Snell Air Conditioning, Inc.

Great! Highest recommendation.

unknown

I called Sean from Snell Air Conditioning, Inc.on the morning of 5/31/08 and told him I I thought I needed Freon because my A/C was running but no cold air was coming out. He said it would be at least $150. I explained the situation to Steve and his helper when they arrived and Steve said, “let me go on the roof (condo building...units are on the roof) and see what’s going on”. They came back down and said, “You’re unit’s shot...you’re going to need a new one.” I asked how much and he said approximately $4,600. I asked how much the service call was and was shocked when he said $383. When I asked him why so much, he said because they put Freon in, switched out some wires and changed a cap. I asked him how long the service he did would last . . . a week? a month? 6 months? . . and he said, “I can’t say...you’re unit is shot, you need a new one.” Then I asked if the amount of the service call could be applied to the new unit if I purchased it from them. He told me he couldn’t make any promises and that I should talk to J.B., the supervisor. They presented their invoice for me to sign and unfortunately, in my overwhelm of what was happening, I couldn’t find my glasses and I trusted what Steve said as he pointed to 3 places I needed to sign. Sadly, what I was told I was signing and what I was actually signing were two different things. The technician told me I was: 1) signing to authorize my credit card to go through...(In fact the small print of the invoice said I acknowledge satisfactory completion of the above described work); 2) signing that I understood the repairs they did were not guaranteed...(In fact the invoice said I authorize you to perform diagnosis to determine a solution and agree to pay for diagnosis); 3) signing that the repairs were done...(In fact the invoice said I authorize the described work to be performed and agree to pay listed price upon completion). The truth is, I NEVER authorized the work they did. The Snell techs: - said they would go on the roof and ‘take a look’ - returned and said my unit was shot and couldn’t be repaired YET they took it upon themselves to replace the wires, add freon and change a cap without asking me first - were deceptive about the invoice I was signing - lied about the entire unit needing to be replaced ($4600)...all I needed was a new condenser ($1600) Shortly after they left the a/c started running warm again and I called and Sean said he would send them back to take a look but I told him not to and that I would see how it was in the morning. Truthfully, I was afraid they would do something else to it and charge me again. I then asked Sean if the amount I paid could be applied to the purchase of a new unit and he said I would have to talk to J.B., so I asked Sean to have him call me. That night (very hot...I live in Florida) there was only hot air coming out of the air conditioner. The next day was Sunday so first thing Monday I called again and Sean said he would have J.B. call me as soon as he got in. No one ever called. I got frustrated and called another company that came out and spent 45 minutes going over the unit to see if they could repair it. The conclusion was that I only needed a new condenser at a cost of $1600 vs the $4600 cost that Snell quoted me. Oh, and they didn’t charge me for their service call. They installed the new unit the next day. Over the course of 10 days I kept calling Snell and Sean would promise J.B. was going to return my call but he never did. Even though I had a new unit, I thought at least Snell would be willing to split the $383 with me, given I never authorized his men to do the work they did AND I question why they would do $383 worth of work on a unit they said was “shot”. As a last resort, 10-12 days later, I called Sean and told him if someone didn’t return my call by the next morning I was going to contact the “HELP” department of our local news station. That same night I found a website for Snell and the next day called the home offices and told the receptionist my problem and that I wanted to talk to the owner, John. She said she was sorry for my experience and she would have John call me as soon as he came in. He never called. So, I went back on-line and sent John an email; I never heard from him. I did make one last attempt to contact Mr. Snell again. First I was told that he was in and I was put on hold. Then I was told that he wasn’t in and I was transferred to the General Manager. My conversation with the General Manager was polite and I felt he did listen to everything I had to say. The next day he left a message that his decision was to resolve this ‘miscommunication’ by giving me a $100 credit toward my next repair with them. His offer just points to how out of touch Snell is. After this incident, why on earth would I EVER call them for any future repairs? This was much more than a mere 'miscommunication'. What was done was illegal and deceitful. Following is Snell’s company rating from the Better Business Bureau which seems to confirm my entire experience...too bad I didn’t check it initially. Company Rating: F We strongly question the company’s reliability for reasons such as that they have failed to respond to complaints, their advertising is grossly misleading, they are not in compliance with the law’s licensing or registration requirements, their complaints contain especially serious allegations, or the company’s industry is known for its fraudulent business practices. I put the charge ‘in dispute’ with my credit card company, who investigated this for the next 5 months and concluded I deserved a full refund. Mr. Snell did respond to them with a letter of rebuttal BUT it just mimicked everything the technicians disputed; so, either Mr. Snell's technicians lied to him OR Mr. Snell lied also. However, the bottom line is, I know the truth.

Very happy with service.

I was extremely please with Snell AC. When i called them, they were very courteous and made an appt right away. The tech came out on time. The owner, John, came over to discuss several options with me and i was ver hasppy with the pricing ajnd services. They were able to complete the work in several hours. The tech was clean and ver nice. I am extremely happy with this company and would highly reccomend them to anyone!

They came out right on time for the installation. They were very friendly and knowledgeable. I was grateful that they were willing to accommodate me throughout the installation.