Complaints

The complaint text that is displayed might not represent all complaints filed with BBB. Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business.

• Initial Complaint

  Date:07/03/2023

  Type:Product Issues
  Status:

  ResolvedMore info

  Complaint statuses

  Resolved:

  The complainant verified the issue was resolved to their satisfaction.

  Unresolved:

  The business responded to the dispute but failed to make a good faith effort to resolve it.

  Answered:

  The business addressed the issues within the complaint, but the consumer either a) did not accept the response, OR b) did not notify BBB as to their satisfaction.

  Unanswered:

  The business failed to respond to the dispute.

  Unpursuable:

  BBB is unable to locate the business.

  • Two years previously, John G webster installed my HVAC/PTAC unit and thermostat into my condo. • On 6/2/23, I diagnosed that the wireless thermostat was no longer communicating with the PTAC and needed to be replaced or fixed. I spoke to someone on the phone, explained to them my issue, and scheduled a service. • I also gave them my credit card information because at this point I had a tenant in the unit who would manage the service call at their convince. • After the appointment, I received not one but TWO separate bills totaling $340. The diagnosis after their “expert” service: the thermostat isn’t working and needs to be replaced for $500. • When I called, I asked why in the world they needed 2.5+ hours, 2 separate service technicians, and $400 to diagnosis what I had initially told them was a thermostat issue. They responded that they needed to ensure there was nothing else wrong with the unit. I noted that the error notification lights on the unit itself showed no issues and asked if they had disconnected the thermostat to test the unit itself. They explained that they had not. In my opinion that is a no brainer 1st step. • I asked if they were the owner the unit if they would have been ok with paying $400 to diagnose an issue when the issue was already identified. The manager would not give me a response because I believe he knew that he would not. • I asked and emailed requesting the owner give me a call. I received no response. I do not believe these people to be very skilled and they will charge you more due to their own lack of knowledge. They also authorize additional technicians and services without your approval if they have your credit card on file and just invoice you after. I would NOT recommend giving these people your credit card information ahead of time. I will be sharing this information with the BBB and I will not be doing business with this business moving forward. I would not recommend this business to anyone.

  Business Response

  Date: 07/14/2023

  On 3/31/2023 we received a call from the customer stating their PTAC (Packaged terminal Air Conditioner) similar to a window unit was not working. This was a unit that the customer had purchased from someone else 2 years ago and we helped slide the old one out of the wall and the new one in the wall for $300. We did not provide the unit or warranty the unit. The customer stated based on their own research they thought the thermostat was not communicating with the unit. We explained that we would have to come out and do our own diagnosis to make sure that was in fact the problem and then we could recommend the proper repairs. We explained our service fees of $94.95 to come out for the first 15 minutes and $35 each additional 15 minutes after to diagnose the problem. We explained our tenant/landlord policy that if the person responsible for paying is not going to be present during the service we have to have a credit card on file with a preauthorization to charge the card for our service. The customer agreed and scheduled the service call for 6/2/2023.

  Technician #1 arrived on 6/2 to diagnose the issue. The technician went through his trouble shooting process. The technician found that the control panel was not energized causing the thermostat to not be able to communicate with the unit. Because this was a wireless communication and a digital signal the technician requested that another technician come to confirm what he had found was correct. He reported his findings and left the property. The charges for his visit were $269.95 for 1.5 hours of diagnostics.

  On 6/2/2023 Technician #2 arrived later that same day to confirm the previous technicians findings. He spent 30 minutes to verify the previous technician seem to be correct based on his professional opinion. We waived the initial $94.95 to come out for the first 15 minute and only charged for the 30 minutes at $35 each 15 minutes for a total of $70. The technician reported the parts that were needed to repair the system back to our office for them to get price and availability for the customer. 

  Our parts department contacted our supplier for the parts. It took a couple days for the supplier to get us a price and availability for the parts. Our office contacted the customer on 5/5 to give them the price for the parts and repair. The owner declined the repair and asked to speak with a manager. My service manager contacted them the same day. The customer was upset for the cost of the service fee and the parts cost. The service manager offered to reduce the price of the parts because of the extensive prior diagnostic cost to make the customer happy. The customer still did not like the price and declined the repair. After further discussion we agreed to refund the $70 diagnostic fee for the second technicians visit. We have not heard back from the customer other than a bad ****** review which the owner/president of our company responded to immediately with an offer to help with the customers situation with no response. 

  This type of unit is not a common type of air conditioner that a HVAC technician from any company works on very often.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/19/2023

  [To assist us in bringing this matter to a close, you must give us a reason why you are rejecting the response. If no reason is received your complaint will be closed as Answered]
  
   Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

  - The first technician spent 90 minutes "diagnosing" what was a known issue with the thermostat. Further, as noted when speaking with the manager later, the technician NEVER disconnected the thermostat as a means to testing the function of the PTAC unit. The PTAC is fully functional without a thermostat and that is a straightforward, efficient diagnostic technique that was never employed.

  - The pricing and deployment of the second technician was NEVER approved by me. And there was never a conversation suggesting that ANOTHER $94.95 charge would be incurred due to the arrival of the second technician, nor was there any notification or discussion that that charge would be waived. The full cost of the 2nd technician was a complete surprise to me and the main concern I raised with the manager upon returning his call on 

  - As I shared with the manager when we spoke, I was disappointed with the fees associated with the diagnostics of almost $350 in addition to the costs of repair totaling over $500, with the primary concern being the scope and cost of the diagnostics.  I did decline further service with John G Webster because I have lost trust in the business.

  - The service manager NEVER offered to reduce the price for the second technician and the notion that they are waiting to hear from me is incorrect. Instead, when speaking with the manager, I was told that the manager would speak to the owner and get back to me.  As follow-up, on 6/15, I emailed ******* *******, a John G Webster employee who originally sent the invoice, and asked again to speak with the owner. I never heard back which prompted me to issue this complaint. In fact, if the cost of the second technician costs was offered as a refund (something I suggested to the manager on our call), I would have not proceeded with this complaint.
  
  Regards,

  ***********************

  Business Response

  Date: 07/24/2023

  I will have to defer to my original response. My service manager did contact the customer and discuss the matter. The customer was not happy about the charges for the diagnostic or the cost of the repair. He offered to reduce the cost of the repair and talk to me about the diagnostic charges. After discussing the situation with me, I advised him to refund the $70 for the second technician. The refund was processed on 6/5. The customer did speak with my manager and he did everything he could to help the situation. I am the owner of the company and during the height of summer not always available to contact customers as quickly. My service manager handles these situations. I assumed after the refund everything was good until I received the bad ****** review and BBB complaint. The customers comments about knowing what was wrong with the system and knowing how to test a system themselves does not hold any ground with us. We have to make our own diagnosis which was explained when the call was placed. We do not take diagnosis's from anyone that does not work for our company even other technicians or companies. We have to take every step to make sure we get the correct diagnosis before recommending a repair. This is why we wanted to have a second technician confirm our findings. If we would have taken the customer word for what they thought was wrong and charged for a repair or parts that did not work they would not be happy. It is very expensive to have service technicians running service call in Washington DC. We have to charge for their time even for equipment that is a thruwall/widow style unit. I am sorry the customer is not happy with the cost of the service and we refunded a portion of the service fee. We try to do everything we can to perform our practice under strict policy and guidelines to make sure the service is done the proper way. Further, I will have to defer to my original response. 

  Original response below:

  On 3/31/2023 we received a call from the customer stating their PTAC (Packaged terminal Air Conditioner) similar to a window unit was not working. This was a unit that the customer had purchased from someone else 2 years ago and we helped slide the old one out of the wall and the new one in the wall for $300. We did not provide the unit or warranty the unit. The customer stated based on their own research they thought the thermostat was not communicating with the unit. We explained that we would have to come out and do our own diagnosis to make sure that was in fact the problem and then we could recommend the proper repairs. We explained our service fees of $94.95 to come out for the first 15 minutes and $35 each additional 15 minutes after to diagnose the problem. We explained our tenant/landlord policy that if the person responsible for paying is not going to be present during the service we have to have a credit card on file with a preauthorization to charge the card for our service. The customer agreed and scheduled the service call for 6/2/2023.
  

  Technician #1 arrived on 6/2 to diagnose the issue. The technician went through his trouble shooting process. The technician found that the control panel was not energized causing the thermostat to not be able to communicate with the unit. Because this was a wireless communication and a digital signal the technician requested that another technician come to confirm what he had found was correct. He reported his findings and left the property. The charges for his visit were $269.95 for 1.5 hours of diagnostics.
  On 6/2/2023 Technician #2 arrived later that same day to confirm the previous technicians findings. He spent 30 minutes to verify the previous technician seem to be correct based on his professional opinion. We waived the initial $94.95 to come out for the first 15 minute and only charged for the 30 minutes at $35 each 15 minutes for a total of $70. The technician reported the parts that were needed to repair the system back to our office for them to get price and availability for the customer. 
  Our parts department contacted our supplier for the parts. It took a couple days for the supplier to get us a price and availability for the parts. Our office contacted the customer on 5/5 to give them the price for the parts and repair. The owner declined the repair and asked to speak with a manager. My service manager contacted them the same day. The customer was upset for the cost of the service fee and the parts cost. The service manager offered to reduce the price of the parts because of the extensive prior diagnostic cost to make the customer happy. The customer still did not like the price and declined the repair. After further discussion we agreed to refund the $70 diagnostic fee for the second technicians visit. The refund was credited on 6/5 We have not heard back from the customer other than a bad ****** review which the owner/president of our company responded to immediately with an offer to help with the customers situation with no response. 
  
  This type of unit is not a common type of air conditioner that a HVAC technician from any company works on very often.  

  Customer Answer

  Date: 07/25/2023

  [A default letter is provided here which indicates your acceptance of the business's response.  If you wish, you may update it before sending it.]
  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me. 
  
  Regards,
  
  ***********************