HVAC Company out of business, new company denies responsibility

[r367]

South Carolina

An HVAC company that installed my HVAC unit a few years ago went out of business and was bought by another one. The new owner claims that he merely "bought a client/customer list" from the previous company, and that he signed a waiver from having to be liable for any previous installations. In a nutshell - my unit has been malfunctioning since I purchased my condo, and I can't get anyone to take responsibility for it. The new owner said that he thinks 95% of the units installed by the former company have been installed incorrectly. I have paid close to $2000 and it still is malfunctioning. What rights do I have? What responsibility does the current or former company have? Thank you.

 

[sandyclaus]

South Carolina

An HVAC company that installed my HVAC unit a few years ago went out of business and was bought by another one. The new owner claims that he merely "bought a client/customer list" from the previous company, and that he signed a waiver from having to be liable for any previous installations. In a nutshell - my unit has been malfunctioning since I purchased my condo, and I can't get anyone to take responsibility for it. The new owner said that he thinks 95% of the units installed by the former company have been installed incorrectly. I have paid close to $2000 and it still is malfunctioning. What rights do I have? What responsibility does the current or former company have? Thank you.

If they didn't purchase the company accounts and accept responsibility for those, then there's nothing you can do.

Sounds like you should have taken action against the original company several years ago to pursue the problems with that installation.

 

[swalsh411]

That would depend entirely on how the acquisition was structured.

You could always get somebody else to fix it, then sue for the cost and see what he comes up with as a defense.

 

[r367]

This past Tuesday is when the owner of the new company told me about them buying the former company. I bought the condo Jan. 2010, the new company bought the client list (apparently) about the same time. So, I've actually never known about the former company or had any dealings with them. The new company has come out 9 times for service calls within 2 1/2 years and just barely fixed things. Tuesday is when the owner said he suspects all units were installed improperly. Makes me wonder (well, maybe not) why they didn't reveal that in 2010. Do I have any rights as far as them not telling me that, and just continuing to fix a "lemon?"