Central Heating & Plumbing Company Inc

Review: March, 2015 the furnace stopped working, called them to repair it. The first tech came out and replaced a few parts and charged $93.00. The next day the furnace stopped working again. A different tech came out and messed around for several hours until quitting time, said he would be back the next day to check a few other things. He never came back but the office called the next day and said the fuel line needed replaced, around $700.00. Sounded like a scam to me, so I called someone else. The other repairman knew what the problem was as soon as I explained the situation with the furnace. The control box was bad, neither of their techs checked it. They sent me a bill last year, I called them a few times and complained about them trying to scam me. They said they would take care of it and I wouldn't owe anything. Now a year later I receive another bill for $252.00.Desired Settlement: I feel that I'm entitled to a refund of the $93.00 paid to Central Heating & Plumbing and the cost of the new control box and repair fee of $155.00 that I had to pay someone else. The furnace was installed by Central Heating & Plumbing and still under warranty. It should have been diagnosed and repaired on the first service call without a fee. I certainly shouldn't be charged the $252.00 for their tech messing around for hours to pad the bill.

Business

Response:

March 9, 2016 RE: ID# [redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted], This letter is in response to your letter dated March 7, 2016 regarding a customer complainant from [redacted]. The orginal contract was completed , billed and and paid for by [redacted] County Community Action Partnership through the Healthy Homes Program on May 10, 2010, We retruned to the residence on May 17, 2011 to do a backarach test on the unit which is standard procedure. We were dispatched on December 31,2011 for a no heat call of which we did not charge as the unit was still under warranty. We were not dispatched to this residence again until March 25, 2015 ( 4 years later) at which time we were told by the customer that they replaced the oil filter the day before , we serviced the unit, installed a new oil nozzle and charged $ 93.00 for this call which was paid by a credit card. We were again called on March 23, 2015 of which our service technician arrived at the residence and the customer was not home. After reaching the customer we dispatched out to complete this call on March 26, 2015 and serviced the entire unit. It was our service technicians recommendation that the buried line had a leak, need to run oil line from tank to furnace. This work was quoted. Our charge was for the labor only to evaluate the situation March 26, 2015 was for $ 252.00. This is the outstanding invoice for payment on the account.. We sent the invoice and statements for payment with no response. We had our salesman that originally sold the furnace in 2011 contact the [redacted] and she at that time told him that another company had serviced the unit and she was told it was not the underground lines. It was requested that she send us the bill from the other company showing the determination so in review of the other company's findings we would credit her account the $ 252.00. We never heard back from [redacted] by telephone or mail with the documentation requested. This account has been turned over to our Bad Debt Account system until notification and documentation is received by Central Heating & Plumbing. Sincerely, Debbie L[redacted] COB

Consumer

Response:

Here is the copy of the receipt from [redacted] Heating & Cooling. He did not replace the fuel line, which Central Heating & Plumbing said needed replaced. The furnace has been working fine since the primary control box was replaced by [redacted] Heating & Cooling.

Business

Response:

04/08/2016 Re: ID# [redacted] Dear Ms. [redacted]: I have received your letter dated April 6, 2016 in which you have included the billing from [redacted]s Heating & Cooling in the amount of $ 155.00 for work completed at [redacted] This invoice is not marked paid in full. Originally we had requested this billing from [redacted] of which she never provided to us. It is unfortunate as her furnace carried a five (5) year manufacturers warranty on parts and if she did pay for the replacement primary control, she should not of. Central Heating & Plumbing stands by our recommendation to run a new oil line as the buried line most likely has a leak. Central Heating & Plumbing Co.Inc. has been in business for over 40 years and is extremely cognitive as it relates to replacing parts on equipment that are unnecessary to be replaced. We have at this time updated [redacted] account processing this information that we requested originally and has been received as of your April 6, 2016 documentation to us. Sincerely,Debbie L[redacted]COB

Consumer

Response:

I accept as long as the account has been credited in full and the balance is zero. I do not want to receive any correspondence from them again.

Review: On the morning of February 4, 2015, our tenants occupying property owned by my husband and I called Central Heating and Plumbing regarding an issue with the furnace, which had apparently shut off sometime during the night. After the service professional evaluated and fixed the problem (he replaced batteries in the thermostat) he contacted me to warn me of possible carbon monoxide poisoning to our tenants due to a small carbon monoxide leak he said was detected near the furnace. The service tech said that he "smelled carbon monoxide" as he came into proximity with the furnace, which prompted him to investigate further. The service professional then contacted a parts salesman, who contacted me with a quote for a new furnace including installation. Both the service and parts professionals reiterated the importance of immediate replacement of our current furnace due to the dangers of continuing its operation due to the detected toxicity. My husband and I had reservations about the service tech "smelling the carbon dioxide" which prompted us to seek a second opinion from another service professional. Upon second inspection, it was determined that our furnace is fine, is fully functioning, and is emitting no traces of carbon monoxide.Desired Settlement: I am agreeable to paying the $186 service fee for services rendered. Our purpose for issuing complaint is in hopes of making other consumers aware of this fraudulent and deceptive business's practices. It is disgusting that this business can and will continue to operate by taking advantage in this small community where businesses should be trusted. It's a small town to try to [redacted] someone in and karmas a [redacted].

Business

Response:

The purpose of this letter is to provide information regarding the above claim. We looked into the situation as follows. The customer called in for a no heat call.Our Tech arrived and took care of the problem, see the attached work order. When he got it running he noticed soot in the burners, he cleaned them (this is a Luxaire gas furnace) best he could. He then using a Bacharach II, carbon Monoxide detector he checked the area around the furnace and advised the owner and then we followed up with a sales call concerning the furnace. We do issue CO Detectors to our techs and they are advised to use them during the service calls and since this was a first time customer and a rental we wanted to document our call. The CO detected was not enough to shut down the furnace, however we wanted the landlord to be aware that he should start planning to upgrade his system. The customer did pay for the call. The customer did call back to complain about the CO situation and that he had another company ook at the furnace and they did not find any CO. Our service coordinator offered to double ' check the unit or at least look at the service order from the other company to see what they found At that point the owner hung up on him. In closing to be sure that the systems are operating properly we will continue the use of combustion analyzers during our service. If you have any additional questions, I can be reached at ###-###-####. Sincerely,[redacted]Service Manager

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.