R & D Construction Company Heating & A/C Inc.

[redacted] Revdex.com serving Metro Washington DC & Eastern Pennsylvania 1411 K St. NW, 10th Floor Washington, DC 20005-3404 Ref: Complaint ID [redacted] The following is our formal response to [redacted]’s complaint regarding the HVAC system that was installed at his home as part of a new...

housing development project conducted by R&D Heating, Cooling & Electric in 2014.  R&D Heating, Cooling & Electric provides a one (1) year warranty on all installations for new construction homes which goes into effect at the time of sale of the property by the developer.  In this instance the home was purchased by [redacted] in November of 2014 and our parts and labor warranty for the system would be applicable until November 2015.  This is above and beyond the parts warranty provided by the manufacturer which does not include a labor warranty.  The following is a summary of the warranty work performed since [redacted]’s purchase of the property:(1) Warranty Work January 12, 2015: 8:00 am - 9:00 amNotes  heating system when it comes on there is a whistling noise 1/5/2015 11:25AM sb January 26, 2015: 8:00 am - 9:00 am Invoice No. 4421Invoice Description: INSTALLED SUPPORTS FOR POPPING DUCT WORK AND TAPED SLIPS. TESTED SOUND IS NOW GONE.(2) Warranty Work July 29, 2015: 3:30 pm - 4:30 pm     Invoice Description: Found where duckwork pops and strapped. H.o. Satisfied (3) Service Call May 31, 2016: 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm Invoice No. 12511Invoice Description: Called out for no Ac found system low on charge customer declined repairs will call us back later wants to go after [redacted].(4) Follow-Up Service Call June 14, 2016: 12:30 pm - 2:30 pm Invoice No. 510161Invoice Description: Checked refrigerant levels before starting leak search. System was low. Found indoor coil leaking. Outdoor ok at this time. Topped off charge with 1lb. 4oz. 410A refrigerant so unit would work till we get back.In each instance in which a request was made by [redacted] during the warranty period R&D Heating, Cooling & Electric responded to and completed the work required.  On 5-31-16 a Service call was made and the technician identified the system was low on refrigerant and advised the client of a potential leak.  [redacted] declined service so that he could contact the manufacturer directly.   On 6-14-16 [redacted] contacted our offices again for a service call and a leak search was performed.  The technician isolated a leak at the indoor coil and added refrigerant to enable the system to run.  The recommendation of the technician was to replace the indoor coil under the manufacturer’s warranty.[redacted] makes a claim that the unit was installed and known to be leaking by R&D Heating, Cooling & Electric.  This claim is false as the unit was operational upon installation, each unit is started, tested, and inspected as part of our quality assurance process.  This unit was devoid of leaks as validated by [redacted]’s statement “We ran the cooling system in the summer of 2015 without any problems”.  If the unit had been leaking since initial installation the issues occurring now would have also occurred in the summer of 2015.[redacted]’s system is leaking at the indoor coil and can be replaced under the manufacturer’s warranty which R&D Heating, Cooling & Electric registered on behalf of the client upon purchase of the home.  In this instance, the coil unfortunately developed a leak beyond the one (1) year warranty provided to new construction homes.  As such a partial cost of labor involved in the repair will be required of the homeowner.  The total cost of the repair which entails the evacuation of the entire refrigerant from the system and installation of the new coil is $397.50.  Of the two (2) service calls made by [redacted] he was charged once for a $99 diagnostic fee.  We did not bill him for the subsequent service call or leak search that was conducted ($304.00).  We can certainly understand and appreciate [redacted]’s position.  Unfortunately the manufacturer’s equipment failed which is no fault of R&D Heating, Cooling & Electric.  The price listed above is to cover the four (4) hours of labor to remove the refrigerant and install the new indoor coil as well as recharge the system with refrigerant.  ([redacted] tech support was contacted by Ann and was given some labor & refrigerant to assist the homeowner which reflects in the above costs).In closing, [redacted]’s situation is unfortunate, but it is in no way the fault of R&D Heating, Cooling & Electric.  R&D Heating, Cooling & Electric has honored all warranties and provided service at no charge to [redacted].

Review: I recently purchased my grand-mother's house and did major repairs. The fireplace was one of those repairs. R & D Heating and Cooling placed a new liner in November 2012. Prior to that, the fireplace had not been used for about a year because of the death of my grand-mother. However, when my grand-mother was alive, the fireplace was used constantly. This past December was the first time the fireplace had been used since her death. Smoke soon filled the house and [redacted] contacted the fire company which came within minutes. Upon their recommendation, I had the fireplace inspected. I was told that the liner was to small for the opening. According to [redacted], the round flute opening is 72.6 sq. inches. The actual cross sectional area of the flue that they placed is 28 sq. inches. Also, the adaptors used in the transition from the smoke chamber to the stainless steel liner have their male ends up. The male ends should be down. This is also a potential for a fire hazard. I paid $3950.00 for this service. Now the fireplace can not be used. I had someone from R & D come to the house. We are right across the street. I was told that they questioned why a liner was being placed in the chimney and that it probably would not work. I told them that [redacted] had given a much higher bid to place a liner because there was a lot of work that needed to be done to place it correctly. R & D offered a lower bid to the contractor. And he went with them. Because of their estimate I did not go with a wood burning stove, as originally planned with [redacted].Desired Settlement: The fireplace can not be used. I reached out to R & D and asked them if they would go half with me to purchase a wood burning stove. I already paid them $3950.00 and am unable to use the fireplace. They refused. They said that they would connect the stove to the chimney but I would have to buy the stove. They do not feel responsible to do anything else. They told me that I could also find someone to remove the liner, if I want to have the fireplace as it was in its original condition. I no longer feel comfortable with R & D. I do not trust that they would correct the problem to the best of their ability. They have yet to fix the adaptors. It has taken them since December 27, 2013 to reach out and respond. They are not a fire place company, so I don't know why they took the job when presented by the contractor. I want to use a real fire place company, [redacted]. But I think that they should help me. I was told that they only put the liner in because the 203K Loan I had from HUD wanted a chimney liner placed. I told them that if they knew that a liner was not appropriate then they should have said something and refused to do it. They should not have taken my money. I could have used that for the wood burning stove. Now when the power goes out, because of the snow and ice storms, there is no heat because there is no fireplace.

Business

Response:

April 1, 2014Dear [redacted];I received your letter about a complaint with an ID number [redacted] from [redacted]. [redacted] about work that was done at [redacted] in [redacted], Pa. R&D Heating and Cooling was contacted by the general contractor hired by [redacted]. [redacted].[redacted]. [redacted]’s general contractor explained to us that the loan company was requiring both chimneys to be lined as one of the conditions of the loan, At that time, [redacted]. [redacted]’s general contractor stated that there would be a wood burning stove installed. We contacted the chimney liner manufacturer and explained that the chimney opening was the standard opening of 8 1/2" by 11”. The stainless steel chimney liner that was installed by R&D Heating and Cooling was the correct material and size for lining the chimney according to the manufacturer of the chimney liner. R&D Heating and Cooling was contracted to install a chimney liner for use with a wood stove not an open flame.Regards,

Consumer

Response:

[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: The company was hired to place a chimney liner so that the fireplace could continue to be used as a natural wood burning fireplace. I did not ask them to place a liner for a wood stove insert. This is a fabrication, a lie. And also the first time that I am hearing this. Even the rep from R & D, that I had been corresponding with, NEVER mentioned this. He said that he did not understand why they would place a liner in the chimney, because it was very hard to get the liner to fit. I asked if they shaved the insides of the chimney because it needed to be fixed internally before the liner could be placed. Things had shifted. He said no, they just placed he liner. I asked, then why would your company take on a job that they could not do. He said because HUD said I needed a liner. I said, well if you could not do the job properly, why did you do it. I told him that they charged me $3950.00 for work that they knew they could not do. I also told him that I could have put that money towards a company who could have actually done the work and that was qualified to do the work. I said that if you are not a fireplace company, why are you doing fireplace work. He could not answer. He just said that he did not think his company should have done the job, because of what really needed to be done.Two years ago, I did have an estimate from another company, [redacted], about lining the fireplace to keep it in its original working state. I was told that it would cost around $10,000.00. At that time, [redacted] offered me other options. One option was a wood stove insert, which I never considered. The other was an electrical fireplace, to which I did not like because of a fan that would be placed. I was told that the fan would be loud, so I opted not to go that route. I told the contractor what I was told. He set out to find a company that could keep the fireplace the way that I wanted, which was as it had been used since 1958, a natural wood burning fireplace. Then I was told by the contractor, that he had found a company that could not only place a liner, but that would charge a lot less than my estimate from [redacted]. That company was R& D. When told that R & D could keep it a natural wood burning fireplace by adding a liner, I thought it would be great. However, the first time the fireplace was used, smoke filled the house. Before you knew it, the [redacted] Fire Company was in the driveway. They were alerted by my [redacted] Alarm system. What started off as a quiet night of movie and popcorn almost turned deadly. The fire company told me to call and have the liner and chimney looked at. I called R & D and was told that all they do is put the liner in, they do not do anything else. Then I called [redacted] and told them what was said to me and that the lady I spoke to was very nasty. I was told to call them back because they would be responsible. I then called R & D back. I was told that hey could not help me or come and look at the liner. I then called [redacted], I told them what happened when I called R & D. I was told to call back because they were responsible. I called back and was told that no one would probably know what to do. I called [redacted] back and asked them to PLEASE come to the house and assess the fireplace. They did. I paid $89.00 for a Level 1 Inspection. It was at that time that the measurements for the liner were found to be unsafe for the use of the fireplace. The fireplace opening is 32" x 27.25" or 872 sq. inches. The round flute should be 72.6 sq. inches. The flute that was placed by R & D was only 28 sq. inches. Also the adaptors used to transition from the smoke chamber to the stainless steel liner have their male ends going up. As per the inspection, these connections can not contain creosote during a high heat event. They should be facing down. This puts me at risk for having a fire break out if the fireplace is used. All of this is dangerous. After consulting with [redacted], I was told that in its present state, the fire place could no longer be used. So I had to make a decision. I had to decide whether to invest more money to restore the use of a fire place, or have no fire place. Well, I have always known my grand-mothers house to have a fire place. Also with the bad winter we had, power went out several times. Unable to use the fire place, there was no heat. As a result, I had to place a wood stove insert. This cost me and additional $2,395.00. To place the insert, [redacted] had to remove the liner that R & D placed. It could not be used with a wood stove insert. It was not recommended by code standards. I reached out to R & D. I asked them to help pay for half the cost of the wood stove insert. They told me no. I was told that I could have someone remove the insert on my own or they could hook up a wood stove insert using the liner that they placed. After consulting with [redacted], they could not have used the same liner. That would have not been code standards. When I called R & D and told that them that [redacted] was at the house and they could come over and the inspector could explain the findings, I was told that no one was available. But I could see trucks in the parking lot.There was never a conversation with me and R & D about inserting a wood stove insert. The contractor knew that I wanted to keep the fire place as it was meant to be. The plan was to keep the fire place in its original form, a wood burning fire place. For R & D to all of a sudden say that they placed a insert only for the use of a wood stove insert, is very sneaky and bad business practice. I only purchased a wood stove insert recently, because of the work done by R & D left me no other option. I work very hard for my money and I do not appreciate company's trying to take advantage of consumers.

Regards,