[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
I find a number of statements made in this response to be inaccurate. Statement #1: The call I received from Dan H[redacted] on June 8th is logged on my phone at 7:42am, not 7:00 am as claimed. Dan attempted to dispute my claim that he needed to rush off the phone with me to dispatch his technician to my house by saying that we spoke at 7:00am and his technicians do not leave for jobs until 8:00am. However, I was at the dentist when the call came in at 7:42am and Dan left a voicemail. My phone logs my return call to Dan at 7:52am which supports my claim that my initial conversation with Dan was very brief as he said he needed to hurry off the phone to dispatch the technician. The only thing I asked Dan or the technician to do was to tell me if the repairs to fix the problem would be covered under warranty. I did not authorize any repairs or approve any estimate for service. Statement #2: Dan H[redacted] cannot assume that I knew I would be billed at the time when we ended our first phone conversation. The only way that he could assumed that I knew I would be billed is if he told me what I would be billed for, and as we both agree, at no time during this conversation did Dan tell me that I would be billed at minimum a $115 trip charge. If he had told me that, I would have told him to not send a technician. I am not sure if this charge is because we are "an hour away" from their shop and outside their service area, but we were never told that. [redacted] maps shows our home as being 23.2 miles/29 minutes away from their shop; I am unsure of where Dan is getting the one hour. Dan stated that he assumed that I was aware of their rates because we have dealt with them in the past but the only dealing we had with them was the FREE estimate we received for the unit and the installation of the unit, and during neither visit were we charged a $115 trip fee. Statement #3: When the technician determined that he was not able to find the leak or prepare an estimate for repairs, it is my opinion that he should have received my authorization for doing the "Glow Stick" test. I never told Dan, nor the technician, that they were authorized to do whatever tests or repairs necessary at whatever expense necessary. I cannot write blank checks for companies to fill in whatever amount they see fit for service. To me, it is just common sense and good business practice to tell a customer the charge for a service & receive authorization before performing the service. At no time did I ever say to do whatever was necessary to fix the unit, as I explained to Dan that another company had already performed a temporary fix and the unit was working at the time. All I ever wanted was to know what the charges WOULD be for a permanent fix. Statement #4: I have yet to receive an estimate for service from Lycoming Heating Company, be it free or billed. I have also not received a 'diagnosis' from Lycoming Heating Company so I do not understand why I am being billed for an estimate/diagnosis. Statement #5: I agreed to pay for the technicians time & the test he ran while at my property because, as I stated before, I a) thought that I was showing good faith and doing my part to find a resolution for this apparent misunderstanding and b) because, as I told Dan, I understand that the company has to pay the technician for his time and because they used their testing materials on my unit, which I assume I cannot return at this time. I sought to amicably resolve this issue; I did not wish to take it to this level but Lycoming Heating Company/Dan H[redacted] is clearly unwilling to find a resolution. I could have clarified fees with Dan before our initial phone conversation ended, but based on what I asked for and how he responded I was under the impression that I would receive at least a verbal if not written estimate before charges were incurred, so I will accept my share of the misunderstanding. However, I strongly feel that it was Lycoming Heating Companies obligation to inform me of charges for services & receive authorization before performing them. Allowing companies to show up at a residence and do whatever they want without permission and bill whatever they want without authorization or notice is just awful, awful business practice that I cannot imagine the Revdex.com would support. Statement #6: I 100% deny ever asking the technician how I will be billed. He presented me w/ a blank form from Lycoming without a single thing written on it to sign. It was not a bill, it had no charges listed. I was under the impression when he left that there was nothing due. Conclusion & thoughts: Why did I offer to pay for a portion of the bill? I believe I answer that previously, but I will reiterate that I am trying to be reasonable and accept some portion of the misunderstanding, while I do feel the majority of the misunderstanding falls on Lycoming Heating Company. It appears to me that one side of this dispute is trying to be reasonable and to find a resolution while the other is not. I don't believe that I said that the unit was installed in 2014, but that the initial problem w/ it's operation began in 2014. I will go back and review my initial complaint to verify; if that was an error in statement on my part I apologize for that. Other than (potentially) that statement, I did not make any false statements in my complaint against this company and feel completely disrespected to have been accused of just trying to get out of a bill. If we had received an estimate, authorized services and our unit was repaired to our satisfaction, I assure you & anyone reading this that I would not have taken this time away from my two children to haggle over $115. But I cannot allow $115 to be take away from my children and my family because of poor business practices or because I feel we have been taken advantage of. My second phone conversation with Dan H[redacted] (following the visit to our home) was a very unpleasant one. I contacted him to discuss the issue and find a solution; it appeared to me that he was neither willing to listen to my side of the dispute, nor find a solution. I found him to be unprofessional and rude. When he threatened to send the bill to collections in 30 days, I said that I wanted to see what resolution we could find via the Revdex.com and then would make the decision on sending payment. I feel this is a situation where a customer does not have much power and will be taken advantage of, but at least this complaint will be on record so that others may know who they may be entering into business with before contracting with Lycoming Heating Company. Regards,
[redacted]
Dear Revdex.com,in response to complaint ft [redacted], I will address this complaint as it is false and has no merit other than an attempt to not pay a bill.First Contact: [redacted] called and stated his thermostat that he tried to install himself was not working explained we were very busy...
but I would try to get him in. disclosed our rates and the time they covered. I explained that our Trip and Diagnosis fee was $115.00 for up to the first% hour. He stated that's fire no problem. I have this recorded and will send it to you as a MP3 if need be. It does disclose that the Call may be recorded so it is legal.My tech arrived and looked at the thermostat and explained that we do NOT work on [redacted] thermostats. [redacted] asked "Can't you do anything?" Tom, my tech, said that he got the furnace running only because we were charging a trip fee and it includes the first 4 hour. He got the heat working and left the air unhooked because the 2 together were causing the issue, So we helped [redacted] out, ever though we could have billed the same fee and left. Torn explained it was a COD as did on the phone and [redacted] said he wanted to call in with a credit card. Tom allowed this as well. [redacted] never called.The next day I got a call from some guy asking me to lower the bill for [redacted]. When said "No this is our rate and [redacted] agreed to it", the man got very snotty with me and began to strong arm me into lowering the bill. He stated that he feels [redacted] should pay a trip fee but not labor, l explained that's all we are billing and he owes us the money. Then I get this letter from you, this is an attempt to use your service to get out of paying a bill that was agreed to.Please Email me at: [email protected] so I can send you audio file of the call.Thank You,Dan H[redacted] Service/Office Manager
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
I find a number of statements made in this response to be inaccurate. Statement #1: The call I received from Dan H[redacted] on June 8th is logged on my phone at 7:42am, not 7:00 am as claimed. Dan attempted to dispute my claim that he needed to rush off the phone with me to dispatch his technician to my house by saying that we spoke at 7:00am and his technicians do not leave for jobs until 8:00am. However, I was at the dentist when the call came in at 7:42am and Dan left a voicemail. My phone logs my return call to Dan at 7:52am which supports my claim that my initial conversation with Dan was very brief as he said he needed to hurry off the phone to dispatch the technician. The only thing I asked Dan or the technician to do was to tell me if the repairs to fix the problem would be covered under warranty. I did not authorize any repairs or approve any estimate for service. Statement #2: Dan H[redacted] cannot assume that I knew I would be billed at the time when we ended our first phone conversation. The only way that he could assumed that I knew I would be billed is if he told me what I would be billed for, and as we both agree, at no time during this conversation did Dan tell me that I would be billed at minimum a $115 trip charge. If he had told me that, I would have told him to not send a technician. I am not sure if this charge is because we are "an hour away" from their shop and outside their service area, but we were never told that. [redacted] maps shows our home as being 23.2 miles/29 minutes away from their shop; I am unsure of where Dan is getting the one hour. Dan stated that he assumed that I was aware of their rates because we have dealt with them in the past but the only dealing we had with them was the FREE estimate we received for the unit and the installation of the unit, and during neither visit were we charged a $115 trip fee. Statement #3: When the technician determined that he was not able to find the leak or prepare an estimate for repairs, it is my opinion that he should have received my authorization for doing the "Glow Stick" test. I never told Dan, nor the technician, that they were authorized to do whatever tests or repairs necessary at whatever expense necessary. I cannot write blank checks for companies to fill in whatever amount they see fit for service. To me, it is just common sense and good business practice to tell a customer the charge for a service & receive authorization before performing the service. At no time did I ever say to do whatever was necessary to fix the unit, as I explained to Dan that another company had already performed a temporary fix and the unit was working at the time. All I ever wanted was to know what the charges WOULD be for a permanent fix. Statement #4: I have yet to receive an estimate for service from Lycoming Heating Company, be it free or billed. I have also not received a 'diagnosis' from Lycoming Heating Company so I do not understand why I am being billed for an estimate/diagnosis. Statement #5: I agreed to pay for the technicians time & the test he ran while at my property because, as I stated before, I a) thought that I was showing good faith and doing my part to find a resolution for this apparent misunderstanding and b) because, as I told Dan, I understand that the company has to pay the technician for his time and because they used their testing materials on my unit, which I assume I cannot return at this time. I sought to amicably resolve this issue; I did not wish to take it to this level but Lycoming Heating Company/Dan H[redacted] is clearly unwilling to find a resolution. I could have clarified fees with Dan before our initial phone conversation ended, but based on what I asked for and how he responded I was under the impression that I would receive at least a verbal if not written estimate before charges were incurred, so I will accept my share of the misunderstanding. However, I strongly feel that it was Lycoming Heating Companies obligation to inform me of charges for services & receive authorization before performing them. Allowing companies to show up at a residence and do whatever they want without permission and bill whatever they want without authorization or notice is just awful, awful business practice that I cannot imagine the Revdex.com would support. Statement #6: I 100% deny ever asking the technician how I will be billed. He presented me w/ a blank form from Lycoming without a single thing written on it to sign. It was not a bill, it had no charges listed. I was under the impression when he left that there was nothing due. Conclusion & thoughts: Why did I offer to pay for a portion of the bill? I believe I answer that previously, but I will reiterate that I am trying to be reasonable and accept some portion of the misunderstanding, while I do feel the majority of the misunderstanding falls on Lycoming Heating Company. It appears to me that one side of this dispute is trying to be reasonable and to find a resolution while the other is not. I don't believe that I said that the unit was installed in 2014, but that the initial problem w/ it's operation began in 2014. I will go back and review my initial complaint to verify; if that was an error in statement on my part I apologize for that. Other than (potentially) that statement, I did not make any false statements in my complaint against this company and feel completely disrespected to have been accused of just trying to get out of a bill. If we had received an estimate, authorized services and our unit was repaired to our satisfaction, I assure you & anyone reading this that I would not have taken this time away from my two children to haggle over $115. But I cannot allow $115 to be take away from my children and my family because of poor business practices or because I feel we have been taken advantage of. My second phone conversation with Dan H[redacted] (following the visit to our home) was a very unpleasant one. I contacted him to discuss the issue and find a solution; it appeared to me that he was neither willing to listen to my side of the dispute, nor find a solution. I found him to be unprofessional and rude. When he threatened to send the bill to collections in 30 days, I said that I wanted to see what resolution we could find via the Revdex.com and then would make the decision on sending payment. I feel this is a situation where a customer does not have much power and will be taken advantage of, but at least this complaint will be on record so that others may know who they may be entering into business with before contracting with Lycoming Heating Company. Regards,
[redacted]
Dear Revdex.com,in response to complaint ft [redacted], I will address this complaint as it is false and has no merit other than an attempt to not pay a bill.First Contact: [redacted] called and stated his thermostat that he tried to install himself was not working explained we were very busy...
but I would try to get him in. disclosed our rates and the time they covered. I explained that our Trip and Diagnosis fee was $115.00 for up to the first% hour. He stated that's fire no problem. I have this recorded and will send it to you as a MP3 if need be. It does disclose that the Call may be recorded so it is legal.My tech arrived and looked at the thermostat and explained that we do NOT work on [redacted] thermostats. [redacted] asked "Can't you do anything?" Tom, my tech, said that he got the furnace running only because we were charging a trip fee and it includes the first 4 hour. He got the heat working and left the air unhooked because the 2 together were causing the issue, So we helped [redacted] out, ever though we could have billed the same fee and left. Torn explained it was a COD as did on the phone and [redacted] said he wanted to call in with a credit card. Tom allowed this as well. [redacted] never called.The next day I got a call from some guy asking me to lower the bill for [redacted]. When said "No this is our rate and [redacted] agreed to it", the man got very snotty with me and began to strong arm me into lowering the bill. He stated that he feels [redacted] should pay a trip fee but not labor, l explained that's all we are billing and he owes us the money. Then I get this letter from you, this is an attempt to use your service to get out of paying a bill that was agreed to.Please Email me at: [email protected] so I can send you audio file of the call.Thank You,Dan H[redacted] Service/Office Manager