Chas Roberts Air Conditioning, Inc.

October 17, 2016 Regarding Complaint ID: [redacted] Nicole N[redacted] Scottsdale, AZ 85260   Dear Ms. N[redacted], We are in receipt of the complaint regarding the above-referenced property. We do want to apologize for the...

numerous service calls at your property.  We did have our service supervisor, Mike S[redacted] out to your home on October 14th, 2016, along with the representative from [redacted] the manufacturer of your equipment.  At this visit the manufacturer representative did confirm our diagnosis that the Thermo Expansion Valve was faulty.  We had ordered that part on October 12th, 2016, at our prior visit, so we were able to replace it for you at the time of service.   Respectfully, Damon B[redacted] VP of Residential Sales and Service

I utilized Chas Roberts to replace my water heater less than two years ago. This morning, it was broken and I had no hot water. They came out to look at it and said the bottom was burned out and it would be a $229 repair. They made a big deal of saying they were giving me a discount. I asked about the warranty, as the unit was less than two years old. I received the response that it was "parts only." I said that I thought it was ridiculous that a unit less than two years old would cost me anything to repair and I was asked "if I wanted it fixed or not." Someone did finally call me back about this issue and told me that it was like a factor like water quality or something similar to cause the problem. The last water heater I had lasted 17 years, so I doubt that the water quality has gotten that drastically worse in the past two. He ended the conversation by saying "I probably won't change your mind, but just in case, I will make a note to give you a $50 credit if you ever need a new air conditioner or plumbing product again." I can guarantee after that, I will never purchase another product or service from Chas Roberts. Awful customer service, and from what I can tell, terrible quality products. I would caution anyone against using Chas Roberts, to spare themselves the hassle of poor service and poor product.

Great customer service.

Excellent Technician.

The technician did provide a complete check of the system. At the initial call, on May 28th,2014, the technician replaced the capacitor, and at the time he left the system was cooling. At the time of this call, there was no further action required.

On the second visit to your property, June 2nd,2014, the technician left with the understanding that you would contact us when you were ready to move forward with the repair- I have attached that invoice for your review. It is also noted that the technician indicated you were going to receive a credit for the prior repair.  The price quoted on this invoice, [redacted], reflected the credit of the prior repair on the fan motor. The technician did not order the part at this time because he was under the impression from your conversation that you would contact us when you wanted to move forward.

On June 6th, the technician left your property at 5:03PM. All of Carriers distributing offices close at 4:30 PM. The next business day, Monday, the 9th,the compressor was ordered and you were scheduled to get this replaced on the 10th,the following day. Our Parts scheduler left a message with the phone number on file at 9:35 in the morning on Monday the 9th, to schedule this.

On June 10th,2014, the technician replaced the compressor and determined the TXV needed to be replaced, this was another part that had to be ordered. This part had to be shipped from Phoenix to Tucson. You were contacted on the 11th, of June at 5:05PM to schedule and a voicemail was left. This call was then scheduled for June 12th, 2014.

You were scheduled for repair as soon as the part was available to us. Unfortunately, we cannot control where the parts are when we request them from a manufacturer, nor can we control if they are in stock, or back-ordered. This does unfortunately at times place an inconvenience on the homeowner, but this is not the fault of the contractor. The technician would not be aware if the part were in Tucson, or if it were out of town as he submits a request for the part. There are local distributors,which may or may not have the part in stock.

Again, we do not make a habit of ordering additional parts,when they are not yet needed. The technician diagnosed the system and identified the current failure.  He then made the repair and determined more work was needed. The TXV could not have been diagnosed at the time the compressor was diagnosed as you cannot diagnose an issue with a TXV when the compressor is not running.  It is noted as well that you did not pay any additional cost to complete this work, although only the parts costs were covered through your warranty ,not the labor.

Our internal parts process is extremely refined. We have individuals dedicated to monitoring the status of parts when they are received and ready to be scheduled with the homeowner.  As soon as the part is received by our company, these individuals contact the homeowner to schedule a date to install the part.  They do not contact homeowners if the part is not available to install. You were contacted each and every time the part needed for your property became available .

Regarding the warranty on the work that was completed, I am attaching the invoice with the warranty verbiage on the back page for your records. This warranty is a Chas Roberts warranty on the work we completed,so any of the repairs we completed will be covered so long as we are the contractor . We will not reimburse for work performed by another contractor under this warranty.

As a consumer ,it is your right to choose any contractor you wish to work with. Given you have a parts warranty through the manufacturer, any licensed contractor can perform this work. We would welcome you to contact several contractors of comparable size and see what the charge would have been for the work we performed at a great discount to you, compared with what they would have charged.

Respectfully,

Terrible service or lack thereof... I purchased my home in July of 2014, and Chas Roberts was the company contracted through KB Homes to install our HVAC units. We have a "labor" warranty of 2 years as well as "parts" warranty through the manufacturer for 5 years. My main unit for the first floor had stopped working and a call was made to Chas Roberts to repair as it is still under warranty. We had contacted the company and were informed someone would be contacting us to schedule service (8:30 AM 06/04/16). We had made another call around 12:30 PM as we still had not heard from anyone. We were then informed the earliest someone would be able to come out would be Monday afternoon (it is Saturday). With temperatures exceeding 110 degrees this is unacceptable. I contacted another HVAC company and they were out within the hour. Finally received a call from "Curtis" I believe around 3 PM in the afternoon to inform me that it in fact it was not covered under warranty (this is completely inaccurate and not sure how they came to this determination). The lack of professionalism as well as communication is appalling. I am writing this as a precaution to anyone considering using their services as we had no say in the matter. Needless to say I will gladly use anyone else regardless of cost for any/all additional servicing.

14-April-2016Regarding Complaint ID: [redacted]Dear Mr. [redacted], We are in receipt of your complaint regarding the services you contracted through [redacted]. Chas Roberts does not have a policy to cover a homeowner’s expenses when they...

choose another contractor for a repair.  As a customer, you are entitled to choose any contractor you wish to complete a repair, but Chas Roberts does not reimburse those costs.  With regards to your complaint, you indicated that on your service visit on February 16th, 2016, at your $39 [redacted] Tune Up – “nothing was found to be wrong and the unit was full of Freon.”  This recollection seems to be a bit off from the invoice.  You are correct that we did do the original install of your equipment back in 2002, but the tech’s appointment at your home did not indicate there was nothing wrong.  I have included the invoice from that appointment for your review.  The technician pointed out multiple issues with the equipment.  At this visit, you declined all recommendations and paid $39 for the tune up. Regarding your request to be compensated for the work you had done by [redacted].  The invoice you provided included a maintenance contract that you paid for, which is unrelated to the repair and only to maintain the equipment.  Again, Chas Roberts does not have a policy to reimburse homeowners for their repair bills when they decide to move forward with another contractor. Our technician let you know what issues were going on with your system, made recommendations, and you declined.  Chas Roberts does not condone deceptive practices with their employees, which appears to be you are accusing our technician of doing.  Before we can come to any resolution of this matter, as per our company policy, we would require a site visit with both [redacted] and our supervisor to evaluate your claims of dishonesty.  We are more than willing to cover the trip charge for a [redacted] tech to come out to your property. We believe the issue with the system is still unresolved and only a temporary repair has been done.Respectfully, Damon B[redacted] VP of Residential Sales and Service

I couldn't be more pleased with the service I get from Chas Roberts- they have always fixed the issues and have been very up front with any needed repairs and the cost- the techs are all polite and willing to answer any questions

This is the very worst HVAC company in the valley. They installed a system in our new home and don't stand behind it. We waited all day for a technician and every time I called I was given a run around. The tech came almost four hours later than promised and spent half the evening [redacted] down a leak he couldn't find. He left and the temperature rose to degrees higher to 90 degrees! We've called the rest of the evening attempting to reach someone who will work on our system. Needless to say we have been given a bs story and the latest is that the only technician is an hour away yet. It's 10pm on a holiday weekend night. If this wasn't under warranty we'd be calling Floyd's, an extremely reliable company.

We were disappointed with the overall experience with Chas Roberts AC and Plumbing; and yes we realize they were busy as it was extremely hot during the month. We were 6 days with no air conditioner in June 2016. We called each morning to check on the status of parts that had been ordered, when messages were left with their answering service, and no response was received within 5 hours, a second call was placed. Not one of those calls were returned. We also sent a ticket from their website that received no response. Once we did get through and spoke with M. who would only say the part is on order, we will deliver as soon as the order comes in. We are in a home that is less than 3 years old, we contacted the builder who contacted Chas (the original installer) and she indicated she spoke with N. and she was told only that parts were on order. We finally drove out to their HR office where we were greeted and asked to have a seat. We waited for about 20-30 minutes for someone to come and out talk to us. We were told that she would ensure an invoice was e-mailed same day and that the truck would deliver to their warehouse that same day and the service representative would be out the next morning. He was. We feel there is no excuse for ignoring a customer who is spending $1500 or more in labor on repairs for a fairly new system. When the repairman arrived, he asked for a copy of the invoice which we could not provide as it still had not arrived. His supervisor, R., stopped by to offer assistance and made a call to the office; M. contacted us, verified the e-mail address and the invoice was then e-mailed to us. The final checklist that was mailed indicated that nothing had been checked except the major part that was replaced; he did go up into the attic and checked the unit there as well as the one outside. Again, we were disappointed with the overall experience.

I have reviewed the response 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.

The reason why I am not satisfied with this response. Since Chas Roberts could not service in a timely manner was my family and I to live in a home with temperatures in the 90's and above till Chas had time to service us in Decenber 2015. When I called the first time I was told they could not service me till December and the second time I was told Chas no longer service Tucson. When Juan finally called me I ask him to ask Damon to call me so I could discuss my problem. Since no one from Chas would call me back to at lease advice me what my next step would be to help me resolve my problem. I had to do whats best for my family and spend money I don't have. When I did talk to Juan the Tucson supervisor he show no interest in helping with my problem. I have no knowledge on how air conditioners works I would hope someone from Chas Robets would at least reach to me to help with my problem. 

Regards,

They have always done an outstanding job. I would recommend them for your service needs. Thank You

The service rep seemed anxious to be helpful, but after saying that we needed a new AC unit was not able to explain why.
He pushed fairly hard for us to replace the unit, resulting in our decision to check with other companies because we felt pressured.

We are in receipt of your complaint regarding concerns with the above-mentioned property. You have requested that we compensate you for the repair completed by another company. I have enclosed a copy of our service ticket from June 15, 2015, as well as the copy of your service ticket from the other company dated August 8, 2015.You equipment was installed in 2006. Your equipment had a one year labor, five year parts, and the standard two years for workmanship. This was a brand new home at the time of purchase. In October of 2006, we went out to your property for a no cool, and you were not home. On August 1 2007, we were called out to your home for an air balance. Chas Roberts has not performed any service or maintenance on this equipment since 2007.On June 14th, 2015, you called in indicating the equipment was not cooling. We sent a technician out to the property who then diagnosed an issue with your TXV (Thermo Expansion Valve) on the Air Handler(indoor unit). At this time your system had no warranty for parts, labor or workmanship. You declined the repair and indicated you would get quotes from other companies. First and foremost, we want to make it clear that although the filter drier was found to be reversed, it did not impair the function of the equipment, nor did it cause the issue with the TXV on the indoor unit. Your equipment has had no service or maintenance by Chas Roberts for the past 8 years. Chas Roberts would have no idea what has occurred with this system in that time frame as we have not been out to the property since 2007. In addition, your system has apparently run without any issues for eight years,which is well outside any workmanship or warranty period. Again, the filter drier would not cause the issue with the TXV on your equipment, therefore, we cannot compensate you for the cost to replace the TXV by the other company. We understand that you were frustrated that no one contacted you regarding your request for compensation for the other company's repair, but per your verbal conversation with [redacted], contact would be made if there was a change in status to your request. Your request to have us cover the part you had another company install was not something Chas Roberts was willing to do as you had no warranty, and the filter drier had zero impact on the failure of the TXV on your equipment. Chas Roberts stands by our work. Although your install is over nine years old, out of warranty, and has run without any issues for the past eight years per our service records, we will offer to refund the diagnostic fee of $85. Since you chose another contractor to complete the repair we recommended, we cannot compensate you for that. [redacted] Vice President Residential Sales and Service

Dear Mr. [redacted], 
 
We are in receipt of the complaint regarding your property.  We apologize if you have not received any of the messages we have left for you regarding the matter you have filed a complaint about.  
 
I wanted to let you know...

that we have processed this refund, and you should see it within 7-10 business days.   
Damon B[redacted]
VP of Residential Sales and Service

EXCELLENT AND FAST SERVICE

One of my worst service experiences. A dishonest plumber showed up to fix a small leak in my main line. The landscaper had already dug up the area and exposed the leak. The plumber claimed he would have to cut concrete and quoted $800 for the job. It turned out he just had to dig mud 6 inches deeper and replace an elbow joint. Less than a 1 hour job. Criminal! He did a lousy job too bending copper tubing a lot to replace the elbow. The sad thing for me is that I only agreed to the quote as my previous experience with the AC side of Chas Roberts was not a negative one.

I simply wanted to speak with someone to explain the policy of getting the payment up front. Instead of a call back as promised, your manager directed the technician to leave. This made me upset and at that point I was unwilling to pay up front. I ended up going with another company that found...

your company's actions incredible. I paid them after the work was completed. This happened to be $200 over what your technician quoted. I found it extremely rude that you would not explain your policy and assumed I would not make the payment as promised upon delivery of the work I already paid a deposit for.

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed...

the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution would be satisfactory to me.  I will wait until for the business to perform this action  ( A refund of 85$ diagnostic fee)  and, if it does, will consider this complaint resolved.

Regards,

Excellent. Our A/C broke the day before a record breaking heat day due to be 117. I called Chad Roberts and they had a tech named John Feagen come out very early the next morning. He came to our house. Found the problem in mere seconds and the air was on immediately. He is so knowledgeable, to the point and advised us on things to do to prevent any other issues. I asked him if we could set up a yearly check on our system to make sure bad things don't happen again and he set us up and told us how it would save us money. If you want things done right the first time, call and ask for him. Very straightforward. We will ask for him every time. You should do the same. Thank you so much John, see you in 6 months :)