Complaint Review: B&B Air Conditioning - Ft Lauderdale Florida

 I purchased an AC unit from B&B AC 3 years ago. They promised me lifetime maintenance at no charge. I serviced the unit regularly (2 X yr). The start of the problem occurred about 1 yr after the unit was purchased. Their technician performed routine maintenance and told me that the unit probably has a slow leak. They advised me to just put freon in it for now and see what happens in 6 mos. In 2/2013. I called for service because the unit wasn't cooling correctly again. A tech from B&B came to my home and told me the unit probably has a slow leak. The unit was less than 3 yrs at that time & I was frustrated. He said he could charge me $450 for a leak test or he could spray a can that sometimes stops slow leaks.

He told me that would be better that paying for a leak test at $450. This tech appeared to be inexperienced and it took him a almost three hours to complete the service call. He sprayed a can that was supposed to stop leaks in my AC lines. He was so inexperienced that he was having trouble figuring out how to get the liquid out of the can. I knew I was in trouble at that point. He also applied some kind of adhesive to the valve. He told me he was having trouble putting freon in because the weather was cold so it went in slowly. Little did I know that the technician bent the valve where the freon was supposed to be put in.

(I didn't find this out until almost 1 1/2 years later from two other AC companies) It is now 5/15/14 and my unit was once again not cooling properly. Having lost confidence in B&B I called Lindstom air for a 2nd opinion. Linstrom air told me I had a leak. They performed a leak test for $79. The tech from Linstrom said he could not put freon into the unit because the valves were clogged. He said that the person who put the leak stop fluid in the lines was sloppy and clogged the lines or somehow damaged them. He said I also had a leaky coil and a clogged TXV valve. He could not even add freon to the unit.

He said the cost to replace this would be $1500 but the coil may be under warranty. I then called and spoke to Larry Utz the owner of B&B. I explained the situation to him about his tech. He kept saying it says in your history you have a leak and all he wanted to do was charge me $450 for a leak test. He stated that if the leak was in the copper lines it would cost me an addtional $700. If it was in the coil it would be under warranty. Mr. Utz said It would cost me $450 just to get started with B&B. Mr. Utz would not stand by the unit he put in and wanted to charge me full price for everything as I had an old unit. He would not even acknowledge his tech made an error. I was very frustrated and called a friend of mine that used to be an AC tech.

He told me to call Accurate Air and that they were very honest. Accurate Air came out the next day and confirmed that I had a leak however they could not put freon in either becuase they confirmed that my valve was bent and damaged from whatever tech came out from B&B. Until now I have never had any other technicians service my unit from any other company. They had to cut the line and put a new valve elsewhere due to the damage that the tech from B&B had done. This cost an additional $150. The owner of Accurate told me that the leak was in the coil and gave me a new coil and valve covered under warranty. He also told me he was getting a labor allowance of $300 from Rheem the manufacturer due to faulty coils over the lst several yrs that they acknowledged.

This labor allowance was never mentioned at all by B&B or Lindstrom. The owner of Accurate Air told me that most companies don't tell you about the labor allowance and just take the money. The total charge to repair the unti was $450. I also had to pay $182.95 to Linstrom on 5/15 for their work. I feel that B&B should reimburse me for the $632.95 that I am out of pocket due their technicians inexperience and fautly workmanship. I would not be able to request this had I not had 2 other AC companies verify that my valve was damaged from faulty work. All B&B cares about is making more money off of customers. They do not stand behind what they do or work with their clients to rectify the situation. They are a very bad company. I would stay far away from this company.