ECM - East Coast Mechanical ECM (East Coast Mechanical) in Boynton Beach Florida refused to install a/c for elderly couple and disabled man who were living in house without a/c. Homeowners signed a contract with ECM and they delayed the install everyday for 10 days and then ECM backed out of the contract and refused to issue full refund. Boynton Beach Florida

October 8, 2008 - My daughter contacted ECM regarding replacing our existing air conditioner, as the current air handler was broken. I provide care for my parents who are 84 and 88 and my brother, who is disabled and is currently undergoing chemotherapy and radiation. My daughter explained to ECM that there were elderly individuals and a disabled man without any air conditioning. ECM sent a salesman by the name of Anthony came to my home on October 8, 2008. We agreed on a system, price, and installation date, a copy of contract attached. Anthony stated he would pull the permit the following day and begin work. Anthony took a picture of the attic where the air handler was to be stored and advised the picture was necessary for obtaining a permit.

October 9, 2008 - The following day I received a call from Anthony stating Mike Greary, at ECM, reviewed the picture of the air handler in the attic and said he noticed two notches in the support beams. Anthony proceeded to state that this could be a serious problem and Mike would contact the building department and inquire as to whether or not the notches in the beams would be a problem. I had to take my brother for chemotherapy so I contacted my daughter to ask her if she would follow up with Mike regarding the status of the building department opinion with regard to the notches in the beams. My daughter contacted Mike and he said that the Building inspector for the City of Tequesta was out in the field and he would try to call back later. My daughter reminded him that there were elderly and disabled people in the home with no air conditioning. She asked Mike if there was any possible way they could install the a/c and we would get someone out to fix the beam issue. Later that afternoon my daughter contacted Mike again to inquire if he had heard from the Building Inspector. He had not so my daughter asked him if he could send someone out to attempt to fix the air handler just long enough to get us air until the new system could be installed. Mike said the charge would be $90 but it would be applied towards the purchase of the new system.

By the end of the day, my daughter called Mike again and he said he was not able to get in touch with the inspector at the building department. Then the repair person from ECM arrived and said it was not possible to fix the air handler. It was Friday, October which meant that we would be without air for at least 3 more days.

October 10, 2008 - I contacted a carpenter and handyman to provide an estimate to repair/replace the beam. I made arrangements for estimates on Saturday morning. I explained the situation regarding the notches in the beams to both the carpenter and handyman and they could not understand why ECM did not go forward with installing the air conditioner and allow me the opportunity to find out if there was an issue with the building department. My daughter also spoke to a builder who lives and builds homes in Tequesta and he said he did not understand why ECM did not install the a/c and did not think that it would be an issue with the City of Tequesta Building Department. The handyman said he would be back on Monday to strap another beam to the existing beam even though it was not necessary, in his opinion. The charge would be $90.00. I contacted Mike @ ECM immediately after the handyman left and advised him that the repair would be completed by Monday morning. Mike said he would call me back on Monday morning to check the status of the repair.

October 13, 2008 - On Monday I contacted Tequesta building department and they advised me that the inspector was not in the field all day on Friday and they never received a call from ECM. The repair was completed prior to 11:00 a.m. and I called Mike, as he never called me as he said he would. I advised Mike the repair was complete and asked if he could go ahead and proceed with pulling the permit and begin work immediately. Mike said he could not begin the work today as his crew was busy and could not get to the job until Wednesday which was one week without air. He said his crew has been busy since the previous Friday, which also happens to be the day they were suppose to install the a/c. He said he would send someone out on Tuesday to take another picture and would pull the permit on Tuesday and be ready to go on Wednesday. My daughter tried to convince me to go with another company, but I felt obligated to ECM since I had signed a contract and gave them a $200 deposit and we did not want to wait any longer. My daughter contacted Mike and asked him why he continued to delay the process. He assured her that the a/c would be installed with no problem on Wednesday.

October 14, 2008 - On Tuesday, Anthony from ECM came out and took another picture of the repair and said he was going to pull the permit and they would install the a/c tomorrow, Wednesday.

October 15, 2008 - It was now Wednesday morning and no one from ECM showed up or called. I called Mike to find out where the crew was and I got another story. He did not like the work performed by the handyman and could refused to proceed. I called the handyman and requested he come back out as ECM was not satisfied with his repair. When he arrived he called Mike directly to find out what the problem was. Apparently, there was not a problem that could be justified, ECM just did not like the repair. The handyman put Mike on speaker phone so I could hear the conversation. Mike proceeded to tell the handyman that there was too much work to do and that he was cutting my deposit check and they will put it in the mail. Nobody from ECM bothered to call me to tell me that they had no intentions of installing the a/c. We were without air conditioning for over a week. After the handyman and Mike hung up the phone I called Mike and asked him why didn't someone tell me that they had no intentions of performing under the terms of the contract. He really did not have any answers for me other than he would refund all of my money, all $290.00. In the meantime, my daughter called a another a/c company. When she advised them of what ECM had done to us, they sent an employee who what in Margate to my house within 2 hours. When they arrived and took a look in the attic, they could not understand why there was ever an issue. Apparently, you do not need to submit photos to the City of Tequesta prior to obtaining a permit, as Mike @ ECM had stated. And the notches in the beams were not an issue. After I had signed the contract, the person from the new a/c company went down filed for a permit and the a/c was installed the following day. I do not understand why ECM would treat an elderly couple and a disabled man so horribly. How could anyone consciously lead a family in this situation to believe that they intended to install a system, when they never had any intentions of doing anything. I feel they took advantage of the situation at the time. A bigger or better job must have come in and they broke our contract and failed to perform under the terms of the contract.

October 21, 2008 - I still had not received my refund check so my daughter contacted ECM to find out where my refund was. She spoke to Julie who indicated that they were waiting for my check to clear that was issued on a local bank.. She said she would have the check cut. My daughter advised her someone would pick it up.

October 22, 2008 - My daughter called Julie again to find out the amount of the check, Julie said it was for $200.00. It should have been for $290.00. I was advised I would get a full refund. The $90 was for the repair man from ECM to come out and look at the system to tell me it could not be fixed. I was told that the $90 would be applied towards the purchase of the system. I did not break the contract therefore I should be entitled to the $90. Mike called my daughter back and said he needed to check with his service department to find out if they would refund the money and he would call her back between 3:00 4:00 that day. He never called back. My daughter continued to call Mike everyday for the next three days and each time he would say he did not speak with the service department yet so he did not have an answer. To date we have not received a call from Mike with regard to the balance of the refund for $90.00.

Carolyn
Tequesta, Florida
U.S.A.