Advice About a Repair Situation

Ohhhhkay. As a manager of a whole crew of construction guys, I may be able to offer some perspective here. Chances are quite slim, what with the center-of-hell type weather you all have been having, that the repair guy is sitting in the back of the shop with his feet up on the desk. Generally in 100*+ weather temps, HVAC guys are working 12+ hour days in the blazing heat. You think it's hot in your house? Climb up on the roof and see what that's like. So imagine, 12 hour day, everyone and their mother calling you all day hounding you to repair their broken-down equipment, he has your parts on order and the HVAC parts houses are slammed too so THEY're not calling anyone back either... heat waves are pretty much awful for anyone in the HVAC industry. I can't even tell you.

SO take a step back. If he had to order new coils, I'm sorry to tell you that this is probably not an off-the-shelf part. That's a major repair, and the part is integral to the HVAC system (in other words, there's no way to route around it - pressurized refrigerant flows through the coils and air blows across them, and that's what makes the air cold. Hole in the coils = no cooling.)

My recommendation is to call the shop and ask to speak to the Service Manager. Request an ETA on the parts. It's not the service guy's fault that there's a hole in the coils, or that the coils are all beat to hell, or whatever. Don't shoot the messenger. I know you're hot, but yelling at people and demanding money back because he doesn't carry an expensive and not-often-used parts on his truck is not a reasonable way to proceed here. By all means, get a second opinion, but realize that if you start all over on the parts order, it will be even longer until your HVAC is fixed.

Meanwhile, go stay in a hotel with a nice pool. ;) AND, don't forget to have your HVAC unit serviced twice per year. It will run better and you'll have a better chance of catching the major repairs before it's 110 outside. :)

I bet you are just about cooked. I know how hard it is to deal with the heat and when the a/c goes out its terrible. Its terrible for everyone when it happens and this summer has put more strain on the units than usual and more people are calling for repairs and none of us can afford to spend money and not see results. But I do think you havent given this company enough time to do much for you. Youre lucky to some degree that they were able to come out so soon in the first place. We had to wait 4 days to get anyone, and we called every a/c place in town. We even heard recordings saying they were too busy and wouldnt be able to return calls and suggested we find someone else! The guy came, good,, he checked out the unit,, great. He ordered a part, and it may come from clear across the country and take days to get here. Calling them over and over the next day just slows them down even more. Even being polite wont make it go faster.Sure you are frying in the heat and want it fixed, but they cant move any faster than the train, truck or airplanes that carry the freight. The gal who answers their phones might not even know what job it was, or if its ordered or has arrived. Shes not the mechanic, shes the receptionist. Im sure shes had more than her share of calls, all wanting to know when their a/c will be fixed, and she has no idea. She shouldnt give you the repair guys number. Thats not yours to have. Would you have called him at home? Im pretty sure that wouldnt have been right, even in the sweltering heat. His home isnt his work place and his receptionist shouldnt be allowed to give his number to a customer. I just dont think you have given them enough time to do the job and you probably werent first on their list of customers either. Miserable in the heat or not, you may have to wait till all the parts fall into place. A hotel sounds wonderful but expensive so, can you and the toddler and dogs go to your moms and camp out on the floor if needed? Can you spend time at a neighbors? Want to come to my house? Id let you in and give you ice tea. I know its hot so dont stay in the house. Go somewhere cool but make sure the repair shop has the number to reach you, because they will eventually get the part and want to finish the job. Thats how they make enough money to pay their own bills, and they dont want to leave you hanging in this heat.

If you paid via check - you can stop payment on the check...

if you paid via a credit card - you can call the issuing agency and tell them that the vendor did not follow through...

Look on your invoice and see what it says there - did you sign that the job was completed? did it state a part needed to be ordered and when it was expected in?

I personally would be miffed too and would fight for the $125 - however, keep in mind - how much time and effort you might have to put into getting your $125 back....so.....weigh that out and either go for it and make a point or learn from this experience....

Check with Angie's List - if they are on there - call Angie's list and complain - TRUST ME - companies DO NOT want a bad rep with as many possible customers will check them out on Angie's list....

TAKE CARE!!

I agree with SH. Call them again and tell them if they don't service your AC asap or return your money, you are going to report them to Better Business Bureau and to also write a bad review about them online (google or yelp). If they are helpful, good, otherwise in addition to above, try to get the check or the credit card transaction cancelled from your bank. If you paid cash, I have no ideas to get it back. I understand how you feel, in this unthinkable heat with a broken AC and a toddler at home. Hope it gets better for you today!

I would call them in the morning and ask if she can answer your question ~ was the part ordered. If the answer is yes, see if she can give you a "ball park" idea of how soon they can be out there. If she can't answer it ask to speak to someone who can. If there is nobody else, then nicely tell her that your sorry that your order has been misplaced and they told you that they would be out yesterday (today) and with the mix up of everything your going to cancel the check and find someone else. Thank her for everything ( nicely!)

She may not have been able to find anything today because it wasn't filed yet or late or something. When busy as Im sure you know not everything gets done right away for the operator to find (expectally in a small company) and sometimes things get lost/ misplaced.

Hopefully you can get some answers in the morning or find someone else who can fix it quickly! I understand what its like not to have that extra $125!! Or even the $125 to begin with but HAD to come up with it. $125 is alot of money... for some of us.

Good luck and I hope you are staying somewhat cool, the heat breaks and you can get it fixed very soon.

When you spoke to the company, did you happen to ask about getting a refund since nothing is being done... so that you can call someone else to get your situation resolved? If not, do that. You will either get prompt attention from SOMEBODY or nothing... if nothing, then I suppose you could always stop payment on your check, right? Did you happen to pay by credit card? If so, they can be wonderful allies with this sort of thing. Call them up and explain what has happened and ask them to refund it. See what happens.

In this kind of situation if I can't get someone to give me good information on the phone, I go to the place in person. It has only happened very few times but I got answers and in one case got my money back on the spot. I understand the company is probably overwhelmed right now; however, this heat is very dangerous so they need to tell you something. The comment that said basically they don't owe you any type of explanation or information because they are busy is ridiculous! I had an issue with an A/C company a little over a year ago that I am still trying to get resolved. Of all the service type companies, HVACs are my least favorite to deal with because of this very thing so I am praying my A/C holds out. Best of luck to you!

Do you have a good printer and fax? Write out what happened just like you did here, but with more details and less opinion. Dates, times, etc. Include the repair guy's name, what he said, who was there when he said it. Then write out your experience with the two phone calls. Show whatever you have to document the payment for the unfinished job. If you have a fax number for that company, fax your letter and payment documentation to them, and show on the cover page that you are also faxing a copy to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation. I know they are slammed beyond belief with this horrible heat wave, but they can't take your money and ignore you with your job unfinished. How hard is it for them to tell you the part isn't in? Or that they goofed and forgot to order it?

Report them to the Better Business Bureau or small business government department and make a complaint.
Or tell them, if they do not finish the job, you are reporting them.

They already took your money.

Report them.