small claims

[aunt annie]

What is the name of your state? What is the name of your state? CT
I am being sued in small claims court for not paying for services to oil company they came in and changed a heating exchange in my furnace. the serviceman verbally quoted me 1 to 2 hours at 70 dollars an hour five hours later they finally finished i did not turn the heat on until the next night. after a while i started smelling something and my house started filling with smoke my husband and i couldn't find the source so called 911 it turned out it was insulation in the crawl space which was against the ducts the duct work got so hot it started the insulation smoldering and burning the workers from the oil company crushed the mechanism which tells the furnace how hot it is getting and shuts it off. this was verified by the oil companys own employee who showed up while the fireman were here the oil company is denying any wrong doing tried to charge me for 4 hours of work at 80 dollars an hour for their employees almost setting my house on fire
more..

 

[Tercr6]

Did you sign off on the time and work order they preformed ?
Did not they start the furnace and " test" the new heat exchanger ,and furnace for preformance after they completed the work ?
Was the company using new inexperienced hires to do the work ?
If your furnace was working fine,and there were no " defects " in the unit or duct work,before they worked on your furnace,then after,the fire dept had to be called,and their was damage caused by what the repair people did. Sue them.
Have you had at least 2 other reputable heating/cooling companies come out and give you an estimate?? You must have had the heat sensor fixed .
1) Get documentation of your heating bills prior to this event and repair - to prove the furnace was operating.
2) get the fire departments report ( copy)
3) have the copy of the repair bill ( the ones that caused the problem ),and the repair bill to & estimates to fix the damage their non proffesionalizm caused.
You may not even have to take it to small claims.If your attorney generals office ( local) has a consumer complaint dept. loge a complaint with them,be sure to state what you want to rectify the matter.
Note: i once worked for a heating/colling co. as a trainee.They hired a guy that was suppose to know his stuff,he didn't.And they would damage parts on purpose,or sell parts un-needed.Also the exchanged heat echagers in 2 furnaces in the same house an the next day they caught on fire.So it happens.Its their fault.
Be persistant and dont pay them,make them pay you !! Tell them they put your life in danger.. It is normal for a heat exchanger to "burn off" the preservative coating the put on them so as not to rust on the sheves,but not for duct work and insulation and furnaces parts to catch fire and fail,It is their responsibilities to insure your unit is safe working order after repairs.

 

[aunt annie]

Thanks Terry, I have kept all the copies, and I have the copy from the fire Dept. I am countersueing them. They are trying to take me to small claims to pay them for their inept work. What I want to know is do I have the right to ask who thier lawyers are bringing in for witnesses, and can I ask them for business information? Example: How many of these furnaces have they had to replace because the exchanges were cracked? Do they have to supply me with business records if I request them?

 

[Tercr6]

Generally neither side has to disclose a witness list.Either or both parties can bring witnessess.(ck w/ the local clerk)
Heat Exchanger replacement is as common as faucet replacements.
You probably wouldn't be able to obtain their busimess records,but check with the BBB ( better business Bureau ),and see if your area has a Fair Business Council or the like.These places are where consumers lodge complaint against Companies.See if this Company is on record with any simular complaints and the outcomes ?
Your best evidence is your 1) Documents.that the very next day after this Company worked on your furnace you had a fire in units duct work " due to a faulty part that prevents overheating ".that by proffesional preformance of their work they failed to detect.,putting your life in danger,and failing to make sure the unit work properly,before leaving the home.. 2) they failed to adhire to the 2 1/2 hr. time limit. 3) get the subsiquent repair bill to fix the defective part that caused the fire with the date,and have that person or company write a note on the bill,this should have been DETECTED from the day before.
Get your bills for countersuit.Dont let the other side intimidate you or cut you off ( dont cut the Judge off when speaking,and answer his questions directly ),I think you got a good case,I would think,they would end up with nothing,because they failed to deliver services they were called for.
Undoubtedly the Company will argue everything was properly working. Q. is how long did they test it before leaving your home ? did they just put it in,fire it up ,say yeh ok it works,or did they let the unit " CYCLE " to see if it preformed properly ??
I will bet my bottom dallar they did not " INSPECT " the Unit for PROPER OPERATION after the rapair.If it took them 5 hrs,they were in a hurry to get outa there. ( they also could have caused the part to malfuntion,by not know what they're doing Banging parts around ,if it took them 5 hrs. to do a 2 1/2 hr job ,I hope it wasn't intensional ?? )).
The fire Departments report w/ the subsiquent repair of the part that cause it,shoul suffice,along with you damage Estimates.

I am not a lawyer , my advise is from pror working on Furnaces and involvement in a few small claims actions.
Again good luck !!

 

[JETX]

Correction:

You asked, " What I want to know is do I have the right to ask who thier lawyers are bringing in for witnesses, and can I ask them for business information?"

You were told: "Generally neither side has to disclose a witness list."
*** That is not correct. Though some states limit it, you can normally do
'pre-trial' discovery to get what you are asking.

I suggest you do a little research on what the process is and how to do it. Go to:
http://www.jud.state.ct.us/forms/smallclaims.pdf
http://www.jud.state.ct.us/faq/smallclaims.html

 

[aunt annie]

Thanks for the information everybody. I'll let you know how things turn out! Annmarie