ComplaintsforWalker ClimateCare

• Initial Complaint

  09/12/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We purchased our house on May 6th of this yr. On Sept 26th 2022 our furnace was turned on and was not working. Walker Climate Care came to our house to install an air conditioning unit in June/July. We figured we would use them again considering we had the AC with them. I was a bit hesitant knowing the electrician that had done some work pryer had said they (Walker) installed our AC and didn’t do the greatest job. We went with them anyway. When they showed up they did a service to the unit ie. cleaned flame sensors etc. We were then told we needed to shut the unit off because it was unsafe. Our coils/burners were needing replacement. On sept 28th a sales rep came to our house to tell us that because our furnace is so old (14+yrs) we should just replace the entire unit. Not remembering what the previous owner had said about the furnace we believed them and went ahead with the install. I had to call the previous owner to ask about a warranty on a dishwasher and happened to mention having to get a new furnace. The previous owner then began to tell me the furnace is only 4+yrs old and there is no way it should be replaced!! After contacting Walker with regards to this I was sent to a couple different representatives and then to be told they were going to do nothing about this. I feel the most honest solution is to at least give us the cost of our old furnace. I have the make and model # to show it was only a 2017 furnace! The total cost was $7133.69 to replace this not needed new furnace!

  

  Business response

  03/01/2023

  We attended a service call at the behest of this client on September 27th, 2022 stating they had ho heat from their furnace. They called us at 11:08am and we arrived at their residence just a few hours later at 3:58pm. Our technician found that the drain and the inducer motor were full of water. He cleared the blockage and flushed the system. He then cleaned the flame sensor, and noted that the burners were in rough shape and require replacement. He indicated he would sent an estimate to the client for the repairs required once he got a quote back from the provider of the parts, which he did. Based on the condition of the furnace, he also recommended that the client pursue replacement options, and offered to have a Comfort Advisor attend their residence for a quote - a professional service offered at no cost, and with no obligation to the client. They agreed, and the next day the Comfort Advisor attended their residence where they freely chose to replace their furnace, and placed a $2500 deposit towards this job by credit card. We made good on our agreement and installed the new furnace they agreed to purchased the very next day on Sept 29th (it's model number G96VTN0801716A and serial number A223147724, for the record).

  What the complaint states about the age of the furnace is true; they were originally told the furnace was approximately 14 years of age. This was an error made in good faith by the technician. As each manufacturer lists their date codes with different nomenclature, and sometimes the numbers are small, worn and hard to see, occasionally errors are made. This appears to be the case. We are not in the business of lying to customers about the age of their mechanical equipment. In many cases, this is independently verifiable online or by contacting the manufacturer. Moreover, we have been in business in this small community for just over 50 years, and have a strong reputation of being dependable when you need us, fast to offer aid, and above all - helpful and honest. This complaint suggesting that we'd knowingly lie about the age of a furnace and install a new one when we could have just repaired it is hurtful, and unfounded. We did provide an estimate to repair the furnace, and the request to be invited into the home to discuss replacement options was also done at the client's behest - as was the call to come fix the furnace to begin with. Secondly, the age of the furnace is far less material than the shape it was in, which was the basis for the necessary repairs and recommended replacement, and that has never been disputed by the client to my knowledge.

  We understand that some businesses in the HVAC/R industry have a bad reputation for selling unnecessary equipment; for offering financing that ends up costing honest homeowners 2-5X what the market value of the equipment is, and then when they need help, they find on that liens have been assessed against their property. We understand that maybe that's what these new homeowners felt was going on, but the facts just don't add up. That's not who we are and it's definitely not how we do business generally, nor what we did here. We value our reputation and are disheartened by this complaint. We're happy to provide any further documentation or clarification that would help support our position.
  

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