Alpine Refrigeration

Review: On March 12, 2013, this business was called to service my Payne furnace (heater). The problem seemed to be that while the furnace would turn on based on thermostat setting and desired temperature, the flames would not go on, and the unit would blow cold air. The pilot was on. Ron, at this business, came to the house to check the problem. He determined that the furnace needed a new pilot gas valve switch. He left to purchase a new part, returned, and installed the part. He also removed and cleaned the burners. He stated that while the furnace was old, it was in very good shape considering its age. At the end of the job, he also stated: You should be able to get a couple more years from this furnace. Once he left, the furnace presented the same problem. I called him, and he returned promptly. After checking things, he determined that a connection or wiring to the new part was loose. He stated that he tightened it up, and that I should not have any more problems. He charged $456.00 on this day.The furnace worked properly from March 12, 2013 until middle or end of May 2013 when we stopped using the heater due to warm season. We started to use it again in very late October or perhaps early November 2013. It worked properly until December 30, 2013. That night, when I placed the thermostat on desired temperature and turned it on, the heater turned on as usual. However, after a while, I noticed that cold air was blowing into the house. I checked the furnace and noticed that the pilot was on, but there were no flames. This was the same exact problem that I had experienced on March 12, 2013. Since it was outside of business hours, I waited until the next morning and called Ron at the above business on 12/31/2013. I introduced myself, stated my problem, and reminded him that he had worked on the same problem in March 2013. He stated that his son was working that day, and that his son would be at my house in the afternoon. Rons son arrived as scheduled. I explained the problem to him, showed him the part his father had replaced in March, explained to him that it was the same exact problem as in March, and showed him the invoice from March. Rons son first jump-started the unit. Then, he told me that he had found a small piece of cardboard in the thermostat. He asked if the thermostat was recently installed. I indicated that it was installed about five years ago in August 2008. He asked if the thermostat had been working. I told him that the thermostat had been working perfectly, and that we had not experienced any problems with the thermostat whether for the heater or the air-conditioner. Rons son indicated that it would be physically impossible for the thermostat to be working with the piece of cardboard inside. Obviously, Rons son was very wrong in his statement. Rons son did not perform any other acts. He was at my house for about 10 minutes, wrote an invoice for $86.00 service charge, and left. I did not use the furnace anymore on that day as it was a hot day. The furnace worked properly the next day which was 1/1/14. The following day, on 1/2/14, when I turned it on, it worked properly the first few times it went on according to the desired temperature, then it started blowing cold air again, no flames, and the pilot on. I called the business on that day at about 10:30 in the morning. Rons son answered the call and stated that he would be at my house by 11:00. He arrived and first unplugged the furnace from the electrical wall outlet, then plugged it back in. When he did this, the units flames went on, and the heater started working properly and blowing warm air. He indicated that he now thought the thermostat was not working. He said he would manually do what a thermostat does. He placed jumper cables in the unit and tried turning the heater on and off a few times. The furnace worked when he did this. He indicated that he was now sure that the problem was with the thermostat, and that I needed a new one. He said what I currently had was a cheap one. He said he could sell me one called Pro 5000 for $300.00. When I told him it was too expensive, he mentioned another one: Pro 3000 for $250.00. He said he would give me credit for the service charge of the 12/31/13 in the amount of $86.00, bringing the total for the day down to $164.00. He did say that I would be welcome to buy one on my own from Home Depot, and that he would show me how to install it, but he stressed that at Home Depot, thermostats run about $50.00 to $110.00 and are still not that good. He indicated that I would have no problems with the Pro 3000. Believing him, I agreed. He said he had to go to the warehouse to get it, but that would be a good opportunity for him to do a test on the furnace to see if it was overheating. He said it would take him about 30 minutes to go to the warehouse, also pump gas in his car, and return. This would be a good amount of time to see if the furnace was overheating. He indicated that he would leave the jumper cables in the unit, and the unit would continue to emit heat continuously until he returned. He said that if it got too hot, I could open the windows or just unplug the unit. I agreed to the test, and he left. He returned about 25 minutes later, checked the heater and stated that the furnace was not overheating and that it had passed the test. He said that this was very good, given the age of the furnace. He removed the old thermostat and installed the new one. He tested the unit several times with the new thermostat. The unit worked but was taking about 3 minutes to cool down after each cycle. He tried to reduce the time, called his father a few times for consultation, and managed to reduce the cooling time by about 20 seconds or so. Several times during this visit he indicated that the furnace was in really good shape for its age, and that I should be able to get 2-3 years out of it. Then, he wrote up an invoice. Initially, he wDesired Settlement: At this time I am demanding a refund. The business has made the following charges:1)March 12, 2013, $456.00 for a new pilot gas valve switch, and removing and cleaning of burners. While there is no express written warranty, after completing the job, Ron orally stated that I should be able to get a couple more year out of the furnace. This serves as an oral and implied warranty. I got about 4 months worth of proper functioning between March 12, 2013 and December 30, 2013. This is 18.75% of what should have been expected given Rons word (two years worth of furnace functioning). I am willing to settle for one year warranty, so as to be fair and just. A total of 4 months worth of functioning given a one year warranty is 37.5%. Therefore, the business may retain $171.00 as the reasonable value of services rendered and reasonable value of goods (parts) installed. I demand a refund of the rest which is $285.00.2)The Honeywell Pro3000 was sold to me at $164.00 ($86.00 credit on serv

Consumer

Response:

Review: 9878222

I am rejecting this response because:

This business has replied with a letter refusing payment of refund as requested in my complaint, raising their offer for replacing the furnace from $3200 to $4000, and offering to credit me $86.00 service charge if I decide to have them replace my furnace!! I would like my complaint to be reviewed by someone at Revdex.com, if this has not been done already. This business quoted me $250.00 for a thermostat that can be purchased anywhere between $25.00 to $38.00 and proceeded to charge me $164.00 after giving me $86.00 service credit. This business stated repeatedly and also wrote on an invoice that furnace was working great. However, at every service call, they said the problem was something different and went about fixing it a different way. At the last service call, they said the furnace was overheating and that I needed a new furnace. Their test the day before had shown the furnace was not overheating. Please read my complaint which is on file (via online filing and also sent as a hard copy via certified mail) carefully. The complaint sent via certified mail contains copies of the invoices as well as evidence of the thermostat retail price. I would like Revdex.com to contact me ASAP regarding this complaint. Such deceptive and fraudulent business practices are absolutely unacceptable.

Thank you.