Blue Mountain Plumbing, Heating & Cooling

I recently bought a home in Staunton and needed to have various plumbing issues addressed. Blue Mountain proved to be a wonderful choice to handle all of my needs. They expertly installed a water softener and UV light system to treat my well water, repaired a leaky sink and handled assessing a yard hydrant. The technician was professional and courteous, taking the time to patiently answer all of my questions and explain all available options and various price points. I was pleased with the expediency in which they both evaluated my needs to provide a very accurate estimate and were able to schedule and complete the work. I would definitely recommend Blue Mountain.

Blue Mountain Plumbing, Heating & Cooling responded very promptly by phone in response to our email reporting that our air conditioning system had broken down after a heat wave. Their technician called back on a Sunday and walked me through a series of questions to help identify the problem and estimate the amount of time required to fix it. We had a serious problem that required a day and a half to fix. Although the company had 30 other customers with air conditioning problems, two tecnicians came to our house the next day. They were very well prepared, knowledgeable, professional, and polite. They explained our options and the procedure for fixing our system. They cleaned up afterwards. They were a pleasure to do business with.

Absolutely the best around. We have used Blue Mountain Plumbing, Heating and Cooling for over 10 years, and two different residences. Their customer service sets the standard for others to follow. The technicians are hands down the best around. Highly skilled technically (skilled to a theoretical **AND** operational engineering level).

Every member of the company is inviting, engaging and easy to talk with, answering all questions. From the owner to the deck plate service technician and assistants, everyone works to ensure that the job(s) are done correctly the first time and the customer has received a quality product and service.

Having been a customer for over ten years, we have seen the same technician with the company through the years. That shows a stable work force and therefore the company treats their employees well.

On two separate occasions, their technicians delivered such a high level of service that my wife and I wrote two individualized letters of commendation to the owner of the company regarding two of his technicians, then we wrote each of the technicians a personal thank you letter.

True professionals in every sense of the word who take pride in their work.

Without reservation or qualification we highly recommend Blue Mountain Plumbing, Heating and Cooling.

One a scale of 1-to-10, this company is a 12.

We called Blue Mountain a couple weeks ago when our AC went out during the hottest part of summer. Not only did they fit us in on a Friday evening within a few hours of calling, they stayed until about 7 pm discussing why our unit wasn't working and our repair and replacement options. They scheduled us for the following Wednesday for installation of our replacement unit. During installation, the techs were courteous and professional. They were very thorough and made sure everything was working correctly at the end of the job. Will be recommending Blue Mountain to others and definitely be calling them for any future issues!

Review: I called Blue Mountain Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling on or around July 17, 2013 and asked that they send out a service tech to look at my (outside A/C unit.) On July 18, 2013 two gentlemen from Blue Mountain Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling arrived at my residence to look at my A/C unit. I explained to them that I was weed eating and accidently hit the wires and the A/C unit would not turn on after this. (I also explained that I had just purchased the house and had used the unit about three times since I bought the house and it was working fine.) They said that they would see what they could find and started working on the unit. I went back into the house and about ten minutes later (I heard them in the basement taking the door/cover off the back of the furnace.) They were in the basement for roughly five minutes, before I noticed them returning to the van. They sat in the van for about 15 minutes and then came into the house and and handed me a paper stating their findings. The paper stated that (they had found that the A/C unit had a "bad compressor, burnt contactor, weak capacitors, the fan wires were brittle and the insulation is ready to expose high-voltage wires.") At the bottom of the paper there was a statement for a TOTAL SYSTEM REPLACEMENT for exactly $8,192.92. As I read this one of the gentlemen explained that, and I quote "the whole system is shot and needs to be replaced." Note: I never said that there was a problem with the furnace and the furnace still worked fine. I told them that I didn't have that kind of money and signed the refusal of a total system replacement. Months later on October 25, 2013 I decided to call [redacted] Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling to get a second opinion. They sent out a service tech named [redacted]. I explained to him exactly what I explained to Blue Mountain. We were in the basement (when he took the door/cover off the back of the furnace.) Almost immediately after doing so he stated, and I quote, ("Well, no wonder your A/C unit won't work, this is wired completely wrong.") He said ("with the way this is wired there is no way that your A/C unit will work.") He fixed the thermostat wire that I hit with the weedeater, we went inside and turned on the A/C unit and it started right up. I called Blue Mountain a few weeks ago on a wednesday and stated my displeasure with their service. I was told that someone would call me back. On Friday, two days later, someone called me back to notify me that the thirty-nine dollars that I requested refunded would not be returned to me because it was a "dispatch fee and they don't give that back." As I explained everything that had happened, they were still uncooperative and refused to give me the thirty-nine dollars back.

Key points are noted with parentheses.Desired Settlement: Since I have now had to get the Revdex.com invovled in this matter, I am now requesting my thirty-nine dollar dispatch fee returned to me, plus the eighty-four dollar dispatch fee for [redacted] Plumbing, Heating, and Cooling to come out and fix the initial problem and the one that Blue Mountain created by improperly wiring the system and the fact Blue Mountain attempted to sell me a WHOLE NEW SYSTEM when the furnace was working with no issues, the entire system was inspected before I bought the house by a licensed home inspector. I have proof of everything and have kept all of the paperwork given to me by both companies. I also ask that the Revdex.com reprimand this company in some way due to the way they conduct business. If I had not gotten a second opinion, I would have been at a substantial financial loss due their recommendations. I do not want to create any trouble for anyone but the unprofessional way this matter has been handled by this company has left me very displeased.

Business

Response:

The consumer was aware of the $39 fee prior to our arrival. That fee is fixed and will not be returned. We regret that he was not satisfied.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

This is an insufficient response. Period.

They are in no way trying to resolve this issue by simply stating that the dispatch fee will not be returned. They have not explained why their employees wired my a/c unit wrong, or why they also tried to sell me an $8,000 dollar heating and cooling system, when there was nothing wrong with my heat pump. I was pretty much called a liar by whoever called me back about my complaint. Simply because the service tech had been working for "20 years in the heating and cooling business and they had never had a complaint on him," so I'm a liar? I have been a Sworn Law Enforcement Officer for the Commonwealth of Virginia for the past three years and I have no reason to lie about anything that has happened. If this is going to be the only response by this company to this issue, then I want more action taking against this company by the Revdex.com. The process and amount of time that not only myself, but the Revdex.com have had to spend on this complaint are unacceptable and ridiculous.

Business

Response:

No work was done as evidenced by the customers signature declining any work to be performed. Items identified as deficient with the customer system where given to the customer in writing which included the following statement" estimated age of system is around 30 years recommend replacement."

Please see the attached which shows the recommendations and the customers signature where her declined to have the work preformed. No work was done at the customer’s house.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

Thank you for showing that to me.....if you had read my initial complaint then you would have seen that I stated that I had all of the paperwork. You are right there wasn't any work performed, because from the minute your employees arrived at my residence and 1.) seen how old the system was and 2.) seen that I was in the process of making some major renovations, they seen nothing but dollar signs $$$. Therefore, they then, in the process of checking out the system, (while nobody was around), rewired the circuit board in the furnace wrong so that the A/C unit would definitely not work. They were hoping that by doing this, that I would eventually end up giving the go ahead and pay the $8,192.92 for the new system. As I stated above, you are right they didn't perform any work. Not even the work that they stated that they did on the "Summary of Findings" sheet. Under "Observations", it states that they "found a bad compressor, burnt contactor, weak capacitors, the fan wires are brittle and the insulation is ready to expose bare high-voltage wires (VERBATIM)." If this is true then why is the A/C unit back up and running smoothly again with just a simple rewire at the furnace? It is impossible that they found all of that in 30 minutes, because 15 minutes of that time was spent sitting in the van writing up the summary sheet for the new system they were trying to sell me. If no work was performed then why did your employee check the box on the invoice labeled "please pay from this invoice - WORK PERFORMED C.O.D. (VERBATIM)?" I am attaching the invoice from [redacted] Plumbing, Heating and Cooling stating the work that they had to perform. Which was "rewire the low voltage on the furnace." Also I would like to know why? 1.) Your employee's names weren't on the invoice anywhere, so that I would know who was at my residence performing work. They never would have told me, had I not shook hands with them and introduced myself. 2.) You have never once told me who you are. Is this a common business pracitce as well?

Regards,

Review: Service representative found faulty flame switch while on my requested service call for my furnace that was not working. Representative provided price for part and labor. I questioned if part was under warranty, he pointed out the date in the furnace and said it was not under warranty. I signed the work order and paid for the part and labor. Not understanding why the part wouldn't be under warranty (it was purchased May 2012) I called the manufacturer and they confirmed the part was indeed under warranty and there would be no cost involved for the part to be sent to the licensed installer. I called back the service representative and he said he'll let the office know and will hold my check. When I didn't get a call that the part was in I called back and inquired when it would be in. It was explained the part now being under warranty needed to be ordered directly from the manufacturer vs after market. Part arrived and I was told I would not be getting my check back that I would have to wait until Blue Mountain returned my defective part to the manufacturer, its value would be prorated and I would receive the difference back if any once they received the money from the manufacturer. I then called the manufacturer again and confirmed there is no cost when a part is under warranty and they do not do anything like prorate used parts for value - never heard of that. I called back Blue Mountain and was told that's how warranty service worked. To my knowledge when an item is under warranty the customer does not have to pay for the items full cost and wait to be reimbursed by the service installer - that's why we have have the warranty to not have to pay out of pocket for products under warranty. Business refused to turn my check over even though I offered to write another one for the labor.Desired Settlement: I will gladly pay for the labor to installed the warrantied part, but the cost of the part should be refunded being it was under warranty.

Business

Response:

This customer contracted with Blue Mountain for the replacement of a fault flame switch. He agreed to pay a flat rate fee for this service. Blue Mountain did not install this equipment and did not provide any warranty on the equipment. If this customer has a warranty, it was provided by the manufacturer of the equipment or the previous installer. Blue Mountain is not a party to that warranty. It has not seen the warranty. It has no idea whether or not the part is actually covered by a warranty. As a courtesy to this customer (and for no extra charge), Blue Mountain agreed to submit a warranty claim on this customer's behalf. That is, Blue Mountain agreed to help him facilitate making a warranty claim. This process works as follows. First, Blue Mountain purchased the equipment from its distributor. Second, Blue Mountain submitted a warranty claim to the distributor. Third, the distributor will submit a warranty claim to the manufacturer. Fourth, the manufacturer will review the claim and decide whether or not the part is covered by a warranty. Fifth, if the part is covered by a warranty, the manufacturer will issue a credit to the distributor, the distributor will issue a credit to Blue Mountain, and Blue Mountain will issue a credit to the customer. It should also be noted that some distributors charge a fee for processing warranty claims. Blue Mountain does not know if its distributor will in this case but, if it does, the customer's credit will be reduced by the amount of the fee. Blue Mountain's office has explained this process to this customer on several occasions. Unfortunately, the customer mistakenly believes that he should not have to pay any upfront out of pocket expenses because the equipment is under warranty. It is actually often the case that out of pocket expenses are paid upfront and are then later reimbursed by the warranty company. As noted above, Blue Mountain did not give this warranty, is not a party to that warranty, and it has no idea whether or not the part is actually covered by a warranty. Blue Mountain has paid for the part and charged the customer for the part as per the terms of their contract. Blue Mountain has tried to resolve this customer's concerns by submitting a warranty claim on his behalf and has agreed to provide him with a refund/credit that the distributor provides as part of that claim less any expenses it charges.

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response offer made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I signed the work order for the flat rate fee before I knew the part was under warranty. Once we found out it was under warranty by doing a quick run of the serial number directly on the manufacturers website, which was less than 30 minutes later we called the service tech and asked him to hold the check and let us know what the price would be for the labor only since the part would be no charge. He said he would let the office know. We never received a call back with a new price for labor only so we called again were told that's not how it would work. I never would have signed a work order for the flat rate (labor and part) if it would have been disclosed whether part is on warranty or not, we would be paying the same amount upfront (We spoke directly with [redacted] the manufacturer and they said they could ship the part out no charge but it would have to be installed by a licensed technician) I have no issue with receiving my money back for the part and paying for labor but the business will not release their fee for the labor only. My resolve would be to know the labor fee and part refund that I will be receiving back and when. Saying they don't know how much I'll get back for the part doesn't make sense when the flat fee includes the price for the part...that fee had to be calculated using a price for the part and that is the amount I should be refunded. Having to wait for a business to get money back is not what a consumer should have to do when performing warranty work, that is part of business overhead. I did ask when I originally phoned if they could service a [redacted] furnace - their response was yes, servicing means honoring warranties and if a business doesn't it should disclose that info before dispatching.

Regards,

Awful ! No other way to say it . I called on a Friday afternoon and asked for service . The person I spoke with on the phone was very friendly and explained that there was a $69 fee for the service call and then I would be presented a quote for the work necessary . What she failed to mention was that I would also be charged a diagnostic charge to go with my $69 service charge .

Unfortunately that is not my complaint ! I have two separate heating units in my home , one in the crawl space and one in the attic . The technician clearly didn't want to get into the crawl space so he elected to go to the attic where he discovered my problem (TA DAA) . I needed Freon and apparently had a leak in my system which requires dye tests and pressure tests which would cost me hundreds of $'s . Clearly the best solution for me with age of my system ( 9 yrs old ) would be to replace it . Lucky for me he had three great options , option one would be a lower end unit at about $6,500 , option two would be high efficiency unit at $8,700 , option three would the worlds greatest heat and air system at $12,200 . After some discussion the technician told my best bet would be option two at $8,700 . I agreed to have the system charged and paid a one third deposit to give me time to think about the cost of the new unit . Lucky me , with the temps in the 20's I would only have to wait two days with no heat to have my system charged .

With two days to wait I got a second opinion . The second opinion felt he should go into the crawl space and inspect the unit there . When he came out of the crawl space he delivered the horrible news , the collection pan under the unit to gather condensation had a stopped up drain , which he cleared while he was in the crawl space . Total cost $65 . Magically I'm cured , everything works like a champ .

Be very careful if you choose to do business with Blue Mountain .

Review: Blue Maintain plumbing, heating, and cooling claimed multiple false fees, and then threatened lawsuit unless false fees were paid. Here are specifics:

- charged $39.00 for an estimate for a job (most companies to not charge for an estimate). This was not unethical (we were told on front end) just not great business practice.

- When we cancelled the job two days in advance of job, Bluestone claimed we owed them a $182 cancellation fee. The maximum fee they could claim in the contract we signed was $93. There was no legal or ethical basis for this inflated cancellation charge. They did not correct their claim despite our written request that they do so and our reference to fine print in their own contract document.Desired Settlement: We paid the cancellation fee of $93.00 as indicated in the contract (so we have paid them a total of $132.00 without any actual job performed). We would like them to confirm that this settles our bill, and acknowledge that their claim of an additional $89.00 is in error.

Business

Response:

The agreement that Dr. [redacted] signed provided that in the event of cancellation he "agree[s] to pay a $89.00 diagnostic charge and all incurred costs or 10% of the Work Authorization, whichever is greater." As 10% of the Work Authorization was greater than the costs incurred, Dr. [redacted] was contractually obligated to pay the $89.00 diagnostic charge and $93.29 for 10% of the Work Authorization. This provision appears on the front face of the contract directly above Dr. [redacted]'s signature authorizing the work. A copy of contract signed by Dr. [redacted] and the letter that Blue Mountain sent Dr. [redacted] explaining its terms are attached. Dr. [redacted] has apparently interpreted the contract he signed incorrectly. Upon cancellation, the contract requires payment of both (1) the $89.00 diagnostic charge plus (2) the greater of costs incurred or 10% of the Work Authorization. Dr. [redacted] incorrectly reads the contract to require that he pay the higher of (1) $89.00 plus costs incurred or (2) 10% of the Work Authorization. He has confused the "and" and the "or" in the contract term. Moreover, he was informed of the cancellation fee at the time the contract was signed. The person who serviced Dr. [redacted] decided not to collect a deposit from him as a courtesy but asked him not to cancel the job or the fee would have to be collected. Even though Dr. [redacted] has misinterpreted the contract and is still legally obligated to Blue Mountain in the amount of $89, to date, and as a courtesy to Dr. [redacted], Blue Mountain has taken no action to collect this debt. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Best regards, [redacted]