AC ? Are these guys trying to rip me off?

[Capri]

We bought our house four years ago in Jacksonville, Florida. When we bought it we were told that the air conditining system would need to be relaced soon and as such were able to get a reduction in the sales price. Anyway a year ago we finally went and put in a new Puron Infinity air conditioning system by Carrier. Their top of the line model at the time. It has worked like a champ and we have been quite pleased with it. One of the things that sold me on it was the 10 years labor and parts warranty. Cost of the AC system $7400

This past week a guy from carrier came out to do the annual service check on the unit and low and behold he tried to sell me another unit, a bio chemical elctro dehumidifier or some some such thing to be installed along with the AC system, he said it is needed to keep the coils freee and clear of mold, mildew and other nasty stuff and if I didn't do this then any warranty I had on the unit would be null and void. Cost of this system $3296.

He said the filter supplied with the unit was just not doing the job, I asked why not just put in a better filter then and got no reply.

Now $7400 I could live with, 10k+ is a bit of a stretch. I've never heard of such a thing before and am wondering If maybe they are 1. either just trying to get me to buy their new system which wopuld probably be nice but I really dont needcd and or 2. trying to get out of honoring their warranty unless iu buy the additional system. 3. something else.

One other thing, he kept on going on about how this was a decision I had to make immediately. Our temperature is in the 70's now, we probably wont turn the AC on again until next year, Heat yes but rarely the AC.

Any opinions?

[Toller]

I don't know anything at all about the system, but that won't stop me...

Ask him to show you where in the warranty it is required.

[cm]

Have him sign a statement saying the warranty will be voided if the new system is not installed. If he DOES sign it fax a copy to Carriers corporate office customer service department. I am sure their policy is different than his. Carrier corporate web page:

Good luck,

cm

[Doug Kanter]

Take a close look at your original warranty documentation. Every word of it.

[TURTLE]

This is Turtle.

HE IS TRING TO RIP YOU OFF.

i have been in the HVAC business all my life and sell carrier commercially and i have never heard of a Bio Chemical Electro Dehumidifier in my life. I will call monday and check if they ever made it or can you buy such a thing.

Now you having to buy a addition to a hvac system to keep the warranty up is unheard of. Here in Louisiana you can get 5 years in prison for tring that here. Now if your over the age of 60 years. This fellow will be charged with Fleesing Elderly and carrys a 15 year term in prison.

Now what i think he is tring to sell you is a Bio Light. It is a light they put inside with the evaperator coil and shines inside to kill germs, mold, or any bacteria at all that form there. These lights run about $300.00 and about $300.00 to install them which makes them about $600.00 total. The $3,296.00 is about $2,700.00 too much.

I would say you just don't say anything unless you want to put then in jail for fraud . There is no additional parts or equipment that can cancel your labor and parts warranty offered by Carrier. If So please call or e-mail me and i will get a Carrier Rep. to discuss this rip off deal with them. Carrier dealers can loose dealerships like this by being stupid and tring to steal like this.

If you would like to discuss this E-Mail me for the e-mail address here on the group is good.

TURTLE

[Doug Kanter]

Ultraviolet?

[scott21230]

I'm leaning towards #1 and #2 from the original post.

When you go to the big box stores, they are always pushing these expensive add ons. Their demo always have them installed, even here in Maryland when you walk into Home Depot, the sample HVAC system has a humidifier, which defies logic here (you should be shot for trying to sell a humidifier anywhere on the East coast).

[Dr. Hardcrab]

wrote

Why? Give me some reasons.

E-mail me if you'd like (remove the SPAM first)

[Stretch]

Capri,

In short (One time cussin is justified) BULL SHIT!!!!

Get someone else to service your unit.

Stretch

As long as you have regular preventive maintenance on your unit, they cannot void your warranty except for abuse, like running your car into it.

[Goedjn]

.. . . .

That one fact alone should provoke an automatic rejection of whatever he's trying to get you to do. If you're not paying him by the hour for this visit, waste some of his time, and make him right down and sign whatever it is he wants you to do and his perported reasons for it. I'll bet he won't do it. And the reason he won't do it is because he's full of shit. If he DOES do it, photocopy it, and send copies to both the corporation HQ, and to the local liscencing board, and then find a new company to do business with.

No wait, find the new company first.

[Retiredff]

[e-mail] wrote: the sample HVAC system has

Why does it defie logic to add humidity during the winter?

[Capri]

Thanks for all the replies.

What I did....1st off I went to the Carrier Website, They don't even carry the air cleaner which the guy was trying to sell, but the DO have several other aircleaning options. all of which seem to make a lot more sense.

Then I made a few calls to different Carrier dealers in the area. Only one of them know of the system that i was bring talked into, most of the others said that a good filter system should do the job just fine.

One of these guys mentioned the bio light that Turtle mentioned here, he said it will just as effectivley kill germs, mold and such. Anyway, this guy is coming over to the house tomoro to discuss options.

Oh yeah, the Warranty. the closest it comes to saying anything about voiding the warranty is to state that the unit must be maintaned properly. So yeah, it probably needs a better filter system but it sure as heck doesn't need a $3296 one!

Thanks again,

Capri

[Goedjn]

Does this mean you're not going to complain to your local liscensing board, and are instead going to leave that guy out there to defraud my poor old aunt?

[Greg O]

I hope you told him to hit the road and don't bother coming back, because next time you are calling his competition! ANYTIME someone tells me I need to make the decision now I send them packing. It is just a high pressure sales tactic to scare you into signing.

I sounds like he was trying to sell you UV lights, which are a good idea, but I do not know of any manufacturer that requires them. You can get them installed for much less than the price he was quoting, probably $400 and up to a $1000 depending on how far you go, but $3000 is out of the question for UV lights. I would call the company he works for and tell them they lost a customer! Greg

[mm]

I live in Baltimore, Maryland,, and on the several occasions I haven't had heat, I boil water on the stove, or run the shower (into a stopped bathtub. Then I let the water cool off in the tub before I drain it.) (have to remember to stop the shower before tub overflows, and also to remove the soap. Somehow the long shower ruins the soap in the dish at the side of the tub.)

The increased humidity definitely makes me feel warmer. (I'm sure it also helps keep cheap (and expensive?) furniture from cracking.)

I also have a simple humidifier on the furnace. I'm sure it helps.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

[mm]

Doug is right that you should read the warranty (at the very least, it's always good to read the warranty) , but I've never heard of one that requires something not yet invented to be added to maintain validity. Or even something that wasn't required in the first place, even if it was invented already. Obviously it would have been cheaper to install it with the original installation.

I would call the owner of the company, and ask him to tell you more about the unit. If you have to, you can say that you see the guy who came to your house as mostly a service man who can't be expected to know the details of something like this.

After you talk to the owner, or at least the manager, you'll know better if they are both thieves or only the service guy. It's probably both of them, but the manager might be smart enough to realize you're on to him. Try to imitate a real sucker when you call.

What to do with this information I'm not sure. Tell Carrier? Be careful not to commit slander. Only say what happened.

If you live in most states you can tape the phone call. (But not Maryland and some otthers.)

Cottman Transmission in Allentown Pa, once told me I needed a new transimission because mine "shifted too quietly". I complained to the state consumer affairs, but they said because I hadn't lost money, they couldn't or wouldn't do anything. I was too smart to replace a transmission that was too quiet. (I told the Cottman guy, "I thought quiet was good". He gave me some stupid answer.)

I wrote national Cottman too, but didn't get anything I would call worthwhile in reply. It's been 20 years but I'll never deal with them again.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.

[mm]

Tell him and his boss that you'll be telling everyone you know how he tried to rip you off. When you do tell people, don't exaggerate. The facts are bad enough.

They'll probably tell the OP that the guy has been fired, but the odds are not particularly good that he will be. For the next few weeks if one calls and asks for him, they'll say he doesn't work there anymore, but after a while, they may figure this incident is over and respond as if he does. I'd make sure I t alked to him, or better yet, visit when he is there and talk to him in person. (Park a block away) Then I'd call the boss again, and tell him you know they didn't fire him.

Remove NOPSAM to email me. Please let me know if you have posted also.