning for a boiler issue at the ** *** *** *** ** ***
On
February *** Bell was contacted again by *** *** for a no heat call at *** *** ** *** *** **. Technician diagnosed the issue and determined the aqua stat relay needed to be replaced the repair cost $plus tax
*** *** was billed for a diagnostic fee on both calls as he does not have a preventative maintenance agreement with usBell Heating & Air Conditioning policy is any service call dispatched without a maintenance agreement there is a diagnostic fee of $plus taxParts and repairs if needed is an additional chargeCustomers are advised of this fee at the time scheduling
*** *** was offered a maintenance agreement of approximately $This was offered as it includes, one seasonal preventative maintenance, provides discounts on parts and repair and helps eliminate future diagnostic feesHe declined the offer
We have spoken to *** *** and per good customer service both diagnostic fees have been waived
Bell Heating & Air conditionings hopes to maintain and continue to provide good quality customer service.
Thank You
*** *** * *** ***
*** *** *
*** ** ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter has been resolved
Sincerely,
*** ***

Review: I purchased a new heating and air conditioning units from this vendor for $7,315 last Thursday. I paid it in full. Bell Heating promised to install the new units yesterday. However, when they finished installing the expensive new units, I brought to their attention that I have Propane Gas not Natural Gas. Then Bell Heating told me that they ordered a propane gas converter but it won't be delivered until "sometime" today. I called them again today and no one is returning my calls. I have a nine year old child who has Asthma and had to sleep in a sleeping bag because we have NO HEAT due to Bell's incompetence in handling and installing my order. I spoke to "[redacted]" the service manager at Bell..he said he rushed my order in because I had no heat. That is false as I did have heat with my old furnace. Now I'm out $7,315 and I have NO HEAT!Desired Settlement: I would like to have what they promised and what I paid for installed TODAY! It is going to be in the 30's tonight.

Consumer

Response:

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

Sincerely,

Review: I purchased a new central air system from Bell on 5/**/10 for $5,400 installed. My new air handler was twice the size of the original from the 1970's. Approximately mid July the renters below me had their system replaced by Bell. Their new air handler (between their deck railing and my unit) did not leave the required room (per the manual I received from Bell - no less than two feet) but was wedged in anyway leaving approximately an inch! Had to come back three times to get their new unit working. A few days later, my central air shut down. I have three senior dogs (10, 15, and 17) and I have asthma. I'm the top floor unit under the roof in a heat wave. Called Bell on 7/** who stated they were only servicing customers that purchased a Service Contract. Drove to Bell with oldest dog (for air) to plead in person - [redacted] at Bell called Police on me who told me to find another company - which I did. They came out 7/** - need new blower motor. Manufacturer confirmed part is under warranty, however, new company does not deal with the Distribution Center. Called Bell to ask them to just get the part for me, [redacted] said no and hung up on me! Called Bell every day asking to speak to [redacted] who never called me back. Not sure if [redacted] is even giving him my messages - why would he not return my calls? New company said I will have to pay for the part, $630 and then somehow get reimbursed which will take 3 days for them to receive. Bell is the only party that can request the part but refuses to provide service so what do I do. Five days have now passed. Also, when they squeezed in the neighbors air handler, they moved mine over but not the base! How does one refuse to speak to a customer that has given them $5,400!Desired Settlement: Get the blower motor so the new company can install it and I can have air conditioning. I cannot live here and am unable to find a place that excepts three dogs. Air handlers will have to be separated to provide the required space between them or this will just happen again WHEN I get my new blower motor.

Business

Response:

1/**/2004 - we installed a new Carrier condensing unit for $2,200.00

5/**/2010 -we installed a new Tempstar air handler for $3,200.00

[redacted] called us for service on 7/**/13, we advised her that we would place her call on a wait list and as soon as we

could get there we would give her a call. We prioritize our contract customers first. She was argumentative on the phone and

suggested she would be coming to our office with her ill dog until her NC was fixed. We told her she could not do that and if

she did we would call the police. She arrived at our office soon after that. She was abrupt and extremely confrontational to the

office staff causing us to feel threatened by her behavior. She sat on the floor of our office with her dog on her lap refusing to

leave until we sent a technician to her house. We called the police and they had to escort her and the dog out of the building.

She was advised to call another service company.

The service company she called has determined the condenser fan motor is bad and needs to be replaced. Any reputable service

company can obtain Carrier replacement parts. Although the parts are no longer covered under the 5 year warranty (condensing

unit installed in 2004) we have ordered a replacement fan motor, blade and capacitor. As soon as the parts get here, we are going

to get them to the service company that will do the work for her.

Regarding the space the between the two condensing units, it appears as though the condensing units have been moved/pushed

together since we were last there.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint

ID# [redacted]

, and have determined that

my complaint has NOT been resolved because: Bell: 1/**/04 - We installed a new Carrier condensing unit for $2,200.

It was actually

1/**/04

. To avoid confusion, I will refer to it as the

Outside Fan Blower

.

Bell states: 5/**/10 - We installed a new Tempstar air handler for $3,200

. May, 2010, my central air shut down. I called Bell who diagnosed on 5/**/10 that I needed a new air handler which I will refer to as my

Inside Air Handler

. It was installed on 6/*/10, not 5/**/10 as [redacted] stated, for $3,200. Apparently HVHC equipment had changed to comply with new government regulations required to meet energy efficiency standards since I had purchased my Outside

Carrier

Fan Blower, [redacted] should be able to explain this better, and was not compatible with the newly installed Inside Air Handler: Service calls to my home on 6/**/10, again on 6/**/10, 6/**/10, 7/*/10, again on 7/*/10, there were so many service calls they stopped filling out/providing me copies. Each time they came out, I tipped them $20, then $10 due to the amount of service calls. My mother was in the hospital with a fatal disease requiring around the clock care by my sister, myself, an aid we hired from midnight to 6 a.m. Every time Bell had to come out, I was unable to go to the hospital and my sister was there from 7 a.m. till midnight. My mother died 4 weeks later on 8/**/10. Finally - Bell replaced both the Outside Carrier Fan Blower with a Tempstar Fan Blower, and removed the newly installed Inside Air Handler with a ICP Tempstar unit which worked with no problems until recently on 7/**/13.

Bell states: Condenser fan motor is bad and needs to be replaced. Any reputable service company can obtain Carrier replacement parts

. My Outside Fan Blower is Tempstar not Carrier. The part that needed replacing was a defective Blower Motor and Control Module for the Inside Air Handler not a "bad condenser fan motor" for the "condensing unit" (Outside Fan Blower).

Bell states: Although the parts are no longer covered under the 5 year warranty (condensing unit installed in 2004) we have ordered a replacement fan motor, blade and capacitor

. At no cost to me? This is moot point because again, my Tempstar Outside Fan Blower was installed in 2010 and

IS

under warranty - until 2015. Nor is it broken, yet, although I can't imagine the placement of my neighbors unit an inch away from mine is not damaging to

both

units.

"As soon as the parts get here, we are going to give them to the service company that will do the work for her."

The correct parts for the correct unit were installed yesterday. Although they

were

under warranty, I had to write out a check for $1,228.38 because [redacted] would not accept my calls, return numerous messages I left, banned me from his property, or would order the correct parts that were confirmed under warranty by ICP Tempstar to give to the new company I was told to hire by his employee - [redacted]. When I patched [redacted] into a three way phone call with ICP Tempstar she said "I'm not doing this and we don't sell parts to other companies to install" and hung up on us! I'm assuming her last name must be Bell. It is the only reason I can imagine the owner of their company would leave such an unprofessional, rude, vindictive, employee in charge of their business during a heat wave while they were on vacation.

[redacted] states that [redacted] felt threatened by me

. Then why was she smirking at me which only escalated the hostility. When I called her on this in front of the TWO Mahopac police officers, she lied and denied it. Just for the record, [redacted] is 17 year old dog who was diagnosed with lymphoma a year ago. On July **, I went to pick her up at the Putnam Humane Society to drive her around in my air conditioned car as I do every day to give her a break from the heat. Walking to my car she collapsed. I rushed her to vet - she had a 104.6 temperature from heat exhaustion. When we left the vet, I brought her to my house so she could live out her last days in 24/7 air conditioned comfort. It was a huge effort as I have 2 rescue dogs, 10 and 15. My 15 year old is dog aggressive so [redacted] needed to be kept in my bedroom and my dogs needed to be locked up when I had to take her out to go to the bathroom. I live in a one bedroom, very small condo so this was quite the effort. Worse yet, having never lived in a house, [redacted] will not walk up or down stairs and needs to be carried - she's 65 lbs! She lived with me for 5 days - each day getting easier as we fell into a routine - then MY air conditioning died. I had to bring her back to the shelter immediately which broke my heart. I brought her to Bell thinking once they saw her panting excessively, they might do us a favor so she could stay at my house and not have to go back to the shelter (it took 1 hour to install and restore my air conditioning yesterday - 1 hour). For the record, I was

not

told on the phone prior to my arrival that Bell would call the police -

I

suggested it when upstairs never thinking she would actually call the police on a customer. Moreover, [redacted] had told me when I was sitting on the floor with [redacted] that a worker was finishing up a job in Brewster and would swing by my house. I was already getting up to leave when I turned toward the stairs and saw the two officers standing there. I turned around to [redacted] and said "you have

got

to be kidding". They did NOT escort me out. I was in the Bell office for a total of maybe 10 minutes. Flo, who seemed sympathetic, can verify all of this. My other reason for driving to Bell was to show them the pic I had taken on my cellphone of the Outside Air Handlers which are an inch apart. I was outside showing one of the officers the pic on my cellphone when the second office came out and told me "no one is coming today or ever. You need to find someone else and get off the property." I now realize [redacted] told me that to get me to leave - I had actually believed her. I called [redacted] back twice that day to apologize profusely - over and over. I've been taking "special" care of [redacted] for 8 years and pleaded with [redacted] not to punish her for my bad behavior. This was difficult, but for [redacted] I swallowed what ever humility I had left. When I asked to speak with [redacted], she told me he was on vacation and would be returning tomorrow. I asked her to have him call me and she said she would (as with the numerous other messages I left.) After days of no return phone call from [redacted], I wondered if she was even

giving

him the messages. I couldn't imagine why he wasn't calling me. There was a warranty involved which required his response. Now I wonder if [redacted] was even away on vacation.

Bell states: Regarding the space between the two condensing units, it appears as though they have been moved/pushed together since we were last there.

Exactly who is [redacted] implying moved/pushed them together? Me? The renters who live there - [redacted] who is 82 or her husband ** who is even older and is very unsteady on his feet. Perhaps he pushed it with his cane that he needs to walk. "I" carry in their groceries for them and clean off their car in the winter! When I was notified that the new part arrived and would be installed the following day, I had requested the Outside Air Handlers be moved the required "no less than two feet apart" which is stated in the manual, before they installed the new motor in the Inside Air Handler. I explained that I didn't want this issue to effect the new part. However, when only one service technician arrived, I went outside to meet him and asked how he was going to move that huge unit by himself. He told me it was a two-

MAN

job - and they didn't have two available, but wanted to at least get my air fixed. The last time a Bell worker came out, once again, to fix the newly installed central air conditioning/heating system that kept breaking, I went outside and stated that these two units were too close together and couldn't possibly be good. He kind of mumbled that he didn't know and I could tell he was uncomfortable so I just went back inside. I would have to call Bell - it wasn't fair to put him on the spot. I believe it was four days later that MY air died. This Bell employee was in his 20's, good looking. How

dare

[redacted] imply that someone other than one of his employees moved/pushed them together. That doesn't even make sense. If I was able to move this huge unit, I would have moved it AWAY, NOT CLOSER!!!!! I need to be reimbursed for the money I had to pay the new service provider for parts that were under warranty: $1,228.38. The Outside Air Blowers need to be separated no less than two feet apart. Replace my flat plastic base with the proper "egg crate" base (like the other unit is on).

Review: I had Bell Heating in Mahopac, NY send a plumber on two occasions recently to service my boiler problems.

The first time, on January **, 2014, Bell sent "[redacted]" and I paid the plumber's bill in full when he was done, for $520.77. A few days later there was still no heat, so I asked Bell to send someone again, and they sent "[redacted]" who did some adjustments to the boiler and corrected the problem. [redacted] told me there was no charge for that follow-up visit.

For a different boiler problem on Feb. **, 2014 Bell sent "[redacted]" again, and he replaced a part called a Honeywell Aquastat Relay, model [redacted](which I later found out retails for only $130.00).

I paid his bill in full when he was done, for $449.90 (for under an hours' work plus the part).

After having paid more than $970.00 for about two hours' work and a couple of parts in the $130.00 range, I received a new bill from Bell's office on Feb. [redacted] for an additional $266.29 from those two jobs...for so-called "diagnostic fees". The plumbers who did the work did not charge these fees on their invoices. I talked with "Flo" in Bell's office about this, because I had already paid for the plumbers' time, and had never received these "diagnostic fees" ever before in the last seven years. After talking with her boss, she said they would "drop the diagnostic fees of $266.29 if I would agree to a service contract that would cost more than $500.00. After having been a Bell customer for many years, this situation is very disturbing to me now.Desired Settlement: I would like the "diagnostic fees" dropped, since I promptly paid for the plumbers' time on the service dates...and Bell is expensive to begin with, compared with other plumbers. I have never before been sent an invoice for additional charges like this, after the fact, after the service dates.

Business

Response:

In response to ID#[redacted] has multiple properties with no preventative maintenance agreement. On 1/**/2014, [redacted] contacted Bell Heating & Air Conditioning for a boiler issue at the [redacted]

On February [redacted] Bell was contacted again by [redacted] for a no heat call at [redacted]. Technician diagnosed the issue and determined the aqua stat relay needed to be replaced the repair cost $419.00 plus tax.

[redacted] was billed for a diagnostic fee on both calls as he does not have a preventative maintenance agreement with us. Bell Heating & Air Conditioning policy is any service call dispatched without a maintenance agreement there is a diagnostic fee of $119.00 plus tax. Parts and repairs if needed is an additional charge. Customers are advised of this fee at the time scheduling.

[redacted] was offered a maintenance agreement of approximately $500.00. This was offered as it includes, one seasonal preventative maintenance, provides discounts on parts and repair and helps eliminate future diagnostic fees. He declined the offer

We have spoken to [redacted] and per good customer service both diagnostic fees have been waived.

Bell Heating & Air conditionings hopes to maintain and continue to provide good quality customer service.

Thank You

Consumer

Response:

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

Sincerely,