Sarosky Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.

Review: Sarosky was contacted about a leaking issue we had with a [redacted] central air-conditioning unit that was installed in August 2010. The company that installed the unit has gone out of business. Not knowing who else to call, we selected Sarosky partly because they had the [redacted] emblem in their yellow pages ad. When the tech showed up he stated that he didn't know much about [redacted] warranty policy and he is more accustomed to [redacted] units. Our yellow pages were a few years old, however, if the company no longer routinely works with [redacted], it would have been nice if the office had informed us of this before we scheduled them to come out.

The company's tech first visited our residence on April 23, 2013. He stayed for approximately 1 hour. We were charged $280 for this "service". The invoice is illegible in the "Item or Part Description" section. The service price break-down was $80 for Diagnostic and $200 for Leak Search System. To me this seems like double charging for the same service. The tech did not record any pressure or refrigerant levels on the invoice yet in the "Our TRAINED PERSONNEL recommend" section of the invoice the tech stated - "need to return to recheck pressures". I was not present when he was there but my wife told me he stated that he had separated the indoor and outdoor units and that he said there was about 2 pounds of refrigerant left in the system at the time. I assume that he pressurized the indoor and outdoor units to some measurable but there was no indication of this on the invoice.

The same tech returned on April 30, 2013. On the invoice in the "Item or Part Description" section the writing again is almost illegible but I think it says "recheck pressure to indoor coil lousy pressure". We were charged an additional $50 for what I think reads "Coil search" and told that our indoor coil needs to be replaced. We were told that the tech thinks that the parts would be covered under warranty and that office would call us with a price to complete the work.

I called Sarosky's office on May 2, 2013 to see if they had managed to determine the price for replacement of the indoor coil. The office rep called me back later that day and stated that the price would be $1230. I asked her why it was so expensive and was anything covered by the warranty. She stated that the part was covered but that the shipping, labor, and refrigerant weren't. I asked her for a price break-down because it seemed very expensive. She stated that the owner would call me. He called later in the day and very curtly told me that it would cost $400 for labor, $100 for shipping, and about $700 for reclamation and recharge of the system. I told him I would call them back if I wanted them to complete the work.

Immediately after this I called an acquaintance that owns a heating and air conditioning business in Michigan. He told me that "this price is at least 4 to 5 hundred dollars too high". I was distraught so I called [redacted] and complained. They do not like to get involved recommending service companies. After I pressed them, they gave me the name and number for their local distribution center and said that perhaps they would make a recommendation. The distributor did recommend a service company and I am very glad that they did.

At my insistence this company agreed to price the coil replacement for me before they came out. I wanted some reassurance that I wouldn't be similarly abused as by Sarosky. They took the unit model and serial numbers and called my back promptly with a total price for coil replacement of $565 dollars for labor, shipping, and refrigerant. They clearly told me that they would not replace the coil without doing their own diagnostic and that they would charge $120 for diagnostic no matter what the problem turned out to be. Their tech came out a few days later and pressurized and leak tested the system. He clearly noted pressure readings and refrigerant levels on his invoice. He stated there was no refrigerant left in the system when he arrived and verbally stated that the schrader valves did not appear to be closed correctly by the previous tech. He also stated that there did not appear to be evidence that the indoor and outdoor systems were properly separated. He also stated that he found no evidence that the indoor coil was leaking on the unit. His recommendation was to drain the system, put in a sealant and dye pack, and recharge. If the system leaks again he will be able to easily find the leak because of the dye. He charged approximately $400 total for the diagnostic and service. We were told that if/when the system becomes refrigerant deficient and it turns out to be the indoor coil, they will apply this $400 to the coil fix of $565. Everything was clearly explained and performed in a professional manner. I wish I had been treated in a similar manner by Sarosky.Desired Settlement: I feel this service company did not have any intention of correcting my problem. I do not believe that they properly diagnosed my problem and then they attempted to gouge me on the price for fixing something that may or may not be broken. I would like a full refund of $330 dollars that we paid to them.

Business

Response:

As per out technician this is his response:

I feel there is no reason for a refund of $330.00 to this customer they did not pay for any service work that was not performed.

The charges were $80.00 for a diagnosis Where I found that the unit was running very low on charge and I did check all the most common

areas where these leaks occur and could not find any, the homeowner stated that the company that installed the unit was already back once to

recharge the system after it was 1 year old. At that point I recommended a leak search for $200.00 that included recovering the R-22 that was

left in the system pressurizing the system and look for the leak with no guarantee one will be found. The homeowner approved the work (this is

our co. policy get approval from homeowner cause they must pay day service work is performed). I then recovered 2 lbs. of R-22 from the system and

pressurized it with nitrogen. Spending 1 hour searching for a leak I was unable to locate one so I isolated the system and explained the return drive

back charge will be $50 to recheck pressures She agreed and I told her office will call to reschedule which they did so.

When I returned she said to me that what I did to the system did not work I asked her what did she mean and she told me that they ran the system

and it did not cool. She clearly did not understand what was going on with her system. The good thing is that the service disconnect was pulled to

prevent the outdoor unit from running. I explained everything to her again and I then rechecked the pressures that indicated there was a loss on the

indoor coil side but still did not phyically find one. I explained and suggested that the indoor coil is replaced because it is 95% of the time not the line

set that has the leak.

As far as another company prices our pricing is take from the [redacted] Flat Rate pricing system and is used by many dealers in the area.

The $400.00 that was charged to them by the other company would not have even covered the vacuum,recharge, filter drier on a 1.5 ton R-22 or any labor

involved plus the shipping and handling of the coil according to our guide.

Our policy is to tell the homeowner of our diagnsis and what the cost would be to repair before any work is done because the co. policy is they have to pay the day the work is done

and I did that and the home owner approved the repair. As for the other company's pricing that is there right to charge what they want as it is ours we always do a fair and good job

for our customers and feel there is no refunded to be given we did what we could up to the point where the coil need to be replaced.

Regards,

Sarosky Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.

Consumer

Response:

[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 Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Everything said in the response corroborates the emphasis of this complaint. The business (Sarosky) charged $280 to do a supposed leak detection and failed to record any pressures or refrigerant levels on the work order. They do not refute this fact. They state that they explained to my wife that she wasn't supposed to use the system but they did not write this on their invoice. My wife claims this was not explained to her at all. The "Our TRAINED PERSONNEL recommend" section simply read "need to return to recheck pressures". There is nothing in this section that said the homeowner is advised not to use the system.

The response states there was a pressure drop on the indoor side but there in no indication that the tech recorded the before and after pressures. The tech admits in his response that he did not actually find a leak in the indoor coil but he just guessed that it must be the coil "because it is 95% of the time not the line set that has the leak". I paid $330 for their guess. After this guess I was offered a single remedy that would cost $1230. They justify these excessive charges by their price guide but the fact is I was told by another friend/business owner from out of the area that this price is at least 4 to 5 hundred too high. The very next

business I called corroborates this by offering to do the complete job for $560.

In summary, for $330 I received two largely illegible invoices and a guess as a diagnosis. The single solution the businees proposed was to replace an indoor coil that may or may not be defective at a rate over double what another very qualified business would charge. They do not dispute any of these facts and no one should be abused in such a manner because of a pricing guide or for any other reason.

Regards,

Business

Response:

Dear Homeowner:

I don't know if you comprehended what our technician wrote in response to your first complaint but it is very clear what he did and why he did it.

This is turning into a he said, you said match and we will get nowhere, I stand behind our technician 100% on diagnosis what was said and the way the

situation was handled.

In conclusion I am willing to refund you the cost of the leak search of $200.00 to bring this matter to a close.

Regards,

[redacted] Sarosky

Owner