Had Choate's come over in May 2014 for the a/c tune-up "special", as I had a clogged drain line on the unit in the attic taking care of the North side of the house. I expected my cost would be the $79 per unit "Tune up" charge, plus an amount to blow out the drain line. Also, there had been less air flow volume recently and I suspected something obstructing the air flow, and authorized an evaporator coil cleaning.
Well, after about an hour & a half the tech came down from the attic and presented me with a bill for $819. He charged for:
$158 Inspection / tune-up of the 2 units.
$196 2 lbs. of R-22 Freon @ $98 / lb.
$225 Chemical clean evaporator coil.
$85 Clean drain line.
$155 Capacitor for blower motor
$819 Total
As if this wasn't bad enough, he told me there was something wrong with a "board" on the unit and he had to hard wire the blower to the power source and it would be running 24/7. He sought no approval prior to doing the work he said he did, so as you can imagine I was flabbergasted at the $819 bill. ... gets worse folks
I told him the blower was working fine before he touched the system, just not moving enough air because of some obstructive material. He got very indignant and stormed out. Well, as luck would have it, the, drain he cleared for $85 became clogged again about a week later, causing a lot more water to come pouring into the kitchen from the ceiling., He came back and this time said it was a hole in the drain pan causing the problem. In fact, he said it was holes in 2 drain pans, one that is part of the unit and the supplemental one the unit sits on. Told me they couldn't be repaired, or actually that Choate's, as a matter of policy, would not repair them, then tried to sell me a new HVAC unit. I told him, at that point we were done talking. He made some lousy comments and left. I had a A/C man who works for a friend's property management company come by and check things out to see what needed to be done to stop the water. He said the drain was clogged, took his shop vac up to the unit and cleared it. He also said there are no holes in the pan and whenever I wanted he'd look at the "rigging" the Choate's tech did to hard wire the blower. Well, he came back in May to check the system, and undid what the Choate's tech did to make it run 24/7 Took him about 20 minutes, he shook his head as he couldn't understand why the Choate's tech did that. ... Unit works fine now, from the thermostat, ... no leaks either
Very please with the quick response and work for my burst water pipe. Lewis gave me a price quote and finished the job in a timely manner and at the price quoted. I would not have any qualms about using Choates again.
I called to have an air conditioner fixed that was not cooling. They sent a tech out that was clean and a nice guy. I was charged $85 for the service call (reasonable). My unit needed a capacitor and the tech asked me if I wanted it replaced. I told him I did. He replaced it and also the filter inside. I asked him if he would check the pressures on my unit since he was there and he did so and they were fine.
I told him to get me a bill and I would pay him. He worked up a bill and handed it to me and it was about $350. I asked him why so much and he pointed out that the capacitor was really exspensive, $216 in this case just for the capacitor.
I didn't argue with him since he was just an employee. I just happen to know what capacitors cost which is about $10-$20 depending on which one you buy. In fact he gave me the old one and the box the new one came in. The next day, I called the local HVAC store and my cost was $14.70 (retail). I don't mind paying a fair mark-up for parts or my $85 for the service call. But charging someone $216 for a $20 part is not a very nice thing to do. I wouldn't even mind paying $40 for a $15 part.I understand overhead and everything that goes with it and this is taking advantage of someone that trusts you for fair prices. I called the ownere and he gave me a spill about how much they pay employees and how much service vans cost. He offered to give me some money back. I told him the purpose of my call was not to ask for a refund but to ask why he is doing this to customers that trust him enough to call him for service at a fair price. He had no answer. 95% of customers would think that capacitors really do cost that much. But, I just happen to know better. I am not mad but just dissappointed !!
Shame on you Choates !!!
Had Choate's come over in May 2014 for the a/c tune-up "special", as I had a clogged drain line on the unit in the attic taking care of the North side of the house. I expected my cost would be the $79 per unit "Tune up" charge, plus an amount to blow out the drain line. Also, there had been less air flow volume recently and I suspected something obstructing the air flow, and authorized an evaporator coil cleaning.
Well, after about an hour & a half the tech came down from the attic and presented me with a bill for $819. He charged for:
$158 Inspection / tune-up of the 2 units.
$196 2 lbs. of R-22 Freon @ $98 / lb.
$225 Chemical clean evaporator coil.
$85 Clean drain line.
$155 Capacitor for blower motor
$819 Total
As if this wasn't bad enough, he told me there was something wrong with a "board" on the unit and he had to hard wire the blower to the power source and it would be running 24/7. He sought no approval prior to doing the work he said he did, so as you can imagine I was flabbergasted at the $819 bill. ... gets worse folks
I told him the blower was working fine before he touched the system, just not moving enough air because of some obstructive material. He got very indignant and stormed out. Well, as luck would have it, the, drain he cleared for $85 became clogged again about a week later, causing a lot more water to come pouring into the kitchen from the ceiling., He came back and this time said it was a hole in the drain pan causing the problem. In fact, he said it was holes in 2 drain pans, one that is part of the unit and the supplemental one the unit sits on. Told me they couldn't be repaired, or actually that Choate's, as a matter of policy, would not repair them, then tried to sell me a new HVAC unit. I told him, at that point we were done talking. He made some lousy comments and left. I had a A/C man who works for a friend's property management company come by and check things out to see what needed to be done to stop the water. He said the drain was clogged, took his shop vac up to the unit and cleared it. He also said there are no holes in the pan and whenever I wanted he'd look at the "rigging" the Choate's tech did to hard wire the blower. Well, he came back in May to check the system, and undid what the Choate's tech did to make it run 24/7 Took him about 20 minutes, he shook his head as he couldn't understand why the Choate's tech did that. ... Unit works fine now, from the thermostat, ... no leaks either
Very please with the quick response and work for my burst water pipe. Lewis gave me a price quote and finished the job in a timely manner and at the price quoted. I would not have any qualms about using Choates again.
Excellent service the maintenance contract pays for itself & always manufacture recommendations followed to your units.
I called to have an air conditioner fixed that was not cooling. They sent a tech out that was clean and a nice guy. I was charged $85 for the service call (reasonable). My unit needed a capacitor and the tech asked me if I wanted it replaced. I told him I did. He replaced it and also the filter inside. I asked him if he would check the pressures on my unit since he was there and he did so and they were fine.
I told him to get me a bill and I would pay him. He worked up a bill and handed it to me and it was about $350. I asked him why so much and he pointed out that the capacitor was really exspensive, $216 in this case just for the capacitor.
I didn't argue with him since he was just an employee. I just happen to know what capacitors cost which is about $10-$20 depending on which one you buy. In fact he gave me the old one and the box the new one came in. The next day, I called the local HVAC store and my cost was $14.70 (retail). I don't mind paying a fair mark-up for parts or my $85 for the service call. But charging someone $216 for a $20 part is not a very nice thing to do. I wouldn't even mind paying $40 for a $15 part.I understand overhead and everything that goes with it and this is taking advantage of someone that trusts you for fair prices. I called the ownere and he gave me a spill about how much they pay employees and how much service vans cost. He offered to give me some money back. I told him the purpose of my call was not to ask for a refund but to ask why he is doing this to customers that trust him enough to call him for service at a fair price. He had no answer. 95% of customers would think that capacitors really do cost that much. But, I just happen to know better. I am not mad but just dissappointed !!
Shame on you Choates !!!
Great company and service. Extremely courteous and thorough from setting the appointment to following up once the work was done.