So I live with my BF and the other day we noticed our AC wasn't working. We were in NYC for the first part of the heat wave and so when we got back we called every AC guy imaginable and finally found one who could come out (it's that time of year, I was willing to wait b/c I know they're busy). He came, told us we needed a refill of freon, and a new part. That with the service call equaled $250 of my paycheck. Well, the AC worked...until this morning. It was fixed last night at 6 pm! After trouble shooting with different AC guys, the concensus is that we have a major leak in our system and it would be better just to buy window units.
I'm pissed. I payed the other AC guy $90 just to come out and troubleshoot. You'd think he'd put a little bit of freon in first to check for a leak instead of charging us $110 for a complete refill. I asked my guy to call (I'm at work and get constantly interrupted) and demand part of our $$ back and he refuses. He says that's just how the business is and we should suck it up. Am I wrong? Is there a chance of getting a part back?

[Edited on June 11, 2008 at 1:10 PM. Reason : ]

6/11/2008 1:06:11 PM

It couldn't hurt to try. I would definitely want at least the $110 back. Where did the other $50 go? (110+90 = 200)

I would try contacting the company management directly, not the service guy. You'll also need some sort of proof or something to show that you have a major leak. If your BF call, get your dad or some other guy friend, and tell your BF he is a punk. Maybe he doesn't care b/c it's not his money.

Good luck.

6/11/2008 1:18:53 PM

why not call the original guy back and say whatever you paid hiim to fix isnt working? Allow him to fix it for you. I doubt you will get any money back, but you might get some labor out of it for free if he does fix it.

6/11/2008 1:23:50 PM

I know with car AC units, they are absolutely required to check for leaks BEFORE putting freon in. You pay for a leak/ac check first and if it's good, then they add freon.

6/11/2008 1:30:02 PM

Quote :

"the concensus is that we have a major leak in our system and it would be better just to buy window units"

This doesn't make sense. Just fix the leak.

6/11/2008 1:32:19 PM

^ not the case w/residences. it's an extra fee to check for leaks. if you do it, then you know ahead of time that there is one that needed to be fixed and then all the freon wouldn't go away. if you don't do it, then the freon's gone and you're out your money. sucks but that's the way it is.

6/11/2008 1:33:40 PM

Ok, but what if we told him "come look and see what's wrong with our AC unit?"

No, we didn't specifically ask for a leak check, but wouldn't that be included in checking?? Otherwise any crooked person could charge $5 more than cost for freon, add 8 lbs of it and make $40 in an hour on top of their service charge.

6/11/2008 1:38:11 PM

did you sign anything?

also do you think they should just drive out to your place and look around for free?

6/11/2008 1:42:43 PM

He paid $90 for a trouble shoot, damn-I'd assume that would include a leak check.

6/11/2008 1:46:27 PM

We had someone come check the AC unit and refill the freon without finding the leak too, so apparently tests aren't mandatory. That or they're slackers.

6/11/2008 2:03:07 PM

I had to re read what you posted and am still not clear.

First guy = $250 (performed freon refill, and a misdiagnosis)
Second guy =$90 (told you first guy was wrong and your system is fucked)

Where was the first guy when the system went out the second time?

6/11/2008 2:16:07 PM

No, the first guy came out and charged for a service call, a freon refill, and a new part. Within 12 hours the freon was gone. In the meantime, the other HVAC guys we had called previously called back and trouble-shooted over the phone with the BF. They diagnosed the problem over the phone and did not charge. I'm pissed. I want my $$ back. My BF says there's no way we'll get it back so why try?

6/11/2008 2:21:37 PM

American Home Shield

6/11/2008 2:23:54 PM

Is that home warranty worth it?

6/11/2008 2:32:10 PM

a home warranty is almost ALWAYS worth it. it's like having AAA. that few bucks you pay to them once a year is worth it if it means you don't have to pay 300 to a tow truck driver if you break down on the side of the road. the 500 or 600 you may pay on a home warranty will save you when your fridge stops working or your ac in the dead of summer or some other major problem.

you will not get your money back. leak tests are not mandatory, they are a request and while yes, he probably should've offered it to you, you could've also done your part to ask him if this would fix it, is it going to leak out, why wasn't there any in there to begin with, etc. and that probably would've lead to the "oh well i can charge you $200 for a leak test" and then you would've known. you aren't going to get your money back.

6/11/2008 2:49:13 PM

i'll know to ask for a leak check before they put in freon now. thanks for the thread

6/11/2008 2:58:54 PM

^^ Read a few reviews on home warranties and you'll likely change your mind. I was dead set on getting the "America Homeshield" warranty or whatever it is called until I read about two hundred complaints from people who were treated absolutely terribly by them.

[Edited on June 11, 2008 at 3:45 PM. Reason : l]

6/11/2008 3:44:46 PM

I wouldn't advise anyone to get an American Homeshield warranty. Old Republic is much better. As someone who actually has a lot of experience with the different companies, what they cover and what they offer, I think I think I can safely say that 9 times out of 10, they're worth your money.

6/11/2008 4:10:54 PM

I definitely wont spark the debate on which is better, because thats a whole nother thread, but I agree 100% with mcangel.

Quote :

"I think I think I can safely say that 9 times out of 10, they're worth your money"

6/11/2008 4:17:26 PM

what you mean you dont have someone HVAC certified in your family?
you don't do your own electrical, plumbing, drywall, painting, tiling, and appliances (install etc) yourself?


oh wait. that's just us that don't like paying others to do what we can do for ourselves...

6/12/2008 9:43:00 AM

I don't pay for what I can do myself either.

6/12/2008 10:10:52 AM

strange enough, I have an old republic home warranty that came in handy just yesterday. It was hot as balls in our house during the heat wave--turns out the compressor is gone and they are going to replace it. I paid ~$400 for the warranty and the repairs are going to be much more than that when it is all said and done.

Plus I had a plumber come out and clear one of my drain lines a few months ago. We renew our home warranty every year and it more than pays for itself with our older house (built in 1962).

6/12/2008 10:34:22 AM

Ok. It's time for a reality check for those not familiar with residential HVAC service. The fact that all your refrigerant leaked out was the leak check. Pin-pointing the exact location of a refrigerant leak can be very time consuming if it's a very small leak and/or in an uncommon location. It can takes time to find them. That's time your paying in labor. Now, not all leaks are the same. Larger leaks will cause you to lose your refrigerant in hours. Others takes years for the refrigerant to leak away. In the case of smaller leaks, it's more cost effective to just recharge the system every three years. The problem centers around the fact that the service technician doesn't know what kind of leaks he's dealing with until he can charge the system and then look at the rate of refrigerant loss. The only other option for testing for the presence of a leak (just presence, not location) is to remove the refrigerant and see if the system will hold a vacuum. Doing that test still involves hundreds of dollars worth of refrigerant and labor. What your service technician did was the course of action that would statistically cost you the least. Once a major leak is confirmed, then your service technician will be justified in spending the time involved hunting it down and determining what will be involved to fix it.

Now, without seeing this guy work, I can't completely call him blameless. He should have check for large leaks in the common places like around the major brazing joints on the compressor and heat exchange coils. Large leaks are easy to detect and don't take more than 5 extra minuets and I hope your service tech did at least that. However, finding small leaks or leaks in uncommon locations can take hours and it's not worth his time our your money in the form of labor unless there's a good and proven reason for him to do so.

6/12/2008 11:54:25 AM

Well, 8 lbs of freon leaked out within 8 hours. We had another service man come yesterday and he found the massive leak within 30 minutes. Makes me think that the first guy IS to blame.

And we did ask for our service charge back, but he refused.

[Edited on June 12, 2008 at 12:00 PM. Reason : ]

6/12/2008 12:00:03 PM

Quote :

"He should have check for large leaks in the common places like around the major brazing joints"

Yeah, that's where mine was. Luckily it was still under warranty.

6/12/2008 12:02:05 PM

^^ Out of curiosity, where is the leak and is it just one?

6/12/2008 12:08:23 PM

Tell him the EPA is wondering why he knowingly put refrigerant in a leaking system causing the release of 8 pounds of it into the atmosphere. That might persuade him to be more careful when he fixes the ACTUAL problem at a reduced rate.

6/12/2008 12:34:30 PM

^ The EPA Refrigerant Certification doesn't require mandatory leak testing before a recharge in systems that take less that 50 lbs of refridgerant. Also, you have to have to establish a baseline to determine leak rate. ALL systems leak. You need to know at what rate they leak to properly decide on a course of action.

6/12/2008 1:52:26 PM

so what happened? did you get any money back?

6/17/2008 9:19:24 PM

Quote :

"we did ask for our service charge back, but he refused."

6/18/2008 9:50:01 AM

Service man comes today to install brand new AC unit and heat pump for the small price of $3,000!

6/18/2008 9:54:34 AM