Hentkowski Inc.

We did not receive the rebuttal from *** ***, so we were not trying to ignore her or the Revdex.com In the future can issues that need our attention be faxed or mailed to the office?
We refunded the cost of *** ***'s service call from us and the one from Potchak on May 19th, after we were given the information on their service call We do not believe that our service technician was in any way trying to mislead *** *** with his diagnosis or his repair Our technicians are paid an hourly wage and are not given bonuses or spiffs based on billings or services provided There is no incentive for them to bill out unnecessary repairs
It is apparent that his fixing the leak and adding refrigerant to the system did contribute to another issue, which we would have taken care of had she given us the opportunity
If you have any other questions please call the office at ***

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 9940470, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.
 
I am seeking reimbursement of the $538 paid to Hentkowski, Inc as well as the $405 paid to  Potchak. The latter fee would have not been necessary if issues were addressed properly.
I have attached a "layman's explanation" of the 4/14/14 service call. It mirrors what [redacted] and his superior, J[redacted]) minus the actual amount of charge found in the system.
Thank you for your attention in this matter.

On January 10, 2014 we responded to a service call from [redacted] that the system was not performing up to Par, and that she had past icing problems. Our technician came out and did a thorough exam of the system. He noticed some oil staining at the indoor coil and performed a bubble leak search...

and a search with his electronic refrigerant leak detector. His detector picked up a leak at the indoor coil but he could not locate the source. He recommended a UV dye leak search, which [redacted] agreed to. UV leak searches are a common practice in the industry and the dye will not harm her system, or we would not use the dye.
On January 20, 2014 another tech came out to follow up on the leak search.  He did not visually notice any dye but he also performed and electronic leak search and his detector also went off at the indoor coil.
On January 27, 2014 the first technician came back. He did not find any dye on his initial inspection. He put his refrigerant gauges on the outdoor unit and checked the refrigerant pressures. According to the Manufacturer's charging chart for the unit, it was low on refrigerant and so he added a small charge of approx. I lb. He rescanned the indoor coil and found a small amount of dye at a compression fitting. He tightened the fitting and wiped the area with a cleaner to remove the dye . The dye is cleaned off so we can see in the future if the leak is fixed. He rechecked the unit and it was running normally when he left.
On January 31, 2014 [redacted] came into the office now stating that the unit was noisy and she was having an issue with her thermostat.  I said that we would be willing to come back out and look at that for her, she told me that she had already had another contractor come take a look.
On February 11, 2014 we received a letter from [redacted] going over the service calls and our discussion. On February  12, 20 14 she called our office to follow up.
I spoke with the lead technician on the service call , had another technician from our office read the tickets and go over the calls with the service technician that performed the calls.  I spoke with George Bowersaux from Service Mark and went over the service calls our technician had performed.  I also spoke with Joe McCarry and Geoff Bennett , two tech support specialists from our Carrier distributor.  They all said that our technician performed the service calls correctly.  I followed up with [redacted] and stated that we would not refund the cost of the service call, but that we would send a technician out in the spring to verify the unit was running properly in the cooling mode at no charge.  She declined this offer.
I have enclosed copies of our service tickets and the Carrier charging chart. In regards to the leak detectors being cheap, our employees use a C[redacted] which are rated highly. If you have any questions you may call me at our office.

Review: On 1/10/14 a Hentkowski technician made a service call for my complaint of excess noise and ice build up on the condenser on my outside HVAC unit. He stated there was a refrigerant leak somewhere in the (inside) unit. I watched as he used his electronic sensor device and heard the "beeps" deep inside the unit, indicating a leak of refrigerant. I was told the best way to pinpoint the leak was to inject UV dye into the referigerant and recheck it 7-10 days later. The cost was $458.00, in addition to the $80.00 service call.

On 1/21/14 a different technician was unable to pinpoint a leak despite the presence of UV dye. He left without giving me any paperwork and said someone would call to give me an estimate for replacing the coils (costly), which he said I likely needed. I never received a call and had to call several times, finally speaking to [redacted], to get a follow up to the 1/21/14 findings. Instead of a recommendation, I was scheduled for a 3rd service call.

On 1/27/14 the technician, again, was unable to find any evidence UV dye. Later, however, he "found very small amount of dye @ compression fitting to TXV" after adding more refrigerant to the unit. He tightened the fitting, which is located on the front of the unit--no where near the area that the electronic devices were sensing a leak.

The outside unit continued to be noisy, and I could feel the ground vibrate when standing next to it (a new issue). At that point I met with Ms Barbara Hentkowski with my complaint that I doubted the "leak' finding as the noise from the unit continued. I had also consulted Mr [redacted] from Service Mark for a second opinion. He stated that the electronic devices can be unreliable as some are 'cheap'. He aso said the new vibration could be caused by overcharge of refrigerant. I declined [redacted]'s offer to have a 4th service call re: the continuation of noise and new vibration. She agreed to talk to [redacted] to discuss their findings before determining any compensation.

On 1/30/14 a Service Mark technician was unable to detect any leak using his electronic device, nor was he able to visualize any UV dye or spattering of dye, which is not easily removed. He also noted the "unit may be slightly overcharged", which can damage the unit. The fee for the service call was $91.00.

Also worth noting: on 12/18/13 a technician from Frederick & Sons 'could not find anything wrong'. In addition, I have been advised that excess noise, intermittant ice buildup (my main concerns) are considered normal for a heat pump for the recent 'polar vortex' weather.

I spoke to [redacted] and followed up with a letter outlining my complaint. Her only offer, to have the refrigerant levels checked in the Spring, is unacceptable.

I have additional concerns as; 1) I now understand that UV dye can damage the system

2) am selling my house now, which involves disclosures; without consulting an attorney, am unclear about any liability of damage to the unit if it is overcharged.Desired Settlement: Refund of $538.00 money paid to Hentkowski, Inc.

Reimbursement for accurate measurement of refrigerant in the unit; involves removing all refrigerant, weighing and replacing, as this is the only way to determine correct pressures during the cold weather.

Business

Response:

On January 10, 2014 we responded to a service call from [redacted] that the system was not performing up to Par, and that she had past icing problems. Our technician came out and did a thorough exam of the system. He noticed some oil staining at the indoor coil and performed a bubble leak search and a search with his electronic refrigerant leak detector. His detector picked up a leak at the indoor coil but he could not locate the source. He recommended a UV dye leak search, which [redacted] agreed to. UV leak searches are a common practice in the industry and the dye will not harm her system, or we would not use the dye.

On January 20, 2014 another tech came out to follow up on the leak search. He did not visually notice any dye but he also performed and electronic leak search and his detector also went off at the indoor coil.

On January 27, 2014 the first technician came back. He did not find any dye on his initial inspection. He put his refrigerant gauges on the outdoor unit and checked the refrigerant pressures. According to the Manufacturer's charging chart for the unit, it was low on refrigerant and so he added a small charge of approx. I lb. He rescanned the indoor coil and found a small amount of dye at a compression fitting. He tightened the fitting and wiped the area with a cleaner to remove the dye . The dye is cleaned off so we can see in the future if the leak is fixed. He rechecked the unit and it was running normally when he left.

On January 31, 2014 [redacted] came into the office now stating that the unit was noisy and she was having an issue with her thermostat. I said that we would be willing to come back out and look at that for her, she told me that she had already had another contractor come take a look.

On February 11, 2014 we received a letter from [redacted] going over the service calls and our discussion. On February 12, 20 14 she called our office to follow up.

I spoke with the lead technician on the service call , had another technician from our office read the tickets and go over the calls with the service technician that performed the calls. I spoke with George Bowersaux from Service Mark and went over the service calls our technician had performed. I also spoke with Joe McCarry and Geoff Bennett , two tech support specialists from our Carrier distributor. They all said that our technician performed the service calls correctly. I followed up with [redacted] and stated that we would not refund the cost of the service call, but that we would send a technician out in the spring to verify the unit was running properly in the cooling mode at no charge. She declined this offer.

I have enclosed copies of our service tickets and the Carrier charging chart. In regards to the leak detectors being cheap, our employees use a C[redacted] which are rated highly. If you have any questions you may call me at our office.

Consumer

Response: