What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? GA
We have a home owners warranty with a CA based company (Old Republic Home Protection, orhp.com). We had problems with our a/c earlier in the summer and this has created a bit of a problem.
Here is the chronology of events in a nutshell:
1. First call on 5/4/10, unit not cooling. Contractor employed by orhp said that evaporation coil was leaking freon, would need replacing. Refilled freon as it was a slow leak.
2. Some time went by and they came back, realized they had ordered the wrong size coil. Ooops, will have to come back.
3. Came back with right coil finally, replaced it. Unit was cooling...
4. only for a couple weeks...and then stopped again.
5. Came back within 30 days on 6/2/10, and now said whole compressor unit needed replacing as it too was leaking freon. So they came back another day and replaced it.
We are being charged 2 service call fees ($55 each, not the amount but the principle is what is pissing me off here), first for the coil then the compressor unit.
My argument is that the issue was always the same- there were freon leaks, the 2nd leak didn't magically start as soon as the first one was fixed. The unit was 11 years old, so this was not unexpected. As the 'expert' in the case, it was the job of the contractor to diagnose it correctly the first time. They should have found the leak in both places and fixed it right the first time. That they didn't is still acceptable, as long as they don't try and charge a 2nd service call fee for it. The fact that they ordered the wrong coil to start with speaks to their competency (or lack thereof).
Now ORHP is threatening to cancel our contract (still another 6 months left) if we don't pay this, and they are saying it is 2 different parts, thus 2 issues. After the first invoice, we explained our reasoning in writing, and they disagreed with the dispute.
Tomorrow I am supposed to have a conference call with the contractor and ORHP.
Can anyone advise me on any other approach to take? Anything I can threaten them with? Am I wrong here? Small claims court if they cancel the contract (not that I would do it, but is that even an option?)? How would that work given they are based in CA and us in GA?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?
We have a home owners warranty with a CA based company (Old Republic Home Protection, orhp.com). We had problems with our a/c earlier in the summer and this has created a bit of a problem.
Here is the chronology of events in a nutshell:
1. First call on 5/4/10, unit not cooling. Contractor employed by orhp said that evaporation coil was leaking freon, would need replacing. Refilled freon as it was a slow leak.
2. Some time went by and they came back, realized they had ordered the wrong size coil. Ooops, will have to come back.
3. Came back with right coil finally, replaced it. Unit was cooling...
4. only for a couple weeks...and then stopped again.
5. Came back within 30 days on 6/2/10, and now said whole compressor unit needed replacing as it too was leaking freon. So they came back another day and replaced it.
We are being charged 2 service call fees ($55 each, not the amount but the principle is what is pissing me off here), first for the coil then the compressor unit.
My argument is that the issue was always the same- there were freon leaks, the 2nd leak didn't magically start as soon as the first one was fixed. The unit was 11 years old, so this was not unexpected. As the 'expert' in the case, it was the job of the contractor to diagnose it correctly the first time. They should have found the leak in both places and fixed it right the first time. That they didn't is still acceptable, as long as they don't try and charge a 2nd service call fee for it. The fact that they ordered the wrong coil to start with speaks to their competency (or lack thereof).
Now ORHP is threatening to cancel our contract (still another 6 months left) if we don't pay this, and they are saying it is 2 different parts, thus 2 issues. After the first invoice, we explained our reasoning in writing, and they disagreed with the dispute.
Tomorrow I am supposed to have a conference call with the contractor and ORHP.
Can anyone advise me on any other approach to take? Anything I can threaten them with? Am I wrong here? Small claims court if they cancel the contract (not that I would do it, but is that even an option?)? How would that work given they are based in CA and us in GA?What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?