Stewart's Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc.

This company has informed 5 residents the same part needed to be replaced at a cost of over $800After a second opinion no part required. A scam On 3/30/16 Stewart's HVAC came to do or A/C maintenance according to our service contract.We were then informed that a TXV valve would be required to repair our HVAC at the time of the service contract maintenance. We have only been in our home for 18 months and the unit is new. We were told the valve was covered by our service contract, but the labor was not. It would be a 3 to 4 hour job at the cost of approximately $800 for labor. Because we needed the unit to work, we scheduled the repair for 4/7/16. The tech came and did the job in 50 minutes. How could a 4 hour job cost the same as a 50 min job for labor. That would be $200 an hour for a tech?? Called the office told them tech here only 50 min so they dropped the cost to $600!! Four (4) neighbors who also had their contract maintence scheduled were told they needed the same TXV valve replaced. This is a brand new subdivision and the homes are all new. How could we all need the same part replacement. Another HVAC company was called in for a second opinion, and the valve did not need to be replaced. This appears to be a scam by Stewart's.None of the residents would be able to detect if the part was truly bad. We did pay for the repair and did notify our neighbors to be on the look out. When they were all told they needed the same replacement part, we all realized this company was trying to make money from all of us and that we needed to notify you.We did pay Stewarts $590.30 for a part that did not need to be replaced!! We payed by check.The latest HVAC system was checked today and when the homeowner told the tech he was not replacing the valve because it seems everyone in the neighborhood needed one, the tech asked him if we all had a meeting!!Desired SettlementThe service was not required. They informed us that we needed a valve which did not need to be replaced. The cost of the new valve they installed cost Stewart A/C nothing because it was still under warranty. The cost of the labor should be refunded because it was not required in the first place. They are trying to extort money from the seniors on this street.Business Response This problem is an industry wide problem with many manufactures, including Trane, Carrier and Lennox among others. The price that was charged for the repair is a fair market price and in line with all other mid sized companies. There are many other items that go into this repair other than labor as well. Stewart's Heating and Air does not manufacture equipment and can only repair problems and offer warranties, we can not take full responsibility for a part that may have failed. We stand behind our equipment and it's warranties and sorry the [redacted]'s needed a repair on their system. Consumer Response Thank you for your quick response.While the problem is an industry wide problem as stated by Stewart's Heating and Air, it is not the part, which was under warranty by the manufacturer so it cost Stewart's nothing, it is the cost of the labor which was NOT fair market price for Mid sized companies. When we scheduled the service appointment we were told the part was under warranty and the cost would be labor. The job would take approximately 3 to 4 hours, and the cost for that labor wa $800. The tech arrived on the scheduled date and began work on the unit. He was NOT here more than 40 to 50 minutes. This can be verified by our neighbors who were monitoring him as well because they had been given the same information. How could the cost of labor for a 4 hours job be the same as for a 50 minute job??? At their esttimate Stewarts would be receiving $200 an hour for labor. If you round the 50 minutes off to an hour the labor cost should have been $200 at most. After calling the office and having a heated discussion, they deducted $200 which brought the bill down to approximatey $600. Even with the cost of the filter and the labor, Stewart's would still need to refund us $200. Two other mid sized HVAC companies have been in to inspect our system and several of the neighbor's system. We were told that our labor price was way too high. One neighbor was told that she did not need the valve Stewarts told her she needed. All of our neighbors have since cancelled their service contracts with Stewarts nd will not do business with such a dishonest company.

No show once again. I actually took off work to make scheduling easier. No show no call. Whenever u call u are greeted by a secretary that could care less about helping. Unfortunately [redacted] uses them to install AC so if u want warranty to apply u have to use this terrible company.","neg-2

I have a [redacted] unit that was installed by Stewarts Heating & Air on a new house in 2012. The evaporator coil is leaking which is still under warranty and a issue with [redacted] which has a class action suit against them. I contacted Stewarts as they are the original installers. They sent a tech out to leak check system at a cost of $135. He found leak in evaporator coil and said they would call me with a quote. I called several times and got no quote as they were waiting on paper work to be turned in. Now after a week they give me a quote of $1245. This is only labor and materials as Coil is under warranty. In my research I found that this is very high labor rate. I found another [redacted] dealer in area that will do the same job for $500. All information I found online says you should be able to get this job done for approx. $600-$800. I would strongly urge anyone looking at this company to preform work for them to do your research and get other quotes to compare. I will not be calling Stewarts for any repairs","neg-1

HVAC system was incorrectly installed as a down flow system. System that was installed is a [redacted] heat pump, model # [redacted]. The "UH" stands for up flow or horizontal installation. If down-flow application is required, kit number [redacted], needsto be installed. This kit was never installed in my unit and because of this, condensation from HVAC sytem has been leaking out into the ceiling and has damaged the ceiling. The system is also missing a safety pan underneath to catch any condensation that may drip out of HVAC unit. I have also had to replace other parts inside unit because of the condensation getting inside of electrical components. I have tried to contact Stewarts Heating and Air with no response. I was able to talk to a [redacted] supplier. They said that the parts are free and available to installers if they ask for them. I was able to get the parts myself and make necessary repairs. Desired SettlementI would like for my ceiling to be repaired back to original state and for a safety pan be installed under HVAC unit to catch any future condensation so that ceiling does not get damaged again.Business Response We have since immediately identified the issue and the necessary steps were taken to rectify the situation. The incurred damages were repaired by us in a timely manner.

Interior water damage in the bedroom where my 19month old sleeps. Wet base boards, wet carpet, wet pad, damaged exterior drain off pipe. Friday 7:34pmI am completely dissatisfied with the lack of ownership [redacted] group has taken when it comes to the tradesman they use for the HVAC in our home, Stewart heating and air. [redacted] is saying they are not responsible and Stewart HVAC is saying they will only come out if we, the home owner foots the bill. Meanwhile my daughters bedroom still have water damage on the base boards, wet carpet, wet pad and an AC condensation run-off pipe that is broken and dripping behind the Sheetrock/wall. This problem was identified 8 months ago but was not large enough to warrant any immediate action until last week. The AC is completely in the 'off' position to avoid the leaking and Stewart is saying the earliest they can come out is a WEEK from now. Did I mention it took them 48hrs to make contact with me despite repeated calls from myself both during regular and emergency hours. I can be reached at XXX-XXX-XXXX. Lot [redacted], NC. Desired SettlementStewart needs to come out and be prepared to fix not only the HVAC issue but to at a minumum contract the work required to fix the subsequent damageed caused by the faulty pipe.Business Response This matter has been attended too. Homeowner was made aware that we offer a 1 year labor warranty on new homes. If this was an original water problem from installation, it would have appeared with in days of the air conditioner beginning to operate for the summer. Homeowner did not understand this and discussions began between homeowner and builder, thus the delay. When we were notified to make a visit by the builder we did so. During that visit we did see the the exterior drain line was broken off by some type of damage after installation, by possibly a lawn mower or something of the like. This was explained to the homeowner with builder present and agreed this was not caused by the installation by Stewart's Heating and Air. We are very sympathetic to this matter, but it was beyond our control. We repaired the matter and closed this situation in a timely manner was approved to do work. We do recommend for all homeowners, if you ever see one drop of water that may be coming from your air conditioner, turn the system off immediately and get help as soon as possible. Doing this will limit costly repairs to your home. We apologize to the [redacted]'this happened, but it was beyond our control. Thank you, [redacted]-President/CEO

Installed a leaky a/c coil in a new home construction, charged 270 to charge refrigerant, now want over 1000 replace itThe downstairs a/c was installed by Stewarts in a new home construction in September 2012. It has been weak since we moved in. At that time Stewarts said that the units were only designed for temperatures below 90 and this is normal. The problems started to get worse this summer. Stewarts came and found the unit to be low on refridgerant charged 270 to add new refrigerant. They did a leak detection shortly after (after we called and compalined) and the service person said that he is getting false readings but it could be in the evaporator coil (it wasn't conclusive). Less than 2 months later, the unit is not cooling at all.Now they want over $1000 in labor to replace the coil (coil covered by [redacted] warranty). This is very poor buisiness practice. They install leaky units and then charge for labor.Desired SettlementRefund of $270 and labor cost for replacing the coil.Business Response Stewart's Htg and Air provides a 1 year labor warranty on new construction homes. The equipment manufacturer provides a 5 year parts warranty. Beyond this point, homeowners will be charged labor fees and we will honor all equipment warranties as is typical. We apologize there has been a repair needed on this system, but we only install these systems, we do not manufacture them. It is unfortunate the system has needed a repair, but we install thousands of systems per year, and with any product, there are times when some of them need a repair. Thank you and I am sorry your system has needed a repair.