Complaints

• Initial Complaint

  09/18/2024

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Unresolved

  More info

  Hired to install a new HVAC unit and run all duct work. The register boots were not correct and would not fix. We had to do work on all of them to get the registers to work as the company would not fix them. We asked the company to uninstall the unit and reinstall after we had the yard graded. At some point from uninstall and reinstall dirt got into the unit and caused the orifice to get clogged and the until would not cool the home. After multiple attempts to fix the unit and charging us for refrigerant (over $200) due to his error, the company sent someone new out to replace some parts and got the unit back up and running. We were charged multiple trip charges that we don't feel we should have paid since he broke the unit not us. The final repair I was told would be 460.72 in parts after taxes and labor 37.50/hr est time to complete repair - 4 hrs $150 for a total of 610.72. (Est time to me means actual time) The repair person was at the home for less than 2 hours and I was then told we had to pay his travel time which was never explained before. The company should have fixed at their cost due to it was their fault that the brand new unit was no longer working properly. We also paid 75.00 for another trip charge to fix the unit and was told the unit was working fine when it wasn't. The owner of the business says very inappropriate comments and is not professional. The owner is not ethical or honest and doesn't explain things up front and then hits you with erroneous charges. When asked for the funds back due to the unit should have been fixed at the companies expense due to it was not working because of them getting dirt into the unit he refused to give the funds back. The owner of the business also drives his day job company vehicle to the job site which is very misleading. I have also recently discovered that he took pictures of my property (inside and outside) without my consent to use for marketing purposes on ******** promoting his work.

  Business response

  09/19/2024

  Cornell Property Management was contracted to due full installation of HVAC System and Duct work with a 1 year labor warranty. No warranty on parts. I was called back to site 8 months after initial installation due to a tree limb falling onto condensing unit and "ground settling" causing unit to not be level. As you can see from the picture she submitted when we left the site after install and initial startup which ******** signed off on and paid in full the unit was level and running. After speaking g with customer a large tree limb fell on condensing unit. Acts of God are not covered under our warranty, because of this my warranty was voided which we discussed on site. I did however give a 50% discount on the work that was going to need to be performed to get her system back working and level the way we left it. I witnessed severe flooding in the basement and ******** told me that they were having the drainage lines dug up and fixed that were running directly under the condensing unit. Upon removal the unit was placed in her shed all lines were sealed. When I returned to reinstall  said unit. It had been moved in the shed and  discharge line had been all but destroyed being bent back against the unit. I reinstalled unit. Upon startup due to the discharge line being tampered with there was no Refrigerant left in the condenser. Due to warranty being voided and all the discounts already applied to this job was charged to the customer at a fraction of its true cost. However this did not fix the issue. Upon returning I found dirt in the liquid line piston and filter. Due to it being tampered with and warranty being voided from tree limb. The cost of said parts was passed on to the customer. At this time I was made aware that they had not insulated the attic yet either which needed to be done to replace parts and do tests to correctly diagnose system. At which time I was told "ok". I was called by ******** on multiple occasions demanding a refund and berating me. I calmly explained the way I run my business which she was fully aware of. The entire time her significant other explained their debt of buying this house and how I was being as fair as I could be and alot more about the state of their relationship that wouldn't be professional of me to speak on in this inquiry. The work was performed by a licensed Journeyman technician. ******** then tried to refuse to pay said technician the $610.72 for parts and labor for the final fix that got the unit up and running. Then payed my technician and continued to call and threaten myself and my company. If you have any other questions please do not hesitate to reach out. Thank you

  There will be no refund for the work Cornell Property Management performed during these repairs to the system. As they were caused by a tree limb and the customers negligence. Thank yoy

  Customer response

  09/19/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.

  The tree limb did not do any damage to the unit in the way that Casey is trying to describe.  The tree left a small dent on the top of the unit and that is all. The tree fell before the unit was de-installed and the unit was working just fine.  Casey was the one that uninstalled the unit and put it into the shed so if it was bent it was caused by him and I told him that when he told me that the unit didn't have any refrigerant in the unit.  I have asked other HVAC companies about the issues caused to the unit and they have said that in no way did we get dirt into the unit while it was sitting in the shed and he must have got the dirt in the line when he uninstalled or reinstalled the unit.  The other HVAC installers said that something happened on the de-install of the unit for there to not be any refrigerant in the unit and that we could not have caused the unit to have leaked all the refrigerant out.  The journeyman (Travis) also said that it is a common thing to get dirt in the line when de-installing and re-installing or just installing a unit and it happens more than you would think.  He said installing a unit you are constantly picking up the pipes and blowing them out to get an dirt or foreign objects out of the lines. Casey has continued to try and place blame on "acts of God" that are just not true.  Correct the insulation was not in the attic yet but the unit was cooling just fine before Casey uninstalled it and there was no insulation in the attic during the time that it was working.  All of the information that is being provided by Casey is the same thing he has been told over and over again that were/are not issues that caused the dirt to be in the unit that caused the unit not to cool properly and also caused the copper line to be bent.  In fact, Casey told me that he bent the copper pipe and that is why it had to be replaced.  When Casey came out to reinstall the unit he did not have help to get the unit out of the shed so I went to my home and got a dolly and Casey rolled the unit to the door of the shed and then dropped it to the ground while I held the shed door back out of the way.  I have been told by several HVAC installers that dropping a unit like that is not good for the unit and very well could have caused shifting and damage to the unit.  The unit was not working properly after the de-install that Casey performed and the issues preventing it from not working were Casey's fault not ours.  ***** (home owner) and myself at NO time told Casey that we acknowledge any fault and have been consistent on telling him that we should not be charged due to the problems were completely his fault. 

  I paid the journeyman due to Casey running a bad business, is not the journeyman's fault.  I also provided the text that Casey sent me with the charges and the estimated labor charges were just that...est labor charges.  I don't know how est labor hours are considered to be paid in full when the journeyman was only there for 2 hours or less.  Nowhere does it say in the text that we will pay for travel costs.  I have not asked to receive the $250 de-install and $250 re-install fees back, I am only asking for the funds back due to Casey's negligence and causing the unit to not function properly.   I have text after text from Casey stating that if the problem was due to his work then he would be fixing and not charging us.  The unit was not working due to Casey's de-install and/or re-install so we should not have had to pay but he continued to try and say it was due to something we did or an act of God.  Casey was not sure how to diagnose the problem to know what was exactly wrong with the unit and why it wasn't working properly.  He told me he was sending a journeyman out to look at the unit and try to fix it due to the journeyman has way more experience and Casey felt better about sending someone that knows more about troubleshooting the units than he does.  

  I did reach out to Casey and told him that I would be contacting the BBB about how he overcharged us multiple times and I did not reach out more than the one time.   

  
  Regards,
  
  ******** ******
  

  Business response

  09/27/2024

  All of this should've been stated in the first complaint

   I at no time dropped this unit. I was as careful as i could be. 

  i have moved on. I did warranty my work. Not the customers negligence of the unit.

  There will be no refund issued for the work that was provided.

  Again I apologize if this issue has wasted your time. 

  When my journeyman sub contractor left the unit was working. 

   

  Customer response

  10/01/2024

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, reasons for rejection are included below.
  
  Regards,
  
  ******** ******

  Cornell Property Management and Casey Cornell have not addressed the issue of the dispute and their wrong doing.  The only reason that Cornell Property Management made several trips out to work on the unit and finally send someone that was knowledgeable is because of the facts that I have already presented several times.  The unit was dropped by a dolly out of the shed and I was standing there watching, so it did happen and dirt got into the unit because of Cornell Property Management/Casey Cornell doing the uninstall and reinstall incorrectly which was Casey's negligence.  There was absolutely no negligence from the customer with the unit in any way and no evidence has been provided to substantiate any negligence.  You "Cornell Property Management" and "Casey Cornell" did not warranty your work and you should not ask any customer to pay for mistakes that you made on the uninstall and reinstall, of which we paid and are not disputing.  Cornell Property Management should not be taking money from customers when the repair is 100% Cornell Property Managements/Casey Cornell's negligence.  I am not sure what your comment means "Again I apologize is this issue has wasted your time".  Who's time?  Cornell Property Management is at fault and is doing bad business and the BBB needs to hear about it and make public for other home owners to see so that you don't do the same thing to others.  There is no waste of time in telling the truth and providing accurate, precise and justified information.  The fact is that you caused the issue with the unit that cost us $885.00 out of pocket, and that is just not good business.  Cornell Property Management does not care about the customer!

*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. ↩