Gene's Refrigeration, Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.

I am rejecting this response because: Thank you for your response, however, I wanted to point out that despite my husband and I not being home, my in laws (whom are home owners themselves and are extremely familiar with our home ) were present during the service visit so I do not see what the difference would have been as to whether or not the service person expressed his concerns to them or us respectively. My in laws called me to advise me of the situation and what the serviceman had instructed them when the service gentleman was in his truck "completing his paperwork". I promptly told them to have the service man call me when he comes back into the house. A very short time later I received another call from my in laws stating that the serviceman stated that I was to call the Gene's office to discuss the situation. I promptly called the office, in which Genes indicated that I did not. I first spoke to a female whom I do not recall her name who then transferred me to a gentleman who I believe was Jim. I explained the details to Jim as I understood them and I advised him of our "extreme concerns". I also advised Jim that I wanted to speak to the serviceman and ask if the furnace was safe to run, what our risks were, and I wanted further instruction as to whether or not the serviceman had switched our furnace to the electric heat pump or how I could turn off the LP heat and just run it off the electric heat pump. At that time Jim either called the serviceman or spoke to him in the office, he did not put me on hold, I could hear Jim's side of the conversation in which Jim asked the serviceman in regards to my question about the LP/heat pump and he informed the service man of my fears. Jim returned to the line and advised that the serviceman did not switch the heat to the heat pump only as that was not an available function and he also stated that the serviceman said "it should not be an issue this week because the temperatures are warmer and your heat will run off your electric heat pump". In addition, Jim said that the serviceman indicated that we needed a new furnace and he could come to our home the same evening for an estimate. I have attached the estimate from Jim dated the same day as the service call. Again, when Jim was at our home, we addressed the "extreme concern" about the CO reading and again was advised by him that "you should have no problems this week because your furnace will not run on the LP because of the warmer temperatures". He also instructed that the new furnace would be installed before the temperatures would fall and gave us an estimated install of the following Friday. This did not calm our concern and  did express that to Jim.I do not have an invoice from the 2nd serviceman that came to our house as I can not locate it however I have attached the invoice from the third company/serviceman to come to our home. Please see attached. Additionally, The service that was originally supposed to be provided was a "check and tune" as indicated on my invoice, please clarify what is included in the "tune" as I can only identify that a "check" was completed. The 3rd company that performed a "check and tune" indicated that he checked and "cleaned the burners, flame sensor, furnace cabinet, drain trap" in which I am thinking perhaps this is the "tune?" If your serviceman was just giving us our options, not indicating that we had an issue, not indicating that we had to replace the heat ex-changer, not indicating that we had an issue with CO, and not indicating that the furnace perhaps should possibly be replaced why did he not perform a "tune" or clean the unit like the 3rd company did? Also why does your company advertise a "check and tune" and then only perform a "check?" Please advise what the tune entails?

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/04/09) */
The unit was installed six years ago. According to the customer, the unit only started shifting within the last three years and it was shifting towards the house. It is our experience that (1) if a unit is going to shift from the installation,...

it would have shifted with the first change in temperature and (2) when a unit shifts TOWARDS the house, there is a foundation issue. If a unit shifts, it usually shifts away from the house because of the grade around the house.
The industry switched to plastic pads 20 years ago because patio stones do not hold up under the weight of the larger units. If the soil around the house is unstable, the plastic pad will bend to conform to the ground. It is common HVAC practice to install these units with a plastic pad.
Manufacturer warranties require annual maintenance and the customer admitted to never having the unit serviced (where shifting may have been noticed) and our records indicate that this is the first time the customer has contacted us for any issue including the shifting.
We did send a technician out to try to level the pad. He informed the homeowner that he needed gravel to place under the pad so the water will drain away and she agreed to him using the gravel under her deck. We would normally charge $425.00 for the service that has already been performed but we only charged her $178.00. When she wasn't satisfied with the result and sent photos, the install manager ([redacted]) reviewed the photos and spoke with the technician. The unit appeared to be level and the pad was flexing to the contour of the ground. The next step would have been to send two technicians out to completely disconnect and remove the unit and replace the pad with another plastic pad. Again, this is something that we would normally charge $425.00 but [redacted] offered it to her for an additional $225.00.
Given that: through the homeowner's admission, the unit only started shifting within the last three years, the unit was shifting towards the house instead of away, the plastic pad is designed to adapt to the ground and will flex accordingly, we tried to resolve this issue at a reduced price, and the homeowner waited three years before contacting us, we do not feel that a refund is justified.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/09/22) */
On 8/3/15, we were scheduled to diagnose an AC that kept running. Our tech found the AC out of refrigerant, indicating a leak. He recharged the system and put in dye so that we could find the leak. The $462.00 charge was for the diagnostic,...

freon, dye and labor (that included the return to see where the dye leaked out). We returned in 30 days (industry standard) and found the coil located above the furnace (which is part of the AC, not the furnace) was leaking. There is nothing wrong with the furnace and the technician informed the customer that the furnace was OK. To repair the AC, the coil must be replaced.
In regards to the invoice, all of our technicians went mobile in 2013. The customer should have been given the option to provide an email address so that an invoice could be emailed. If the customer does not have (or does not elect to provide) an email address, the technician is supposed to note on their invoice for the office to mail a copy. The technician did not note that an invoice needed to be mailed. That was an oversight on his part if the customer requested a mailed copy. The customer could have called the office to request a copy and one would have been mailed that day.
In addition to the detail on the $462.00 charge as noted above, I am attaching copies of the invoices to this claim and I am putting copies in the mail to them as well.

There are multiple reasons why three companies could come up with different diagnostics.  Had the customer been home at the time of the service, our technician would have been able to show him the issues that he discovered and the carbon monoxide readings that he obtained during the visit on...

December 1, 2016.  He also would have been able to discuss the safety issues and answer any questions the customer would have had in relation to the safety concerns…possibly calming any fears the family may have had.  This also could have been accomplished by the customer calling our office to inquire about the “extreme concern” that the family had “despite having three carbon monoxide detectors in the home”.  At no point did our technician note that there was carbon monoxide in the house (as determined by the “second opinion” representative)…only that the furnace was not operating as it should and the potential for concern.  Based on our technician’s diagnostic of the rusted burners, rust in the heat exchanger, and higher carbon monoxide readings at the time of his visit, he was not wrong to advise the customer of these issues that can potentially cause unsafe operation of his furnace.  In the event of further failure after our visit (i.e. the heat exchanger cracks) and there are illnesses or even worse due to carbon monoxide poisoning, we can be held liable.  He actually has a responsibility to advise the customer of these issues…which is what he did.  The “third opinion” representative noted that the CO output in the exhaust was 42ppm.  We do not know if this is an air free reading and still may have led to a discussion (or notes on the invoice with the customer not present) about potential safety issues as we normally see ranges between 20ppm and 30ppm air free under normal operation.  A heat exchanger replacement CAN cost approximately $1,600.  The warranty status on his unit was not determined at the time of service and labor is not included in a manufacturer’s warranty. We feel that our technician did what he was supposed to do…check the unit and inform the customer of issues that he observed.  If it was unsafe to operate, he would have been required to shut the unit off.  Before making any determination on the requested refund, we would like to see the reports from the “second” and “third” companies that show their notes and their CO air free readings.