WaterFurnace 'Industry Standard' Warranty Repair Rates and Guarantees
From: debra.{}@waterfurnace.com
Sent: Wed, 18 Jun 2014 11:26:07 -0400
To: The Residents
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
Dear {Residents},
Dear {Name},
Thank you for contacting Waterfurnace. I will need to know the serial number of your unit to let you know what the labor allowance was that we issued.
Deb, Consumer Relations Specialist
WaterFurnace International
REPLY FROM THE RESIDENTS:
From: The Residents
To: WaterFurnace
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2014 3:19 PM
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
Synergy 3D
{Serial Numbers}
REPLY FROM WATERFURNACE:
From: debra.{}@waterfurnace.com
To: The Residents
Sent: Fri, 20 Jun 2014 12:32:25 +0000
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
Dear {Name},
Thank you again for contacting Waterfurnace. There was a claim on 5/29/14 for a flow center. We sent the part out at no charge and there was a labor allowance of $110.00.
Any charges over and above our allowances are between you and the dealer.
Thanks,
Deb, Consumer Relations Specialist
WaterFurnace International
REPLY FROM THE RESIDENTS:
From: The Residents
Sent: Mon, 24 Nov 2014 15:43:07 -0600
To: WaterFurnace
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
Hello Debra,
Regarding the service on 5/29/2014 in the email below, the contractor, Air-Ease doing the water flow center charged me almost $500 on top of the allowance, and credited me $90 as allowance.
Currently, we have another Water Furnace machine down, Envision Water NSW{}, S#1008{}. Another contractor, {name} was here today, spent about 2 hours diagnosing the problem, and charged $244 for the service. He determined that the thermoset (or something that sounds like that) is broken and needs to be replaced.
What is the warranty allowance on diagnosis service and the repair service this time? And I am optimistically assuming this will actually take care of this current failure. This particular machine was already repaired once in 2011 for water flow center.
Also, it would be very helpful if you can give me service man who will actually do the work for the allowance amount or close to it. This equipment is after all under warranty, so repairing them should not run in such crazy amounts of money.
I look forward to hearing back from you.
Thank you in advance,
{Resident}
UPDATE:
Hello Nicole, please check this message below related to our problems with your products and service people. Originally we've been corresponding with Debra. Thank you.
REPLY FROM WATERFURNACE:
From: nicole.{}@waterfurnace.com
To: The Residents
Sent: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 13:40:47 +0000
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
{Residents}
If the thermostat is a WaterFurnace Thermostat it is covered we will provide the part at no charge and a labor allowance of $110.00. Any charges above and beyond what we allow is between you and your contractor.
The labor allowance we pay is a set flat fee based on industry accepted flat rate times. If the repair takes longer that we allow, the contractor makes the decision of whether to pass through these charges to you. Your contractor is an independent business man and not under our control, therefore you should discuss any additional charges with them.
Sincerely,
Nicole, Consumer Relations Coordinator
WaterFurnace International, Inc.
REPLY FROM THE RESIDENTS:
From: The Residents
Sent: Tue 11/25/14 8:17 AM
To: WaterFurnace
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
Hello,
Since it is based on 'industry standards' I hope WaterFurnace will not have a problem giving me a contractor (within 30 miles from my zip code: {zip}) that will do it for your labor allowance. We bought the equipment from WaterFurnace, not from 'our contractor.' If it is based on the industry standard I understand that out of 10 contractors, at least 8 would meet the standard? So you should not have a problem referring me to a contractor who meets the standard.
Also, please be kind to send me the allowance table for WaterFurnance repairs so I know when the contractors are overcharging me (so far all of them did).
Thank you,
{Resident}
REPLY FROM WATERFURNACE:
From: nicole.{}@waterfurnace.com
To: The Residents
Sent: Tue, 25 Nov 2014 16:14:43 +0000
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
{Resident},
We do not recommend contractors. These are independently owned and operated, and not under our control. You can visit our web site at waterfurnace.com and click on Locate Dealer, and choose any of these contractors to work with.
The flat rate times are what we base the amount on. If the repair takes longer than what we allow, it is up to the contractor whether or not he charges for this additional time. Contractors decide their own hourly rate.
The allowance we pay is designed to offset any charges from your contractor. Any charges from your contractor are between you and them.
We have attached the labor schedule for your unit.
Sincerely,
Nicole, WaterFurnace International, Inc.
REPLY FROM THE RESIDENTS:
From: The Residents
Sent: Tue 11/25/14 10:48 AM
To: WaterFurnace
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
Thank you for the reply and the explanation. However, you still don't seem to see my point. When I buy a car, I go to an independently owned and operated dealer to make the necessary repairs under the warranty. It would be illegal for the dealer to charge me extra over the manufacturer's 'flat rate repairs.' How is it legal in WaterFurnace case?
WaterFurnace should not call it a 'warranty' because this term is misleading to say the least. If something is under warranty, it should be fixed for free, without any extra charges. Why do you expect your customers to haggle over the cost of warranty repairs? And why does WaterFurnace only allow 1/4-1/3 of the REAL / market cost to do the repairs?
It appears you are not able to provide a single contractor who would do the repairs for your 'industry standard' rates. So the 'industry standard' term is misleading again and it is very doubtful that it is in accordance with the false advertising laws in the United States.
At this point we have no choice but to wait for yet another contractor and hope that he will be the one who meets WaterFurnace 'industry standard' fees. So far none of them did. We hope that WaterFurnace revise their misleading and customer-unfriendly warranties and policies.
Sincerely,
{Resident}
REPLY FROM WATERFURNACE:
From: nicole.{}@waterfurnace.com
To: The Residents
Sent: Tue, 9 Dec 2014 20:55:06 +0000
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
{Resident},
Attached is the warranty certificate for your unit which was mailed to you in June to the address on the certificate, along with the homeowners manual. It is clearly stated in the certificate under Claims and Remedies, “Applicable labor and/or refrigeration allowances will be limited and only in accordance with WFI rat schedules corresponding to the original date of shipment of the product from WFI.” The certificate goes on to state under This Limited Warranty Does Not Cover #1 “Actual costs incurred for any and all labor or materials, including without being limited to refrigerant materials, in excess of the installation labor allowance and/or refrigerant material allowance specified in this Certificate.” The owners manual states “Some warranty options include a Labor Allowance, which is an amount credited to your servicing company based on the type of repair made. The labor allowance is designed to reduce the cost of repairs. However, it may not cover the entire labor fee charged by your dealer.”
We are unsure how we can be more clear. All claims have been and will be paid per the warranty terms and conditions. Any additional charges from your contractor are between you and them.
Sincerely,
Nicole, WaterFurnace International, Inc.
Consumer Relations Coordinator
REPLY FROM THE RESIDENTS:
From: The Residents
Sent: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 22:50:57 -0600
To: WaterFurnace
Subject: Consumer Relations/{Name}
Hello Nicole,
We've had 3 services on this unit in the last month. Air-Ease (the original installer) could not figure out what was wrong with it. {Another contractor listed on your website} after 2 hour deliberation on what might be wrong replaced the thermostat and later on came back to reprogram it too. The machine is again displaying FP code and not working. The total service calls on this unit alone already cost us hundreds of dollars this winter alone, not to mention the fact that we have no heat where this unit should be heating.
Please send us someone who is knowledgeable about your equipment and can fix this unit to stop these constant failures.
Or advise how you like to go about replacing this whole unit. It should be replaced in fact under the lemon law -- 3 failures of the same kind in one month certainly qualifies.
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you in a timely fashion. This is heating season and we need this unit to heat.
{Resident}