Elite Heating & Cooling

I am the owner and CEO of Elite Heating and Cooling, IncThe facts are as follows; Our maintenance tech arrived at Mr ***'s residence at hrs on the 6th of November, The purpose of the site visit was to perform a routine maintenance before winterOur tech shut off the power to the
unit as part of our routineHe inspected the capacitor, burners, ignitor and flame sensor as part of the fall tuneup routineUpon completion of the tuneup/safety inspection our tech attempted to return power to the unitAt this point the breaker failed to engage properlyA surge of power was sent to the board from what our tech believes to be a faulty breakerIt is common for springs in breakers to go bad and make loose connectionsThe unit is very old as well as the high voltage lines and breakers that serve the unitAccording to Mr *** the unit began to act differently after our tech leftOur tech stopped at our shop to print thermostat schematics and gather other info that may be helpful to find the issueOur tech returned to the site and began to do his best to troubleshoot the issue that Mr *** was experiencingDaylight was lost and Mr *** asked our tech to leave and not come backWe did not bill Mr *** for the tuneup and I have since responded to his emailsI take full responsibility for everything that we at Elite are in control ofHowever, when we touch a wheel and the wheel falls off because it is yrs old I do not feel it is fair that we be penalizedWe were never allowed to send a senior service tech to diagnose the issueOur maintenance tech was acting in good faith to serve our once customer to the best of his abilityThe control board in question was NEVER touched by our techControl board issues can also be intermittent and sporadicHigh voltage work is not in the scope of our tuneupWhen a switch is flipped for our safety, it typically switches back on without failWhen we have trouble with a disconnect as in this case, we call a local licensed electrician to solve the connection issue to avoid further damageI believe our biggest error was the fact that my tech did not successfully convey the origination of the problemWe have been falsely accused of touching wires on the boardI do not appreciate such accusations without basisI am proud of our company and the many hundreds of customers it serves annually with % satisfactionAny further communications regarding this matter from Mr *** to myself or my employees will be documented and subject to California Penal Code section 653M (b) harassment via electronic communications- *** ***

I am rejecting this response because:1.  The HVAC unit was installed on October 11, 2007.  This makes it a little over seven years old and not the 20 year old piece of equipment that Mr. Hoskin makes it out to be in his response.2.  The service tech was highly inexperienced and task-saturated at the time.  The main office phone number was ringing to his cell phone.  He was escorted off the property after failing to resolve the issue and was observed to be "guessing" the cause of the problem.   I asked if a senior service tech was available and was told no that he had been let go.3.  I personally observed the service tech fiddling with the control board and the wiring as part of his fall tune-up.4.  The unit was fully functional prior to his arrival and was in a inoperable state when he originally departed.  He was fully aware of the status when he left for his next job.  His response was along the lines of "just give it time."  5.  An informal follow-up inspection by a NATE-Certified Technician of the breakers in question showed no evidence of faults.  His inspection revealed the control board was misconfigured and was the probable cause of the malfunction.6.  I have (had) a prepaid annual maintenance contract with Elite Heating & Cooling that was signed on April 17, 2014.  The contract called for two tune-ups, the first was executed on November 2014 (when this incident occurred) and another was to be schedule for Spring 2015.  So the service calls were already paid for and I wasn't refunded for the November 2014 HVAC tune-up (see attachment).The bottom line is that I am not seeking any monetary damages despite the fact that this inexperienced Elite Heating & Cooling service tech cost me over $400. technicians out on service calls.  His actions ended up cost me over $400asa result.

Review: Our HVAC was operational prior to a routine preventive maintenance inspection by an inexperienced technician for Elite Heating & Cooling. We have had a maintenance contract with this company for nearly two years and decided to terminate it after this visit. I sent two e-mails to the company owner detailing my experience.As I just stated, the unit was functioning perfectly until the technician fiddled with it. The initial issue was that the registers are not blowing any air. The tech was aware of this issue when he departed for his next job. This is absolutely unacceptable - he should have stayed until it was fully functional. When I contacted him he said it would take at least three hours before he couldresearch the issue. The technician believe that our thermostat was the culprit, then it was the circuit breakers were dirty, then it was the pump overheating, then it was the pump didn't have any coolant, etc.It was painfully obvious to us after several hours that this technician was inexperienced and task-saturated (the main office number rang directly to his cell phone). I sent him on his way after I realized he was grasping at straws and providing numerous false diagnosis (the last being that there was no coolant in the system, which was debunked by the reading a different technician took this morning). A NATE-Certified Technician from a different company (who, incidentally, took the coolant reading) came out the next morning to look at our unit. He discovered a wire on the defrost board was in the wrong location and configuration pins in the incorrect positions. The entire board had to be replaced as a result. He told us that he believed the young technician, during his failed attempts to get the system as it was prior to his arrival, reconfigured the board which caused it to fail.The new board cost $352 on top of the $87 I was charged for the diagnostic charge.Desired Settlement: $439 (new board + diagnostic)

Business

Response:

I am the owner and CEO of Elite Heating and Cooling, Inc. The facts are as follows; Our maintenance tech arrived at Mr [redacted]'s residence at 0910 hrs on the 6th of November, 2014. The purpose of the site visit was to perform a routine maintenance before winter. Our tech shut off the power to the unit as part of our normal routine. He inspected the capacitor, burners, ignitor and flame sensor as part of the fall tuneup routine. Upon completion of the tuneup/safety inspection our tech attempted to return power to the unit. At this point the breaker failed to engage properly. A surge of power was sent to the board from what our tech believes to be a faulty breaker. It is common for springs in breakers to go bad and make loose connections. The unit is very old as well as the high voltage lines and breakers that serve the unit. According to Mr [redacted] the unit began to act differently after our tech left. Our tech stopped at our shop to print thermostat schematics and gather other info that may be helpful to find the issue. Our tech returned to the site and began to do his best to troubleshoot the issue that Mr [redacted] was experiencing. Daylight was lost and Mr [redacted] asked our tech to leave and not come back. We did not bill Mr [redacted] for the tuneup and I have since responded to his emails. I take full responsibility for everything that we at Elite are in control of. However, when we touch a wheel and the wheel falls off because it is 20 yrs old I do not feel it is fair that we be penalized. We were never allowed to send a senior service tech to diagnose the issue. Our maintenance tech was acting in good faith to serve our once customer to the best of his ability. The control board in question was NEVER touched by our tech. Control board issues can also be intermittent and sporadic. High voltage work is not in the scope of our tuneup. When a switch is flipped for our safety, it typically switches back on without fail. When we have trouble with a disconnect as in this case, we call a local licensed electrician to solve the connection issue to avoid further damage. I believe our biggest error was the fact that my tech did not successfully convey the origination of the problem. We have been falsely accused of touching wires on the board. I do not appreciate such accusations without basis. I am proud of our company and the many hundreds of customers it serves annually with 100 % satisfaction. Any further communications regarding this matter from Mr [redacted] to myself or my employees will be documented and subject to California Penal Code section 653M (b) harassment via electronic communications. - [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because:1. The HVAC unit was installed on October 11, 2007. This makes it a little over seven years old and not the 20 year old piece of equipment that Mr. Hoskin makes it out to be in his response.2. The service tech was highly inexperienced and task-saturated at the time. The main office phone number was ringing to his cell phone. He was escorted off the property after failing to resolve the issue and was observed to be "guessing" the cause of the problem. I asked if a senior service tech was available and was told no that he had been let go.3. I personally observed the service tech fiddling with the control board and the wiring as part of his fall tune-up.4. The unit was fully functional prior to his arrival and was in a inoperable state when he originally departed. He was fully aware of the status when he left for his next job. His response was along the lines of "just give it time." 5. An informal follow-up inspection by a NATE-Certified Technician of the breakers in question showed no evidence of faults. His inspection revealed the control board was misconfigured and was the probable cause of the malfunction.6. I have (had) a prepaid annual maintenance contract with Elite Heating & Cooling that was signed on April 17, 2014. The contract called for two tune-ups, the first was executed on November 2014 (when this incident occurred) and another was to be schedule for Spring 2015. So the service calls were already paid for and I wasn't refunded for the November 2014 HVAC tune-up (see attachment).The bottom line is that I am not seeking any monetary damages despite the fact that this inexperienced Elite Heating & Cooling service tech cost me over $400. technicians out on service calls. His actions ended up cost me over $400asa result.