First, note that I am in the Refrigeration and HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and A/C) business and am very experienced.
My mothe purchased a home a few years back and had some problems with one of her A/C units. Her home Warranty covered this, and they sent out Parker & Sons. They came out the first time, checked a few things, said there was no problem with the unit, it was just low on refrigerant (Freon). They added 2lbs of R-22 refrigerant. Because the Warranty wouldn't cover this, she was required to pay for the refrigerant and the labor to check and put in the refrigerant. She paid the bill.
A few months later, the unit wasn't working quite right again, so she called the Warranty company, then again sent out Parker & Sons. The same issue - it was low on freon so they added 3lbs this time.
The third time with in as many months she called, she made sure I was at the house at that time. They went up to the roof, was up there for about 2 hours, and came down saying that the only problem with the unit was it needed to have the schraeder valve replaced (like the valve to put air in your tires) and they added 10lbs of refrigerant.
As I sit there talking to the apprentice, the journeyman is sitting in their idling truck in front of the house tapping his fingers on the stearing wheel. I asked the apprentice where the old failed schraeder valve was, and he said they threw it away. I asked him to retrieve it, but he couldn't. I then asked him how in the world an A/C unit that has a full charge of Freon of about 3lbs have 10lbs put in it. He shrugged his shoulders and told me that he was just the apprentice and just was there to have my (retired) mother write a check.
I nicely informed him that if the journeyman was in the truck, he better get his #$% over here and explain these things. He refused to get out of the vehicle and motioned me to COME TO HIM! Yea, no.
I told them that no way I was paying for the schraeder valve, as there's no proof they replaced it. And I will pay only for the max amount of 3lbs for refrigerant. Also, they charged over $75 a pound for the refrigerant, but R-22 goes for max amount of $15 per pound. If it is purchased in large amounts, which I would assume an A/C/Heating company would purchase, it would be consideribly less.
We ended up not paying at all...
What happened was I had a very good friend, come out and check out everything. He said that the one unit Parker & Sons worked on was so old that it was unfixable, and it needed replacing. It could 'limp' on for about another year or so, but then it would completely die and it would be the middle of the summer witout A/C! He went to the second unit, and did a complete Preventive Maintenance on it and said it was in great shape with no problems.
He changed out the first unit at a consideribly less amount than Parker & Sons wanted us to pay for them to come out every other month and 'keep an eye' on it.
My mother is EXTREMELY happy with the new unit, very happy with the amount charged, and the professionalism and friendliness of Phoenix Refrigeration.
Trust me, Parker & Sons may be "Arizona's Most Used Plumber", but don't bother with them with A/C/Heating issues!!!
Thank you!
Sorry, allowing you to give a competitors name would instigate others to just file against their competition, to only come back later to suggest their company. Plus, if you post a competitors name more than likely they will show up on search engines as a Rip-off! - - your comments on this policy are welcome.
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