Billing Problem For Air Conditioner Repair. Please Help!
2 weeks ago, the air conditioner on the 1st floor of our house stopped working. Our new house were still within the 1-year warranty from the builder, so we called their warranty manager. They contacted an AC company which sent a technician to our house. The technician told us it was due to lightning. He replaced the Heat and Cool circuit board in our attic. When he turned on the heat to test, another fuse was blown so he had to replace the valve for heat (why?). Then he also replace the thermostat (the device we use to control the room temperature) on the wall on the first floor. The warranty manager told us that they would cover it. The technician left us an itemized bill: 1. Diagnosis $90 2. Heat & Cool Circuit Board $400 3. Programmable thermostat $360 4. 24V Gas Valve Natural $400 Several days later, the warranty manager told us that they could not cover it, because it was caused by lightning. He told us that he had talked to the AC company and they would work out something for the bill with us. The manager of the AC company called and lower the bill to $1000. We check with Lowe's, the same model thermostat costs about only $36! Our questions: 1. How to know if the damage is from lightning? I think builder has to make the case, not us. 2. Does builder's warranty normally not over damage from lightning? How should we fight with the builder? On the original bill, the technician put "Need to bill BUILDER X", and we also put something similar beside our signature. 3. I guess builder's warranty will pay with a deep discount, so the AC company prefers/insists us pay it ourselves? 4. Does their pricing make sense. I think they charge us with a huge margin. The price is of thermostat is outrageous, which makes me suspect other items as well. 5. We just moved here several months ago. Can anyone recommend a nice electrician in Charlotte who can give us some expert advice if the repair and pricing are appropriate? Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you!
Answer:
There is a moderator on the House forum who is an HVAC guy and always shares great info re same. Maybe he can help you re the typical costs of those items. Also, you could call a couple of Air Conditioner people from the Yellow Pages and ask them what the typical costs of the items in your list are. You may learn alot that way, too.