Reply
Fri 17 Nov, 2006 03:33 pm
Hello,
We live in Florida. We need advice regarding a botched central a/c installation by licensed a/c company.
In July 2006, we took bids from 3 central a/c companies to have a new central a/c installed in our 12 year old home. The old central a/c installed when the house was built no longer worked.
We talked to each bidder about concerns regarding hot spots/cold spots and the fact that there was an addition put on the house several years after the house was built and we thought the original 3-ton unit had become undersized.
We accepted a bid, new a/c was installed but it didn't do as well as the old system before it died. New system running constantly and could not cool to 80. Summer temps here reach 95. Old system cooled to 80 and it was only a 3-ton, 9 SEER. We were told that the new 3-ton should cool our home because of the new technology. We asked a/c company owner to re-evaluate our house for correct tonnage size. Results were that the system should have been a 3.5 ton unit. Also, the manufacturer had installed a defective motor in the outside unit. There was no replacement until the manufacturer could identify the problem and design a new motor.
Anyway, it is now the middle of Nov 2006 and we haven't gotten anywhere with the a/c dealer. He has made suggestions but they are unacceptable and/or VERY expensive because there is no easy replacement. The best we can hope for is a larger air handler that may not fit in our attic.
We are about ready to have him come out and remove everything and go with another a/c dealer.
The dealer is well known in the community and has been in business for 20+ years. He is recommended by Florida Power & Light.
I don't know what happened, but we don't even have a thermostat that works right!!
Afraid he has or will put a lien on our property.
The contract is minimal. Seems to be a few paragraphs on a service invoice. We don't have anything else with our signatures on it.
It's a nightmare! What are our rights with this contract? We feel he did not satisfy his part of the contract. The cost is $6,140.
Thank you in advance for advice/suggestions. I did try to summarize. There's so much more...
Contact your local and state attorney. They should be able to help "consumer fraud."
So you would classify my problem as consumer fraud?
Thank you very much for responding to my questions regarding our botched a/c installation.
I was trying to find out contract information and was very surprised when you considered my problem to be "consumer fraud". It's definitely something to think about. Neither my husband nor I looked at our problem from that point of view until your response.
I am trying to get an attorney, but finding one in my town is not easy. They are very high priced here and will probably not consider a $6,000 problem worth their time. I am trying to locate a local, or at least Florida, attorney via the web.
I will post here again in a few weeks to let everyone know what happened. I also hope others will respond to my initial post, especially someone who has had a problem similar to ours.
Thanks again.
California has a Contractors State License Board to which consumers can complain concerning such issues. Perhaps Florida has the same thing. Even simply threatening to report the contractor may get him off the dime and resolve your problem.
Also, contact the Better Business Bureau.
Stumble It!
Tweet This
Bookmark on Delicious
Share on Facebook
Share on MySpace