ComplaintsforStay Cool Climate Control

• Initial Complaint

  10/20/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I hired them because a neighbor across the street used them. When I called them they said it would be $120 for them to come out 2 times a year. When I saw the itemized statement they charged me $220.00 a year. Then they sent a service description and I told them I wanted my furnace cleaned. They asked why I want them to come out here and I said to have my furnace cleaned. I am handicapped so I could not go down to look at the furnace. A carpenter went down in my basement to look at the furnace for me. He said the filter was dirty, replace with customer filter, blower is slightly dirty and would benefit from a cleaning, but they did not clean the blower. He said the blower fan was dirty. The air conditioner coil drain is completely clogged up, water not draining, blower capacitor is out of manufacturer specification, recommend replacing to prevent system breakdown, set up humidifier for winter but needs panel replaced. I had a guy that installed the humidifier, who came out to look at it, and he said everything was ok. According to their report it was ok. They did not put all the screws in there. Then they said I need a new furnace that would cost me $8,000 to $10,000 which I told them I would do it tomorrow. They never came upstairs to tell me any of this but only to tell me the bill. I do not want them back to touch my furnace. I would like to get some of the money back from them.

  Business response

  10/26/2023

  Hello, My name is ****** *****, the owner of Stay Cool Climate Control and I would like to help resolve this complaint.  We did a furnace tune-up/safety inspection at ******'s house and it appears there was a disconnect between the services we provided, the cost, and what we did.  ******'s complaint starts with the verbiage we told her it would be $120 to come out and service the furnace and once she saw the statement is was $220.  When we do our Furnace Tune-ups/ safety inspections we offer a one time visit for $129 or a two time visit for $229 (known as our comfort club plan that includes other benefits with it such as a 15% discount on parts/repairs, no after-hours fees, a free service check with any breakdowns and some other small perks).  

  Per the notes in our office software, when we first spoke to ****** she wanted to get set-up on the Comfort club plan but did not want to pay in advanced (on the phone), so we scheduled the visit and intended to collect $229 at the time of service for the first maintenance (furnace tune up), and then she would get one more tune-up on the Air Conditioner in the summer that would already be paid for.  

  During the first visit to do the Furnace Tune-up/safety inspection our technician notated his findings in a service description that is attached.  Some of the things he notated are the blower motor wheel being dirty from 22 years of use.  The blower cleaning is not included in the Furnace tune-up because it requires the disassembly of the furnace, the blower motor, and blower wheel; this is offered at an additional cost. The tune-up includes a basic cleaning of the outside and inside of the furnace, checking all electrical connections, cleaning of all safety sensors, checking performance of all safety sensors, as well as making sure the furnace is safe to operate, operating correctly, to code and the home is equipped wit carbon monoxide detectors.  

  Our technicians service description is presented to the customer before any repairs are done because we do not repair items or spend the customers money without approval first.  The technician noted the furnace is 22 years old with the average lifespan of 15-20 years.  Since it is out of this lifespan we informed the customer it will need to be replaced within the near future but as of now it is running normally and up to code.

  The filter was dirty and our technician replaced the filter for the customer free of charge using one of her filters.  

  The technician noted the drains for the AC were clogged and recommend replacing them.  The customer wanted to wait till spring to replace those when we come back for the next visit.  

  The blower capacitor was out of specification and the customer agreed to do that repair at that time.

  The humidifier panel was dirty with calcification and growth.  We recommended to replace that water panel and we did during the visit.

  The furnace flue was missing screws and against safety code because each joint in the pipe needs 3 screws, hers did not have 3 screws per joint. The technician added the screws to the pipe free of charge for safety concerns.  

  The technician discussed repair versus replacement options due to the age of the furnace and the customer wanted to move forward with the repairs she approved (blower capacitor replacement and humidifier panel replacement) at that time and recognized the age and condition of the furnace.  

  We are unsure how to handle this because we cannot get in contact with the customer.  We have tried to contact her a few times and even spoke to her briefly about the bill and told her to give us a call when she gets the paper invoice in the mail because she does not have email.  We believe there may be some confusion because we told her the pricing up front, our technician went over all the repairs with her and we even tried to call and make sure everything was okay one week after her service.  

  The customer will receive one more visit for AC maintenance with the plan she purchased, but if she did not want us to come perform that maintenance we could refund her the cost of 1/2 the plan she signed up for.  

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