Whirlpool Corporation Tradewinds Central Air Conditioner is a lemon. Benton Harbor,, Michigan

February 22, 2006:  Purchased a 3 ton 12 seer heat pump condenser.

Whirlpool Air Conditioner

Model: WGH236A-1A

Serial No:  1603F36064

Not sure what date, but unit froze up.  Part had to be shipped. A coil was sent overnight and replaced

July 9, 2007:   Found unit low on Freon.  Pressured up.  Found leak at condenser.  Called to see if any warranty by Whirlpool none.  Welded leak.  Added Freon for proper charge ran check. (Cost 287.00)

 February 6, 2008:   Unit out of Freon. Didnt have money for Freon which would have cost approximately $300.00.  (Cost for service charge 75.00)

 February 7, 2008:  Called another company.  Checked AC found flat, pressure tested  Checked for leaks.  Found leak at service valve.  Tightened cap.  Pressure tested held 300psi.  Pulled vacuum and charged unit.  (Cost 286.96)  Had to borrow money to have Freon put in.

June 25, 2009:  Air conditioner quit cooling.  .  They checked the unit Found bad run capacitor and burned and pitted contactor.  Unit was also dirty.  Removed and replaced run capacitor, contactor, and cleaned condenser, checked operation.  Checked OK.   (Cost 259.90)

June 25, 2009:   Unit still not cooling.  They returned at 7:00 PM and left at 7:15 PM.  He wanted to wait and see if the unit started working the next day.  He said he would call me at noon but he never did.

June 26, 2009.  The unit is leaking water into the bathroom.  The house is getting hot again.  The unit has not shut off since yesterday.  They finally came out at 6:00 PM.  They said the drain was plugged up so they unplugged it and left at 6:40 PM. 

August 14, 2009:  Air conditioner quit on me again.  I have been without air conditioning all weekend.  The temperature outside has been over 100 degrees.  The temperature in my house is 92 degrees this is at 9:00 PM.

August 17, 2009.  .   Unit needed Freon again.  Found leak at valve on inside unit.  He did not charge for this visit. 

August 18, 2009.  Unit still not cooling after running all night and was freezing up again. They said they were not an authorized Whirlpool dealer any more and told me to call a different air conditioner company who was the authorized Whirlpool dealer in town. 

August 18, 2009.  Called a different Air Conditioner Company.  He came out at approximately 10:30 and was here 15 minutes.  He said it probably needed Freon.  The coils inside were frozen as well as the outside unit condenser and line going to the house. He turned the unit off and just had the fan going.  He said he would be back in a couple of hours to check the Freon.

August 18, 2009:  4:00 P.M.  Air Conditioner company called and said he wouldnt be able to come back out today.  He said he needed to go out of town to fix an air conditioner for a grocery store. He said a grocery store took priority over my problem.  He said he would be out first thing tomorrow morning.  

August 19, 2009:  Waited all day for Air Conditioner company  to come back out.  He never showed up nor did he bother to call. 

August 20, 2009:  Whirlpool representative returned my call.  I explained the problem to him.  He said he would check it out and get back with me tomorrow.   Did not call back.. 

August 20, 2009:  Contacted Better Business Bureau of Michigan via e-mail to file a complaint.

Better Business Bureau of Michigan

Thank you for contacting the Better Business Bureau. Your complaint was reviewed by the Bureau on August 20, 2009 and has been assigned a case number in our files.

Your complaint has been applied to the following business:
Whirlpool Corporation

September 21, 2009:  Contacted Better Business Bureau because I had not heard from Whirlpool and wanted to know why the response time has been moved up a month.

September 22, 2009:  Better Business Bureau

Received Response from Whirlpool:  : This is a licensed product that has the Whirlpool name on it.  On 9-1-09 I forwarded the complaint to Tradewinds the company that supports this product.  Tradewinds can be reached at 866-944-7575.

September 22, 2009:  Better Business Bureau contacted me and said Whirlpool advised me to contact Tradewinds about this air conditioner.

September 24, 2009 Better Business Bureau Reviews Consumer Complaint: (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)

No, I am not satisfied.  I bought the air conditioner from Whirlpool not Tradewinds.  It has Whirlpool name on it, therefore I feel they should fix the problem.  I bought it from Whirlpool because I trusted their name.   All of my appliances (dishwasher, refrigerator, electric range, washer and dryer) are Whirlpool and I have never had a problem with them.   Does this mean that if they aren't going to stand behind a product with their name on it, they won't stand behind the appliances?  I have been without air conditioning for almost 2 months.  I have already  spent $900.00 for repairs. 

Better Business Bureau Response

The BBB is in receipt of your additional on-line comments.  After review, it seems that we are unable to assist further in this matter against Whirlpool.  Based on the company's response, it seems that the item may have been manufactured by a different company for Whirlpool.  Most likely, the warranty is through the true manufacturer, who is seems is Tradewinds.

 We suggest you carefully review the warranty to determine how to obtain warranty service.  If the warranty is from Whirlpool, please provide a copy of the warranty and we will contact the company again in an attempt to have them honor the warranty as written.  If the warranty is through Tradewinds, we suggest you contact that company directly.  if you cannot locate the warranty, we suggest you contact Tradewinds directly as instructed by Whirlpool.

At this time, we will make note of the fact that you are dissatisfied with the company's response and close the complaint accordingly.  Upon receipt of warranty information, we will continue processing the complaint as needed.

September 24, 2009:        Better Business Bureau Judged Case AJR

September 24, 2009: INFORM CONSUMER - CASE ADMINISTRATIVELY CLOSED: Better Business Bureau  replied to consumer via e-mail:

.

October 1, 2009:  Called Tradewinds had to leave a message.

October 2, 2009:  Called Tradewinds again had to leave a message.

October 3, 2009: Sent Tradewinds an e-mail since they would not return my call. 

October 5, 2009:  Still have not heard from Tradewinds.

October 13, 2009:  Still have not heard from Tradewinds.  It is very difficult to contact Tradewinds when they wont return my calls or answer my e-mail.