Express Pros Heating Cooling Charged Me $289.00 For A Job They Did Not Fix. No Guarantee Arvada Colorado

I had a water heating problem around February 27, 2022. I was getting Luke Warm Water so I called the tech support at Rheem to ask them to help me figure out the problem. So while standing in front of the unit which is electric they had me open the two doors and to start by seeing if the reset button was tripped. It was not.

They suggested I turn off the circuit breaker and look at the wiring to make sure everything was attached. It was and I took a photo of the two thermostats showing the wiring. After a few days my roommates still said that the heater was still Luke Warm and I should come back and check the unit or call Rheem again. 

I'm 81 years old and retired. But I get additional income by selling and breeding Golden Retriever puppies. I just had 10 puppies born on February 20, 2022. I don't like to leave them alone when they are under 3 weeks of age. 

I also had a Home Warrantee with a company called Liberty Home Guard. So, I decided to call them to look at the unit. I was required to pay them $80.00 for the claim and they would send someone out to fix the unit. They called Express Pros Heating Cooling Electric of Arvada Colorado. I guess Express because the come out to your home fairly quickly and Pros because they are professionals in heating and cooling.

But I would tend to call them Express Rip Off Plumbing after my experience using them at my home. But I will refer to them just as “Express Pros” in this complaint. Here is why:

I person by the name of Jason from Express Pros came out March 4, 2022. Jason called me from the house when he was looking at the water heater and said there was a "open ground: and needed to fix some wires. 

Jason told me on the phone that it would cost $289.00 to fix the problem of the heater not heating. He said he could send the report to Liberty Home Guard for approval which may take a few days or I could pay him now and he would fix it so we didn't have to wait to have hot water. He said that when Liberty Home Guard gets the paid bill that they would pay Express Pros and that Express Pros would reimburse me. He said that is how other home warrantee companies work.

Knowing I would be reimbursed I told him to go ahead and fix it and paid him the $289.00.

The next day we still had no hot water. I sent a text to Jason that day and told him we still had no hot water. His reply was to turn up the thermostat on water heater. I texted him back and told him that should not make a difference.

Also, the same day I called the factory Rheem who makes the water heater and talked to their tech support and they asked me what did Jason do when he came up. I said he said there was an open ground. Rheem said that an open ground usually means that one or two of the heating rods is not working and should be replaced and perhaps it could be a faulty thermostat.

I talked again to Jason and asked him why he didn't replace any parts and his answer was he didn't have those parts with him. Express Pros did say they would come out again but it would be a different service call and another charge.

When anyone has a water heater not putting out hot water calls a Plummer to come out and they charge you $289.00 to fix the problem one would expect it would be fixed. It was not. So, saying they would come back out to fix it again for an additional charge is no different than stealing from the home owner and taking advantage of someone over 65.

In Colorado it is against the law to take advantage financially of a person over 65 years of age. In some cases, it can be a felony.

What’s more when I called Liberty Home Guard about them paying Express Pros the $289.00 which Jason said that Express Pros would reimburse me when they got payment, Liberty Home Guard said they will not do that. Jason told me on the phone that was usually how the warrantee companies do that. But he should have checked for sure with Liberty Home Guard before telling me that.

Had he told me that they might not pay it I would have declined the repair. The reason is I personally installed that water heater and have a pretty good knowledge of how to fix things when they go bad. In fact, I personally helped to frame the house, with the help of an electrician I ran all the wiring in the house as well as worked to install the original boiler, and hot water tank in the home.

Now Express Pros said, "there was no way that the service person Jason would have known that the water heater was not reaching the desired temp until it was turned on so the original repair needed to be made."

I have a problem with that statement for two reasons.

1.     Before I called the warrantee company, I felt the copper piping coming out of the heater and it was Luke warm but not hot even though both thermostats were set to around 130. It was like that for a few days before Jason came out. In order for the heater to hold the water Luke warm for a few days means that the heater was on and not off as Jason said. I'm not saying Jason lied but perhaps he read something wrong on his meter.

2.     When I called the factory Rheem the day after Jason was there after we noticed that the water temperature was about the same as Luke warm. Rheem said that if in fact the heater was off the water would have gotten cold and not have stayed Luke warm.

3.     I did go back to the house when I had someone watching the puppies. I looked again at the wiring to compare it to the photo I took before Jason came up. It looked the same. Jason had said that on the phone that there was a open ground and he needed to move some wires around. I have a hard time believing that since I have before and after photos.

 I give Express Pros one star for not guaranteeing their work. When you call a plumber and tell they you have no hot water it’s the plumber’s responsibility to put the customer first and see the problem is resolved after getting paid. It was not!

I have disputed my charge of $289.00 I paid to Express Pros for the following reasons: 

1. He didn't fix the unit at all so we could have had hot water. His office claims that the unit was not working but as I mentioned before if the unit was dead the water would have been cold not Luke Warm.

2. He assumed Liberty Home Guard would pay him the $289.00 for the advance work he did that didn't fix the problem which he said Express Pros would reimburse me when they got the money.

3. Express Pros did not honor their guarantee. They should have sent Jason out to see why the unit was still not heating at their expense.

4. By comparing the photo of the wiring before Jason came out and after I can't see any difference. If he changed some wiring around, I would like to know where.

5. I was told from Liberty Home Guard that they usually pay the service people that come out $110.00. That means Express Pros received about $400.00 for something they did not fix nor was willing to guarantee their work by coming out again.

Had Jason at Express Pros stayed around for a bit when he was there, he could have seen what he had done didn't solve the problem giving him the opportunity to continue to trouble shoot to see what was wrong.

That’s what I believe a good, reliable company would do. He got almost $400.00 for about an hour or less work. That's outrages when you consider he didn't fix it!

In Conclusion if for some reason my bank does not rule in my favor since Express Pros did come out to my house I intend to file a lawsuit in Boulder County not only for the $289.00 plus the $80.00 but I will also ask the court to award me damages for emotional destress this has caused me.