Complaint Review: Kenmark Air - Ft. Myers Florida

In January of 2009 I had my mother's condo HVAC system checked and annual routine maintenance performed by a reputable contractor with whom we had a service contract. Everything checked out fine and the system was functioning normally - no problems noted.

In March of 2009, a Kenmark Air Representative called on my mother to solicit a five year service agreement under the guise of a "UV Promo/Service Contract Special". Unfortunately, my 89 year old mother who is increasingly challenged with declining health issues had no recollection of the January '09 HVAC service previously performed and allowed Kenmark Air to service our system without consulting me first.

The Kenmark Technician noted what he deemed to be mold in the system, installed a UV light in the air handler and signed her up for a front loaded service agreement for $595. Before proceeding, the Kenmark Tech apparently failed to inform my mother that the UV light system required periodic bulb replacement, nor made her aware of the expensive, on-going bulb replacement costs. Coincidentally, I have read similar complaints from other customers also allegedly duped by Kenmark Air.

When I finally learned of the situation in January 2010, I contacted Kenmark Air to cancel the service agreement and requested a pro-rated refund. I was informed that Kemark's owner, Ken McDaniel, had to authorize all refunds and was instructed to fax my request in writing. I faxed Kenmark Air a note gently explaining the circumstances. My request was ignored.

A month later I called Kenmark Air again to inquire about the status of my request. Shortly thereafter I was contacted by Kenmark's Service Mgr., who explained they had installed a UV light and there would be no refund. Exasperated over being ignored for a month, given the run-around and Kenmark's total lack of compassion for my mother's health condition, I hung up on him. Minutes later Mr. McDaniel finally decided to respond to my complaint and called me back. Mr. McDaniel tried to explain the month long stall by saying he did not personally review Kenmark's work orders, a direct contradiction to what I was told by his employees, then stood by his technician, informing me he felt they had done nothing improper and was not going to refund any portion of the money he was paid. I was fairly outraged that Kenmark Air would take advantage of a senior citizen with seemingly no conscience about it.

As previously mentioned, long before Kenmark came along we had an existing service contract with a reputable HVAC contractor. In fact, our existing service contract cost less money than Kenmark's and included two annual routine maintenance checks. When our regular HVAC contractor came in May 2010 they discovered two additional issues with the work that Kenmark Air had performed;

1. The UV light power transformer Kenmark Air had installed was not secured to the air handler in any way. Instead, Kenmark's Technician had simply left it laying loose in the top of the air handler.

2. The UV light power wires had been installed with a loose connection on one conductor which visibly sparked from vibration when the air handler was running, presenting a dangerous potential fire hazard.

Based upon their poor customer service, inferior workmanship and the utter indifference of Kenmark Air's owner, Ken McDaniel, I would never recommend this company to anyone. Rather, I firmly believe that better, more competent and less expensive HVAC contractors are readily available in SW Florida. I would caution anyone thinking about hiring Kenmark Air to be aware of how they treat their customers and the highly questionable work they did for us. I can assure you that Kenmark Air will never set foot in our residence again. In my opinion, consumers should beware of Kenmark Air!