ComplaintsforAbles Inc.

• Initial Complaint

  11/16/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I am contacting you on behalf of my parent's *** * **** *****, home address: *** *** ***** **** *********** ** *****. I am their only child and although I reside in Colorado, I am their power of attorney for health and finances. I can provide a copy of the POA if required. On the morning of Wednesday, 10/19/22, my Mom, ****, contacted Ables Inc and requested them to check their furnace and heat pump. They told her they would have to charge her $150.00 to come out and see what was wrong because she had not been a customer before. She agreed to this because she felt panic about not having heat and wanted someone to come out on the same day she called. A tech from Ables came to the home. Looked over everything and told her it was too old to buy parts for and would need a total replacement. He gave her a ballpark figure of $10-12,000.00. He told her that he would set up a free estimate for a new unit and they would arrive on 10/21/22. He then proceeded to instill further fear by telling my parents that there was a carbon monoxide leak. My parents do have monitors in their home and they have batteries and are fully functional. They have never gone off. Instead of being charged $150.00, my parents were charged $210. I phoned Ables for clarity on the charge. They told me my Mom was wrong. They do not pre-charge, but do charge $105/hr. just to have a tech come out to assess the functionality of the furnace. The service report that I still have not seen, states the tech was there for 2hrs. On Thursday, 10/20/22, I had another competitor assess the furnace/heat pump. He was in and out within an hour. He did not charge an hourly service fee just to see what was not working. He took photos of his carbon monoxide meter next to their unit to prove he found no leaks. He took a photo of their air filter that was full of dirt. My parents had forgotten to change it. He also found debris in one of the vents and determined a replacement of the furnace/heat pump was not warranted.

  

  Business response

  02/03/2023

  
  I have reviewed the complaint we received from the Better Business Bureau regarding ***** ********'s parents, *** and ***** *****. The following information is a summary of the thorough investigation I performed.

  
  Our hourly rate is $105.00 per hour, over time rate is $157.00 per hour, maintenance rate is $165.00 per hour. I am not sure where the $150.00 per hour rate is coming from (stated in the complaint). 

  
  When the service call is placed, we ask all new customers for credit card information, this is done so that after the service call has been completed, we can process the payment. This is a practice that we have been doing for several years, it helps eliminate any nonpayment issues. 

  
  I have interviewed the technician that completed the work on the existing heating system at *** and ***** *****'s home. *** * **** ***** have a gas furnace and heat pump heating and cooling system for their home. This system, when in heating cycle, the heat pump provides the heat to the home until the outdoor temperature drops to set point then the gas furnace takes over. The gas heat is secondary to the heat pump. When our technician showed up on site the owner explained the issues they were experiencing. Our technician started with heat pump system, which was a Trane unit Model TWX0420100A, manufacture date of 1992. This unit is 30 years of age which is not a problem, but the unit had a couple items showing age and ware. Capacitor was showing signs of weakness and contactor showing signs of bad contact points. After the findings, he closed the unit and moved on to the furnace. The Gas furnace is a Lennox unit ModelG11Q5E-165U-6, manufactured date 1978. When he fired up the gas furnace, he found burners needed cleaning, he found a buildup of rust on burner which comes from the age and years of operation. After the burners lit and the heat exchanger reaches temperature the blower of the furnace comes on to distribute the warm air throughout the home. Our technician was at *** and ***** *****'s home for 2 hours diagnosing their unit.

  
  When the blower came on it was then our service technician noticed the flames moving around. This is a sign that is common when there is a crack in the heat exchanger or another air source that would cause the flames to flatter. With those signs he proceeded to take readings to see if carbon monoxide was getting into the air stream. According to his meter there were 4 PPM at the furnace plenum. In this situation our technician did as he was taught, to shut off the system for the safety of the homeowner. 

   

  ***** stated that a competitor company ran a test for carbon monoxide in another room where the homeowner has a carbon monoxide tester. Our company and the competitor company tested for carbon monoxide in two different areas of the home. One test that we performed is in a confined area and the other test performed by the competitor company was in an open room with more volume of air. Most home detectors have a ten-year life expectancy, as long as the owner checks the unit monthly, cleans the air sampler and keeps strong batteries in the unit. 

  
  When **** called Ables for service, she stated that they had to turn their thermostat to 80 degrees to get the unit to come on. When we find issues with a system that may cause harm to the people that live in that environment, we do what we feel is necessary to keep them safe. My question is, what does ***** want us, at Ables, to do for her and her parents? 

  
  Sincerely,

  
  Russ A**** 
  

  
  

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