Robinson Heating & Cooling, Inc.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/04/04) */
Mr. [redacted] called Robinson Heating and Cooling on April 1st, 2014, stating that he was needing to change the batteries in his thermostat "every 3-4 days" and that he only began having this problem after Robinson had replaced the ignition...

control module on his boiler on March 11th, 2014. He was told that we would come out and do the diagnostics to see what was causing his thermostat to need new batteries. When our service technician told Mr. [redacted] that he needed a new thermostat, and that this was unrelated to the part we replaced inside the boiler, Mr. [redacted] stated that he wanted to save money by replacing the thermostat himself. Mr. [redacted] was charged our regular rate of $89.00 for a diagnostic service call, plus our $15.00 travel/truck cost. If Mr. [redacted]'s problem with the boiler was related to the part we replaced in March 2014, it would have been a warranty call and Mr. [redacted] would not have been incurred any charge. Needing to replace the thermostat has absolutely nothing to do with the part that was replaced inside the boiler, nor could replacing this part cause something to go wrong with the thermostat. It is an unfortunate coincidence that Mr. [redacted] began having trouble with the thermostat so soon after the boiler was repaired, but whether it be HVAC repairs, car repairs, or any other mechanical piece of equipment, this does happen sometimes. Robinson has been in business for over 52 years and we have always stood by our work. Mr. [redacted] is a valued customer of Robinson's, and if we caused any confusion or misunderstanding as to the cost to come to Mr. [redacted]'s home for repairs that were unrelated to the service call last month, we do apologize to Mr. [redacted], and offer him the refund of $104.00.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (2000, 7, 2014/04/09) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2014/05/08) */
May 8, 2014
The customer, Ms. [redacted], was a tenant in a strip mall office building. On 1/6/14, Ms. [redacted] called the office stating that she had "no heat". Our service technicians were extremely busy this day in very frigid...

weather. [redacted] went to diagnose the problem with Ms. [redacted]'s rooftop unit and found she needed parts. We supplied Ms. [redacted] with two (2) space heaters, and [redacted] explained to Ms. [redacted] that the parts would be located and ordered. Robinson Heating and Cooling has only C.O.D. terms with all customers and when [redacted] informed Ms. [redacted] of the cost for the diagnostics done on 1/6/14, and what the cost would be for the repairs to the rooftop unit, she stated that she was vacating the building at the end of that month and we were to "bill the landlord".
Our technician, [redacted], then spoke with one of the owners of the strip mall, and they were surprised to learn that Ms. [redacted]'s business, Superior Health Care, was vacating her tenant space at the end of January 2014. [redacted] explained what repairs were needed to fix the rooftop unit and the landlord stated that Ms. [redacted] would be responsible for these costs. Both [redacted] and myself, the owner of Robinson Heating and Cooling, made multiple calls to Ms. [redacted] and left numerous voice mails, but did not receive a call back. We could not order the parts to repair the rooftop unit without knowing who would be paying the bill for the repairs.
As Ms. [redacted] stated in her letter, she knew that she, as the tenant, would be responsible for the cost of any repairs, so there should have been no problem with her paying for the diagnostic cost of $372.00. She admits to paying a second company $700.00.
Ms. [redacted] was invoiced originally in January 2014, and she was sent a Statement in both February 2014 and March 2014. When no payment was forthcoming, a duplicate bill was sent to the landlord, who then paid the bill in full.
Ms. [redacted] states that "no services were rendered to me". We did render services on 1/6/14, after Ms. [redacted] called us to come to her business. We diagnosed the problem with the rooftop unit, but when Ms. [redacted] stated she would not be paying the bill, but that we were to "bill the landlord", we would not have been able to do the additional work (the repairs once the parts were ordered and delivered) without Ms. [redacted]'s authorization and payment. As I am sure any business owner would testify a business would quickly close down if they continue to do work without being paid.
We are requesting a paid receipt showing the diagnostics and repairs to the rooftop unit from the second heating and cooling company, as well as a copy of the correspondence from Ms. [redacted]'s previous landlord showing that her security deposit was reduced by our billing in the amount of $372.00.
Thank you,
[redacted]
Owner/President
Robinson Heating and Cooling, Inc.
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2014/05/18) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Robinson heating did come to my space on 1/6/2014. When I called they stated they would come out and look at it to figure out what was wrong but did not give me a price for the service call. When [redacted] came down to tell me what was wrong with my heater he stated he could possibly order parts or would have to replace the whole thing but he did not know how much that would cost or if he could even find parts since my heater was old. He did not give me any price of what it would cost since he did not know. He stated he would send me a bill for the service since he was busy and needed to go. He did not disclose to me any cost for the call that day. I told him I wanted them to hold off fixing it since we were planning on moving in a few months and wanted to figure out the best solution. The owner states I told [redacted] I was vacating the building at the end of the month but in reality I did not give notice to leave the building for another month following his visit. I gave my notice in writing to my land lord when the timing was appropriate (1 month prior to leaving) as per the terms of my lease in February. I was never told what the cost of the diagnostics would be. I was never told the company worked on C.O.D. If this was the case [redacted] should have told me that on the initial visit and collected payment from me on that date which is not the case. The owner states that I told [redacted] to "bill the landlord", But as can be seen in my original complaint I stated per my lease I am the one responsible for my heating not my landlord so I would not contradict myself by saying "bill the landlord" when it is not their responsibility. Nor would I have called their company at lest 6 times in the next few days to get a quote to get it fixed. I have attached both my call log to them and the bill from the other company whom I did have out on 1/9/14.
The owner states that both himself and [redacted] left me numerous voice mails but I never received one call back from them in January. I left both my office number and my cell phone number on numerous occasions in the first few days. I would like to see proof of their attempts to call me back. I find it hard to believe that if they did call me as many time as they said they did I would never have received a voice mail on my work phone, cell phone, or a message from my staff. My only interaction with the owner was when he came into my unit 2 weeks after all of this occurred to pick up his heaters. He showed up unannounced and when I asked who he was he told me was the owner. I explained to him the situation and the fact that I was very unhappy with their customer service and lack of follow through. I told him I had had another company out to fix my heat. He told me he would look into this situation and talk to [redacted] to find out what happened. He said they were very busy with the cold weather which was why it took even him so long to come get the heaters. He said he thought they were talking to the land lords of the building which is why no one had returned my calls. I again explained I was the one responsible for my heat and I was the one who made the calls in the first place why weren't they talking with me. But at this point it didn't matter since I had already fixed it. Also during this time if they were indeed talking to my land lords I find it strange my land lords did not reach out to me and ask what was going on with my heat. The first communication I received from them was on January 27th 3 weeks after this situation and they asked if I was still having heat issues. The owner stated he would look into this situation and get back to me after we talked in person and I again heard nothing from him.
He states my company was billed in February and march. I did not receive any bill from this company. The first bill I saw from them was when my land lord sent me my security deposit and refund back to me after we moved out. I received this in April. The enclosed bill my land lord forwarded to me shows a bill they received from Robinson heating for my address location, but it is billed to them. It looks to me as if they were billing my land lord an not me and that may be why I did not receive any bills from them. Once we moved to our new location all mail was forwarded and I did not receive anything from them at my new location either. Had I received an earlier bill I would have called them sooner. As soon as I received this bill from my land lord I called Robinson heating to discuss the bill. I have attached this call log as well. I called on 4/18/14 and spoke with the receptionist who stated she would have the owner call me. A week later when I didn't hear back I called again on the 28th. We did receive a call back from her who said to just ignore this bill since it was paid. I then called again on the 29th said I wasn't worried about the bill being paid I wanted an explanation of the bill so please have the owner call me. To date I have not received a call back to discuss this.
I have attached my phone log from my personal cell phone in January to show my calls to this company. I have attached my phone call log to show my calls in April. I have attached the bill sent to me from my land lord along with the form showing my return and that they paid this bill from my funds. I have also attached my paid bill from the other company who did indeed fix it. I would like to point out that the company who fixed my heat only had a diagnostic charge of $79.95 while Robinson heating is charging $372. This seems excessive. This does not seem in par for a normal call especially when its 4x more expensive than another company. I still would like a detailed explanation of what diagnostics occurred and what justifies this charge along with proof of the correspondence this company claims they have made with me.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2014/06/10) */
We received a letter dated June 2, 2014 stating that you have not received a 2nd response from us.
Can you please check to make certain you have the correct email address as [redacted]@aol.com and notify me when you sent that email? I have no record of it.
I will have a response by the owner, [redacted] submitted to the Revdex.com tomorrow morning.
Thank you,
[redacted]
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 13, 2014/06/10) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)
I feel this remedies the situation and full fills my requests to resolve this case