Harris Fuels, Inc.

When the service agreement was mailed out last July the account was in good standing, the agreement automatically renewals unless either party gives notice to cancel with in days Last August 08/28/we even reached out to notify them that they were do for a cleaning but got a message of
phone is out of service The account failed to maintain the terms of being in good standings by October Yes they did pay off the account in February but the terms state for the agreement the account must be in good standing and all purchases of home heating oil but be from us The party failed to live up to there part of the agreement If you would like to see the terms I would be glad to forward them to youThank you,

[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the responseIf no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
There was in no way a resolution that was suggested for this problem
You CANNOT accept payment for a service, and then DENY the serviceIf the service was denied for any reason, we should have been told, in writingYou had phone numbers for us, of which were not good, yet not ONCE did you try to reach out to the third phone number on file, which was and remains activeYou did not email us at email on fileYou did not send a letter to us regarding this eitherYou did not hold up your end of the contract.
We had this "Service contract" for years and NOT ONCE did you come out and service itYou have taken over $from us for a service contract that you NOT ONCE came out to supportAnd when we finally schedule an appointment to do so, as recommended by YOUR website, confirmed by YOUR employee Wayne S***, you decide to negate your contractIf this is not resolved, I will be taking action against your company to reimburse not only the service contract amounts but also the days pay from my employer that I wasted waiting for your technician to arrive
Regards,
*** ***

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
**However, I am only accepting Harris Fuels response if they refund the portion that they have offered of $within business days, no later than March 20, **
Regards,
*** ***

We ordered and prepaid for a delivery of gallons of heating oilHarris fuels delivered and pumped additional oil into our tank without our permissionThen Harris oil not only tried to bill us for the additional oil but billed us again for the gallons and the additional $dollarsWhen we called to tell them the bill was incorrect they were extremely rude on the phone and said they were only capping off the tank to fill itI checked the level and there was only 3/of a tank so this was not the truthThey refused at that time to accept responsibility for their error and continued to blame us for non-paymentRecently they have continued to harass us by phone and have recently told us they needed to make arrangements to pump the fuel out of our tankThis company is treating us in a very un-professional manner and should be apologizing for their mistake and asking us how to make this situation rightThey should not be treating us like criminals and making statements about coming on to our property in any wayThere are professional ways to handle customer situations and we do not accept being bulliedWe now fear that this company may damage our fuel supply to our heaterCould you please advise us on this matterThank You sincerely, Cindy & Bill B***

I personally worked on this with [redacted], after becoming aware of the issue, I got right on it working with my credit card processor, and working with [redacted], finally got to the root of the issue and yes, it  was an issue on our side and her card issuing bank.  We...

were trying to receive payment, her card was  delicined, so all we were seeing was a code that our system tried again.  This in turn,  when using debit card as a credit card, they put hold on items and by law are allowed to hold those fund for up to a week.  Once we got the bank on the phone and  tried  to have the hold released. Since we never received the money, we  worked out a agreeable amount to credit her account for the problem.  Going forward [redacted] was going to call with the credit card payment.  This was  done once  and with only one payment made and the fact of the colder than the last 5 years winter, used more oil then budgeted, we do  not penilize customers by a set amount of gallons.   We have been in business for over 50 + years, and yes we may make a mistake but we are here to correct them.

They are still coming after me for funds not owed. The owner himself admitted the continuing mistake and told me they could not fire his billing person "because she would just sue me, she is a minority."
I paid for all the oil. They did not abide by the service contract. So, I am not paying the 2 years of service agreement. They are continuing to come after me for it. I have contacted a lawyer.
If you look at their [redacted] and other pages where people can offer experiences with them, you will see the same billing issues and unprofessionalism.
50 years or not, this is NOT how you treat a customer.
 
[To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]
 Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Regards,
[redacted]

Review: In July of 2012, my wife and I were in the market to replace our central air conditioning unit. We spoke with my father, [redacted], who is an executive at [redacted] – the company that owns [redacted]. Ultimately, we determined that we would buy a [redacted] unit through their employee purchase program, and have it installed in our home.

After purchasing the unit, we still needed a service provider to install that unit. My father contacted the regional sales manager for [redacted] and asked for a recommendation for an installer. [redacted] recommended Harris Comfort very highly, and the regional sales representative for [redacted] stated that he would even use Harris for an installation in his own home.

Confident in this recommendation, my wife and I scheduled the installation of our new A/C unit by Harris during the first week of August 2012. We paid Harris $1000 for the installation, having paid separately to the manufacturer for the A/C unit, related parts, etc. The installation went smoothly, and we spent August 2012 basking in our newly comfortable home.

Sadly, this comfort did not last. During a warm spell toward the end of September 2012 our A/C shut itself off because of the presence of water inside. We contacted Harris Comfort immediately, not understanding what the matter was. Harris sent a technician to our home while I was at work, and our previously positive interactions with Harris began a steady downward slide.

The technician who was sent to our house was, to put it mildly, extremely condescending towards us. When my wife first spoke with him over the phone, he expressed general reluctance to even visit our property. After arriving, when she inquired as to what was the problem with the unit, she was at first gruffly rebuffed and told “Give me a chance to look at it!” After a period of time, the technician told us that the cause of the problem was multifold.

First, we had set the thermostat below 73F. This, the technician claimed, had caused the unit to freeze overnight. Our thermostat was never to be set below 73F. I responded that I had never heard such a thing before, and that my previous A/C unit (built in the 1990s) had been set well below that without any trouble, ever. The technician’s response was simple: he laughed at me, and told me that he was an expert and that this was all just “common sense.”

Second, the technician blamed the presence of our family dog and his hair for clogging the air filter to our unit. The technician claimed that the filter had obviously not been changed in months. When I informed him that I had changed the filter only two weeks prior, he told me that I had to change it every week. When I again told him that I had never heard such a thing, he again reminded me that he was an expert, and that this was “just common sense.” I asked him to see the filter, so that I could verify the presence of dog hair, and he agreed – but then took the filter with him when he left our home, a fact that I found deeply suspicious.

To be clear, I have changed the air filters on our HVAC system religiously since we moved into this house. Both of my small children have asthma, and I consider it a part of their treatment regimen to ensure that dust/debris/hair/etc. is filtered as best as it can be from our ventilation system. To date I have never encountered anything remotely constituting a clog in our A/C system, nor have I seen – before or after – anything like what Harris’ technician described to me in my air filter.

Finally, we were informed that despite any weather conditions that may exist, we were never to use our air conditioning unit at night after the September. Again, we were advised that this was “common sense.”

A few weeks after this visit, I received a bill for services from Harris for the service visit. I immediately called and expressed that I would not pay this bill because the unit had failed so soon after installation and that we had followed all of Harris’ instructions regarding its operation. I also expressed skepticism regarding some of the new instructions we had received from the technician, and requested confirmation/clarity. I was told that I would get a call back, but never did.

Less than a month later, our A/C stopped working again during a warm spell and started leaking water onto our basement floor. Unlike last time, this actually caused substantial damage to our basement. Our tile flooring began to delaminate, and water was pooling on the concrete slab, posing a risk of mold.

On Saturday, October 27, 2012 I called Harris again, now just shy of two months from the date of installation, for a second service call for my air conditioning unit. Again I informed Harris that I would not pay for this visit because the unit had failed TWICE since installation, and we had followed all of our previous “new” instructions. I was told that I would receive a call back.

I received a call from the same technician who had visited before. He expressed to me, in no uncertain terms, that I should probably just wait until Monday. Throughout the conversation on the phone, he repeatedly attempted to dissuade me from having him visit on a Saturday. By the middle of the conversation, it was patently obvious that the technician simply did not want to visit my home and fix this problem. He told me that there would be a charge for the weekend visit, to which I replied – again – that I refuse to pay any charges given that the unit is not working the manner that it should, that it had been only installed less than two months prior, and that the floor of my basement has been damaged as a result. Eventually, after a telephone call to his supervisor, the technician relented and made his way over to my home with the understanding that I would not pay for this service call.

Once he arrived, the technician determined that the pan on the inside of the A/C unit had cracked when the unit froze previously. He stated that a new pan would need to be ordered & installed, and that Harris would take care of this. I was presented with a service record which had no price indicated on it that stated the nature of the problem, recommended course of action, and that the A/C unit was not to be turned on until this repair was made. The technician then went on to give us more “common sense” instructions on how to run the A/C unit, which now included the instructions to never under any circumstances turn the A/C on after September (weather and time notwithstanding) or to ever set the temperature below 75F. When I pointed out that he told me something different before, he deflected the question and offered no explanation for why his instructions had changed.

Weeks passed while we awaited the necessary part to be delivered. Thankfully the weather was cool. Eventually, once our schedule allowed it, my wife & I was able to schedule the installation of the new pan during the winter. This went without incident. However, despite previous assurances to the contrary and the service record that followed those assurances, I received yet another bill from Harris for the replacement of our pan. I again called Harris, advised them of my objection and our previous agreement, and expressed that I was really becoming quite angry about the whole situation. Again, I was told I would receive a call back, but never got one.

That brings us to this past weekend. My air conditioner has again stopped working because of the presence of water inside the machine. The red light on the circuit breaker has remained lit, and the unit refuses to operate. This is the third time the unit has failed to operate since being installed in August 2012. On average, it has run for only about six to eight weeks before it has shut itself down and required a service visit from Harris.

I am obviously distressed. I paid Harris $1000 for the proper installation of my new A/C unit, but have been denied its use by what is very likely an improper installation. On top of this, I have been billed multiple times for services and items for which I was told that there would be no charge. Further, my children – both severe asthma sufferers – have been forced to sleep in the same bedroom as my wife and I in order to remain in an enclosed, healthy, and cool environment during the 90F June & July heat. This situation is untenable, and is placing strain on my family and our limited resources.

I have contacted the engineers at [redacted] regarding the problems that I have faced in an effort to determine the problem. Not only do they dispute every single one of the special instructions that your technician has given me, but they also contend that the unit was very likely installed improperly, and that insufficient airflow is causing the unit to freeze from even minimal use. This, [redacted] insists, is a problem with the way the unit was installed.

Harris came to me as an extremely highly recommended installer. [redacted] themselves recommended Harris to my father (their boss). My expectations when I hired Harris to install this unit were admittedly high. To say that my dealings with Harris have been a disappointment is an understatement.

I write today not to cast blame or to criticize Harris for the problems that we’ve experienced. That would serve no purpose. No, I write today because I need someone, anyone at Harris to empathize with my situation as a father, a husband, and a customer.

I’m just a guy who wants to keep his sick kids cool during the summer heat, and I spent a lot of money for Harris to make that happen. To date, it hasn’t worked out. That, however, is in the past, and I’m eager to look beyond it if I can just get this situation resolved once and for all. I’m hoping that someone at Harris will recognize this situation for what it is and come out and make this situation right.

Please, I’m begging you: make this situation right and fix this A/C once and for all.

If you wish to discuss my situation, please do not hesitate to call me at [redacted]. I eagerly await your response.

Very truly yours, [redacted]Desired Settlement: I would like the A/C unit in my house that was improperly installed to be fixed so that my air conditioning functions as it is supposed to.

Business

Response:

Good afternoon [redacted], I waited until today to respond to your e mail received yesterday. I wanted to gather all the facts I could before attempting to answer your questions and trying to solve your problem with your air conditioning system. I know that our service manager [redacted] has been in touch with you and the Burnham company and that we had a tech at your home today. Hopefully your problem has been solved. Sometimes there are problems with a manufactures equipment and sometimes there are problems with us. I apologize for us and want to assure you that we have taken all necessary steps to fix the situation that you have told us about. We have had several meetings with management and our Tech that used poor judgment and gave you some information that does not meet usual operating advice. If you experience any problem in the future with your system please call us as soon as possible, we have 24/7 emergency service. I will extend our one year warranty for another year at no charge and credit any charges that may now exist. Please be assured that we do stand by our work and the manufacture stands by their equipment.

Review: PART OF THE LETTER I SENT THE COMPANY

When we signed up with Harris Comfort we signed a contract for your Fixed Price Budget. Your website description of the plan is below:

Fixed Price Budget:

The Fixed Price Budget program combines two benefits: It stabilizes your total heating costs, and it makes your monthly bills predictable. You reserve a specific number of gallons for the season ahead (some or all of your supply) at a specific price. That price will remain in effect until you have purchased all the gallons or until the contract expires after the heating season. You also pay for your oil in regular monthly amounts, so your bills are predictable and do not vary based on the weather or the amount of oil delivered. This program is ideal for homeowners who want to eliminate the threat of oil price inflation while also benefiting from predictable monthly billing. There is no fee for this program.

We made monthly payments of $259 on time, every time through automatic billing. Not a minute late. We held up our end of the contract.

On April 21, 2014, I received angry phone calls/emails from my cable company, my children’s day care, my electric company and two other companies I had set for auto billing on the same credit card as Harris Comfort. I was told that my credit card was not going through, that I would be assessed late fees and statuses changed. I then received an email from my credit card company that I would have fees for going over my credit card limit. I could not understand this. After 2 hours on the phone with my credit card company we figured out that Harris Comfort had billed my $259 a month fee 14 times. That came to $3,626. The credit card company informed me to immediately call Harris and have them credit back those funds or call a special number to talk to my credit card company direct. I called Harris and was told by the woman on the phone that she couldn’t help me but would call me back. I waited an hour and called back. They had left for the day. That couldn’t be happening. If I couldn’t get the funds credited back my children’s day care would not have taken them the next day. Infuriated I took to social media and posted on Harris’s page what had happened. Two hours later the owner returned my call, not because his book keeper told him of her error, but because his social media person saw my message. Mr. Harris finally resolved this issue by 9pm that night. I had many problems with my credit card including an interest rate increase because of Harris Comforts error. Mr. Harris assured me nothing like this would ever happen again if I continued with them. He also told him “my bookkeeper is incompetent but we can’t let her go.” I felt that such an egregious error should have led to her being fired. But, I placed my trust in Harris and stayed.

Then on July 14, 2014, I received an invoice saying that we were past due. Claiming my payments were more than double the $259 fixed budget plan we were committed to. I again called the owner who told me this was yet another bookkeeper error, but he, yet again, could not fire her. He said she was incapable of doing her job. I couldn’t care less if he fired her or not, but I was no longer going to be over billed. I canceled immediately due to the company’s incompetence.

Then, this letter telling us we owe $1,063.30 plus a $31.90 finance charge, arrived. We do not owe these funds. Any balance must be removed from our account. If this is not done, we will be contacting the Revdex.com, [redacted], the media (as you already have similar billing complaints on your social media pages) and my attorney.Desired Settlement: I want my invoice removed.

Business

Response:

I personally worked on this with [redacted], after becoming aware of the issue, I got right on it working with my credit card processor, and working with [redacted], finally got to the root of the issue and yes, it was an issue on our side and her card issuing bank. We were trying to receive payment, her card was delicined, so all we were seeing was a code that our system tried again. This in turn, when using debit card as a credit card, they put hold on items and by law are allowed to hold those fund for up to a week. Once we got the bank on the phone and tried to have the hold released. Since we never received the money, we worked out a agreeable amount to credit her account for the problem. Going forward [redacted] was going to call with the credit card payment. This was done once and with only one payment made and the fact of the colder than the last 5 years winter, used more oil then budgeted, we do not penilize customers by a set amount of gallons. We have been in business for over 50 + years, and yes we may make a mistake but we are here to correct them.

Consumer

Response:

They are still coming after me for funds not owed. The owner himself admitted the continuing mistake and told me they could not fire his billing person "because she would just sue me, she is a minority." I paid for all the oil. They did not abide by the service contract. So, I am not paying the 2 years of service agreement. They are continuing to come after me for it. I have contacted a lawyer. If you look at their [redacted], [redacted] and other pages where people can offer experiences with them, you will see the same billing issues and unprofessionalism. 50 years or not, this is NOT how you treat a customer. [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed Administratively Resolved]

Review: [redacted]

I am rejecting this response because:

Regards,

Business

Response:

A statement showing a zero balance will be sent today. It is regretful that this issue accord and we have kept to our word. We now consider this issue fully resolved

Consumer

Response:

[A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response. If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]

I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. I highly recomend that people seek other companies for thier oil needs.

Regards,

Review: I would like to file a complaint on Harris Comfort/ Harris Oil Fuels of [redacted], PA. This is regarding a service call on an HVAC unit on my Property in [redacted], PA [redacted] in July 2013. The property was being rented at that time.

The tenants reported that the HVAC unit had stopped working. I placed a call with Harris Comfort. Harris Comfort sent their technicians and diagnosed as a failed part in the unit. Since they did not have the part at the time, they had to order the part and the charge for which was approximately $450.00. I had authorized them to get the part and replace it. After about a week, Harris Comfort technicians replaced the part in the HVAC unit. This was around the July 4th Holiday last year.

The technicians replaced the part and left the property, after about a few hours, the tenants reported burning odor from the vents in the house, at the time the unit was immediately switched off and a call was placed with Harris Comfort. The technicians showed up at the property and could not diagnose anything. They said there was nothing wrong.

This went on for about 10 days, the tenants were reporting burning odor almost every day for the next 10 days, we placed several calls with Harris Comfort but no technicians showed up. The unit remained switched off during that time. (Peak of summer).

I had also called Harris Comfort regarding giving me an estimate for a new HVAC unit but I did not get any response, their response was that their technicians have looked at it and could not find anything. Not getting the customer service from Harris Comfort, I had to use the services of [redacted] and got a brand new unit installed at the property. I have since sold the property to the tenants.

I have gone through tremendous amount of financial (spent $4400 on a new HVAC unit) and emotional stress regarding this issue.

After couple of months I received calls from Harris Comfort for payment for their part and services. At that Point I refused to pay since they did not fix the original issue.

Earlier this month we received an invoice and also notice sent by Collections regarding the payment. We had to end up making their outstanding payment of $633.78

In summary, I would like to file a complaint on Harris Comfort and request them to issue me a refund for the amount of $633.78.

Thank You very much for your time and consideration.Desired Settlement: I would like Harris Comfort to issue me a refund for the amount of $633.78.

Business

Response:

Our service manager spoke with **. [redacted] on numerous occasions about the problem but could not gain access to the property, the tenant never return our calls to set a time and date. We did in fact find a burnt wiring harness on 6/28 ordered part, installed on 7/3, retuned on 7/9 could not duplicate complaint. There were no charges on 6/28 or 7/9. I have reviewed our telephone tapes and find that we did make an effort to respond again. The bill was sent to a **. [redacted] at [redacted].