ComplaintsforBill Trombly Plumbing, Heating and Cooling

• Initial Complaint

  09/28/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Service or Repair Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I bought a mini split AC system from Bill trombly back in the spring of 2020. Carl our sales person stated we would get 10 years parts and labor covered on the system. If anything broke or went wrong with the system, it was covered for 10 years and we don't pay anything. They installed the system in May of 2020 and by the fall it was already broken. Each summer, Bill Trombly techs need to come out to leak-check the AC and fix leaks on the hose lines. This happens once in the spring and again in the fall. Each time the team leaves, they claim it's fixed and good to go! They also perform a spring tune-up at the cost of $100 each year and state if I want to keep my warranty intact, I need to keep the spring service. This past spring, the lines were freezing and the system wasn't cooling our home. These are the same signs we have seen since installation when there is a leak and the system needs to be fixed. The tech came out and stated there were more leaks in the lines that were in the basement. He replaced the broken section and said you should be good to go! I asked why didn't we replace everything and replace the full hose line? I was told that would be a waste of money and they only wanted to replace what was needed. It is now the end of September and the system is broken again. The lines keep freezing and not cooling. The tech came out and found the pressure in the system is low and off, this is why it's not running correctly. I thought I would be able to wait until the spring to fix it and now the system isn't working at all. Bill Trombly wants to bill me $2,000 to come leak check and fix the system, citing that the leak checks are not covered by dikan the manufacturer of the system. However, this was covered by them for the past 3 years and some how now it's not covered and out of warranty. This has been the same ongoing problem for the past 3 years and as stated above, has never been fixed permanently and needs attention twice a summer. I just want the system fixed with all the lines replaced and a new warranty.

  Business response

  09/29/2023

  In 2020 we installed an AC system with piping in the attic as well as ducts and vents going from the attic to the living space. Mr. ****** does have a 10-year parts and labor warranty with us. This warranty is through Bill Trombly and requires the system to be serviced once a year by us per the manufacturer’s instructions. The cost of the once-a-year service wasn’t included in the installation price and will vary from year to year. Attached is a copy of Mr. ****** warranty with his signature acknowledging the warranty terms.

  Sometime after our AC installation Mr. ****** had his attic insulated. The contractor that did this work buried our piping and equipment make access to the AC system very difficult. This has been explained to Mr. ****** by a couple of our technicians.

  The issue that Mr. ****** has been having with his system is the AC piping has been leaking at the joints in the piping. This isn’t a very common problem. As the system was put under pressure and vacuum at the time of installation and inspected by the Town of Hudson. We suspect that when the insulation company did their work that they hit the piping and/or the equipment cause the joints to leak. We don’t know if that happened for sure and we don’t believe that anything was done on purpose or with malice. It's just leaks in the piping are very uncommon.

  With that said we have taken care of every issue that Mr. ****** has had at no charge to him, under our warranty.

  When the last technician went out to Mr. ******, he noted that the system was low on refrigerant and needed to be checked. This technician gave Mr. ****** a quote to do this work. He gave Mr. ****** this quote because he was under the impression that the system was out of warranty, He even stated that in the quote. He did this because our standard warranty is 2 years parts and labor. When Mr. ****** contacted the office to voice his concerns the office manager asked me to review everything with our Field Manager. I instructed my Field Manager at that time to cover any repairs at no charge to Mr. ****** if we have access to the equipment and piping, we installed.

   Upon our review of Mr. ****** installation, we notice that the Comfort Advisor, at the time, gave Mr. ****** a 10-year warranty instead of our standard 2-year warranty. This was never added to Mr. ****** account, so the technician and Field Manager was unaware of the 10-year warranty. This was our mistake and I take full responsibility. This has been corrected.

  Before Mr. ****** filed his complaint with BBB we were already trying to reach him to let him know that we would make the repair(s) at no cost to him.  We called him serval time and left messages with no response until yesterday, 9/28/23. At that time, we explained to him that we would make the repair at no cost to him if we had access to the equipment and piping. He seemed to agree with that and said he would call us back when he gets us access. We are currently waiting for Mr. ****** to call us back to schedule the work. Our hope is to complete this work before it is too cold. If the temperature drops below 50 degrees (plus or minus) we will be unable to make the repairs this year. But we are still willing to do the repairs in the spring. When this gets scheduled will depend on when we hear back from Mr. ******.

  I hope I have answered all of Mr. ******'s concerns and I apologize for my office not having the correct warranty on his account.
  Bill T****** ***

  Customer response

  10/03/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I do not accept the business's response as a resolution to my complaint because the lines need to be fully replaced by kyle and both head units checked for ice/ freeze damage. I do not want the system patched again.
  Sincerely,
  
  Scott ******

  Business response

  10/05/2023

  As we don’t have access to the equipment a determination of what the repair is going to be hasn’t been made yet. As soon as we have access to the equipment, we will make the determination of what needs to be done under Mr. ****** warranty. I understand that Mr. ****** would like the “lines” fully replaced, but we don’t even know that the “lines” are a problem at this point. We must have access to the equipment and the lines to test everything. Once everything is tested and we find out what the issue is we will repair the issue under warranty. As for the picture that Mr. ****** attached that is a coupling and is normal and standard practice. Even if the “lines” are replaced he will still have couplings. We are willing to honor our warranty once we have the access that we have been requesting. Please note that this can only be completed when the weather is 50 degrees or higher. We are waiting for Mr. ****** to call our office to schedule the test. 

  Bill T****** ***

  Customer response

  10/11/2023

  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.

  Good afternoon. I read the most recent response from bill trombly claiming my picture is of a coupling. The point of the picture was to show the frost in the freezing not the coupling. M my concern is that they’re just going to evaluate the lines and patch them again, without fully replacing the hoses/lines entirely, and I’ll be back in the same situation with the freezing. If I accept their offer and I’m not pleased with thing’s after, what are my options?
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ***** ******

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