JD's A/C ripoff Unprofessional & disrespectful Gives false info by phone then says the customer is the one who's wrong Longview Texas

This company is very unprofessional and disrespectful to their customers!

In August 2006, my husband and I purchased a new Carrier heat pump from this company. I had dealt with them before when we lived in rental property & wasn't completely happy with them; however, once the a/c in our house went out in the middle of the summer, we had to go with whichever company quoted us the cheapest price for a quality unit & could come out to install it the fastest. Unfortunately for us, that company was JD's.

When I called around for prices of a new unit, I made sure to ask each company about warranties, service plans, etc. I understood that JD's offered some sort of service plan but was a little fuzzy on the details. However, we HAD to go with JD's because of price and time, so the details of their service plan weren't that important upon installation of the unit. I knew I'd have plenty of time to get all that sorted out later. A short time after our new unit was installed, JD's sent us some information to complete & return to Carrier in connection with the warranty on the new unit.

When April 2007 rolled around, JD's sent us a postcard in the mail telling us it was time to schedule a "routine summer check-up" & to call for an appointment. This is where being fuzzy on the details of the service plan come in. Since whether or not JD's offered a service plan was discussed at the very beginning, I didn't know if the price of said service plan was included in the total price we paid for our new unit or not. When I received the post card in the mail from JD's, I called them to ask if there would be a charge for the visit or not. Scheduling the "routine summer check-up" all hinged on whether or not there was a charge for the visit. I believe I was very clear when asking if there would be a charge and I very distinctly remember the receptionist saying that there would NOT be a charge. That's the only reason I scheduled the stupid appointment.

My husband took off work (twice, because they had to reschedule the first appointment because of rain) to meet them at our house. At the conclusion of the visit, the tech asked my husband if we knew what we were supposed to pay (apparently the tech didn't) and husband replied that we were told there was no charge. Then a few weeks later, we received a bill in the mail for $101.24. Had I known it would cost approx. $100 just for a "routine summer check-up," I would not have scheduled the appointment. I SPECIFICALLY asked if there would be a charge for this visit & remember WITHOUT A DOUBT the receptionist saying NO.

This is where it starts to get really frustrating. I called the company and spoke to the receptionist. I tried my best to explain all of this to her, even though she didn't really seem to be listening to me. As soon as she heard the words "no charge," she immediately became very defensive. I was trying my best to be polite and professional at this point and not let her bully me. I told her that I didn't get the name of the person who told me that there wouldn't be a charge (to which she replied that she's the only female there & she NEVER would have said that) and that maybe it's possible that I was misunderstood or she was distracted at that time. That really pissed her off! She began talking to me in a very condescending manner, saying that they cannot operate a business for free and that their routine visits have never been free, blah, blah, blah. I told her that whatever the miscommunication, we didn't have an extra $100 for their bill and wouldn't have scheduled the appointment in the first place had we known there was a charge, which is why I called & asked that question when we received the post card. It was like it went in one ear & out the other. I knew I wasn't going to get anywhere with her because of her poor attitude, so I just ended the conversation by telling her that we didn't have the money but would try to pay the bill as soon as we could.

August 2007 rolls around and JD's sends out their monthly bills. Upon receipt of this bill, I decided to send a letter to the owner trying to explain everything. The purpose of the letter was also so that there would be no more verbal "misunderstanding." I tried to politely explain that even though I could appreciate that some minor work was ultimately performed for us, I didn't feel like we should be responsible for the bill due to their receptionist's error. To my letter, the owner promptly responded with a very rude, unprofessional & disrespectful letter.

Apparently, the receptionist is the owner's wife, so my letter did nothing but offend. The letter I received from the owner was actually almost word for word exactly what the receptionist (his wife) said to me on the phone, so I doubt the owner even wrote the letter. I assume he probably just gave it back to his wife so that she could respond to it, and he just signed his name to it. The last sentence of the letter says, "If you do not want to pay this bill we will not want to come out to do your warranty service on your system in the future." I take this to mean that they won't hold us responsible for the bill, but if we don't pay it, they won't do any more work for us (which is completely fine with me!!).

I am thinking about filing a complaint with the Better Business Bureau even though it appears that JD's isn't going to insist we pay the bill. Their refusal to stand behind the information they give out over the telephone (even if they were wrong), their complete unprofessional behavior towards having their error pointed out, and especially their inability to deal with me in a professional manner over this disputed bill is unacceptable!

(Sorry this was so long, but if you made it all the way through, thank you for reading!!)

Shugrbriches
Gladewater, Texas
U.S.A.