Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  10/21/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Crystal Heating and Cooling installed my furnace when my house was built and they NEVER registered it. Without me knowing that, they put me under their VIP (joke) maintenance agreement which was almost $300 a year and when I really needed it, they ghosted me. I called when my furnace would not kick on during a cold spell this fall and wanted my maintenance done for the upcoming winter. The office girl read the notes from the past spring stating that the service guy had to "spin the inducer" to get the furnace to kick on. They never got a hold of me for replacement or let me know what was going on. Come fall, of course the furnace would not work and I had to call three times to try and get something done about it. They kept telling me they ordered an inducer and it would be on the next day's truck. I even had the office girl giggling out loud while I was trying to talk to her. So very rude. I never hear back. I finally called another company and found out not only was the inducer broke, but there was a hole in the heat exchanger, which could have been endangering my life this entire winter season due to a gas leak. I would not recommend Crystal Heating and Cooling to anyone and I think I should get my service agreement money back for the season since I was not only ignored, but laughed at by the office and more importantly, my life endangered by incompetency of service.

  

  Business response

  10/25/2024

  On October 25, 2024, Crystal Heating & Cooling responded to ******************** residence for the fourth time, at no additional charge to the customer, in an effort to address her concerns regarding the performance of her furnace.

  
  During this visit, our technician conducted a series of thorough inspections, including a flue gas analysis. The analysis revealed carbon monoxide (CO) levels at 26 parts per million (ppm). For reference, ************ are considered unsafe only when CO levels exceed *************************************************** ********* household exposed to dangerous or unsafe levels of carbon monoxide.

  
  Additionally, our team performed a detailed inspection of the furnaces heat exchanger and found no signs of cracks or holes that would suggest any risk of carbon monoxide leakage or other system failures.

  
  At the customers request, as an extra precaution, we turned off both the furnace and the gas supply to ensure her peace of mind while awaiting further action. Ms. ******** has also requested that we provide an estimate for replacing the furnace. As per her request, we will arrange for an estimator to visit her home and provide a quote for the furnace replacement. 

  As far as a refund there is nothing to refund.  Mrs. ******** hasn't paid for her service agreement yet this year as it renews in the fall.  She received her 2 maintenance visits for the agreement she renewed last fall.

  At Crystal Heating & Cooling, the safety and satisfaction of our customers are our highest priorities, and we are committed to providing clear communication and professional service to address any concerns.

  Customer response

  10/28/2024

  Complaint: 22454884
  
  I have reviewed the business' response and am rejecting it because there are false and fabricated statements.

  On October 25, 2024, Crystal Heating & Cooling did not respond for the fourth time.  This was the one and only zero cost visit on 10/25/24.  All other visits were covered under my maintenance agreement.  I was due for the next cycle of payment during my fall 2024 inspection and cleaning.  ****** ****** even admitted to me on a phone call that Crystal Heating and Cooling "dropped the ball last spring when they didn't address the inducer motor issue."  This is what started the whole issue the fall.  This is when I had to call the office several times because my furnace would not kick on.  This is when I could not get a response and had to resort to calling a different Carrier dealer. 
  
  During the October 25, 2024 visit, the Crystal Heating and Cooling technician DID NOT conducted a series of thorough inspections when he began. He came in and immediately began installing the inducer motor because this is all he knew to do.  He would have installed that one part and called it good, but I had to fill him in on all past conversations and emails regarding the other company finding a hole in my heat exchanger and I showed him the pictures that the other company took with an inspection camera.  Only after that he went outside and called the office.  They instructed him to do more thorough testing and gas analysis. .
  
  After the analysis, I was given a choice to replace both the inducer motor and the heat exchanger.  I still had the issue of the motor not being under warranty, so this cost would have been somewhere between $1,600 and $1,800 from my conversation with the technician.  Nothing was in writing.  It was either that or meet with the company's sales representative and get prices for a new furnace.  Crystal Heating and Cooling then turned off both the furnace and the gas supply to ensure safety while awaiting further action.

  The refund that I was asking for was for the PAST year when Crystal Heating and Cooling failed to detect the heat exchanger issue and failed to come back to address the broken inducer motor.  Again, this was admitted as a failure on their part.  

  After the technician's visit on 10/25/24, I sent ****** ****** a very detailed email, documenting everything that had taken place.  Please see below email.  The only response I got from him was asking me to withdraw my complaint with the BBB.  I found this rather insulting.  I am hoping that my next reply on this case will be a positive one.  I'm looking forward to meeting with Crystal Heating and Cooling today, 10/28/24, to see what they can offer me as a replacement

  *****email from 10/27/24 to ****** ***********

  Hi ****** -
  
  Your technician ****** came out on Friday and I truly do appreciate you being able to fit me in.
  
  ****** was very professional and came out to do what he thought was only getting a new inducer motor put into my furnace.  He got here a bit early so I was wrapping up my conference call and then went downstairs to see what he had discovered, because I thought he had the entire story about my part not being under warranty due to no registration and how another company had found a hole in the heat exchanger.
  
  He did not have any of the background information at all.  He quickly had already installed the inducer motor and was firing the furnace up to make sure it worked, which it did.  I asked him what he found when he inspected the heat exchanger with his camera.  He told me that Crystal Heating and Cooling does not use cameras.  I informed him of the hole that the other company had found and he was very surprised and then concerned.   I showed him the pictures, which you should see in the email that I'm forwarding.
  
  Once ****** realized the situation, he called the office and was told to run some additional tests.  He ran the tests and then called the office again and after he hung up, he told me that he would have to shut my furnace back down due to the heat exchanger issue.   It felt like deja vu all over again.  I really thought he had the background before he came out.
  
  He said that he couldn't do anything about the warranty issue and that the builder should have made sure the furnace was registered.  I feel like everyone blames someone else for this issue.  ****** said that I would have to replace both the heat exchanger and the inducer motor if I wanted my furnace back on.  Otherwise I could work with **** from your office and get pricing on a new furnace.  If I hadn't brought this information forward regarding the hole, ****** would have installed the inducer motor and called it good.  This would have left me in a dangerous situation.  Not his fault, he simply did not have the entire story.
  
  I'm sorry for the long email, but I want to make sure you're aware of all this and that I have it documented.  From the guesstimate price that ****** told me after speaking with the office, I think Crystal Heating and Cooling will be much more fair to me than ~other company~, and for that reason, I'm really hoping we can continue to work together to get this issue solved.
  
  Due to the situation I've run into with my service plan and warranty, I'm hoping that **** brings me some fair and discounted pricing for a new furnace.  My furnace should have lasted much longer than 9 years and no one seems to take the blame for it not being registered and no one seems to know how a hole got into the exchanger.  ****** said it could have happened during install, it could have been there as a new part, etc.  This is all very scary how this wasn't ever detected until another company came out with a camera. 
  
  I have an appointment with **** for Monday afternoon.  I am encountering such a premature and unexpected expense for a 9-year furnace, so I look forward to **** helping me get back in service.
  
  Thank you
  
  
  
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ******* ********

  Customer response

  10/28/2024

  Please see picture of hole in my heat exchanger

  Customer response

  11/06/2024

  Crystal Heating and Cooling has worked with me to purchase a new furnace at a fair price since my original furnace installed by Crystal Heating and Cooling was only 9 years old when it failed.

  As far as the refund that I was requesting for the past year's maintenance agreement due to issues and non-responsiveness, we have worked together and I have been provided a full year of future maintenance at no cost to me which would be the same value as the refund.

  I consider this case resolved.  Please let me know if I need to do anything else to make sure the complaint is shown as resolved and closed.

   

  Thank you

  ****** ********

   

• Initial Complaint

  09/04/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Air conditioner purchased in 2023 from Crystal heating and cooling was freezing up. A repairman was sent to make adjustment to fan if needed. He indicated there would be no charge for the call as conditioner was under warranty. As he was preparing to leave he said he had talked with his boss and was going to charge me over $500.00. I indicated I was not going to pay. He then asked me for signature verifying he had been there. I signed saying I was signing to verify he had been at my house but I was not paying. After the repairman left I called the individual from Crystal heating and cooling who sold me the unit. I then received an updated bill for over $300.00. Never after telling me there was no charge was I given any indication that all changed until he was preparing to leave. The air conditioner only needed different filter which had been addressed many days before Crystals courtesy call which happened because it was under warranty. So the air conditioner was working fine and I was told Crystal just wanted to check it out and as I said adjust the fan if needed. They keep sending me bills which I have yet to pay

  

  Business response

  09/06/2024

   In 2022 Crystal Heating and Cooling was contracted to replace a ********** Furnace with a new *********** Furnace.  This specific replacement job required Crystal H&C to adapt the new Carrier Furnace to the existing Lennox Coil and existing Lennox Air Conditioner.  This install included a One Year labor Warranty on all CHCs work performed along with a Carrier 10-year parts warranty for the new furnace.   
  
  When looking at the new Carrier Furnace installed in this home there is an indoor evaporator coil that is manufactured by ****** sitting on top along with a matching outdoor Lennox Air Conditioning unit. These two items are a key part of the cooling system, both of which existed at this location before the new furnace and are approximately 14 years old. 
  
  The new Carrier Furnace is responsible for the Airflow required to operate the cooling system.   When the technician arrived in July our records say to Check Airflow.  We cannot make warranty judgment calls until a technician inspects the operation of a unit. Once this furnace was properly assessed it was determined that it was in good working order with no problems, making this not a warranty issue and became a billable call.
  
  Our technician did determine that the problem was not due to the furnace or its installation and noted in his invoice that the cooling problem was caused by the previously installed air conditioning system (see attached).
  
  The invoice had already been adjusted once from $547 down to $347 as a courtesy.
  
  Having paid other invoices and diagnostic fees for previous calls since the 1st warranty has expired (labor warranty expired 9/22/2023) the customer clearly understands our invoice pricing policies. These policies are also discussed when appointments are scheduled.
  
  

  Customer response

  09/06/2024

  The air conditioner needed no repair because the size of air filter was causing freezing. I was told by technician there would be no charge before he started. At no point did he indicate the no charge was changed to charge.  If I had known charging rates were to apply I would have declined because the unit was working fine with different filter. It still works. The company suggested the service call even after I told them it was working.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩