Can I ask the company to pay all the cost to repair the house because they didn't do the original work correctly?

[ElaineChou]

North Carolina


I hired an HVAC company to fix the problem that water dripping from ceiling last summer. It was due to blocked draining pipes. He added draining pans and safety auto shut off devices.
Couple days ago, there’s bad leaking from ceiling again and caused part of the ceiling fell and the hardwood floor completely wet. The current contractor told me there were couple things done wrong 1) the furnace was not sitting in the middle of the pan and the pan was tilted 2) the safety device was installed too high so the water couldn't reach it 3) the secondary draining pipe was completely blocked by silicon (he was supposed to check it)
The current contractor told me there is possibly hardwood floor damage, e.g, discolored or warped, which we need to wait and see. The AC company agreed to pay $325 maximum which is the current repair cost for everything except the floor. The AC company ask me to decide now and threatened they pay nothing. They also disagreed it was their fault. What should I do?

 

[quincy]

North Carolina


I hired an HVAC company to fix the problem that water dripping from ceiling last summer. It was due to blocked draining pipes. He added draining pans and safety auto shut off devices.
Couple days ago, there’s bad leaking from ceiling again and caused part of the ceiling fell and the hardwood floor completely wet. The current contractor told me there were couple things done wrong 1) the furnace was not sitting in the middle of the pan and the pan was tilted 2) the safety device was installed too high so the water couldn't reach it 3) the secondary draining pipe was completely blocked by silicon (he was supposed to check it)
The current contractor told me there is possibly hardwood floor damage, e.g, discolored or warped, which we need to wait and see. The AC company agreed to pay $325 maximum which is the current repair cost for everything except the floor. The AC company ask me to decide now and threatened they pay nothing. They also disagreed it was their fault. What should I do?

You can accept the $325 that was offered or you can sue for the $325 plus any damage caused by the company's failure to install properly.

 

[Zigner]

Please keep in mind that if you DO accept the $325, you're almost definitely going to be asked to sign a waiver for any future damage.

 

[adjusterjack]

Your homeowners insurance should cover the damage from the "sudden failure" of the AC drain system?

 

[quincy]

For court, there should be good evidence that the floor damage is directly caused by the faulty installation.

 

[ElaineChou]

Thanks for the reply! He did ask me to sign a waiver. The waiver contains "we won't do anything that may hurt the other party or the other party's business. ". Does that mean I even couldn't write any review on Yelp? Now I know why the company got 70+ reviews 5 stars straight.. Sigh..

Please keep in mind that if you DO accept the $325, you're almost definitely going to be asked to sign a waiver for any future damage.

 

[ElaineChou]

It does. But I have $1000 deductible. So it's likely I pay out of pocket anyway.

Your homeowners insurance should cover the damage from the "sudden failure" of the AC drain system?

 

[ElaineChou]

The floor damage is directly on the spot under the leaking. So it is quite easy to prove that. I'm not very sure if the photos taken by the current contractor are good enough to sue the company or there is certain things that need to be recorded but I already missed the window.
Also if I hire an attorney and win the case, should the HVAC company pay the attorney fee? I don't want the cost to hire an attorney be more than what I need to pay now.

For court, there should be good evidence that the floor damage is directly caused by the faulty installation.

 

[quincy]

Thanks for the reply! He did ask me to sign a waiver. The waiver contains "we won't do anything that may hurt the other party or the other party's business. ". Does that mean I even couldn't write any review on Yelp? Now I know why the company got 70+ reviews 5 stars straight.. Sigh..

Negative reviews posted online can be as much of a problem for the reviewer as it is for the one reviewed so it is often best to avoid publishing them anyway. You can tell your friends to avoid the company, however, and word-of-mouth reviews can be as effective as written reviews.

There can be a problem enforcing a clause in a contract that says no negative reviews, by the way. Courts are not fond of prior restraint on speech. But, as a term agreed upon as part of a settlement, the "no negative reviews" term can be enforceable.

If your damages are within the small claims limit, you can sue in a small claims court without an attorney.

 

[ElaineChou]

Negative reviews posted online can be as much of a problem for the reviewer as it is for the one reviewed so it is often best to avoid publishing them anyway. You can tell your friends to avoid the company, however, and word-of-mouth reviews can be as effective as written reviews.

There can be a problem enforcing a clause in a contract that says no negative reviews, by the way. Courts are not fond of prior restraint on speech. But, as a term agreed upon as part of a settlement, the "no negative reviews" term can be enforceable.

If your damages are within the small claims limit, you can sue in a small claims court without an attorney.

Thanks for the prompt reply! I just felt I have the responsibility to write reviews to tell people truth, good or bad.
I have limitations and couldn't go to a small claims court.. For other cases I had dealt with, attorneys only charged a certain percentage if they win the cases, I'm not sure if that will be the case for this one.