Buckle up Buttercup because this is a story of incompetence on EPIC levels. (Like, could have blown up a building level.)
My husband and I bought a new house and needed to have Central air installed. We got a number of quotes, and while All Temp Controlled was NOT the lowest one, we really liked the technician, and they came recommended by a friend, so we felt we'd rather pay a little more for better, more reliable service.
And I WILL say, their technicians, and everyone I dealt with on the phone or through email was VERY NICE. Unfortunately, nice doesn't make up for incompetence.
We began to set things up, and were told the job would take 2.5 to 3 days. This was fine, because my husband and I had about 2 and a half weeks before our move in day.
They worked at the house Monday-Thursday (4 days) and on Thursday they said they were almost done, just needed to hook up the heat, but would need to do it next week as they were booked on another job the next day (Friday.) We still had a week so that wasn't a problem. I assumed someone would contact us over the weekend to set up that last day.
That wasn't the case. Finally Monday I reach out to them to try to get this scheduled (after all, I have other things that need to be finished that I can't do until they are done.) They offer up Friday morning, which is the day before we move in. I ask if we can move it earlier, and we do manage to get it set up Thursday morning. It's not ideal, it's cutting everything a little close with the move, but you take what you can get I guess.
Thursday comes, they set up the furnace (they were also 2 hours late but if that were the ONLY problem I'd consider myself lucky,) they turn the heat on to test it. My husband mentions it smells a bit like burning, and the tech says that's just the dust burning away. This was common in my husband's old home so he didn't bother to question it. We close up the house and head home.
The next morning (the day before we're supposed to move in) it REEKS of gas in the house. My first instinct is to check the thermostat, and the heat was left on. I immediately turn the heat off and call the gas company. I had to cancel the workers scheduled to come in and get the house ready for our move in.
The representative had to turn off the gas to the entire house because 1) there was no separate valve shut off for just the furnace, and 2) because the leak was very dangerous. This meant not just no heat (which wasn't a big deal as it was August) but it also meant no stove and NO HOT WATER. The gas technician also mentioned that he was surprised the gas leak wasn't caught right away as it was obvious enough that he could hear the hissing from the leak without even having to use any tools. He also mentioned that the set up was not to code because there was no catwalk installed. Which is exceptionally amusing since I was PAYING All Temp Controlled to install a unit up to code and permitted, AND a catwalk was explicitly included in the estimate.
It's still Friday morning, so I reach out to All Temp Controlled to tell them what's happened and ask someone to come out and fix it. Apparently they are all booked up on other jobs all day and can't possibly get anyone out to the house until Monday. I explain we are supposed to move EARLY the NEXT MORNING. That we were supposed to be living there and we already hired movers. I am then told a technician can come by afterwards, but it won't be until 5 or 6. I say that's fine, my husband and I have furniture to build so we'll do that while we wait.
7 pm comes along, and I know that the office is closed, but it's the only number I have. So I call the office. I use the emergency extension (where they guarantee you will receive a response in 15 minutes) to leave a message asking if anyone is even coming, because we had been waiting at the house for 2 hours and no one had shown. We had built all the furniture and were just wasting time we could have been using packing. No one calls back. We email at 8 pm to explain we could only assume no one was coming and that we were leaving.
We received an email the next day apologizing for the inconvenience, that the technicians cell phone had died (?) and that the tech was now going to be out of town all weekend so he wouldn't be able to come until Monday Morning. At this point they also tell me that I will be compensated for my time and my trouble.
I tried calling an emergency tech to come out and fix the problem, but unfortunately they were unable to do so. Because it was weekend service, that cost me 500.00. I just really wanted hot water.
SO AFTER ALL THIS, HOW MUCH MONEY DID THEY GET APPROVED TO COMPENSATE ME? Well, they made me wait almost a month to get a number, so I assumed it would be a decent one.
... 150.00.
Yup. Not even 3% of the total job. Not even half of what I paid for the emergency tech. It's less than the fee they charge if you pay them with a credit card! Please, for your safety, don't use them. read more