Comfort Engineers, Inc.

Horrible Service, company has completely gone down hillComfort Engineers installed new Trane HVAC system in after servicing our old system for years, and we have had nothing but problemsRep came out weeks ago and claimed it was fixed with new partHowever, it was still making sounds and not putting cool air outWe contacted again and rep came back yesterday and claims it needs line needs to be vacuumed out and he'll come back out on WednesdayMind you its 90+ degrees for last weeks and we still have no airI called to complain and *** called me back claiming nothing he could do and we are on scheduleWhen I suggested he could do something today he claimed I was talking down to him and he would not take this treatment and I would need to call back when I calmed downVery poor customer service to a long time customer I highly recommend using another HVAC company, as this one does very little to take care of it's long term customers and could care less about customer serviceThey will actually attempt to blame the customer and accuse customer of being out of line when they have failed miserably at diagnosing and fixing the problemThey'll get to you when it works for them

New upstairs heat pump installed to old drain that overflowed because they didn't check that it was flowing properly. The new upstairs heat pump was installed on 03/24/2016. The installer ran the drain from the pan into our old drain. The drain overflowed because the p-trap was clogged up which is something they should have checked at time of installation. We were not aware of this until the water came through our kitchen ceiling on 07/29/2016. I contacted [redacted] who told me that they assumed the drain was fine because there had not been a problem with the old system. The old system had not been working for about six months so sludge in the p-trap had probably dried up and clogged it. Our contention is that the drain should have been checked to be sure it was clear at the time of installation. I'm sure that is part of any installation or maintenance of a heat pump. I have contacted [redacted] and he checked with his superiors and they have denied any responsibility for my ceiling repair. He said it would be different if I had a maintenance agreement. My sales consultant was [redacted] and I was never offered a maintenance agreement in writing or I would have purchased it. I did tell [redacted] that I would be using Comfort Engineers for future maintenance on the new heat pump plus the two others we have. They are responsible for the damage to my ceiling but will mot help me unless the are forced to do it. I will be getting some quotes on the cost of the repair and they should pay for it.Desired SettlementWe expect them to pay for the repair of our kitchen ceiling.Business Response I'm [redacted], one of the owners of Comfort Engineers, Inc. We regret that this damaged occurred and would like to state our position. We do not feel that our installers are responsible for this damage based on these facts.1. Our proposal was signed March 24, 2016. The installation was completed on April 5, 2016. The damaged occurred per the customer on July 29, 2016. This is 115 days after the installation was completed. The water was draining properly for the duration of time between the installation and the time the damaged occurred.2. The blockage that caused the water damage was in the existing house plumbing and not in our new drain piping. There was no way our installers could predict that the existing house plumbing would cause damage 115 days after we installed the system.3. Checking the existing house plumbing is not something our installers do unless there is an obvious problem during the installation. Checking the existing house plumbing is not something we do during a maintenance check of a heat pump. We do check the P-Trap and piping associated with the heat pump during a maintenance check, but it would be unreasonable to expect us to check all of the house plumbing between the unit and the termination point of the plumbing system. In this case, the P-Trap and piping associated with the new heat pump installation was new and not the trap that had the blockage, it was the existing trap with the house plumbing.I have attached a checklist that we have our installers sign off on to make sure they have checked items that we are responsible for. This is part of our quality program to help us with performing our job to the standards that we strive to deliver to our customers. This checklist is for the heat pump installed for this job. You can see that it's very thorough.Again we regret this happened but we don't feel that we are responsible. We appreciate every customer and will stand behind our work. I know our insurance company would take the same position as ours based on the facts of what happened.Respectfully yours,[redacted]Executive Vice PresidentComfort Engineers, Inc.Consumer Response 1) Although I can't say the exact date the leak started I know for sure that it was not draining properly for the 115 days. It had to have been coming down on our sheet rock ceiling for awhile before breaking through. I would estimate 4-6 weeks.2) The blockage was not just any "existing house plumbing" it was the plumbing they used to drain the HVAC unit.3)I am 65 years old and have had a lot of HVAC services performed at the houses I have owned. They all made sure the system was draining properly as part of the service. They installed a new P-Trap but left the old (39 years old) P-Trap in place. They should have removed the old P-Trap because there was no necessity for there to be two of them. Since they left it in place they should have checked to be sure it was not clogged. Also they knew the system was off for a while and should have know that any trash in it would have dried and become a hard clog.I never saw the checklist but if checking the drain is on the list then it was not completed properly.If they had removed the old P-Trap and ran their new P-Trap directly to the existing plumbing this leakage would never have happened. There was no reason for two P-Traps to be there other than the installers just didn't feel like taking the time and effort to remove the old one. Since they decided not to remove it they should have made sure it was draining properly. Even though I know what the did it not right I would be willing get two estimates on repairing the damage and split the cost 50/50 with them.I have no confidence that they will even do this.Sincerely, [redacted]Final Business Response To all;As stated before, the unit drained properly for approximately 115 days ( 16 weeks )after our installation. The customer states in their rebuttal that they think it was leaking for an estimated time of 4-6 weeks before it broke the water through the ceiling. On average,an A/C system produces 5 to 9 gallons of water per day. Our position is that we think the blockage in the existing house plumbing occurred closer to the 115 days after our installation due to the fact that if it had been leaking for 4 to 6 weeks, that would equate to approximately 200 gallons of water. It would be impossible to have not noticed that amount of water earlier.Their argument concerning our workers leaving the existing house P-Trap in place is answered simply by the fact that code requires that P-Trap to be there.Our position is still the same, we do not accept the blockage of the existing plumbing in the house as our responsibility.Respectfully yours,[redacted]Comfort Engineers, Inc.

Horrible Service, company has completely gone down hill. Comfort Engineers installed new Trane HVAC system in 2015 after servicing our old system for 10 years, and we have had nothing but problems. Rep came out 3 weeks ago and claimed it was fixed with new part. However, it was still making sounds and not putting cool air out. We contacted again and rep came back yesterday and claims it needs line needs to be vacuumed out and he'll come back out on Wednesday. Mind you its 90+ degrees for last 3 weeks and we still have no air. I called to complain and [redacted] called me back claiming nothing he could do and we are on schedule. When I suggested he could do something today he claimed I was talking down to him and he would not take this treatment and I would need to call back when I calmed down. Very poor customer service to a long time customer. I highly recommend using another HVAC company, as this one does very little to take care of it's long term customers and could care less about customer service. They will actually attempt to blame the customer and accuse customer of being out of line when they have failed miserably at diagnosing and fixing the problem. They'll get to you when it works for them....","neg-1

Horrible Service, company has completely gone down hill. Comfort Engineers installed new Trane HVAC system in 2015 after servicing our old system for 10 years, and we have had nothing but problems. Rep came out 3 weeks ago and claimed it was fixed with new part. However, it was still making sounds and not putting cool air out. We contacted again and rep came back yesterday and claims it needs line needs to be vacuumed out and he'll come back out on Wednesday. Mind you its 90+ degrees for last 3 weeks and we still have no air. I called to complain and [redacted] called me back claiming nothing he could do and we are on schedule. When I suggested he could do something today he claimed I was talking down to him and he would not take this treatment and I would need to call back when I calmed down. Very poor customer service to a long time customer. I highly recommend using another HVAC company, as this one does very little to take care of it's long term customers and could care less about customer service. They will actually attempt to blame the customer and accuse customer of being out of line when they have failed miserably at diagnosing and fixing the problem. They'll get to you when it works for them....

On 8-9-16, [redacted] in Billing promised a pro-rated refund on a service contract. She has failed to honor her commitment and can't be reached. 5-3-2016: Called Comfort Engineers about a service contract for my 13 year old heat pump. Agreed to contract terms and had an inspection done shortly after this date.~7-25-16: Original heat pump failed. Had Comfort Engineers give quote on a new system.8-4-16: Gave comfort Engineers half of the cost ($4357) of a new system, per their installation policy.8-8-16: Installation of new system completed.8-9-16: Spoke with [redacted] in Billing about a pro-rated refund of the amount paid for the service contract. I no longer needed the service contract because the new system has a two year warranty. She said she would get back to me with the refund amount, and did so later that day. She told me that the refund would be 95 dollars and change.8-17-16: Received an invoice for the balance due (44000) an paid it bill the same day electronically from my [redacted] checking account.8-24-16: After waiting more than two weeks for my refund, I called [redacted] She didn't answer her phone, so I left a message requesting that she return my call. She never called.8-25-16: I made two calls to [redacted] one in the morning and one in the afternoon. In both cases she never answered her phone and never responded to my request for her to return my call.Throughout this entire process, I have kept my end of the bargain with clear communication, timely, and in-full payments to the contractor. However, it has become abundantly clear that [redacted] on behalf of Comfort Engineers, has no intention of honoring the promise she made to me on August 9, 2016 to refund 95 dollars and change, the pro-rated amount of the unused service contract.Desired SettlementI would like a refund of the pro-rated amount for the unused portion of the service contract, a total of 95 dollars and change.Revdex.com CommentComplainant called on 8/30/16 to say company had processed refund and that he wished to close the complaint.