Smart Choice Heating and Air

Review: Solicited by this company by phone for a/c tune-up. They came out and checked the system and recommended repairs. I had them perform repairs on another day, which they did. My upstairs unit worked after they left but sometime during the night the unit stopped working. Not sure if it is a coincidence but I have never had an issue with any of my A/c units until now. After all services were performed I felt that I had been charged for a bill of goods that I had been promised and were not performed.Desired Settlement: Repair a/c unit that is not working and not be charged due to inconvenience caused by this company.

Business

Response:

On the 29th of June 2015, we had a scheduled appointment with [redacted], at [redacted] Calle [redacted], Ca. [redacted], for 3 air conditioning tune ups. On the day in question [redacted] the technician was unable to complete the services that were expected, due to him running out of filters. [redacted] informed [redacted] of the situation and let him know that we will need to return to bring the other 2 filters at a later date. Even with the lack of filters, [redacted] completed a customer survey giving [redacted] an excellent score. We returned to the [redacted] home on Friday the 3rd of July 2015 to replace the 2 filters and move forward with the recommended repairs [redacted] requested to have completed. When [redacted] left the home on that Friday all 3 systems were working. Unfortunately in the night, the upstairs unit stop running. The morning of the 4th of July, Mrs [redacted] called to say that the upstairs unit was not working and requested to speak to a supervisor. I informed her that we will be out later on that day to fix the issue and that a supervisor will be calling her back within the hour. The supervisor returned Mrs [redacted]'s call to listen to her concerns. He assured her that we will be out to fix the issue and that we will make sure that everything is in working condition before [redacted] leaves. [redacted] spoke with Mrs [redacted] once he fixed the issue and offered her a discount for her inconvenience at which time she passed on the offer. As far as we knew everything had been taken care of and both Mr and Mrs [redacted] were pleased that the issued was fixed. We would like to thank Mr and Mrs [redacted] for bringing this up to our attention and informing us of their concerns. We believe that even in situations as this that there is always something positive to be found. Without such knowledge we would not be able to work on our faults. Thank you, Smart Choice Heating and AIr

Review: I am representing my Step Mother in law who is 88 and now in assisted living suffering from Alzheimers. On 4/25/2015 Smart Choice replaced her heating & air conditioning unit for $10,000. The repair order generally stated the work to be done with no specifics as to equipment to be replaced or labor costs. Terms stated were $10,000 84 months $165.50 per month 9.9%. The amount saved was stated as $2991.95. They had her sign an installment contract for $8000. This contract is for $991.95 more than the cost listed on the order. I spoke with the lady who signed the Installment contrsct for Smart Choice and she told me she thought there might be an error but referred me to the General Manager and he said if it was uo to him he would return the money but he needed to speak with the owner first. Since then I have been given the runaround. They wanted to email me some information but lost the email address. I texted it to them and gave it verbally to the GM and the same lady who answerers the phone but have yet to receive an email from them. I was told many things as to why the installment contract was for the value it was but in searching the internet I coulld purchase the equipment they installed for $2000 not including labor and misc material. On the Seasonal Energy Guide the condenser is rated at 13 on a scale of 10.9 to23. 10.9 being least efficent. The Mobile Modular Home Gas Furnace is rated 80 on a scale of 75 to 92.1 Both of these units are not listed as being very efficient. I feel they took advantade of an elderly lady in the early stages of Alzheimers both in overpricing their value and in charging and additional $991.95 on the installment contract.Desired Settlement: I have many issues with Smart Choice but I feel the only available option to me is for them to refund the overcharge of $991.95 to my Step Mother in Law.

In future transactions a detailed bill with part numbers, misc items fittings, wire etc, and labor costs would be beneficial to all parties involved.

Business

Response:

Response letter is attached. Thank you and have a great day!In response to: ID [redacted]My name is [redacted] and I am the Administrator here at Smart Choice Heating and Air. Mystatement begins on Oct 12, 210S 08:30- ish a.m. I had just returned from vacation and was met witha phone call from [redacted], who is [redacted]'s Step Son-In-Law.I was unaware of the situation that had transpired between [redacted]'s sister and [redacted] themarketing manager, covering for me while I was away. As I was speaking to Mr. [redacted], I realized thatI was not handling the situation as I was trained to do so I referred Mr. [redacted] to the GeneralManager.[redacted] is a customer of ours and on April 23, 2015 we were at her home doing annualmaintenance to her air conditioning unit. After the maintenance the technician reported there weresome concerns he had found with her system, which was 15 years old. Mrs. [redacted] elected to moveforward with the recommendations which came to a total of $1,299.95. All repairs were completed,upon completion Mrs. [redacted]'s inquired on the cost of replacing her system versus the repair price ofwhich Is deducted from the replacement cost of a new system. Senior technician went out to the hometo verify the repair findings and to discuss replacement options with Mrs. [redacted]'s and her Son [redacted].Smart Choice Heating and Air nat rate pricing for a single stage system Is at priced at $11,692.00. OnApril 23, 2015, Mrs. [redacted]'s consented to the flat rate price of $11,692.00 with discounts and thecredit for the repair, the contract was signed and the install was scheduled by her on the April 25,2015. We did not install on the 25'", we waited until the 27'" for her to make a more sound decision.On the April 27'" she wanted to cancel, it was still too costly for her and at that point in time theGeneral Manager gave her another $2000.00 discount. She was then satisfied with her decision andthe Installation moved forward on the 28'" of April.Let us review the pricing,A. Flat rate for Single Stage System $ 11,692.00 Refer to Pricing SheetB. (Minus) Cost of repairs $ 1,299.95 Refer to Inv # [redacted]C. (Minus) Senior discount $ 1,692.00D. Sub Total for Sale $ 10,000.00 Refer to Sales ContractE. Additional Discount $ 2000.00 Given by General ManagerGrand Total of Mrs. [redacted]'s Comfort $ 8,000.00 Refer to Loan documentsDuring the 8th to the 11th of October, the marketing manager took a phone call from the daughter of[redacted]. This is [redacted]'s account of the conversation."To Whom It May Concern, the daughter of [redacted] had called in to Smart Choice Heating andAir. She claimed her mother was deceased, and that we were going to be sued. I informed her thather mother was alive and well when we signed her up for her new heating and air conditioningsystem.""At that point the daughter changed gears and stated that we took advantage of her mother by sellingher a complete new HVAC system for $10,000.00. Ten thousand is a competitive price for a legitimateHVAC company to install a full HVAC system.""At Smart Choice we have hundreds of customers sold for the same price. Unbenouced to me at thetime our General Manager had actually gone back to Mrs. [redacted]'s home and re-sold her the systemfor $8,000.00, to keep her happy. Eight thousand is way below what we normally sell a system for.The peculiar thing is that In a later conversation with our General Manager, it came out that thechildren of Mrs. [redacted] had in reality had her put into a nursing home. She was not deceased at all! -[redacted]"As for the concern of the type of S.E.E.R. and furnace rating, the senior technician discussed that withMrs. [redacted]'s and her Son [redacted] while In the home. They decided due to her age and her needs that itwould be more feasible to fit her with a simpler and less expensive system. Mind you this decisionMrs. [redacted]'s made to purchase her system was made over 6 months ago and in the company of herSon [redacted]. Now that Mrs. [redacted]'s is In the nursing home it seems that her daughter and husband nowfeel as if there's some sort of Injustice. We would like to apologize for the confusion and hope that thisclears any unresolved issues that Mr. [redacted] and others are having.Thank you for your time and patience. Have a wonderful day and Happy Holidays I

Consumer

Response:

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and have determined that this proposed action would not resolve my complaint. For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.

In response to Smart Choices response to my complaint ID[redacted] I will refute each comment in order.1) [redacted] states that my sister and Nathiel had a phone conversation. This is not true as none of my sisters are involved in this dispute.