The Train Station

I have reviewed the response offer 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.I signed the work order for the flat rate fee before I knew the part was under warranty. Once we found out it was under warranty by doing a quick run of the serial number directly on the manufacturers website, which was less than 30 minutes later we called the service tech and asked him to hold the check and let us know what the price would be for the labor only since the part would be no charge. He said he would let the office know. We never received a call back with a new price for labor only so we called again were told that's not how it would work.  I never would have signed a work order for the flat rate (labor and part) if it would have been disclosed whether part is on warranty or not, we would be paying the same amount upfront (We spoke directly with [redacted] the manufacturer and they said they could ship the part out no charge but it would have to be installed by a licensed technician) I have no issue with receiving my money back for the part and paying for labor but the business will not release their fee for the labor only. My resolve would be to know the labor fee and part refund that I will be receiving back and when.  Saying they don't know how much I'll get back for the part doesn't make sense when the flat fee includes the price for the part...that fee had to be calculated using a price for the part and that is the amount I should be refunded. Having to wait for a business to get money back is not what a consumer should have to do when performing warranty work, that is part of business overhead. I did ask when I originally phoned if they could service a [redacted] furnace - their response was yes, servicing means honoring warranties and if a business doesn't it should disclose that info before dispatching.
Regards,
[redacted]

This customer contracted with Blue Mountain for the replacement of a fault flame switch.  He agreed to pay a flat rate fee for this service.  Blue Mountain did not install this equipment and did not provide any warranty on the equipment.  If this customer has a warranty, it was...

provided by the manufacturer of the equipment or the previous installer. Blue Mountain is not a party to that warranty.  It has not seen the warranty.  It has no idea whether or not the part is actually covered by a warranty. As a courtesy to this customer (and for no extra charge), Blue Mountain agreed to submit a warranty claim on this customer's behalf.  That is, Blue Mountain agreed to help him facilitate making a warranty claim.  This process works as follows.  First, Blue Mountain purchased the equipment from its distributor.  Second, Blue Mountain submitted a warranty claim to the distributor.  Third, the distributor will submit a warranty claim to the manufacturer.  Fourth, the manufacturer will review the claim and decide whether or not the part is covered by a warranty.  Fifth, if the part is covered by a warranty, the manufacturer will issue a credit to the distributor, the distributor will issue a credit to Blue Mountain, and Blue Mountain will issue a credit to the customer.  It should also be noted that some distributors charge a fee for processing warranty claims.  Blue Mountain does not know if its distributor will in this case but, if it does, the customer's credit will be reduced by the amount of the fee. Blue Mountain's office has explained this process to this customer on several occasions.  Unfortunately, the customer mistakenly believes that he should not have to pay any upfront out of pocket expenses because the equipment is under warranty.  It is actually often the case that out of pocket expenses are paid upfront and are then later reimbursed by the warranty company.  As noted above, Blue Mountain did not give this warranty, is not a party to that warranty, and it has no idea whether or not the part is actually covered by a warranty.  Blue Mountain has paid for the part and charged the customer for the part as per the terms of their contract.  Blue Mountain has tried to resolve this customer's concerns by submitting a warranty claim on his behalf and has agreed to provide him with a refund/credit that the distributor provides as part of that claim less any expenses it charges.