United Air Comfort, Inc Complaint April 27
I had United Air Comfort come out to my house on 04.07.04 for duct cleaning. They (three men, the foreman being Josh) preformed the service and also recommended other work. Before beginning the services (except the duct cleaning) we turn the heat and the a/c on, both systems were working correctly. I approved the additional work (as I was told one of the parts was a fire hazard and I was loosing a lot of my heat/cooling due to leaks):
Acid wash: evap. Coil
condenser coil
blower
R & R: transformer
contactor
10 mastics
1 duct clean
Seal Return
Free Sanitize
Paid for (not yet delivered) ES Filter
The total cost of the procedure was $639.00.
They did not test the system before they left to ensure it was operational.
On 4.18.04 I went to turn on the heat for the first time since the service was done (a rain storm had moved in). The system was just blowing air all night with no heat. I called the company (I only have their FL number) first thing 04.19.04.
Angela from their warranty dept. Said no problem she would have the same team come out to fix it.
Josh from United Air and one of the other fellows from the first job came on 4.21.04. They looked at the system and tried various things. They were here for approx. 2 hrs. The fuse on the circuit board kept blowing after the pilot would ignite, then the flames would go out and the blower would just steadily run. Josh believed it to be the circuit board but when they were all done it was just an extra wire (the blue one) connected with the thermostat and the circuit board, causing too much power to the board, blowing the fuse, and causing the problem.
The blue wire was disconnected from both the thermostat and the circuit board. Apparently the blue wire provides power to the thermostat but it was already provided power from the batteries. This was not a problem before because the old parts were not pushing their full power due to their deteriorated condition.
So with the blue wire disconnected and a new fuse the heat worked. I turned off the heat while they were still here as the cold front had left and there was no need for heat.
I did not turn on the system until 04.26.04 due to a heat wave. Our house was about 90 degrees upstairs and 83 down. The A/C would not turn on. Nothing happened with the system what-so-ever. I checked the power cord and the circuit breaker. I kept the thermostat on. I called United Air Comfort and they agreed to send someone out again the next day.
Josh and the same guy in the second visit arrived. They looked at the system. Josh first looked at the A/C unit, opened it up and found those parts to be operational (as a note he said to his co-worker that the guy who had assisted them on the first job, who did work on my a/c unit, was fired for doing stupid shit, I think there was a bolt missing or s/g).
He then looked at the thermostat and the wiring. He asked how old it was. He also tested the wires for a short. He believed there was a short somewhere on the line. He also looked at the circuit board. He removed the fuse and pressed the side button to get the system to run. The system would then ignite as if to turn on heat and the a/c unit would kick on at the same time. Josh pointed it out to me that that was not suppose to happen, he showed me two black things on the circuit board and said that they were both going on (I forget the exact language) when they shouldn't be. He said it was the circuit board, that it was faulty due to old age.
Now what struck me as odd was:
The a/c & heat worked 100% before they started on any of the work. It was even tested when they first arrived.
On the second visit Josh's first guess was that it was the circuit board however it turned out to be the blue wire.
When I turned on the a/c I did NOT have both systems turn on (I know that for a fact as right after I turned on the thermostat I went to the washer and dryer to do laundry and nothing was happening after several minutes)
The system was run when they were here without the fuse in it.
My a/c and heat worked fine. Work was done, parts replaced, wiring fiddled with, the fuse in and out and now the system does not work. I was told it was old age and that it would cost $375 to replace it but since I am a returning customer they would charge only $275.
I called Angela at 888 703-2653. She works in warranty. She spoke to Josh and technical support. She states that since Josh believes it was old age they would not cover that part under warranty. She recommended a second opinion at my cost or to have the part replaced. She also requested to be informed and that if I did get a second opinion, and it was United Air Comforts fault, to have it documented and she would reimburse but if it was not well documented then she would not be able to. She also stated that the information goes to the owners.
My opinion is that the circuit board blew when the fuse was removed and the system was run.
I have a different company coming out to look at their work. I will post findings and updates
Heidi
Corona, California
U.S.A.
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