Our A/C was not working during the July heat wave. Having spoken to another technician over the phone, it was obvious there was a leak in the unit as we could see ice buildup on the pipe. I called Direct Energy and asked what kind of cost I was looking at to get the leak repaired. He started to sell me on the home protection plan of $8.99 / month for A/C or $29.99 for A/C, furnace and drains. So I asked him how much it would be to fix the current problem. He said for a pre-existing condition, I needed to pay $179.99 and it included all parts and labour. I asked again whether this included all parts and refrigerant if there was a leak. He said yes. I asked if I joined the home protection plan, is there anything that is not covered. He said only the pre-existing issue. I confirmed again that the $179 will take care of the pre-existing issue. The technician came as scheduled that same day and told us that he is only doing a diagnosis, and that there is a leak and the coil likely needs replacement. At first he did not give us an estimate of costs to repair it, but later told us that it would be up to 5 hours to do the leak test to identify where the leak is (at $129 per hour), and that the coil would be expensive to replace, maybe looking at $1000 total. Also the leak test will need to be scheduled for a different day. We asked him about the $179 quoted on the phone. He said that if we joined the home protection plan, then we pay $179, and it will cover up to $500 of repair. However we need to pay anything beyond $500. We were left with a bill of $99 to pay for him coming to my house to tell me that there is a leak on my unit. I called Direct Energy later and questioned why I was told that I only needed to pay $179 to have it repaired but got a completely different cost from the technician. I was told that the first guy I talked to should have explained the home protection plan in detail and that if the pre-existing issue cost over $500, then I am not eligible for the $179 deal i.e. I will have to pay for the total cost of the repair. I questioned him on this as this was yet again different from what the technician told me. He explained that it is up to the discretion of the technician - he can offer me the $179 repair cost. I am very disappointed that 1) they were not honest about the cost; 2) they seemed to be only interested in selling me the home protection plan; 3) I get different answers/different costs on the 3 occasions I talked to them (all in the same day), and 4) billing me $99 when nothing was done, only to tell me that there was a possible leak, which I already knew before I called them. This is a very deceptive sales tactic.
