Scatton's Heating & Cooling, Inc.

Review: When I initially contacted Scatton's Heating & Cooling for service and maintenance of my heatpump, I informed them of my 10-year extended parts and labor warranty from the manufacturer ([redacted]). Scatton's claimed they would honor my warranty, and specifically for that reason, I hired them. During their most recent maintenance, Scatton's discovered a refrigerant leak in my outdoor unit and they performed a repair on 16Jan2014. Under the terms of my [redacted] warranty, I'm responsible for regular maintenance and diagnostic fees, but repairs are 100% covered by my parts and labor warranty. I received and paid for the initial maintenance/diagnostic fee of $95, but later received an additional bill of $275 for repairs. I questioned the bill, but my main contact at Scatton's ([redacted]) assumed that the charge was simply an error due to a misunderstanding of my warranty, so we agreed to postpone payment until they could confirm my coverage. Our correspondences over the bill and assumption that it was an error continued from Jan through 05Feb2014.

While they were sorting out my warranty coverage for the first repair, my heatpump broke down and wasn't functioning properly. Scatton's returned to conduct another diagnosis on 29Jan2014 and reported that my entire outdoor unit needed replacement. They charged me $137.50 for that diagnosis.

Following that diagnosis, I was informed by [redacted] at Scatton's on 06Feb2014 that Scatton's just doesn't like [redacted]'s rates, so they routinely upcharge their customers for their repairs. He continued to demand the $275 for repairs. I contacted [redacted] who confirmed that I was 100% covered and reported that Scatton's was not allowed to upcharge customers for their services. [redacted] spoke directly with [redacted] at Scatton's to warn him that they were not honoring the warranty agreement and to tell him that they are not allowed to upcharge me for their repair. After that discussion, I received a call from [redacted] who confirmed his understanding of my warranty coverage but reported that he "didn't care what [redacted] says, they are still charging me for the extra fee".

I reported Scatton's once again to [redacted] and was advised not to pay the $275 additional charge. I immediately terminated all business with Scatton's and informed them of my complaint and dispute of the upcharge. I hired another company to repair my broken heatpump. The new company provided their own diagnosis and found that my heatpump was leaking refrigerant from the inside unit. They also reported that there was nothing wrong with the outside unit as Scatton's had claimed. Scatton's diagnosis of the problem was completely inaccurate, and according to [redacted] at Scatton's on 06Feb2014 (just prior to my termination letter), they were prepared to upcharge me an additional $500-$600 or more to (unnecessarily) replace my entire outdoor unit, and would have continued to upcharge me for additional repairs if the outdoor unit replacement didn't resolve my heating problems completely.

The new company was able to repair my heatpump completely under my warranty plan with no additional charge, and the unit is finally working perfectly.

As a result, I am disputing Scatton's diagnostic fee of $137.50 for 2 reasons: (1) Their diagnosis was completely inaccurate, and (2) They falsely claimed they would honor my [redacted] warranty when they had no intention of doing so - which includes abiding by the terms of the warranty and the rates that [redacted] provides. Had I known that Scatton's would charge me additional fees for all their repairs and services, I would have never hired them in the first place.

I am also disputing Scatton's upcharge fee of $275 for the first repair for the following reasons: (1) They falsely claimed they would honor my [redacted] warranty when I first hired them, (2) Under my [redacted] warranty, they are not allowed to charge me any additional fees for parts or labor, (3) They were fully informed by [redacted] of the warranty terms and blatantly chose to ignore them, (4) They were specifically told by [redacted] that they were not allowed to charge me any additional fees for their repair, and they blatantly chose to continue to try to collect the upcharge fee from me, (5) Unethical practices: During discussions with [redacted], [redacted] claimed that Scatton had every right to upcharge me for their services because he claimed that he had informed me of their billing policy ahead of time - However, I had never met [redacted] (who is the dispatcher) or spoken with him until 05Feb2014 when he called to schedule the replacement of my outdoor unit - Until 06Feb2014, [redacted] never mentioned the upcharge, (6) Scatton's leak repair to my outdoor unit may have been unnecessary - but more importantly, it did not fix the problem at all.

I had already asked Scatton's management to waive these charges in my termination letter, but received no response to that email on 06Feb2014. Instead, I discovered that they still charged my credit card for the $137.50 diagnostic fee and I've received reminders to pay the upcharge fee of $275.Desired Settlement: Due to Scatton's intentional misrepresentation of their services, deceptive practices, and failure to honor my warranty agreement, I am disputing 2 charges: (1) Diagnostic fee of $137.50, and (2) Upcharge fee of $275 for repairs.

I am requesting (once again) that Scatton's waive the $275 upcharge fee and issue me a refund of the $137.50 diagnostic fee. My credit card company is already working with me to collect a refund on the diagnostic fee.

Business

Response:

Dear Revdex.com ~