Contractor Issue

[Ryan12]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)NJ I had contracting work done in my yard. Contactor hired a sub contractor to move central a/c unit temporarily. After 2 days a/c stopped working, and a/c contractor said was because compressor broke because the unit is very old (at least 17 years)and I should replace unit.(Which he would do for $2650.00)
I called another a/c contractor to evaluate and he found that compressor was fine but all refrigerant had leaked out and I should contact the subcontractor because he was responsible. Again sub contractor said it was compressor not freon.(felt he just wanted me to purchase unit from him)
I contacted another a/c contactor (3rd one), who found that the unit was empty of freon due to a leak at a faulty braize joint when unit was relocated. He recommended we replace unit because of cost to repair including $450 dollars worth of freon as well as age. We had him replace unit $2450.00. My question is do I have any recourse against sub contractor? He obviouslyis responsible for the leak and I feel he just didn't want to take the time to fix it or spend the $ to replace freon, it was much easier for him to sell us a new unit. I understand the unit was old and would eventually need replacing but that might not have been for a few years. What is his responsibility? Thank you

 

[Zigner]

You don't get a new a/c because your 17 year old unit couldn't handle the move...

 

[Ryan12]

Oh I do not expect him to pay for a new air conditioner, I know the unit was old. But I feel he should have some responsibility here. The problem was that there was a leak in a joint that was caused when he moved it, not that my a/c could not handle the move. The quote to repair it was close to $1,000.00 and he did not want to bother. He can do a bad job relocating unit, not re connect properly and have no responsibility? Thanks

 

[Silverplum]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)NJ I had contracting work done in my yard. Contactor hired a sub contractor to move central a/c unit temporarily. After 2 days a/c stopped working, and a/c contractor said was because compressor broke because the unit is very old (at least 17 years)and I should replace unit.(Which he would do for $2650.00)
I called another a/c contractor to evaluate and he found that compressor was fine but all refrigerant had leaked out and I should contact the subcontractor because he was responsible. Again sub contractor said it was compressor not freon.(felt he just wanted me to purchase unit from him)
I contacted another a/c contactor (3rd one), who found that the unit was empty of freon due to a leak at a faulty braize joint when unit was relocated. He recommended we replace unit because of cost to repair including $450 dollars worth of freon as well as age. We had him replace unit $2450.00. My question is do I have any recourse against sub contractor? He obviouslyis responsible for the leak and I feel he just didn't want to take the time to fix it or spend the $ to replace freon, it was much easier for him to sell us a new unit. I understand the unit was old and would eventually need replacing but that might not have been for a few years. What is his responsibility? Thank you

Oh I do not expect him to pay for a new air conditioner, I know the unit was old. But I feel he should have some responsibility here. The problem was that there was a leak in a joint that was caused when he moved it, not that my a/c could not handle the move. The quote to repair it was close to $1,000.00 and he did not want to bother. He can do a bad job relocating unit, not re connect properly and have no responsibility? Thanks

How do you plan to prove the subcontractor caused the leak? Because you've already written that the joint was faulty. Not to mention, the fact that the unit was old.

 

[Ryan12]

The subcontractor was the one to braise (like solder) the joint when reconnecting the unit. It was done improperly that is why freon lesked out.

 

[Zigner]

The subcontractor was the one to braise (like solder) the joint when reconnecting the unit. It was done improperly that is why freon lesked out.

You chose not to repair. You are out nothing because you decided to buy a new unit.

 

[Ryan12]

I am not looking for sub contractor to pay for my a/c, but there should be some sort of responsibility on his part. My a/c worked fine, he was hired and was paid by contractor to relocate unit. If moving an old unit was a problem, that should have been stated before work was done. He moved he unit but did not braize/solder the connecting joint properly (after unit was moved) which caused freon to leak out. (it did work for 2 days).Then he would take no responsibility or offer to repair. I incurred a big expense because he did a poor job and contractor walks away, not being held accountable(and was paid). Just does not seem right.
Thanks

 

[ecmst12]

I suspect the expected lifespan of an AC unit is something less than 17 years, so your unit had already lived past its time. That means the value of the unit was close to $0. So even if you could prove that the subcontractor caused the unit to fail, you can't recover more than the value of what they damaged.

 

[justalayman]

. The guy moved the A/C unit. There was a brazed joint that simply couldn't handle the move. Unless the guy simply yanked the unit out of the way, he did what anybody moving the unit would have done. You cannot guarantee something will not happen when you move something like that.



so, did you see him move it?

He obviouslyis responsible for the leak and I feel he just didn't want to take the time to fix it or spend the $ to replace freon, it was much easier for him to sell us a new unit.

fixing your old unit was probably not a good idea. You were nearing the end of the expected life of an AC unit, if not actually beyond it, so suggesting you replace rather than fix is the best option.

Besides, given your view of the situation, when the compressor did crap out next year, you would have blamed that on him too and expected that for free. Sorry but I don't see anything he did wrong here.

 

[Ryan12]

Thank you ..