Help on warranty issues

[dvtldav]

I had the compressor on my Geothermal unit burn out. The unit was still under warranty. I had an authorized repair shop (not the installing contractor) come out & repair the unit. I received a bill for $663.76. When I questioned the repair company, they said that was all that the manufacturer would reimburse them. In talking to the manufacturer, they said they had upheld their end of the warranty, even though they did not cover all parts needed for the repair. Also in an E-mail from the president & CEO of the manufacturer, he said they allowed a set rate per hour for repair, but the rate they me was somewhat less. When asked about this he said that the rate I was allowed was because my unit was purchased before a certain date and that the rate had been raised since then. He also agreed that the parts that were not covered should be and that he would look into that for future warranties. My question is: Do I have case for Small Claims Court? The BBB is not doing anything. Legal help is needed.

Thanks
Dave

[Markus Kleis]

Re: Help on warranty issues

Small claims court sounds like your best bet.

[wyseilmykkar]

Re: Help on warranty issues

I've been working in the HVAC industry for almost 15 years and generally my experience has been the following:

1. The equipment manufacturer provides parts only warranty coverage except some that also may include a labour allowance.
2. Typically the contractor that purchases the equipment is responsible for covering the labour warranty, regardless of whether they install the equipment or have their own staff capable of performing the work. Generally speaking, this labour warranty comes out of the contractor's markup (aka profit)
3. Manufacturers that do provide reimbursement for labour charges usually have set rates which are typically half of what it actually takes to do the work. They also only accept a set labour rate, which again is typically significantly less than the contractor's chargeout rate. They usually won't reimburse for the time it takes to travel to/from the site, the time to do the initial diagnosis, the time to order and pick up the parts, etc. For example, they might allow a contractor to bill 2 hours for a compressor replacement, even though in the real world it could take 4 hours or more. They base their times on what it would take in perfect "factory" conditions.

Where does this leave you? Unfortunately unless the rules in you area are significantly different from ours here, I think your only option is to pay the contractor for the work they performed. You could possibly pursue reimbursement from the original contractor (if they are still in business) but I don't think there will be much of a case unless you purchased a specific full coverage warranty; it sounds to me like the repairing contractor obtained as much coverage as the manufacturer provides - unfortunately you are responsible for the shortfall.