S.A. Fink Associates

Review: on 7/*/13 a new airconditioning unit was installed at my home at a cost of $7809 the heating element was not available [gyothermal unit is used for airconditioning and heat] and I was told it would take 1 week to 10days to be delivered .it is now8/**/13 and no heat unit has been delivered. in addition when the unit was installed the pump wasnot replaced and thepipe that carried the water outside was leaking . when I looked a few days later there was a great deal of water on the floor and the carpet in the ajoining rooms were soaked as well as the moldings. when I called ,[redacted] the head technition came very quickly and he was the one who pointed out the problem .fink ageed to cover the cost of mold removal and water removal and replacement costs they have insurance to cover this I sent them the bills on july **. I have not heard from them and they are not returning my calls winter is coming soon and I have no heat and I am out $1235.25 which by the way was a very good price since I was nice enough to shop for the best priceDesired Settlement: install heat element and reimburse me for expense of cost of damage due from inadaquit installation

Review: I called SA Fink to repair the central air conditioning system that they sold me six (6) years ago for approximately $20,000. A repair man named [redacted] came to my house and told me that the coil was defective and said that he ordered a new one. During such time we had no air conditioning and I have 2 small children who were suffering from the heat. When he came back to my house 5 days later, he told my husband that he attempted to fix the coil with a coil repair kit, he did NOT have the new coil that he had told me he ordered, and said that he was unable fix the leak in the coil and that we needed an whole new air conditioning unit! At this point I called Steven Fink to find out the best course of action and inquire as to whether or not our air conditioning unit was still under warrantee. To this day, over THREE weeks later, he has not returned our calls! As we were going on 2 weeks without air conditioning during a heat wave and I had a child sick with the stomach virus, I contacted another air conditioning company. This repair man not only solved the problem in an hour, but told me that we did not need a new coil and that there was no sign of any coil repair kit on the unit. I am truly shocked by the events that have transpired. The repair man, [redacted], lied and deceived us into believing that we needed a whole new air conditioning unit which could have costed us tens of thousands of dollars. Still, after leaving over 15 messages, Steven Fink has not even had the decency to call back. Neither Steven Fink, nor his repair man, [redacted], cared at all about the situation my family was in and that is a disgraceful way to run a business. There is a bill that we were given from the repairman's first visit which I am definitely not paying - as he did nothing but waste our time. I want to insure that Steven Fink does not attempt to collect on such bill as he will not receive another dollar from us.Desired Settlement: I do NOT want Steven Fink to even attempt to collect on the invoice from the first or second visit (although invoice from second visit has no dollar amount). I REFUSE to pay for someone to lie to me, deceive me into believing that he attempted to fix the problem when my family had no air conditioning and was suffering during a heat wave. Steven Fink should have been honest and told his receptionist to tell me and my husband that he would never return our calls. At least that way I would have looked for a different company to solve my problem sooner than I did.

Apology.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

S.A. Fink dispatched a service technician named [redacted] on 6/**/2013 to a service call at [redacted]'s residence at [redacted]. Upon examination, [redacted] found the customer's central A/C system to be substantially low on refrigerant. During the course of his diagnosis [redacted] discovered a leak in one of the pipes in the condensing unit. The A/C system was installed by S.A. Fink in. 2007. The manufacturer's parts warranty on the condenser coil is 10 years from installation, thus ending in 2017. Prior to this visit [redacted]'s system had no history of Freon leaks.

From past experience, we know that the condenser coils are frequently not in stock at the local distributors and the lead time to obtain one can be lengthy. We opted to offer [redacted] a factory made coil repair kit at no cost that we have used many times in the past (with excellent results) which [redacted] agreed to. At that time, we did not indicate the need to order a coil as the repair kit would resolve the problem and [redacted] requested that we add refrigerant to the system (prior to the repair of the leak) to keep the A/C system running during the very hot weather we were having at the time. She agreed to pay for the Freon.

We obtained the repair kit on 6/**/2013 and returned 6/**/2013 to install it. During the course of the repair an additional leak was discovered on the coil which was not noticed at the time of the original diagnosis. We determined AT THAT POINT that the best course of action would be to replace the coil under the warranty to maintain system reliability.

We contacted the 2 local distributors in the area on 6/**/2013 and neither had the coil in stock. We were advised at that time that they would have to order the coil from the factory and, in both cases, there would be a lead time of approximately one month.

During the course of these events, Long Island was experiencing a heat wave and we were handling an extremely high volume of emergency service calls. [redacted] called in multiple times, on a daily basis, voicing her disapproval of every step of the process and the price. Each time she called she was apprised of the status of the repair.

A person claiming to be [redacted]'s mother-in-law also contacted us and the situation was explained to her in regard to obtaining a replacement coil under the warranty. The woman told me that they were upset and felt that S.A. Fink was unprofessional. She also complained about the price of the service bill. I advised her that there was no charge for the most recent visit and that the only charge was for the original service call and the Freon that was installed at that time (at [redacted]'s request). I also explained that the only way I could get her air conditioning working any sooner would be to replace the entire outdoor condenser, a component which was locally available but would not be covered by her warranty and would cost approximately $2,700.00, but I made sure she understood this was NOT my recommendation and at no point did S.A. Fink attempt to sell her a new system.

[redacted] did ask to speak with [redacted], the owner of the company, but due to the overwhelming call volume of service requests as a result of the heat wave we were experiencing he was unavailable to speak with her at that time. Being the service manager, and better able to address service issues at hand, I spoke with her. After listening to her continued concerns, it became clear that there was nothing we could do to resolve the issue to [redacted]'s satisfaction. Since the coil was covered by the manufacturer's warranty and could be replaced under warranty by any Trane dealer, I suggested that if [redacted] was dissatisfied with S.A. Fink's service, she might wish to consider working with another service company.

Review: We had a central air unit installed in our home in March, 2002 from SA Fink. They never filed for an electrical certification or a permit from the town upon completion of the installation. At the time I had no idea a central air unit needed a permit. Now, 12 years later in 2013, we have just added a room to our home and need the electrical inspection for the air conditioning unit in order to get a CO from the town. I spoke with [redacted] who said he would arrange for the inspector to come since he could not reach the electrician who did the work in 2002. I asked if they had my file and they said it was in the attack and would take too long to find. The electrical inspector came to my home and the unit did not pass code. I had to have the electric company, Dickenson Electric, come to fix the issue and SA Fink said they would pay for this work. They needed to install an outlet and a disconnect box. The total was $385. After countless unanswered phone calls and emails I finally spoke with the owner, [redacted], and he refused to pay for this work which he said he would. He claims that he did everything according to the law. How can this be when it is legal to have a permit for an AC unit? He told me verbatim that I luckily didn't have to pay taxes on it for 12 years. I explained that I am a law abiding citizen and would I have known, I would have made certain this was taken care of by them in 2002. I even said that $385 is not a lot of money and he should do what is right. He told me to multiply this by 1000 as many other of his customers are in the same position.Desired Settlement: I want to be reimbursed the $385.

Business

Response:

Dear [redacted]:

[redacted], who has issued this complaint, misunderstood this entire situation.

As many times as I tried to explain it to her, she was not able to understand that we had done everything required at the time of the installation. We installed an Air Conditioning System in her home in 2002. She never called us with a complaint about the installation, or to the best of my knowledge, for any service on the system since it was installed. When she called us, we told her that we did not have her job folder, because if we haven't heard from a customer for more then ten years we archive the folder to a storage facility, and it becomes very difficult to retrieve. She is still under the mis- impression that we never filed, or paid, for the required electrical inspection.

When we did the installation, we used a licensed electrician, as per the code required, and he installed it as per the code that was in effect at that time. The name of the Electrical Contractor was Fhagen Electric, and the name of the owner was [redacted]. He filed for an electrical inspection with "The New York Board of Fire Underwriters," which, at the time, was the "only" electrical inspection service he was allowed to file with. There were no other electrical inspectors acceptable at that time. Once the inspection was filed with them, it was considered to have been done in the exact way that was specified by the building, and electrical code. We paid Fhagen Electric $125.00 as part of his fee to file for this inspection, and he paid The Board of Fire Underwriters. We did everything we were legally responsible for according to the building and electrical code at the time.

[redacted] retired some years ago, and is no longer in business as an Electrician.

Over the years, it was not unusual for us to get calls from customers saying that there was an inspector at their door, who said that he was there to inspect the electrical work for the air conditioning installation we had installed ten years before. We had to explain to the customer that our electrician had filed for the inspection when we did the installation, but that he had no capability to get the inspections scheduled. The electrical inspection service would wait until they had a number of inspections to do in the same vicinity, and then do all of them when it was convenient for them. In fact we also had a call from another customer in Plainview with the same problem. When we spoke to him, he told us that he had received a card in his mail box several years ago from the Electrical Inspectors saying that they had been there to do a inspection but no one was home, (They had never called to make an appointment, they just showed up.)

Here is the crux of the problem. We did everything by the "book." when we did the job. Since the job was done, there have been a few chances to the electrical code, with reference air conditioning, The code is changed every three years to keep up with new technology, and real life experiences. Under the rules in place at the time, an inspection done ten years later would be inspected based on the year that the inspection was filed for.

Apparently the "New York Board of Fire Underwriters" (that I thought was a state run organization,) went bankrupt, and left a tremendous amount of inspections undone.

What I told [redacted] was that I would have a licensed electrician, that we work with, look into what would be required to modify the installation to today's code and get the job inspected. I also gave the electrician the other Plainview job to look at. He was extremely busy, as were we, and it took him a bit of time to get around to doing that. [redacted] called me on my cell phone a few weeks ago, and told me that the "Town of Oyster Bay'' had sent an Electrical Inspector to her house to examine the electrical work, and they he had told her that she needed to get the work done, and was only allowed to use "one" electrician; Dickenson Electric. She also told me that she had the done work and it cost $585.00. Not the $385.00 in her complaint. First: I'm sure that the Town didn't send the electrical inspector on it's own, and Secondly, she could have used any of the hundreds of electricians that are licensed in Nassau County. You can call the Town to confirm this.

At this point in the conversation, I had told [redacted] that I was in the middle of a complicated installation on a roof, and could not talk to her any longer. That I would call her back. (In fact I had a seven foot by five foot hole in the roof of a building, and it was threatening thunder showers. She refused to let me call her back, and in utter frustration, I disconnected the call.

I hope that you can see that we did everything we were required to with reference to the Electrical Inspection when the installation was done in 2002. There really should be some ruling by the State to alleviate the electrical contractors responsibility for upgrading the installation to today's code, and the reinspection fee. They followed all of the then current rules, and paid for the inspection service that was "specified" by the State. We used a Licensed Electrician to do the work, which was our responsibility. When I told [redacted] that we might be looking at 1,000 possible reoccurrences of this, I wasn't kidding. Us paying for the electrical work, and re-inspection could set a precedent, and make us liable for all future claims. I wanted to talk to a lawyer about what our responsibility really is, but have not had the time to do that..

Our company has a great reputation for reliability, integrity and customer satisfaction. Almost 100% of our business comes in from recommendations from our satisfied customers. We do almost no advertizing, and depend entirely on our customers recommendations, for all of our new customers. I hope that you believe me, when I tell you this was a complete aberration from our normal customer relations. I apologize. We did have our electrician take care of the other customer, and his charge to us was $300.00. If she had just waited for our Electrician to get to her home, there would have been no complaint. Please have the customer call me, and I'll see what I can do for her with reference to the $385.00 bill.

Being a consumer myself, I have always held your organization in high regard. If there is anything that we can help you with in the future, please feel free to contact us.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact me at anytime.

Respectfully submitted,

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me and the matter will hopefully be resolved. I spoke with [redacted] on July ** and he apologized for the abrupt ending of our last conversation regarding the electrical inspection for our air conditioning unit installed in 2002. [redacted] and I discussed the $385 bill from Dickenson Electric company which I faxed to his office on June [redacted]. I also mailed it with the attention to his assistant, Ros. This bill reflected the updates needed to comply with the current electrical codes in order to pass the inspection for the air conditioning unit which SA Fink installed in 2002. He told me he would send me a check for the full amount of $385. I appreciate his decision reimburse me for this cost.

Sincerely,

Review: we had a leak last season. When they finally came this season to look at it, they left us with out the unit being in working condition. They had to order a part and that it could take a few weeks. After a few weeks the weather got warm and we had no AC and we contacted them. But it took numerous phone calls for someone to get back to us and finally the owner called. He came to our house to temporary fix the system. At that time , we were told by the owner that something happened and the order was never placed. He also stated that they no longer make the part and needs to be rebuilt. This was before memorial day weekend. We still haven't received any phone calls or answers from them. We call them every week for updates but no one calls us back. Today is June [redacted] and haven't a phone from the company or the owner.Desired Settlement: once the unit is fixed we will switch companies

I called SA Fink to repair the central air conditioning system that they sold me six (6) years ago for approximately $20,000. A repair man named [redacted] came to my house and told me that the coil was defective and said that he ordered a new one. During such time we had no air conditioning and I have 2 small children who were suffering from the heat. When he came back to my house 5 days later, he told my husband that he attempted to fix the coil with a coil repair kit, he did NOT have the new coil that he had told me he ordered, and said that he was unable fix the leak in the coil and that we needed an whole new air conditioning unit! At this point I called Steven Fink to find out the best course of action and inquire as to whether or not our air conditioning unit was still under warrantee. To this day, over THREE weeks later, he has not returned our calls! As we were going on 2 weeks without air conditioning during a heat wave and I had a child sick with the stomach virus, I contacted another air conditioning company. This repair man not only solved the problem in an hour, but told me that we did not need a new coil and that there was no sign of any coil repair kit on the unit. I am truly shocked by the events that have transpired. The repair man, [redacted], lied and deceived us into believing that we needed a whole new air conditioning unit which could have costed us tens of thousands of dollars. Still, after leaving over 15 messages, Steven Fink has not even had the decency to call back. Neither Steven Fink, nor his repair man, [redacted], cared at all about the situation my family was in and that is a disgraceful way to run a business. There is a bill that we were given from the repairman's first visit which I am definitely not paying - as he did nothing but waste our time. I want to insure that Steven Fink does not attempt to collect on such bill as he will not receive another dollar from us.