We decided to hire A Plus Quality to replace our furance blower motor because they had a decent rating on Homestars, but I wish I paid more attention to how many reviews for this company were not factored into their ratings due to not meeting homestars review criteria.
We have regretted our decision to use their services ever since.
First, they installed an incompatible blower motor with our furnace (even thought I had pointed out to the tech that the specs of the new motor do not match the exact specs listed on our original motor).
After installation, the incompatible motor was making a very loud noise that can be heard throughout all the vents in the house. The tech 'diagnosed' the cause of the sound, as well as the smell coming from the new motor.
His diagnosis: 1) The control board is faulty resulting in incorrect motor speed and the loud noise. Cost to replace ~$500+
2) The new motor smell was caused by a cracked heat exchanger releasing carbon dioxide through the vents - Cost to replace - $1000+
Then he tried to convince us that we'd be better off buying a new furnace for $4000+tax. He even contacted another technician from the company to come out who confirmed his diagnosis and recommendation. We later found out that both diagnosis were incorrect as the real reason for the problem was the blower motor that they installed.
Having one tech make a mistake is one thing, but two from the same company indicates that the company hires inexperienced technicians or that they have a mandate to try to sell new furnaces by misleading customers. I'm grateful that we decided to get a 2nd opinion, from a Lennox Premier HVAC dealer, or else we would have lost thousands of $$ on parts we did not need, on top of the $500 we wasted on the incompatible motor they installed.
After the 2nd HVAC company replaced the incompatible motor with the correct motor, the furnace was operating perfectly. When we explained how the incompatible motor needed to be replaced to Jack, the branch manager of A Plus, he refused to acknowledge their own mistake and claimed that the other company is not telling the truth and just trying to sell us a new motor. He refused to take back the useless blower motor that they installed less than a week earlier and would not refund our money.
If inexperienced, untrustworthy, rude, and unprofessional is what you are looking for, then A plus is the company to call.
Edit: In the company response, they again chose to make some false claims. The facts are
1) A Plus Quality repeatedly denied there is anything wrong with their motor. How could they have offered to replace it if they kept blaming the problem on other parts? Even after the problem was fixed by the 2nd HVAC dealer, they initially refused to acknowledge that their motor needed replacement. Only a day later during a heated phone conversation did they say you should have told us the motor was bad and we would have changed it. Complete nonsense.
2) The 2nd HVAC company never installed a new wheel for me as A Plus claims. I'm still using the old wheel. They noticed it was a bit warped but since the old wheel worked fine with the compatible motor they installed, they never charged me for a new wheel. That's how a reputable company operates
- Approximate cost of services:
- $500.00
- Company Response
We have thousands of satisfied customers and we are trying to work hard to satisfy you.
As you are aware, our company offers one year parts and labour to cover all our valued customers for any defective manufacturer parts.... as in your case the motor making noise.
We had first offered you to replace the motor and you had agreed, but unfortunately the next day you cancelled because you hired another company who refused to take back the motor. You cannot expect to hire two contractors, have them both do work and get a full refund from either contractor. I can also understand you getting a second opinion, but once the work is done by one contractor -he should be given the chance to finish the job appropriately.
You have accused us of misdiagnosis and that we have unqualified technicians. I assure you -all of our technicians are both Certified and Qualified. You have sent us pictures that show the same manufacturer of motor we installed -which is known in the whole industry what we call a rescue motor with the bracket aside. They are both compatible motors. Even the technician from another company that you hired did not mention to you that the motor was the problem at first but sold you a wheel and installed it for you; and at the end he told you that the sound came from the motor and not the wheel.
After all this, we are willing to satisfy you the best we can as previously discussed in our emails.
Hoping you will agree.