Chamber Of Commerce Of Eatonville

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved] Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I have a contract in place with A-to perform two inspections per year to help me ensure my unit is working properlyEach time they inspect the unit, they checked the boxes on the work order and write by hand the unit is "ok"However R-has been added and I never had to complete or sign a form saying they are complying with the EPASecondly, and most importantly, the inside of the furncae has a lot rust formed on all sidesHow can a company charge me for the expert inspections and never tell me of the serious rust issues or even suggest to me a replacementSince all this has happened, I had a second opinion from another HVAC company and they have disclosed that this was unacceptable and should have been diagnosed soonerSince A-never recommended a replacement or noted on the work order of this rust, I had a water leak that had to be going on for some timeThe amount of damage this caused to my condo is extensive and expensiveThis must have been a slow leak over an amount of time that went undetected by A-1, but they always said it was "ok"I feel that a proffesional company should have suggested replacement or done a better job inspecting the unit, to include drains, pumps air flow, humitity levels etcThe work order also states a day guarantee as well as a one year warrantyIf I would have only known about the substantial rust buiin advance it could have saved me thousands of dollars and I would not have had to live with my daughter and her husband for two month as well as an additional two months in a hotelDurring this past months insurance companies by the HOA, Building Management Company and A-1's insurance was looking into the problem and A-1's insurance denied the claim twiceI cant believe a company that specializes in this would take advantage of thier customers this wayI strongly feel that I hired this company to save me from this type of disaster but instead choose to take my money and runWhat was I paying them for? Needles to say, I had to get a new HVAC Furnace and heat pump from another companyNew carpet, sub-floor repairs, mitigation, sheet rock demo and repairs, paint, base boards etcThis is unacceptable for a company to operate in this manner, so I really appreciate your efforts in investigating this claim against A- Regards, [redacted]

We have worked with this customer since the day that she called and reported that there was a water leak at her property and immediately dispatched a technician to her residence to resolve the problem on the same day and within a short period of time because she is one of our maintenance customers Upon arrival our technician found that her drain line had clogged and was overflowing water into her condo so he had to flush the line out to clear it from the debris that had caused the clogWe actually installed an [redacted] condensate safety switch as an added source of protection from water leaks for her on July 2, but unfortunately it was clogged at the discharge of the coil with a piece of rust and other debris that had fallen into the pan from wither the coil or the duct work above and never tripped the safety switch We immediately called our insurance company to let them investigate the matter even though we didn't feel that we were liable as this was a result of operation of the system and not a part failure or a failure due to a part of our regular service that was performed back on May 8th with the water leak reported on July 16thThe unit and drain were functioning properly when we left on May 8th and some almost and a half months later the line became clogged causing the problemOur insurance company came out and investigated the matter and found that we had done nothing wrong to cause this problem and that this was a matter for this customers Home Owners policy and was not a result of our negligenceWith regards to the claim that the leak was caused by a refrigerant leak there is NOTHING further from the truth and this has been explained to the customers slaw on NUMEROUS occassions and could be confirmed by other contractorsOur customers system is approximately years old (new construction so exact date of stawould be her settlement date) and while we did add pound of refrigerant at our visit in May (first time this was required) her system was certainly not near the end of its expected life and we are not in the habit of condemning equipment until it is necessary and in the customers best interest to do so We are truly sorry this customer has had to endure this experience as I have lived through it myself when a plumbing line sprung a leak in my own home but we certainly are not responsible for the damage caused and agree with the findings of our insurance company that this is an issue for her homeowners policyI have attached the letter that the customer received from our insurance company after their independent investigation and for your reference finding no fault on our behalf, also attached is a letter dated the same day as the reported problem to show that we took the matter seriously and acted immediately for the benefit of the customer

I completely understand how difficult water damage is to deal with but again have to state that we are not responsible for the damage hereWhen our inspection was performed and this customer signed our invoice it was noted that the drain line had been flushed and was draining properly when we leftIt was 1/months later that this line became clogged from its operation and please know how much condensation an air conditioning system generates in the hot Northern Virginia months on a daily basisThis is a mechanical piece of equipment and issues will arise from their operation there is no way around thatThe additional information this customer provided was passed on to the insurance company and their response is attached again finding NO FAULT from our company for the water leak as we did NOTHING to cause this occurrence In an effort to help this customer we would be willing to donate the labor to install a new system at her condo should the customer be willing to purchase the equipment, this would provide a substantial savings to her, invoices of costs of material gladly providedOther than this we cannot try and convince the insurance company of fault where it does not existIf this customer is interested in our offer we can be reached directly or through this avenue

We have worked with this customer since the day that she called and reported that there was a water leak at her property and immediately dispatched a technician to her residence to resolve the problem on the same day and within a short period of time because she is one of our maintenance customers. ...

Upon arrival our technician found that her drain line had clogged and was overflowing water into her condo so he had to flush the line out to clear it from the debris that had caused the clog. We actually installed an [redacted] condensate safety switch as an added source of protection from water leaks for her on July 2, 2012 but unfortunately it was clogged at the discharge of the coil with a piece of rust and other debris that had fallen into the pan from wither the coil or the duct work above and never tripped the safety switch.
We immediately called our insurance company to let them investigate the matter even though we didn't feel that we were liable as this was a result of normal operation of the system and not a part failure or a failure due to a part of our regular service that was performed back on May 8th with the water leak reported on July 16th. The unit and drain were functioning properly when we left on May 8th and some almost 2 and a half months later the line became clogged causing the problem. Our insurance company came out and investigated the matter and found that we had done nothing wrong to cause this problem and that this was a matter for this customers Home Owners policy and was not a result of our negligence. With regards to the claim that the leak was caused by a refrigerant leak there is NOTHING further from the truth and this has been explained to the customers son-in law on NUMEROUS occassions and could be confirmed by other contractors. Our customers system is approximately 9 years old (new construction so exact date of start-up would be her settlement date) and while we did add 1 pound of refrigerant at our visit in May (first time this was required) her system was certainly not near the end of its expected life and we are not in the habit of condemning equipment until it is necessary and in the customers best interest to do so.
We are truly sorry this customer has had to endure this experience as I have lived through it myself when a plumbing line sprung a leak in my own home but we certainly are not responsible for the damage caused and agree with the findings of our insurance company that this is an issue for her homeowners policy. I have attached the letter that the customer received from our insurance company after their independent investigation and for your reference finding no fault on our behalf, also attached is a letter dated the same day as the reported problem to show that we took the matter seriously and acted immediately for the benefit of the customer.

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: I have a contract in place with A-1 to perform two inspections per year to help me ensure my unit is working properly. Each time they inspect the unit, they checked the boxes on the work order and write by hand the unit is "ok". However R-22 has been added and I never had to complete or sign a form saying they are complying with the EPA. Secondly, and most importantly, the inside of the furncae has a lot rust formed on all 4 sides. How can a company charge me for the expert inspections and never tell me of the serious rust issues or even suggest to me a replacement. Since all this has happened, I had a second opinion from another HVAC company and they have disclosed that this was unacceptable and should have been diagnosed sooner. Since A-1 never recommended a replacement or noted on the work order of this rust, I had a water leak that had to be going on for some time. The amount of damage this caused to my condo is extensive and expensive. This must have been a slow leak over an amount of time that went undetected by A-1, but they always said it was "ok". I feel that a proffesional company should have suggested replacement or done a better job inspecting the unit, to include drains, pumps air flow, humitity levels etc. The work order also states a 90 day guarantee as well as a one year warranty. If I would have only known about the substantial rust build-up in advance it could have saved me thousands of dollars and I would not have had to live with my daughter and her husband for two month as well as an additional two months in a hotel. Durring this past 4 months insurance companies by the HOA, Building Management Company and A-1's insurance was looking into the problem and A-1's insurance denied the claim twice. I cant believe a company that specializes in this would take advantage of thier customers this way. I strongly feel that I hired this company to save me from this type of disaster but instead choose to take my money and run. What was I paying them for? Needles to say, I had to get a new HVAC Furnace and heat pump from another company. New carpet, sub-floor repairs, mitigation, sheet rock demo and repairs, paint, base boards etc. This is unacceptable for a company to operate in this manner, so I really appreciate your efforts in investigating this claim against A-1. 
Regards,
[redacted]

I completely understand how difficult water damage is to deal with but again have to state that we are not responsible for the damage here. When our inspection was performed and this customer signed our invoice it was noted that the drain line had been flushed and was draining properly when we left. It was 2 1/2 months later that this line became clogged from its operation and please know how much condensation an air conditioning system generates in the hot Northern Virginia months on a daily basis. This is a mechanical piece of equipment and issues will arise from their operation there is no way around that. The additional information this customer provided was passed on to the insurance company and their response is attached again finding NO FAULT from our company for the water leak as we did NOTHING to cause this occurrence.
In an effort to help this customer we would be willing to donate the labor to install a new system at her condo should the customer be willing to purchase the equipment, this would provide a substantial savings to her, invoices of costs of material gladly provided. Other than this we cannot try and convince the insurance company of fault where it does not exist. If this customer is interested in our offer we can be reached directly or through this avenue.