Central Heating & Cooling

On 6/23/16 a worker from Central Heating and Cooling, where I bought a unit in 2008, came on a service call to check on the A/C because it was going on and off based on the thermostat. It was working when he came and he spent just a few minutes checking the thermostat and the outside unit and said he could not find anything wrong. The problem continued and on 8/10/16 and I called a different company to check it out. The condensation tube on the unit upstairs was clogged and the pan was full and ready to spill over. Besides cleaning the drain, they replaced the condensate overflow switch and did some rewiring. It is working fine now. My complaint is the fact that the Central AC person was not thorough enough to even bother to go and check the unit upstairs for problems.

these people are out of control I reject there reject we have all the tools needed to check out there system we service over homes per year and every couple of years we get a home owner like this thank god there is not more people that treat use the way they did we tried to do all we could for them

I am rejecting this response because: My father in law was not hostile or combative He was simply asking questions in regards to the performance of the service call The technician gave him the impression that all he came out to do was put Freon in and leave The technician had none of the necessary equipment to even check the pressure on the system He only showed up with a bottle of Freon After proper service was rendered they said that the pressure was fine and putting more Freon in would have harmed the system greatlyMy father in law got frustrated when the technician would ansewer questions or gave responses such as "I don't have time for that" or "I don't know how much it is to fill the Freon" He did tell both my wife and father in law that he was calling to charge for the "service call" The technician either couldn't or refused to ansewer questions any home owner would ask before a service call The technician walked off the job and showed a complete lack of professionalism

Our Technician stated that customer was hostile and combative. so he left the job did not collect any money from the customer and the office called the home warranty company and had them send out a different company to try and help the customer. no money was collected due to no services were...

rendered. Thank you

Review: My AC unit broke and I filed a claim with [redacted] buyers. They sent a technician from Central Heating and Cooling out to assess the problem. He concluded I needed a new unit and stated it would take 24-48 hours to submit the claim. Two days later I get a calll that it will cost $2492 to install the new unit. Because of denied "modifications". I ask him to email a copy of the paperwork because I am unhappy with this and want to talk to the warranty company. He says there is no paperwork but can send a breakdown by email. This is what is sent. duct mod 398.00gas mods 187.00roof jack 388.00platform 402.00electical mods 279.00title-24 588.00register and boot 250.00TT 2492.00 It is almost exactly the same as an earlier Revdex.com complaint. I contacted the warranty company and talked to them. They of course said mods are not covered. I talk to them about the gaps in the submitted claim (how can they remove or install a rooftop unit with no crane,how come their prices are out of line with standard rates) I get the usual runaround of denial and get bumped to supervisor level. They offer a cashout of 1758 based on the claim, but my whole point is the claim is submitted to be mostly denied and then charge the customer. I ask for a second opinion and they say they don't do that but will contact central H&C to clarify some points. I don't know what they talked about but the warranty company has agreed to a second opinion. The no paperwork, conversation with warranty company and similairity to earlier experiences leads me to conclude they are working the system to get customers, then submiting claims so that they get a large percentage denied that should be covered and can come back to bill the customer direct at a higher, non negotiated rate. I question the roll of the warranty company in that they pay a smaller claim this way and seemed very eager for me to take the cash payout and waive any further rights. But they have been working with me so far.Desired Settlement: I would like to see the claim settled properly. As a representative of the Warranty company doing the assessment they should submit a detailed claim that can be reviewed and verified. Instead of these general claims that they use to justify doing additional work at "standard" rates.

Business

Response:

Company states " we are only sub-contracted through the homeowners insurance and received communication from the warranty company that the issue has been resolved customer".

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because: The claim was settled by the insurance company scheduling a different contractor to do the work. This contractor had no involvement in the solution to the problem.

Review: I used First American Home Warranty to get my AC repaired. They sent Central Heating & Cooling who had to replace my AC unit. They did this 5/27/14. It took several days since they hooked it up wrong the first time. During one of the times they came back in June, one of their techs was looking at duct work in my attic and stepped into the ceiling causing a large break in the ceiling of my room. I was told in June they would fix this. Nothing was fixed & the company was not returning my calls. Finally I got in contact with them. They told me to find 2 quotes to get it fixed. I took time to find quotes for them. When I found the quotes I emailed them to the company. They kept giving me the run around and said the boss was out of the office. Finally they told me they would only agree to pay up to $500 or I can wait because they said the contractors I found were over charging. They even said they would come out themselves and fix it. Finally I got one of the contractor who gave me an original quote of around $1000 to go down to $650. I informed them AC company and they spoke with this contractor and agreed to do it. This was on 7/22/14. They had me resubmit an official estimate to them and by 7/30/14 they told me to have it done and they would pay for it when it was complete. Then, after several weeks of setting up appointments with that contractor and him backing out on me I realized he would not be dependable. I'm not sure what happened with that contractor because before dealing with them he was calling me on a weekly basis to see if I had someone to repair it yet & then after they talked with him he stopped returning my calls. I have also been in communication with my home warranty because they are the one who chose the AC company but they say they have nothing to do with it, it is between me and the AC company because they should have liability insurance. 9/15 I sent new estimate of only $375 (not incl. paint) of a new contractor. Now their boss is out 2 wks.Desired Settlement: I would like a cash settlement since every time I set up something up they either want me to wait, will not agree or something else goes wrong & I am afraid when I actually get the company to do it that they will back out when it comes time to pay. I believe a settlement of $500 is beyond fair because the original contractor said he would do everything for $650. This latest contractor said he would do it for $375 but it did not include paint. I have several estimates to justify $500 as fair

Business

Response:

We told Ms. [redacted] to get quotes to fix the job & we would pay for it. She sent quotes in & we told her to get fixed. Several months passed & she said the contractor she got kept putting her off so she got another quote, we told her ok get fixed then she decided to get another quote & we said ok get it fixed and we will pay for it. We are waiting on her to get this problem fixed email us an invoice & we will pay the contractor for the work.

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.

Review: On October 30, 2013, I opened a claim with [redacted] Home Warranty Company to have my HVAC unit serviced. [redacted] hired a Central Heating & Cooling to do an inspection of my unit. It was discovered the unit was faulty and needed to be replaced. I was told by [redacted] to contact Central Heating & Cooling to set up an installation appointment. I contacted them and was caught off guard when the contractor told me that I would have to pay $2,000 dollars out-of-pocket for the installation. The reason was because I was told by [redacted] "If the unit needs to be replaced, I would only have to pay the $55 dollar service fee." As it turns out, Central Heating & Cooling signed a contract with [redacted] which pays a contracted labor rate of $550 dollars to do the job. Central Heating & Cooling advised me the $2,000 dollars is for modifications and non-covered items under the policy. Here is a breakdown of the items they claim I need to pay for...platform 368.00, roof jack 418.00, gas mods 115.00, duct mods 310.00, electrical mods 144.00, drain mods 73.00 title -24 488.00 register and boot seal 175.00. I contacted three separate local contractor's and asked if this is typical pricing for a warranty claim. All three told me the prices are outrageous and each of those items should be a part of a standard installation. I was also told by all three contractors what Central Heating & Cooling is doing is simply trying to make additional money off the installation through me because of the low contracted rate [redacted] is paying them. Also, the prices appear to include additional labor prices attached to each of the items since each item far exceeds the average prices of those items. I immediately filed a complaint with [redacted]. Central Heating & Cooling then tried telling the warranty company that the problem was pre-existing so the claim would not be covered.Desired Settlement: Since Central Heating & Cooling signed a contract with [redacted] Home Warranty Company for a contracted labor rate of $550 dollars then they should honor that and not go after the customer for excessive costs. If they do not like or cannot afford to do the job for that price then they should not work for the warranty company. It is not fair for me as a warrantied customer to have to be taken advantage of by a contractor who wants to make money off the warranty company and the customer.

Business

Response:

The home owner should have made the complaint with their home warranty company not us. We work for many warranty companies and have same charges for all installs. We have done nothing to warrant this complaint. The home owner misunderstood that they would get a complete install for $55 service fee.

Consumer

Response:

Central Heating and Cooling misunderstood the complaint and responded by saying the issue was between me and the warranty company. This is incorrect and a misunderstanding of the complaint by whomever from the company read the complaint. My issue is the outrageous prices that Central Heating and Cooling is trying to take advantage of me by performing "so called, non-covered items." The company provided me with a list of repairs needed to perform the warranty install of a new HVAC unit. They will be installing a roof curb which normally only costs $150-$200 dollars. The separated the two items that make a roof curb (roof jack and platform=roof curb) and are wanting to charge me $418 for the roof jack and $368 for the platform meaning I would have to pay $786 for a roof curb. Also they want to charge me for a title 24 inspection at the completion of the project so the unit passes code. I have called local certified HERS testers and have been told by three of the local testers that a title 24 inspection costs $150-$200 which includes paperwork, filing and testing. Central Heating and Cooling is trying to charge me $488. There are other things CH&C claims they need to do as far as modifications which total $507. I understand modifications needing to be done the price of these simple modification (Gas/Electrical/Drain mods & register and boot seal) are considered labor items which the warranty is paying them $550 for contracted labor. So to be clear, Central Heating and Cooling is trying to take advantage of a warranty claim by overcharging me on repair/non-covered costs because I am stuck with them because they were selected as the repair company through the warranty company. When I personally tried to negotiate my complaint with CH&C they were unwilling to do so.

Gas/Electrical/Drain mods should be a part of the $550 contracted labor being paid by First American. These are part of a standard installation and are not modification. Strategic wording was used so these appear as non-covered items. Title 24 costs $150-$200 explain why I'm being charged $488? Central Heating told me on the phone a roof jack+a platform=a roof curb. Roof curbs and even custom curbs only cost $150-$250 according to local curb builders so why is the company charging me $768?