Collins Commercial Services

Review: In June 2015, my wife and I went under contract to purchase a home and paid to have a pre-sale home inspection completed. During the inspection, the inspector uncovered evidence of a past and/or ongoing condensation leak from the HVAC air handler unit in the attic. The seller went through the existing home warranty to have Collins Commercial Services called out to inspect, diagnose, and repair the condensation leak. Collins’ technician inspected the unit and determined the leak was caused by a blocked primary drain line and cleared the line. The technician then certified on the invoice that the unit had been inspected and was functioning properly after the primary drain line had been cleared. My wife and I took this certification as accurate and proceeded with the purchase of the home believing Collins’ technician to have applied his HVAC expertise to diagnosing and repairing the problem.

Less than a week after moving into the home, the problem reappeared with more condensation leaking into the secondary drain pan from the air handler unit. The same technician came out again and re-examined the unit to determine the cause. He again determined that the cause of the leak was a blocked primary drain line and again cleared the line.

Again, after less than a week, the problem reappeared. When I notified Collins Commercial Services that the problem had once again appeared, I was initially told that they would not be willing to come out and review the problem because the home warranty that originally called Collins out to the home would not pay for any additional work on the claim. Collins eventually agreed to send a field supervisor to inspect the unit only after I escalated my concerns to a manager. The supervisor almost immediately identified that the problem not as a blocked condensate line, but actually that the air handler unit had not been level when installed and as a result the condensation flows out of the unit’s corners rather than the designed primary condensate line. He indicated that it would be just a couple of A/C hanging straps and a 2x4 beam needed and labor to fix the issue for good. From his estimation, this would cost less than $200 to complete, but after much discussion, Collins refused to complete any work on this issue unless my wife and I agreed to foot the bill for their work, despite the fact that they needed three separate calls out to even identify this basic problem and they were hired to fix the problem prior to me ever taking ownership of the home.

When I explained to Collins’ management that the only reason that they were called to perform any work on the property was to diagnose and repair the leak before my wife and I took ownership of the home so that we did not have to inherit the problem, they were indifferent and unaccommodating to this. I also reminded them that the invoice they provided by the technician certified that they had inspected the unit and it was functioning properly regarding the condensation system. Collins Management told me that they had been generous by coming out multiple times to look at the issue without billing me additional charges for the trips. (Is it generosity to not charge someone for trying, and failing, to fix what you should have already done? It’s like saying it is generous for a pizza parlor to make me a pizza after they delivered me an empty box. Fixing your mistakes is not generosity and it is definitely not generosity when your mistakes are still not fixed.)

My wife and I relied upon Collins’ certification that they had correctly diagnosed and repaired the condensate problem in good faith and proceeded with the purchase of the home as a result. Collins has refused to stand by the diagnostic and repair work that their technicians conduct and expect me, the consumer, to pay for their mistakes. I did not choose Collins to do this work, but they were chosen for my by the home warranty. If I would have been the one choosing an HVAC contractor, I would have chosen one that I already have an established relationship with that I trust to perform their work with expertise and to stand by their work and their word when they perform service on my home. Collins’ refusal to honor the diagnostic certifications that they put in writing and make it right when they fall short is concerning.

If I am going to be stuck holding the bag for Collins’ ineptitude and have to pay out of my own pocket to have the unit repaired correctly, I will choose a contractor I trust. I simply want other consumers to be informed when they choose Collins and be warned that what Collins says they will do and what they actually will do are not the same.Desired Settlement: I originally had asked Collins to fix their mistake at no additional charge in light of the misdiagnosis. They refused. My desired outcome is for Collins to refund me $384.00. This is what it cost me to have an HVAC company I have worked with in the past (and trust) complete the repair. This includes the labor of completing the repair along with a replacement of the secondary drain pan that rusted through while Collins refused to fix their mistake.

Business

Response:

Thank you for posting your experience. Collins has been in the valley for 30 years and pride ourselves on our technical expertise and customer service. In reviewing the work we did at this location, I have some observations that should be shared. The first time we were out on June 5 for seller inspection by the previous homeowner, and resolved the three issues noted: condensation line needs to be blown out, plenum has loose sealant tape, air handler missing plug on south unit. Tech notes state condensate lines on both units cleared, sealed plenum tape where it was loose, no plug needed as condensate holes are there to drain water if primary drain was to ever back up. Tech certified the work that he was requested to perform, nothing else. The expense for this call was paid by the previous homeowner.We came out again on June 26 for a “no cool” call (which was the first, and only mechanical failure), found a bad run cap on the upstairs unit and replaced it. We were called out again on June 30 for “no cool”. However, once we arrived, we were told it was a condensation line leak instead. Our tech found sludge in the line (which is not uncommon), and cleared the drain to the downstairs unit. This was 25 days after the first call. Since we warranty this work for 30 days, so there was no charge to you. After calling your home warranty company for a leak again, based on tech inspection and work order notes, it was apparent to us and to your home warranty company that this was a condensate pan issue, which wasn’t covered by your insurance, and they denied your claim. We offered to do as a billable job. We did send another tech out on July 17 to dig a little deeper, and he found that the issue was an improperly installed unit, by another company, for the previous homeowner, prior to having the home warranty. He was only able to determine this by exposing the unit which was “hidden” by massive amounts of tape by the previous company. You actually verify this in your complaint.In essence, we performed the job we were contracted by your home warranty company to do, properly diagnosed the original issue, and offered to fix it at a fair price. You, as the warranty customer, never paid out of pocket for any of these calls.

Business

Response:

Thank you for posting your experience. Collins has been in the valley for 30 years and pride ourselves on our technical expertise and customer service. In reviewing the work we did at this location, I have some observations that should be shared. The first time we were out on June 5 for seller inspection by the previous homeowner, and resolved the three issues noted: condensation line needs to be blown out, plenum has loose sealant tape, air handler missing plug on south unit. Tech notes state condensate lines on both units cleared, sealed plenum tape where it was loose, no plug needed as condensate holes are there to drain water if primary drain was to ever back up. Tech certified the work that he was requested to perform, nothing else. The expense for this call was paid by the previous homeowner.We came out again on June 26 for a “no cool” call (which was the first, and only mechanical failure), found a bad run cap on the upstairs unit and replaced it. We were called out again on June 30 for “no cool”. However, once we arrived, we were told it was a condensation line leak instead. Our tech found sludge in the line (which is not uncommon), and cleared the drain to the downstairs unit. This was 25 days after the first call. Since we warranty this work for 30 days, so there was no charge to you. After calling your home warranty company for a leak again, based on tech inspection and work order notes, it was apparent to us and to your home warranty company that this was a condensate pan issue, which wasn’t covered by your insurance, and they denied your claim. We offered to do as a billable job. We did send another tech out on July 17 to dig a little deeper, and he found that the issue was an improperly installed unit, by another company, for the previous homeowner, prior to having the home warranty. He was only able to determine this by exposing the unit which was “hidden” by massive amounts of tape by the previous company. You actually verify this in your complaint.In essence, we performed the job we were contracted by your home warranty company to do, properly diagnosed the original issue, and offered to fix it at a fair price. You, as the warranty customer, never paid out of pocket for any of these calls.